Native American Paper

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a very western concept. The western culture has integrated in the Native culture. A red convertible is a symbol of American domination and capitalism. It seems like Lyman has a desire to be white. Going further into the story we see that the western influence has spoiled his brother Henry. The war has damaged him but western interventions cannot save him, but only worsen his situation. Lyman seemingly obsessed with the western culture bought his mother a television when Henry was away. The television, a vital symbol of the west, detaches Henry further from people around him. Lyman describes Henry watching television, “He sat in front of it, watching it, and that was the only time he was completely still […] I looked over, and he’d bitten through his lip. Blood was going down his chin” (Erdrich 309, 310). The western influence has made Henry’s native spirit still. It paralyzes him and he seems to want to resist it, but no matter how hard he tries, it seems to have already taken over. In the end Lyman sees that his brother needs Native curing, just as his mother, who tells him that she does not want to send Henry to a white hospital because they will only drug him. Henry chooses to drown himself in the river and becomes one with nature. Lyman sending the red convertible after him symbolizes that he wants to get rid of the western influence. The fact that foreign forces have suppressed the Indians does not mean that the Native American spirit is lost.

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