Louise Erdrich

Background Info

She was born in Little Falls, Minnesota on June 7, 1954

Her mother is French Ojibwe and her father is German American

Before becoming a writer she held various jobs such as: farm worker, waitress, short order cook, lifeguard and construction worker

Studied creative writing at Dartmouth and John Hopkins University She married Michael Dorris, who was also a writer, in 1981 Written 11 novels, many volumes of poetry, children’s books, and a

memoir of early motherhood Her first novel was Love Medicine, which won the National Book

Critics Circle Award She is now living in Minnesota with her daughters

style

Lyrical storytelling imagery In-depth character description Different character narration Use of native languages

Style:Four Souls

“I see her walking up the pale drive constructed for the approach of a carriage (but what would she know of formal conveyance?). I see the negative of her as she stooped to her dark bundle, the image of a question mark set on a page, alone. Or like a keyhole, you could say, sunk into a door locked and painted shut, the deep black figure layered in shawls was more an absence, a slot for a coin, an invitation for the curious, than a woman come to plead for menial work” (12).

– In-depth characterization– descriptive language– Paints a picture for the reader– Mixture and clashing of cultures

Style:The Master Butchers Singing Club

“The train station’s massive brass-trimmed doors swallowed Fidelis with all the others. Easily, the current of people pulled him to the windows of the ticket counter. He waited again in line until he stood before a sharp-mouthed girl whose jaws moved in a rhythm peculiar to people of this city. Fidelis was unfamiliar with chewing gum and the motion of so many jaws made him uneasy” (9).

– Imagery– Personification: “doors swallowed”– Descriptive language– Clashing of cultures

Themes

Loss of tradition– Through assimilation into the white, American culture

Revenge Healing and love Homecoming

– “home is the site of identity and connection”

Parent abandonment– The effects it has on the child

Works cited

Erdrich, Louise. Four Souls. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004 Erdrich, Louise. The Master Butchers Singing Club. New York:

HarperCollins Publishers, 2005 Louise Erdrich. Toni Nelson. 11 September 2000. Netscape Navigator

Gold. 6 January 2008 <http://www.geocities.com/tonnelso/> Louise Erdrich: A Critical Companion. Lorena Laura Stookey. Google

Book Search. 6 January 2008 <http://books.google.com/books?id=_YnPLIF8VbwC>

Louise Erdrich- biography, plus book review & excerpts. 6 August 2005. BookBrowse. 6 January 2008 <http://

www.bookbrowse.com> Reading Groups- Guide and Discussion of New and Favorite Books.

Harper Collins. Readinggroups.co.uk. 6 January 2008 <http://www.readinggroups.co.uk/books/default.aspx?id

=34002>