Date of Award
Summer 7-16-2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Audrey Goodman
Second Advisor
Dr. Murray Brown
Third Advisor
Dr. Brennan Collins
Abstract
This paper proposes the notion that early Native American autobiographical writings from such authors as William Apess provide rich sources for understanding syncretic authors and their engagement with dominant Anglo-Christian culture. Authors like William Apess construct an understanding of what constitutes Indianness in similar and different ways to the master narratives produced for Native peoples. By studying this nonfiction, critics can gain a broader understanding of contemporary Indian fiction like that of Sherman Alexie. The similarities and differences between the strategies of these two authors reveal entrenched stereotypes lasting centuries as well as instances of bold re-signification, a re-definition of Indianness. In analyzing these instances of re-signification, this paper focuses on the performance of re-membering, the controversy of assimilation/authenticity, accessing audience, the discourse of Indians as orphans, and journeys to the metropolis.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/1392312
Recommended Citation
Andrews, Gabriel M., "William Apess and Sherman Alexie: Imagining Indianness in (Non)Fiction." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2010.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/1392312