Narrative Point of View in Louise Erdrich's Tracks - MIUSE

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Anthony Piccolo It Comes Up Different Every Time: Narrative Point of View in Louise Erdrich‟s Tracks mouth, she cannot contain her words” (118). What they say, the purpose, and the effect may be diametrically opposed, but there is a similarity in the proclivity for talking. Remarkably and ironically, Nanapush and Pauline occasionally seem to be expressing the same sentiment. John Purdy writes about Pauline‟s “profound revelation” that “[p]ower travels in the bloodlines, handed out before birth” (31). Although Pauline is far from a reliable narrator, Purdy rightly claims that “her insight here is reiterated by other characters, including Nanapush and the community at large, for which the fear and respect for Fleur is ubiquitous” (21). In fact, in what I would deem a relevant mistake, Louis Owens in his book on the American Indian novel, Other Destinies, attributes the line to Nanapush rather than Pauline (215). The statement about power and bloodlines sounds so much like Nanapush that one can hardly blame him for the error. Finally, referring to the rumors and gossip concerning Lulu‟s paternity, “the old men talk[ing], turning the story over,” it is Pauline who proclaims: “It comes up different every time, and has no ending, no beginning. They get the middle wrong too. They only know they don‟t know anything” (T 31). Compare this with Nanapush‟s comment three pages later on how Lulu came to be a Nanapush: “There is a story to it the way there is a story to all, never visible while it is happening” (T 34). 6. Conclusion As we can see from the examples of Nanapush and Pauline, one of the hallmarks of Louise Erdrich‟s writing is a reluctance to provide her readers with pat answers and definitive truths. Nanapush and Pauline‟s values, personalities, and experience of the world may be antithetical; Pauline may be, indeed, the “character we love to hate”; yet, she surprises us at times by speaking what feels to us (and must also to Nanapush) to be true: “power travels in the bloodlines” and those speculating about Lulu “only know they don‟t know anything.” If Erdrich appears purposefully ambiguous on - 131 -
Anthony Piccolo It Comes Up Different Every Time: Narrative Point of View in Louise Erdrich‟s Tracks matters such as Lulu‟s parentage or precisely what we are to make of someone like Pauline, that is exactly the point. The “polyvocal” aspect of Erdrich‟s fiction is one way by which she involves the reader in creating the story. To quote Jeanne Rosier Smith again on the structure of Erdrich‟s novels, the multiple perspectives of Erdrich‟s narratives “draw in the reader as one of the community of listeners” (91). To read a novel such as Tracks or Love Medicine is to become out of necessity an active participant in the tale. It is always going to be up to us, the readers, to negotiate our way through the texts of the novels and ferret out what may be the truth and be satisfied that, at times, the truth will continue to elude us. One of the most representative (and moving) scenes in Tracks comes at the end of chapter three shortly after the birth of Lulu. Father Damien arrives to complete the birth registration for the church records. He needs the father‟s name. Margaret and Fleur are unavailable, so it is up to Nanapush. Before he speaks, though, he reflects on his position as an old man, the last of his clan, with no descendants; he remembers his wives and children who have died from disease and starvation; he tells himself that Eli is still young; he considers the fact that Lulu‟s paternity is already uncertain: There were so many tales, so many possibilities, so many lies. The waters were so muddy. I thought I‟d give them another stir. “Nanapush,” I said. “And her name is Lulu.” (T 61) Nanapush‟s answer is a lie, of course, but it is a fabrication intended to “hold people together” rather than “separate them.” Nanapush feels he has “the opportunity to speak now and the right” (T 61) and his own personal motives (“Lulu” was the nickname given to his youngest daughter, now dead). However, Nanapush‟s lie (which fools no one) also serves the purpose of ensuring that the past connects with the present (and future) by connecting Lulu officially to the tribe and giving her an identity. For the record, she is a Nanapush. - 132 -
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Narrative Point of View in Louise Erdrich's Tracks - MIUSE

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