Thursday, March 11, 2010
Final thoughts about Four Souls
Is this a happy ending? Thinking about today's discussion over again, I now have the feeling that the ending of "Four Souls" is bittersweet. I think its great that they got their precious land, but at the same time, the forces of vengence (from Fleur) and importance of the land really take away from the meaning of ownership. Fleur loses her souls and obligations, like being a mother, because of the need to keep land. This importance makes the land more of an object of property thus giving success to the white developers who would want them to view land as something to be bought, sold, developed, traded, etc. This is a bittersweet ending because it leaves the natives looking more like those they are trying to keep the land away from while being happy with the little cultural autonomy that remains.
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I think that you make a good point in saying that despite the fact that Fleur got her land back she can never undo the western way of thinking about land ownership. I don't know if I necessarily believe that the Native Americans appear more like those that they are trying to keep the land from though. There is something to Margaret's attitude and John James Mausser's presence that might imply that. However, Margaret makes the medicine dress and gives Fleur her new name. Ultimately, I feel that the Native American part of her identity becomes more and more apparent towards the end of the book. Also the fact that John James Mausser II can only find spiritual identity through the Native American people and plays such a vital role in regaining the land left me feeling that the Native Americans were empowered. There are certainly implications about future struggle though.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that Fleur's revenge was motivated by materialism. She wanted her land back so badly that she was willing to kill and destory to get it back. Maybe Fleur was afected by western ways much more than she realized. It took over her soul and led her to do many questionable things, like getting into a relationship with Mauser. Despite all of this, I still do not feel that Fleur was an awful mother. Sure, she drank, but at that time, she probably did not know how it would affect her child. Also, she still tried to patch things up with Lulu, but Lulu did not want to see her. At least she tried.
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out a really good point. I did not really think about how the trading of the land resulted in a loss of cultural value. It's pretty interesting to think about that now actually.
ReplyDeleteI did think about how some cultural values were lost when she became an alcoholic, but never about the land.
I have to a agree with you, about the story having a bittersweet ending, my log has some similar point, but I like the way you interpret the fact that she lost her four souls to be kind of her assimilation to the American Culture. I also think that she isolated herself at the end because maybe she felt ashamed for losing her ethics and chasing something (land) that was not that valuable any more.
ReplyDeleteGood analysis with the cultural anatomy! I definitely agreed that the ending is bittersweet. Throughout this course, we have touched upon land issue as being a sacred space and there exists a bond between the Native Americans and their culture. There's had many conflicts between the Indians and the White men, but like you said, what's important is be happy with the remains of cultural autonomy. This made me think of the analogy to the "glass half full," many things happened for a reason and sometimes it's not always for the best. But it is always important to remember that whatever you choose to accept about what has happened can results in happiness once you realized the possibilities to come.
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