4.1.1 Joe’s Return to Indian Culture
“Identity is a matter of consciousness,that is of becoming aware of an otherwiseunconscious image of the self”(Assmann 111).Indian adolescents wavering between twocultures were uncertain about the future in the face of a fractured traditional cultural memory.Through constant contact with absent cultural memories and gradually bridging with a fadedhistory,lost memories became solutions to problems and hopes for redemption.Afterexperiencing many obstacles while investigating the case,the main character,Joe,realizedthat the best way to find himself and achieve justice was to seek redemption from tradition.
Chapter V Conclusion
Erdrich is a writer with a strong sense of history.In her writing,a variety of tribalcultural memories are brought to life through cases,stories,myths,and landscapes.As Kurupputs it,The Round House is“like Erdrich’s previous novels,in which the past influences thepresent and foreshadows the future”(Kurup 65).“Through community storytelling andhistorical memory,the characters must decide how to deal with past events in order to moveinto the future,not to forget,but to remember,to acknowledge,to learn,and to heal”(65).Ina global world,American Indian literature,as a part of the world’s literature,carries themission of enriching its history,improving cultural values,and adding to the multiculturaldevelopment of the United States.In recent years,more and more indigenous writers likeErdrich have begun to devote themselves to the creation of Indian cultures.With keen insightand advanced judgment,they have developed a profound and unique understanding of thecurrent global crisis facing humanity,and they have expressed it in the form of literary works.
Unlike previous works,The Round House takes a more political tone.It highlights thehistorical and cultural dilemmas that U.S.laws and policies have created for Indians.Basedon real-life examples,The Round House seeks to reveal that the history of injustices sufferedby American Indians continues to have an impact on the present.For the protagonists of thenovel,they lived on the same land as white people,but they were subjected to extraordinarytreatment,which created a huge psychological gap in their minds.The power and oppressionof the dominant culture have disappointed their expectations for fairness and justice.Thedestruction and rupture of their own culture have plunged them into deep powerlessness.Inthis novel,Erdrich notes the ambivalence of American Indians in these two cultures.
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