Rememberings: The Roots of our Voices
Hamilton/Reis
DUE:
Form:
Heading:
Seminar #1 on Love Medicine (pp. 1-180)
Wednesday, April 14th—as class starts as preparation for your seminar
1-2 pages, typed, 12-point font, double-spaced, edited, proofread, MLA style
See Example and form on the back—always date and number your seminar papers
Purpose: A short seminar paper is preparation for your seminar. Read the assigned pages in
the book, annotate (mark-up/connect with/analyze) the text, and write the paper to fully
participate and learn from the seminar. Your typed paper is due as seminar begins as part of
the group discussion process—late papers won’t meet the goal of being prepared for the seminar
discussion in our learning community. Turn in the paper after the seminar; we will be
evaluating the papers for clarity, answering a question with an idea and explanations, and using
supporting quotations to illustrate your point. Your paper—including the reflection— will
support your participation in the seminar discussion where we emphasize the following:
What does the text say? What does the text mean? Why is the point important?
Assignment: [Assignments may vary over the quarter, so read each one carefully.]
Look at the questions for Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich and decide as you read to focus on
one or two questions in the first half of the novel. Your overall goal as you read critically and
mark up the text is to remember and note the places where you were intrigued, confused, read
words that were beautifully written or found a place where the author is giving you a view of her
world through the characters, setting, themes, point of view, imagery, or symbolism.
Answer one of the questions below with this general form: PIE–Point, Illustration, Explanation—see
the example below of one paragraph from a student, Tom Pouliot, who gave me permission to use his
work. Make a statement that is the point (P) to answer the question, weave your illustrations (I)which
are usually direct quotations to show your point into the explanations (E) and analysis of the idea you
are discussing. In these paragraphs you are answering a questions and showing what the text means.
You must use MLA forms of in-text citation to document the page numbers of your direct
quotations or any close paraphrases. Your writing should weave your quotations into the
explanations carefully and smoothly. {See these paragraphs as pieces of a possible longer essay.}
1. The novel deals extensively with the love-hate relationships between family members. What are some of the
different kinds of familial bonds, positive and negative? What themes are explored through these relationships?
What does this novel suggest about the nature of families? How do these stories evoke the culture of Erdrich’s
characters’ and the place—both physical and psychological—that they inhabit?
2. One theme of the novel is the unavoidable impact of the non-Indian world (for instance, Catholicism, alcohol,
intermarriages, the Vietnam War, capitalism, the legal system) on the Chippewa. How does the interaction with
outsiders affect specific characters? What does the novel suggest about the difficulties and consequences of dealing
with a mixed world? What symbols do you find that represent some of the cultural conflicts or survival techniques
used by the characters in the novel? How do these characters who have mixed Native and European background
search for an identity and representation of their reality in the way they tell their stories?
3. Why do you think Erdrich chose to write her novel in the way she did, using time leaps and a series of different
narrators to recount their own tales? What do you think is gained by this form of narrative? How might the form's
emphasis on individual storytelling relate to the novel's larger themes? How does Erdrich’s use of language, through
symbolism, imagery, metaphors, dialogue, give you a sense of character or a sense of place in her novel?
Reflection: After the question is answered in one or two paragraphs, you may write a reflection about
how you are responding to the novel or what is intriguing or confusing to you. This is the time to talk
about why the ideas in the book are important in our course focused on memory, voice, culture,
family roots, identity, and our growing understanding of these concepts.
Format: Always put the title of the book and seminar number at the top of your page. Write the question
at the left side margin at the top.
Your name
Date
Seminar #1
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
Question: The novel deals extensively with the love-hate relationships between family
members. What are some of those family bonds and how do the characters let you know where
they stand in the relationship?
Marie’s relationship with her mother-in-law, Rushes Bear is stormy. [P=Point] “Although
I’d faced down the raging nun and had no fear of my own relatives, although I wasn’t afraid of the
French priest, although I had slapped away men who came to work on Nector when he was sober, I
was edgy in the presence of Rushes Bear” (Erdrich 97). [MLA in-text citation + I=Illustration] They
face each other down and come to an understanding that allows them to live under the same roof.
Marie is again a hero and conqueror. It is not until Rushes Bear helps deliver Marie’s baby that they
both see what each other is made of and come to respect and accept each other. [E=Explanations]
Rushes Bear tells Nector, her son, that she doesn’t have a son anymore, “only a daughter” (Erdrich
104) [MLA in-text citation] thus cementing their relationship. Rushes Bear is breaking with the caste
system in the community by turning away from her own son and siding herself with a Lazarre
Could be a second paragraph here.
Reflection (Written by Carol as an example)
I found this book confusing at first and then became fascinated with the characters and how
they are connected. I have felt the way that Maria felt when the life she dreamed of as a young girl
turned out to be very different from what she experienced later. I was confused when the author kept
changing the character who was speaking, but then I began to like that we were hearing from different
people. This helped me to think about the concept of voices for our class and how each character has a
different perspective and point of view of the same family, place, or event. This felt much like my
experience of my root family where there are different people who seemed to be accepted with all of
their oddities and history. How can each child in a family have such a different point of view? As I
child I didn’t really pay attention, but now I wish I knew more stories of their lives. ETC.