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Alex Storer
Professor K. Klein
History 127
2 October 2001
Success of the Autobiographical Perspective
The melting pot is an incredible entity, absorbing native identities and replacing
them with an all-encompassing title: American. In Sarris’s novel Weaving the Dream, he
focuses in part on his own identity and its intersections with that of world-renowned
basket weaver Mabel McKay. In theory, he combines the introspection and selfdiscovery of an autobiography with a portrait of ancient traditions succeeding in modern
Western society. Although Sarris fails to compose an effective autobiography, his
attempts at such give a more complete portrait of McKay.
The tone with which Sarris interjects his own feelings is trite and annoyed,
contributing to a weakened personal narrative. From the outset, he complains about
losing his Honda’s “new-car smell” (Sarris, 1994, p. 4) due to Mabel’s smoking. While
many could see this as a rational complaint, Mabel’s status as an Indian doctor and
world-renowned basket weaver highlights the insignificance of a car’s odor. One
purpose of introducing himself as slightly annoyed with Mabel could be to give her more
human qualities, to bring her down to Earth from her lofty life and achievements. Even
so, one clear side effect of this characterization is the reader’s negative view of Sarris.
As the book continues, Sarris fails to disconnect himself from the image of a busy,
irritable academic. The book is rife with commentary from Sarris, regardless of whether
or not it furthers the story. One particularly flippant thought that Violet “could take out
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her pink foam curlers” (58) only furthers this notion that Sarris’s observation is
unimportant and unnecessary. Even if he only includes it to lighten the book, it sets a
precedent for future commentary. Similarly, he disdains driving Mabel on her long
journeys and makes sarcastic remarks to himself. As Mabel speaks of a song that she
knows, Sarris sarcastically asks to himself “why [doesn’t she] sing it” (51). Once again,
such irritable commentary would be tolerable were he dealing with a less remarkable
historical figure, yet its very juxtaposition with such a person reveals much about
Mabel’s personality. Before going into his more redeeming qualities, Sarris brands
himself as at least partially annoying and ungrateful. Even comments that have
importance for Sarris are disregarded as petty and selfish. After seeing some Indians he
had met before, Sarris notes tersely “no one remembers me” (52). At this point in the
novel, his comment radiates indulgent self-pity, although in the scope of the entire novel,
Sarris most likely wanted to show his lack of importance in his own Indian community.
This assumption follows from the self-interested remarks in the previous chapters
regarding unimportant issues. Any attempts to reveal more about his character are certain
to be clouded by this description and clearly detract from a cogent autobiographical
account.
The book’s primary focus on Mabel detracts from Sarris and his own voyage of
self-discovery. At many points in the book, Mabel does something enigmatic, which
causes Sarris to contemplate her reasoning, when in actuality, the reader could learn
something about Greg through the process. After pointing out that Greg could write her
book, she “chuckles” and Sarris reflects whether or not she’s “poking fun” at him (126).
From this perspective, the reader clearly looks at Mabel and, like Sarris, attempts to
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decipher her unique actions. On the other hand, Mabel could be hinting at Greg’s Indian
heritage or the nature of their own unique relationship. A similar situation arises when
she asks Greg to get his tape recorder (60). The reader wonders why Mabel would
request a tape recorder after openly showing her scorn of them. Similarly, it could show
Sarris’s success, or lack thereof, of being Indian. In this case, Sarris himself
contemplates his reception, but there is still considerable ambiguity in the situation as to
what it reveals about whom, and invariably the emphasis is placed on Mabel rather than
Sarris. The fact that the majority of the book shines the spotlight on Mabel detracts from
the less blatant autobiographical sections. Additionally, the sheer volume of material
exclusively reflecting on Mabel makes it difficult to focus on Sarris. His brief
appearances in the book seem transient, and the reader is always left expecting more
about Mabel. Greg is introduced as the one to deliver Mabel’s tale, and his own history
takes a clear back seat to this.
Similarly, the shifting point of view makes it difficult to pay attention to Greg as a
significant player in the story. There are two main voices making up the book, each one
serving to reveal an aspect of Mabel’s diverse character. A third person omniscient voice
emerges to describe McKay’s extensive family history, and Sarris segregates himself
completely from this voice. Even as it gives a storybook air to Mabel’s life, it wholly
omits Greg himself. The other perspective from which the story is told is unabashedly
Greg’s; he views Mabel with his own eyes, and comments on her actions without a hint
of objectivity. While some could argue that this is sufficient to generate a wealth of
autobiographical material, the fact of the matter is that, with the exception of the final
pages, the focal point is unquestionably Mabel. Even as Sarris interjects his most
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personal details, they fit awkwardly with Mabel’s detached historical narrative.
Additionally, Sarris is simply a less interesting character than Mabel. Any book
containing both, especially one with a great deal more coverage of McKay would
certainly fail to capture the complexities and depth of Greg’s cultural identity. The
shifting point of view from which the story is told detracts from Sarris’s personal
narrative, yet simultaneously adds to McKay’s.
Clearly, Sarris’s decision to bring himself into a biography regarding Mabel
McKay provides a fresh perspective on Mabel, enabling him to paint a more complete
picture of her incredible life and enigmatic actions. Yet even this perspective and
commentary are not enough to compile a successful autobiography of Sarris. Although
he provides a good example of fusion of myriad cultures with 20th Century society, his
experiences are too limited in this novel to merit the title of autobiography. Even if it
fails as a personal memoir, it succeeds admirably in terms of describing McKay. Her life
merits more than one perspective, and her unique persona is well described by Greg, even
if he inserts more of his own character than is completely necessary. Mabel McKay
serves to represent the survival of Indian culture and identity in Western society, and
Sarris’s methods of describing this are impeccable.