Charactor Analysis Fleur Pillager
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The novel Tracks, while an entertaining read, is (as Ive learned) far more than a simple novel. The book perplexes me with its symbolism and layered and difficult to discern metaphorical references. I am accustomed to reading books wherein characters are simply people, birds, bears, the wind, etc. Surprisingly, I did “get” the underlying story; Nanapush was telling Lulu about her family her people and what portents the future held for them all but, the symbolism was not clear. Only after hour upon hour of research, reading and pondering thereon did I gain a modicum of understanding of the importance of symbolism in Native American culture, story telling and, literature; their Anglo-American counterparts a largely devoid of metaphorical and symbolic elements. This is a clear indication, though her name, Louise Erdrich leads one to believe she is Anglo-American, is actually a Native American and of the Ojibwe People. In fact, Harold Flett reinforces this deduction in Aboriginal Symbols and Practices: “There are many symbols, practices and customs, some of which are well-known to many people and some which are known only to a few. To achieve full understanding of some of these symbols and practices, one must personally experience them or be led to enlightenment through traditional teachings of an elder.”
“[Louise] Erdrich is the oldest of seven children, was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, on June 7, 1954. The daughter of French Ojibwe mother and German American father, Louise Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Erdrichs large extended family lived nearby, affecting her writing life from an early age. Her grandfather was tribal chair of the reservation and her parents taught in the Bureau of Indian Affairs School (Bedfords.) In an Readers Digest interview, 1991, she explains “The people in our families made everything into a story. They love to tell a good story. People just sit and the stories start coming, one after another. You just sort of grab the tail of the last persons story: it reminds you of something and you keep going on. I suppose that when you grow up constantly hearing the stories rise, break and fall, it gets into you somehow. The exposure to storytelling had a prodigious influence on Louises shaping and creation of plot ” (McNally). Erdrich grew up with a clear understanding of the symbolism and humor with which her family (and the Ojibwe) related recent and historical events; her novels provide a written form of Ojibwe (oral) history. Erdrich manages this ” by telling the plain stories of people and their lives without pity, judgment, opinion or romanticization. She uses her Chippewa [Ojibwe] heritage to examine complex familial and sexual relationships among full and mixed blood Native Americans as they struggle with questions of identity in white European American culture” (Project)
Tracks is not Louise Erdrichs first novel. She has written (as indicated after the books title page) ten novels as well as three volumes of poetry, two childrens books, and two works of non-fiction. “Her works have appeared in the New England Review and Redbook as well as such anthologies of Native American writing as Earth Power Coming and Thats What She Said: Contemporary Poetry and Fiction by Native American Women. She has published two collections of poems, Jacklight (1984) and Baptism of Desire (1989). Her [first] novel Love Medicine (1984) won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Beet Queen (1986), Tracks (1988), The Bingo Palace (1994), and Tales of Burning Love (1996) extend the histories of families [Kashpaw, Morrissey, Pillager and Nanapush] dealt with in Love Medicine” (Bedfords).
Louise Erdrich stays true to Ojibwe legend and tradition in the depiction of her characters and uses these legends to enhance them. Tracks incorporates the intrinsic quality of Native American humor with elements of animal folklore, evil forces, love potions, Christianity (Vidmar). “In Tracks, the power of Native American humor to profoundly affect human experience is portrayed through the characters of Nanapush and Fleur” (Gregory). However, comprehension of the Ojibwe Clan System, particularly the bear clan characterized by Fleur, is necessary to fully appreciate and understand the how this plays out in the novel.
“People of all nations have the same basic needs: food, protection, education, medicine and leadership. The Ojibwe Clan System was created to ensure these needs were met for the Ojibwe people. There were seven original clans, each with a different responsibility. An animal emblem or totem represented each clan and symbolized the clans strength and duties” (Flett).
Chiefs of Ontario provides these explanations for the Bear and Marten Clans:
The Bear Clan. “The gifts of this clan are considered to be natural strength, stature and a dignified presence. But, what he is noted for is the ability to live in balance with the laws of nature. The Bears understanding of land and nature, then, makes