Love Medicine

Love Medicine
In addition to being victims of poverty, these female protagonists also suffer as victims of their
gender. In her book, Feminist Readings of Native American Literature: Coming to Voice, Katherine
M. Donovan wrote, "Although [Native American women] face many of the same problems as their
male counterparts – alcoholism, drug abuse, unemployment, poverty, suicide, loss of tradition and
identity – they also face problems that are distinctly female–gendered: a loss of power and esteem in
formerly matrilineal cultures; the trauma of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse from Native
and non–Native men" (Donovan 18) First Nation women had very few rights in the 1900s and their
issues drew very little attention. Even today, many First Nation's women are murdered and raped
without much police or media attention. In the 1940s until the 1980s, the setting of these books,
their rights and attention to their issues would have been even fewer, and many men will have taken
advantage of First Nation women. Love Medicine highlights how male characters will take ... Show
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She allows men to control every aspect of her life, from her income to her activities. In the
beginning of the first chapter, June is on her way back to the reservation, however, she sees a man in
a bar who, "rapped at her from inside the window" (1) and "hooked his arm, inviting her to enter"
(1). The ease of which he convinces her to come into the bar demonstrates how little she respects
herself. June's lack of self–respect evokes pity from the reader, as it comes from her lack of self–
confidence and lack of self–esteem. This image is furthered when she allows Andy, the man at the
bar, to have sex with her because she thought "he could be different" (3), despite the fact that he
doesn't know her name, and has no regard for her. Again, her lack of self–esteem develops pity and
sympathy for her character as she walks to her own death.
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Women In Erdrich's Love Medicine
There are many powerful women in Erdrich's novel Love Medicine that play crucial roles in the
function and development of the story. They shape the lives of not only their children but also their
men, some of whom are leaders of the reservation they call home. There are three particular women
that stand out due to their immense strength, struggling pasts, and family roles: Marie, Rushes Bear,
and Lulu. These women independently raise their families with little to no help from the men in
their lives. First of these three to share her story is Marie. Her torturous childhood experience in the
Sacred Heart Convent was one of her many struggles. In reference to the "Dark One," who we
assume is the devil, Marie says, "I only shrugged at the flowers of hell. He wanted me. More than
anything ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
As previously noted, she is passionate and power–hungry. There isn't as much on her background as
the other two women, but she has a lot of interaction with Marie, as her mother–in–law, and Lulu, as
her aunt. According to Marie, she caused quite a bit of extra financial troubles for their family.
While she's shopping, she says, ". . . we needed money for the special things that Rushes Bear liked"
(96). Towards the beginning of the story she seems rude and selfish, but as the plot progresses, a
softer more sensitive side to her is revealed. Rushes Bear helps Marie deliver her baby, and after
seeing all the pain Marie went through, she stands up for her while Rushes Bear's son, Nector, is
showing no compassion for Marie. She confronts her son by saying, "I only have a daughter. . . You
never heard any wail out of her, any complaint. You never would know this birth was hard enough
for her to die" (101). This shows that if a woman can relate to another, they will stand by them;
these women protect each other even though they have their differences. Rushes Bear is a strong
woman that knows what she wants and can take care of herself, and she sees that in

Love Medicine Analysis
Domestic violence is present across America, but the role it has taken in the lives of Native
American women is most troubling as it can be harder to track. Tribal sovereignty can at times act as
a shield for violence. The independent nature of tribes as nations can impede systems established to
prevent reoccurring actions of violence within a society. However, as domestic violence is largely a
result of societal systems, it is easiest and most thoroughly examined through narratives. Louise
Erdrich provides this in Love Medicine. The multi faceted perspectives provide an analysis of the
lives of Ojibwe people. As a reoccurring presence of Native American life, domestic violence is
displayed with repetition, ready to be examined through ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
No more are women welcome to be respected shaman, religious leaders: "Thus, the primary role of
this education for Indian girls was to inculcate patriarchal norms and desires into Native
communities, so that women would lose their places of leadership in Native communities" (Smith,
Boarding 90). Marie demonstrates this when she views her noteworthy accomplishments through
the position her husband has attained (Erdrich 153–154). In an Anglicized society, Marie's
accomplishments of raising children is negligible compared to what her husband can achieve. Marie
has internalized this status and cannot see the value in anything she has done to be proud of. Gordie
was raised by a woman who has lost her sense of accomplishment and might have grown to be blind
to the accomplishments of the women around them. The Anglo's historical belief of gender
hierarchy is problematic as negative attitudes toward women are a stronger indicator for domestic
violence than alcohol (Mildorf 29). The gender roles weren't just limited to social power, but were
further expressed through physical dominance. This was translated by the Native American
children's experiences at boarding school, where school leaders showed dominance through physical
abuse in addition to the psychological indoctrination. "Sexual, physical, and emotional violence was
rampant. Even when teachers were charged with abuse, boarding schools

Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine
Although I've only read the first couple chapters of Louise Erdrich's novel Love Medicine, I have
already realized that I am going to like this book. My only dislike thus far is that her detailed and
figurative writing style can cause confusion at times, for example when she switches from character
to character or includes various names every other paragraph. I find myself at times having to read
certain lines again so I can actually understand what is going on or who is speaking. Also, in chapter
two there are many characters, which can make it somewhat difficult to know and remember who is
who within the storyline. Although at times her choice of words or the plot can confuse me, I took
an AP Literature as a senior in high school; we had

Love Medicine Louise Eldrich Analysis
In the story, "Love Medicine", the author, Louisa Eldrich, uses symbols and the Turkey heart is
representative of many things presented in the story; Such as Grandpa's outlook on life, his
relationship with Grandpa, Lulu and his battle with Alzheimer's. The turkey hearts represent
grandpa's outlook on life.
Grandpa's outlook on life regarding his relationship with Grandma is that he didn't want a second
chance. There was no romance between them anymore. He did not find Grandma pretty anymore. In
the text, it describes Grandma to a house: " sagged and buldged on her slipped foundation." ( pg
297) She wasn't as pretty to him as Lulu Lamartine was. The Turkey Heart was given to Grandpa
and Grandma to mend their broken relationship. He was pressured to keep their relationship alive.
The hearts also represents their relationship in another way. It's representative of Grandpa's
faithfulness, and maybe if he ate it he would only be loyal to Grandma again. He was also facing a
battle with Alzheimer's.
Grandpa was not willing to live his life out ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He started going to Lulu's to "cure' his sickness. She may not be good for him relationship, but she
is therapeutic in healing him. Her energy is the healing that Grandpa needs. In addition, because he
viewed her as prettier, he fell in love with her looks. Not because of her personality, but solely based
on physical appearance and beauty. Once he saw her with the wig, he was mortified, and he didn't
like her anymore as well. That shows that he prefers things that are fake and materialistic. It's almost
as if he's reverting back to the life he could have had as a movie star. Since he had been married to
Grandma for a long time, and the romance was practically gone, he did not view his infidelity as a
wrongdoing. I am sure since there was no romance, as well, he just viewed Grandma as a sister and
so he did not think anything of

Summary Of The Character Of Louise Erdrich's Novel Tracks
Characterization is the development and presentation of the personality of a character, usually
through actions, speech, reputation, appearance, and the author's attitude toward this person.
Readers see characterization in Louise Erdrich's novel Tracks, mostly, with the character Pauline.
Throughout the Erdrich's novel Tracks all the characters lose their families, grow up and change, the
most notable change seen in the novel is the one seen with Pauline. Readers will watch Pauline
struggle through difficult stages in her life that alters her mental health and her perspective of things.
Pauline's character develops throughout Tracks as she deals with jealousy, shuns her Indian heritage
and goes through a religious transformation. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This was an act of spite because Pauline is jealous. After forcing Sophie and Eli to have sex she lies
to Bernadette about what actually happened in the woods saying, "I told her my suspicious – I
pretended to guess – but it was Sophie herself who convinced Bernadette my words were true."(85)
After this Pauline "comes clean" to Bernadette which was just more lies to protect herself proving
that she is an unreliable narrator (86). Her jealousy of Fleur shows character development because
Pauline starts as a plain, invisible girl and transforms into being lustful and powerful.
Another thing in the novel Tracks by Louise Erdrich that promotes character development is Pauline
being a mixed–blood Indian. Pauline thinks that the white people are better off. At the beginning of
the novel Pauline asks her father to live in the white town because she wanted to be more like her
Canadian mother (14). Pauline's father sends her off to Argus to work in a butcher shop. While she's
in Argus Pauline works with Fleur, whom she's afraid of. She's afraid of Fleur because of her
magical powers (12). Pauline later in the novel Tracks uses magical powers to create a love potion
that she uses on Eli and Sophie (86). These magical powers are Native American custom and
although Pauline wants to be fully white the Native American heritage holds her. After giving birth
to Marie, Pauline is

Love Medicine Kashpaw Character Analysis
People can be quick to judge others without knowing the struggles and challenges they have faced.
In the novel Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, the characters are quick to judge June Kashpaw
without understanding the challenges she has faced and her resilience against these challenges. The
author uses her homeland, culture, family, physical description, psychological profile and her
relationship with others to allow the readers to see a resilient and positive side of June Kashpaw.
The author allows her readers to know the culture of June by describing the importance her cultural
background throughout the novel. The author also demonstrates the loving side of June through her
family members memories of her. Alike her family's opinions of her, she is shown to have gone
through many struggles in her life and her resilience is ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Louise Erdrichs novel Love Medicine is a novel with many characters who are quick to judge one
specific character: June Kashpaw. Using Junes homeland, culture, family, physical descriptoion,
psychological profile and how others view her the author allows her readers to view June as a
resilient and strong woman. The author talks about June's culture and homeland to allow us to get to
know June better as a character. The importance of June's family members is relevant when the
author uses these characters to show June's past and strong mind. June's physical and psychological
profile show resiliency of a strong–hearted woman. How others view June and their opinions of her
show that June is a woman who has been through many tough times and always pushed to get
though even if she hurt people on the way. Although June was criticized often throughout the novel,
it is shown that June was a woman who had endured a lot of her pain and hurt in her lifetime
however; she continued to do what she needed to do to protect

In Love Medicine Character Analysis
In Love Medicine there is there is various types of oppression towards Lulu and Marie for example,
usually the oppression is aimed at the culture that they grew up with, the race that character pertains
to, and the type of religion they follow. The way how characters are being oppressed is interpreted
by the reader using the Feminism School of Literary Criticism. While the use of how these two
different cultures interact was meant on purpose by Edrich, and it allowed the Cultures to foil each
other. In the book the reader is introduced to the different families and how they interact, there are
differences but they do stick together and share a lot of similarities. While throughout the book there
are various conflicts with the White culture and their form of government. The two characters that
most represents that is Marie and Gerry, these two revolve in how they are treated by the people
around them. When Marie entered the family when she married Nector she was shunned by people
because she was ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The Native Americans all had their own religion and the author keeps them believing in that
religion. Though conflicts appears with introduction of the Catholic religion in the story. The two
characters that symbolize these religions are Lulu and Marie. Lulu has a strong connection to the
Chippewa religion since in the time she met Moses she knew how to speak the language well
enough. All of her sons usually express their culture well enough and they get from her since she
raised all of them by herself. The foil to Lulu is Marie since she always has a conflict with Lulu,
from all the times her and Nector are in a problem. Marie was introduced early on in the book when
she used to live with Sister Leopolda, she was always portrayed as a saintly person. Nector in the
chapter Love Medicine when he is praying instead of saying "Saint Mary" he is actually saying
"Saint

Love Medicine Essay
Love Medicine Since the beginning of colonization of America, there has been the problem of
dealing with the indigenous people of the land. After the first attempts in eradicating the population,
the American government changed its policy to integration. It is this integration into white society
and the severance from the
Indian culture that causes disenfranchisement in the modern Indian reservation.
In Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine, the contradictory efforts to isolate the Native
Americans on reservations and to make "regular" Americans of them are seen over roughly a fifty–
year period. The Morrisseys, Kashpaws, Lamartines,
Lazarres and others must define their relations to alien religions, customs, economic realities, and ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Lipsha also grows up without knowing of his ancestry and therefore feels incomplete. Added to the
stress of this, Lipsha also feels detached from the white society by having the ability to use the old
Indian medicines. Yet through the latter part of the book, Lipsha finds redemption from his
disenfranchisement by finding the identity of his parents and accepting his talent. It is after he
discovers this information that Lipsha crosses the river water and steps into his new existence.
The character of Henry Junior not only illustrates the loneliness of not knowing one's father, but also
of not belonging to the majority race of one's country. Henry Junior is one of the seemingly infinite
amount of sons which resulted from Lulu Lamartine's "friendliness". Due to this renowned trait of
Lulu,
Henry Junior was never quite sure who his father was. Yet Henry felt no connection with his
fatherland either. In fact, fighting for the white man's war in
Vietnam was inevitably the cause for Henry Junior's death. The atrocities committed during the war
were never forgotten by Henry Junior's conscience and it isn't until his suicide in the river that his
guilt and alienation is lifted.
The intervention of so–called "western" culture to the Indian population of
North America has created a society of indigenous people that

Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich Summary
Tracks and Love Medicine, both by Louise Erdrich, are only fragments of a much larger collection
of Erdrich's Native American works. Both pieces of literature are set in the early to mid–twentieth
century and revolve around difficulties the Native American people go through in their struggle of
preserving their culture and ways of life. Native American literature invokes a taste of modern
influence alongside traditional Indian mythology to truly thicken a plot. Ancestral values are evident
throughout this specific type of literature as well as the idea of balance within the world to create a
true native atmosphere. Furthermore, there are major themes within this type of literature including
Christian influence, family, and reservations. These all tie into the life of a Native American. Each
major work explores the world of Native Americans through its narration, characters, and the overall
plot. To begin, the narration of the novels is one of many ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
The main difference between the two is the setting and the mythology brought up. Tracks is set in
1912 to 1924 in North Dakota while Love Medicine jumps from 1934 and 1948 to the 1980s. Each
setting though ties into the overall structure of the novels. The jumping around gives depth and
history that adds to the reader's experience. Mythology is then another differing factor. Mythology
and lore are used all throughout Tracks. The main plot and characters focus around Lake
Matchimanito that is said to hold a deadly monster. It was told simply to scare children but after
men turn up dead, it's taken too seriously within the Native American community. Love Medicine
doesn't include that big of a legend within its pages. It revolves around one little potion that is
known as Love Medicine. It's a small piece of mythology but unlike the Monster of Lake
Matchimanito, it doesn't take up an entire

Summary Of Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich
Story Telling in a Native American Paassion
In the novel "Love Medicine" written by Louise Erdrich, Erdrich covers multiple stories, and her
main focus on the story "The Red Convertible" is to reveal her style in writing after being part
German and Native American. Louise was born to her father Ralph Erdrich which told many stories
throughout her childhood which pushed her into becoming the writer she is today. Where
storytelling had become an important part of her life style. Her mother Rita Erdrich came from the
indigenous group, the Ojibwe which was a huge influence on her life. Her mother and her
grandmother also played a role in making her the writer she is today giving her the inspiration to
write about the reservation life as she does in her novel. In her academic career, Lousie Erdrich
attended Dartmouth College and received her master's Degree at Johns Hopkins University. Louise
pursued her interest in storytelling and wrote stories that many readers believed were not hers to ...
She had said that when writing a story, she could hear he character talk before she had even begin
writing them out in the story. Although there had been talk from other writers that she was not a true
Native American. In the article "The American Indian Fiction Writers," Elizabeth Cook–Lynn asks,
"How can one be a tribal nationalist and 'set the pace' if one claims no connection to the land in
one's personal life or in one's fiction." According to Native American literature she is not a true
Native American writer and does no justice to Native American storytelling (Dutta pg.1). Explains
how "The Red Convertible" tells otherwise and has some aspects of her native writing with the
television set that was a symbol of western influence. The colored TV that was in the story was the
only thing that had kept Henry

Theme Of Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich
In "Love Medicine", family is of major importance. Before the book even starts, there is a family
tree between two families emphasizing the importance of family. Family is someone close someone
considers to be related. Family isn't always blood related and blood relatives could mean less to
someone than close friends considered family. Theme is a main idea or subject of a talk or piece of
writing. In Louise Erdrich's, "Love Medicine" the theme would be that we need family to escape and
escape from and knowing your heritage is important.
In "Love Medicine", the characters use their family to escape from their problems, but also need to
escape from them because they cause many problems. There are many issues within two families
and between the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Stealing sacred linen fits what I know of that blood..." (Erdrich 62). Nector judges Marie based on
her family heritage and treats her like scrum at first. He assumes she is stealing valuables from the
nuns at the church and decides he is going to attack her and be a hero for returning the "stolen
goods".
Family and names are of great importance throughout the stories.
The reason for this theme was to push that family is important. Most people aren't as close to their
families anymore. More people don't care or think about their family anymore, only thinking about
themselves. It also is to show that your actions affect others. If a child does something bad it makes
the child seem bad and also the rest of the family bad. It gives a bad reputation to everyone. These
days, people don't seem to either know or care that they're not only making themselves bad, but their
family name a bad image. It also is to show that you're family may be terrible at times, but they will
almost always be there for you. " I go down on me
Young 3 knees, a man of rags and tinder. I am ready to be burned in the fire, too, but she reaches
down and lifts me up (Erdrich 145). In this, Zelda helps her father and brings her back to her

My Love For Medicine
Throughout my life, there have been several important experiences which have influenced my desire
to pursue medicine. These include having a potentially cancerous mole on my ankle at the age of
three, my love for science and academics beginning in elementary school, the desire to help people,
giving back to the community, and to be a role model for others in the pursuit of their own dreams.
Although not one of these experiences in itself led to my pursuit of medicine, I believe they all have
influenced me in a way that compelled me to obtain a greater desire for the study of medicine. Had
one of these memories not existed, I may not be in the same position as I am today with applying to
medical schools. Nonetheless, I have known since a young age that medicine was going to be the
right choice for me, whether through my love of it or through intuition, but there were several
memories along the way that helped solidify this passion. Medicine has always been my plan A and
plan B because it has always intrigued me. Although other professions may seem exciting at times,
my love for science and helping others has made medicine be the right choice for me always. One of
my first memories, and definitely my first medically relevant memory, occurred when I was just
three. I remember going into the dermatologist with my mom to have my moles looked at. As a three
year old, my understanding of dermatology was zero. Well, as we went to the doctor for the first
time that I remember, I

Personal Statement Essay: My Love For Medicine
'What is a dream but that which keeps you awake during the darkest of all nights!'
Braving the emotional turmoil of a community forced into exile, the financial insecurities of a
middle class family and enduring with equanimity the scepticism a girl still has to face for her
education in my part of the world, it has been my dream of becoming a doctor, raging like a fire,
driving me forwards. I have put all my effort and time into a professional goal I believe will enable
me to make a difference to the society, going beyond the constraints of socio–cultural differences
and today I finally see myself knocking at the doors of success, hoping you will open it for me.
My love for medicine began at a relatively young age, encouraged by my cousin, ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
It was my mentor who introduced me to Internal Medicine, a world of limitless possibilities where
knowledge and human lives are at constant interplay, encompassing all the aspects of a human being
together. The wide expanse of knowledge, the ability to connect to people on a more personal level,
the understanding of human emotions and sufferings and the role of clinical judgement in allaying
them, all were answers to my questions and in consonance with myself. I feel internal medicine
plays a crucial part in forming the base of clinical medicine as a physician is usually the first person
that introduces a patient to the medical world. I would watch with pride as a patient was discharged
after recovery and became a husband or a brother or someone's daughter returning to their loved
ones. The beauty of internal medicine lies in the fact that not only will I remain a student all my life
but play the role of a teacher as well as sometimes even a simple task of educating a patient could
help the patient live a healthier life, prevent unnecessary expenses and remove anxiety and stigma
associated with diseases.
I attended extra rotations and spent my evenings with the patients, often talking to them for hours as
they spoke at length about their lives and how diseases altered them, thus imbibing the virtues of
being patient

Lippsha Morrissey Excerpt Of Love Medicine
In the excerpt of Love Medicine, Lipsha Morrissey tries so desperately to repair his grandparents'
broken marriage. He is an extraordinary, dynamic character both with pros and cons. It is evident he
has his family's best interest at heart; however, him caring so much leads to negligence with his
"love medicine." Because Lipsha is in love with the idea of love, he tries relentlessly, albeit
carelessly, to get his grandparents back together. Lipsha is aware he possesses special powers. He
uses this to his advantage by finding a "love medicine" that will bring his grandparents back
together. His motivation for this is the fact that he is utterly enamored with love. Lipsha devises a
plan: he must shoot a goose, retrieve the heart, and have

Love Medicine Character Analysis
Beauty is traditionally defined as a concept that focuses on a combination of qualities such as shape,
color or form that pleases the aesthetic sense, especially the sight. With this interpretation there is a
general standard to what is "beautiful" and what is not that is appealing to everyone. However, there
has been an increase in the belief that the judgement of beauty is relative to different individuals
and/or cultures and that there are no universal criteria of beauty. Within the novel, Love Medicine,
written by Louise Erdrich, there is an emphasis on the more novel conceptualization of beauty.
Beauty still induces attraction, but what has changed is what is considered attractive. The stories,
The World's Greatest Fisherman and Wild Geese ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
At the beginning of the story, Nector Kashpaw describes his love for Lulu Nanapush. He has
decided that she is the only one that he desires and while walking discusses the features he loves
most about her. He thinks about "...those damn eyes of hers, sharp as icepicks, and the curl of her
lip..." while portraying her figure as "...round and plush, yet at the edge of slim..." He notices "...the
gleam on her hair, the flash of her arm, the sly turn of hip." Nector's love for Lulu pulls from her
physical attributes. From her sharp eyes all the way to her sly hips, his love for her derives from
what aesthetically pleases his eyes. As the story progresses, Nector sees Marie Lazarre barreling
down the hill he is walking on. Initially he decides to bring Marie back to the convent and the
Sisters because he believed she stole sacred linen and could retrieve a money reward. As Nector
tries to pick her up and carry her off, they result in a physical altercation and end up rolling around
on the ground and exchanging insults and blows. Nector eventually pins Marie down, but
immediately after he views her in a different light. While laying on her, in an erotic position, he
views Marie as a woman and forgets his crush on Lulu. Before and throughout Nector and Marie's
quarrel, Nector describes her prevalently with nature imagery. He illustrates "her brown eyes
[glazing] over like a wounded mink's, hurt but still fighting vicious" and her body as "...rail–tough
and pale as birch..." Despite the distasteful description of Marie superficially, he still felt attracted to
her enough to want to form a deep primal connection. Nector demonstrates that he still found an
appeal to Marie despite her incomparableness to Lulu; in fact he completely disregarded his
previous feelings to Lulu after Marie's and Nector's sexual encounter. Marie's beauty differed from
Lulu's and yet Nector felt the

Analysis Of Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich
Faith is an exceptionally broad term. It can imply more than a few things. It could be confidence or
trust in a person or thing, or belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion, or belief in
anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, fidelity, etc. There are plenty of different
definitions, but what they all have in common is the idea of believing. Belief is what guides us
through life, having faith is essential and brings good to our lives. It helps us reach our goals in life,
it aids us when we're sick, it gives us something to live for when we have nothing else. Love
Medicine, by Louise Erdrich, genuinely illustrates that having faith leads to growth and personal
fulfillment, while lacking faith can conduct things ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
I would have to agree, he did believe the love medicine would work and rekindle Grandpa's
relationship with grandma. Even Lipsha believed that his medicine failed, however, Grandma says
otherwise. About a week after they bury Grandpa, Lipsha enters Grandma's room to talk to her. She
explains to him that Grandpa is not completely gone, she can still feel his presence. "'It's the love
medicine, my Lipsha,' she said. 'It was stronger than we thought. He came back even after death to
claim me to his side.'" (Erdrich, P. 296). She elucidates to Lipsha that the love medicine had brought
Grandpa's spirit back to Grandma. Lipsha feels Grandpa's presence as well after that and begins to
tell grandpa to leave this world, and to rest in peace. Grandpa was never able to say goodbye and
Grandma believes that the love medicine had brought Grandpa back once more to embrace her and
remind her how much he loved her. Even though the Love medicine killed Grandpa, it did, however,
bestow the love Grandma sought after from him. This was the true purpose behind the medicine.
Lipsha later states, that it wasn't the love medicine that brought him back, but his true feelings for
Grandma that did. The maturity that Lipsha has in this situation really shows how he has grown as a
person. Instead of taking credit, and going along with the idea that his love

Analysis Of The Book ' Stepdaughters ' And ' Love Medicine...
Family
"Stepdaughters" and "Love Medicine"
Family is interpreted many different ways by many different people. In these two stories
"Stepdaughters" by Max Apple and "Love Medicine" by Louise Erdrich, we will view the family
dynamics differences and similarities. In the story "Stepdaughters" our author paints a very vivid
image of a broken family. Starting with the death of our character Stephanie's father when she was a
very small child, but also the fact that her mother Helen had remarried several times clues us in to
their incompletion as a whole family. Apple clearly states the newest stepdad saying, "I'm stepdad
number three trying to stay on the sidelines" (129).A nonparticipant parent would suggest that he
really is not sure if he is going to be around to much longer. In our story "Love Medicine" our
author also paints an image of a broken family. Our character Lipsha comes from a dysfunctional
background only to be cared for in what may seem to others as a dysfunctional situation as well.
Starting out as a youth he was told his mother did not want him, only to be cared for by someone
who never lets him forget he was rescued by her. Grandma Kashpaw would tell him "he was the
biggest waste on the planet and she saved him from his mother who wanted to drown him. Lipsha
felt there was not that many thank you left to be said" (Erdrich 376). Although our two stories have
images of broken homes. "Stepdaughters" shows genuine love between Stephanie and her mother

Love Medicine Essay
"Marie's Individuality" What is Love medicine? Love Medicine is a fiction novel by Louise Erdrich.
The book is based on Native American stories, which cover three generations, fifty years, several
families, and there are many relationships. Love Medicine is a collection of short fiction stories of
"people that are living on Chippewa reservation in North Dakota". Louise Erdrich makes the story
with use of flashback. Love Medicine is not on particularly one theme but there are some stories on
other themes such as, true identity, religion, family, love etc. Love Medicine is the creative
formation of stories and characters which allow for the original creation of love. Each character
exposes his or her individuality ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
At fourteen years old, when she decides to enter the Catholic school system, even though she is the
only Native American girl there. As a young girl, Marie aspires to rise to the stature of the nuns who
live in the convent on the hill. This is how; Marie is ambitious to find her new identity. In addition,
Marie's braveness comes out the way she deals with Sister Leopolda who is an old grizzled nun with
an uncanny sixth sense for the presence of the devil. When Marie arrives and starts taking classes,
she faces total opposition from Sister Leopolda. Sister Leopolda sometimes sniffs devil out of the
dark corners of her classroom. Marie spends time performing chores for the nun but Sister Leopolda
teaches her that she will always struggle to keep the devil out of her heart. Marie's success at the
convent is dependent on her relationship with Sister Leopolda. For Marie, her struggle against the
nun is a larger than life; battle of good versus evil. Marie believes that she stands out from the rest of
the students. What begins as Marie's fear of the devil's influence becomes a more complex
understanding of how a fear can coexist with desire. Sister Leopolda soon becomes a stand in for the
devil as she and Marie face off with each other. At first, Marie is abused only mentally by Sister
Leopolda, but later on she is physically abused. For example, one day Sister Leopolda stabs Marie
through the hand and

Medicine And I Were Not Love At First Sight
Medicine and I were not really love at first sight. In fact, medicine would dress up as an Oncologist
and drop me off to school every morning, but still no love. If anything, I hated it since I would see
sick and sad people as I would wait on my father to finish his clinic on our way home. To me these
patients were nothing more than a hurdle between me and my Nintendo and Sega. It was during one
of those traffic jams on our way home that my emotions boiled over and I blurted out, "What is it
that you do, delay the inevitable. Make their existence more painful and miserable as they wait on
becoming a worm buffet. Torture them with your chemicals and radiations until they blink eternally.
What?" I am glad I wasn't my father that day or I would have lost it, Medicine aka dad did not. That
day, he should have given me a piece of his minds but instead he opted for giving me a piece of his
heart. Having gone through the motions of school and feeling lost all along, I had finally found the
path in my life, that too in the most unlikely of places... a traffic jam.
Life just switched gears. A lot of hard work went into getting from that traffic jam to medical school.
Basic science years taught me all about the structure and function of the miracle that is the human
body. Clinical rotations taught me that there was a lot more to that structure and function then I
thought, and what I was taught. The more I learnt the more I felt I needed to learn. An unquenchable
thirst, at times

My Love Of Medicine
I was born and raised in Sudan, which located in North Africa, and I enjoyed my childhood there. I
spent most of the time outdoors exploring the environment and interacting with different the
creatures around me, which fostered my curiosity. When I was seven years old, my younger brother
suffered a second–degree burn that affected a large area of his body. He was admitted to the hospital
and spent 14 days in the burn unit. I was fascinated by the doctors who took care of him, and their
ability to ease patients' pain and cure their illnesses. Since then, I have admired and respected
doctors and decided to become a passionate doctor myself. My love of medicine grew with me day
by day until I finally enrolled in the medical school. During my study at medical school, I took
every opportunity I had to increase my depth of knowledge, strengthen my clinical skills, and
develop professionally with the goal of becoming an excellent doctor. I enjoyed learning medicine
and I actively participated in case presentations, as well as research activities. Even as a student, I
was active in teaching my junior students. I did well on the academic side and I actually earned the
prize of Pediatrics in the final year, which awarded to the top ranked student. Moreover, I also
involved in extracurricular activities, I volunteered in multiple community programs, delivering free
clinics, health education, and free children vaccination campaigns to rural areas.
After graduating, I worked as

Analysis Of Louise Erdrich 's ' Love Medicine ' Essay
In Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, the characters all face societal expectations that shape their
identities and actions, including ideas about their lives as Native Americans and as women. One
character who encounters these expectations is Lulu Lamartine, who experiences shaming because
of her traditionalist view of Chippewa life, relationships with multiple men, and children with
different fathers. However, she is fueled by love and her heritage as a Chippewa, which guide her to
contradict the assumptions about her life, often directly and in the face of gossip. In the course of the
novel, Lulu defies expectations in her reactions to the government's purchase of their land, her
defiance of the community's shaming of her many romantic relationships, and the leadership of her
children. As a result of Lulu's acceptance of her identity as a Native American that others do not
have themselves and do not expect from her, Lulu is more inspired to fight against the government's
payment for their land. While other characters struggle to accept their heritage, Lulu is proud of her
identity as a Chippewa. For example, her first love is with Moses Pillager. Moses Pillager is
entrenched within traditional Native American stories and traditions, causing her family to
disapprove of him, especially as a "...windigo! His grandfather ate his own wife!" (75). When Lulu
is with him on the island, she hears him "...speaking in the old language, using words that few
remember, forgotten, lost to

Analysis Of Louise Erdrich 's ' Love Medicine ' Essay
In Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, many of the characters face expectations for their roles as
Native Americans and as women on their reservation. One of these characters is Lulu, who
experiences shaming because of her traditionalist view of Chippewa life and relationships with
many men. She is continually fueled by a love and passion that guides her to contradict these
expectations, often quite directly, even in the face of community gossip. Throughout the novel, Lulu
defies expectations about Native Americans and her expected role as a woman, especially in
relationships. This can be seen in her reactions to the government's appropriation of their land,
against the community's shaming of her for her many romantic relationships, and ability to lead her
family although she is expected to lose control over her many children. Lulu Lamartine actively
fights against the government's appropriation of Native American land, disagreeing with the idea
that it will improve their life and the expectation that Native Americans will be grateful for the sale.
Lulu's ideas about the importance of living on their own land were first influenced by her family as
a young adult. For example, she is told to "sing my songs and then bury me high in a tree, Lulu,
where I can see my enemies approach in the government cars" (71). The United States' government
intervention in the lives of Native Americans is a continued point of tension throughout her life.
Lulu has a distinct distrust of the United

The Role Of Love In Ancient Greek Medicine
The Role of Love in Ancient Greek Medicine
Among the many Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece, one that was worshipped on multiple
levels and to a great extent was Love. This divine force held a powerful role in many aspects of the
Greeks' lives, including the understanding of their own bodies. As the society's culture moved away
from reliance on the Divine, and towards a more scientific method of understanding itself, the
notion of love remained ingrained in the set assumptions; its dual ability to cure and destroy
underscored the practices of medicine and the understandings of human anatomy.
For the ancient Greek doctor and philosopher, Eryximachus, Love's potential for health and
destruction were ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The Greeks saw Love as the substance of all matter, and therefore, at the center of their own living
bodies, making Eryximachus' statement, "The science of medicine is completely governed by Love"
(Symposium 21), a sharp intuition. With this observation at the core of their medicinal
understandings, the ancient Greeks' doctors' approach to healing was through the means of
manipulating the force of Love.
The intricacies of the doctors' love–manipulating methods were interwoven with the duality notion
of love. With Love's power to heal or destroy, the doctors needed to push the love into the healing
realm, and learn how to shift it away from its destructive tendencies. A major way they practiced
this was by "reconciling extremes of hostility between the bodily elements, and (of) making them
love one another" (Symposium 21). The balancing of hot and cold, sweet and bitter, and wet and dry
appears a number of times in many different treatments. To cure hysterical suffocation in a woman,
the doctor "washes her thoroughly with hot water" and uses "sweet–scented fumigations beneath her
vagina, but foul–scented ones at her nose" (Medicine and Anatomy 345). If the woman's womb is
displaced, she is washed with hot water, and a variety of sweet, and not so sweet, pessaries are
applied to her, ranging

Love Medicine Summary
A Message of Hope in Love Medicine
Love Medicine, by Louis Eldridge attempts to confront the popular stereotypes of American Indians.
The novel generally follows the history of a family of Chippewa Indians who live on and off a
reservation.
In a thoroughly humanist approach, Ms. Eldrige narrates each chapter in a different voice, and
through extremely varied characters effectively shows the diversity of the Indians. This is an
important aspect of the novel, as it demonstrates that there is no single stereotypical "Indian". The
book begins with two scenes from a modern perspective, showing a turbulent family with fairly
disturbing problems. Then the author flashes back to the lives of the Chippewa's family two
generations ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Maybe this image came in several varieties but all images of the Indian had one common point:
"Indians" were another historical fact coupled with the romanticized images portrayed by the media.
Our outlook on Native Americans as a society is one which attaches every individual American
Indian with a cultural past which has absolutely nothing to do with the present day. Expecting an
American Indian to retain cultural beliefs and societal practices reflective of his heritage is like
expecting an urbanized American–Swede to carry out a traditional 1500's Swedish lifestyle in the
1990's.
It is this issue which Love Medicine adresses so skillfully. The Chippewa family in the story is very
large. From the very beginning we see scenes of infidelity, drunken rampages, strained marriages,
hate, and poverty. These scenes offer a look into the lifestyle of the modern Native American which
is strikingly different from the comfortable images that we all harbor; images of a noble people
living off the land, in harmony with nature. So much for the romantic view of the "noble savage".
This leaves the reader in the uncomfortable situation reconciling the two extremes images. The
compromise is found in the stories of the book. The individual narratives which show the world
through the eyes of the Chippewa's. A close examination of the stories reveals a subtle difference
between everyday American thought, and Chippewa thought. American's live in a

June In Erdrich's Love Medicine
June is an alcoholic who cannot manage to keep a job. She tried everything, from beautician to
secretary, however "everything she tried fell through" (9). She has a problem with alcohol. Her
sisters blame her death on her drinking problem, saying she "probably drank too much" (9). Despite
these negative traits, Erdrich develops her character into a multi–dimensional portrait by allowing
people to have varying views on June. In fact the novel is split into many perspectives, which
challenges the reader to consider everything from multiple viewpoints. Her niece Albertine
remembers her as "so sharp and determined" (9). Albertine's view of June presents her in a different
light, which enables the reader to consider a different perspective of June. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
In order to convey the trait of poverty, Erdrich employs the use of imagery, even the setting reflects
their impoverished state. In the beginning of the novel, the road leading towards the reservation is
described as having "ruts" and "holes" (11). The surrounding land "was a dull tan – the dry ditches,
the dying crops" (11). Erdrich's visual imagery gives the reader a mental image of a desolate
environment. In addition, Erdrich references dust twice on page eleven, giving the impression of the
prairies during the dustbowl, which occurred during the 1930's when the world was going through
the Great Depression, allowing the reader to subconsciously connect the environment of the
reservation as poor, neglected and bleak. The grim environment creates sympathy for the female
characters, many of whom live on the reservation. In addition, there is the alliteration of the letter
"d". This emphasises the poverty in which these characters live in by bringing attention to the "dull",
"dry" and "dying" environment of the reservations. Despite the despondent surroundings, Erdrich's
poetic style pushes the reader to consider this environment as a home, rather than merely a
disgusting

Louise Sanders Love Medicine Summary
In the article "A Healthy Balance: Religion, Identity, and Community in Louise Erdrich's Love
Medicine" by Karla Sanders, argues that the Native American people are having a hard time finding
themselves through the community, religion, and identity because of other traditions are becoming
more prominent than theirs. Sanders relies on the article "Reading between Worlds: Narrativity in
the fiction of Louise Erdrich" by Catherine Rainwater. Rainwater helps construct Sanders article by
providing examples in the story. The examples Rainwater pinpoints helps clarify how Native
Americans are dealing with the interference of another religion. Also, another article that Sander
used to establish her article was "Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine: Loving ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Sanders talks about June, and how she had trouble finding her identity. Sanders uses June as
example for identity issue when Flavin says "June's attempts to make something of her life–––as a
beautician, a secretary, a waitress or salesclerk, a wife and mother–––become the story of failure"
(Flavin 63). This quote says that June was having identity problems, and didn't know what she
wanted to do with her life. This could be corresponding to the transition of tradition, and June not
being able to adjust. June was shadowed by the darkness, and couldn't escape until it triumph over
her. Flavin later explains "Her last affair with a drunken oil boomer outside a Williston, North
Dakota, bar ends with her death as she attempts to walk home in a snowstorm. While her death was
not defined as a suicide, anyone familiar with the intensity of a North Dakota snowstorm would
know the risk" (Flavin 62). This quote correlates with Sanders description of June, and the
burdensome with the interference of another religion her. Throughout the story June wasn't pleased
with what she accomplished in life, and decided to take her life because she didn't feel it was worth
living. June identity problem was severe, and it continues to another person in the community,
Marie. Sanders uses Maire as another character in the story who also questioned their

Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich: A Cultural Analysis
Pocahontas was the most important Disney film. Not only does it have beautiful songs, and colorful
animation, it speaks to Western Cultures' relationships to the indigenous people of North America.
Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas' father, says, "these white men are dangerous." He was right, Western
Culture eventually dominated all the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, this is also known
as "Manifest Destiny". This is western cultures' excuse for the genocide of millions of indigenous
people. In Louise Erdrich's novel, Love Medicine, Erdrich exposes how western cultures,
specifically Christianity, have white–washed Native American culture by personifying her own
upbringing through her characters' battles between religion and society. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
In Love Medicine the character of Marie Lazarre shares a similar Catholic–Chippewa upbringing to
Erdrich's. The character of Marie Lazarre. Although raised in a convent, she confesses: I don't pray,
but sometimes I do touch the beads. It has become a secret. I never look at them, just let my fingers
roam to them when no one is in the house. It's a rare time when I do this. I touch them, and every
time I do I think of small stones. At the bottom of the lake, rolled aimless by the waves, I think of
them polished. To many people it would be a kindness. But I see no kindness in how the waves are
grinding them smaller and smaller until they finally disappear. (Erdrich 141) This is a very similar
sentiment to Louise Erdrich's in her interview: that "you never change once you've been raised
catholic." Just as Erdrich's holds onto catholic symbols, seen in the chapter titles, Marie holds onto
the rosary beads. Nevertheless, Erdrich acknowledges the abuse of Catholic missionaries in Marie's
description of the beads breaking down under the water, just as Native American tradition has been
crushed under the waters of Western

Erdrich's novel, suitably titled Love Medicine encapsules numerous and colourful characters. An
interrelated story centered on two Chippewa families, the Kashpaws and the Lamartines, and the
way these families are interwoven. Lulu Lamartine, one of the interesting characters, described as
hyper sensual but determined, is brought to life by what others say about her, how the speaker
describes her and what her actions convey about her. Readers are overwhelmed with amazement as
they discover Lulu through these portrayals and are spell bound with rapt attention throughout the
events in the novel. Readers come to understand hyper sensual but determined Lulu Lamartine by
what others say about her, such as Nector, Lipsha and Lyman. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
He is of the same opinion that his mother is a hyper sensual but determined person. He is aware of
his mother's escapades from childhood by what he hears in the community. Even as a grown man
running a factory, his mother uses her notorious skills to get him to do her wishes. This becomes
evident when they have a disagreement in the factory where she works for him. He describes her
here as, "Lulu Lamartine was usually controlled as a cat and got her way through coaxing, cajoling,
rubbing against your leg. An old woman who remained infuriatingly pretty, she bent others to her
will before they knew what was happening."(20). His witness is most credible considering the
mother–son relationship and what he says about her is very parallel to what all the other characters
know her to be. A complex, hyper sensual but determined Lulu Lamartine appears all through the
story and connects the families together. Though her behaviour might be unusual because of her
strong sexual desire, she shows care and compassion to people, especially family. Lulu is frank in
giving her opinion and very mischievous in having her way with people. Might have come from a
family that uses witchcraft to manipulate people, her real powers embeds in her beauty and

A Comparison Between The Way to Rainy Mountain and Love...
In the novels Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich and The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott
Momaday, the reader gains views of Native American culture, both past and present, through two
disparate means of delivery. Both authors provide immensely rich portrayals through varying
literary devices in efforts to bring about a better understanding of problems contemporary Native
Americans face, especially regarding their own self–identity.
The story of Love Medicine revolves around a central character, June Kashpaw, and the many
threads of relationships surrounding her, both near the time of her death, and in what has gone on
before. The novel is an exploration of a family web that June was a key component of. Her character
is a pivot point ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Complications of plot are sparse, but are evident in an episodic fashion, as each small episode has its
own complexion and related complication that normally resolved within itself. In this regard of
episodic plots, the technique is similar to Love Medicine.
Erdrich appears to have a series of plots, or "plots within plots" in Love Medicine, At times, it is
difficult to anticipate where a plot exists until it becomes apparent in its crisis resolution. Again,
much like Momaday's work, the plots are episodic––the different stories are interconnected and feed
into one another, but are capable of standing alone withy their own plots. Erdrich makes heavy use
of the characters themselves to advance the plot for each episode, and in inter–relation between each
episode., whereas Momaday relies more on past story as a guide to present context.
Characterization is the strength of Love Medicine. The humorous, but tragic, exploits of eccentric
characters are extremely vivid in her story, and force a constant chnage of viewpoint for the reader
as more aspects of characters are revealed. The characters in this novel are a woven pattern of
intricacy possibly far surpassing the reader's ability, and especially surpassing the characters
themselves. This may be by design, as those things unresolved and disjointed by the end of the story
can promote an incomplete and unsettled set of emotions

Deadly Cultural Clashes In Comparison to a Story by Louise...
"The Red Convertible" is an interesting story due to its characters, plot, and the general background
that the author was motivated by to write this story as well as many of her other works. "The Red
Convertible" deals with the relationship between two brothers of the Chippewa Reservation. The
story focuses on how their relationship changes over a period of time and discretely how the red
convertible car they both bond over reflects those changes in their relationship throughout that
period. Sadly, these changes are not good as they focus on the effects Henry Jr. has after he serves in
the Vietnam War. Lyman, his younger brother, is also affected and tries many things to help his
brother go back to his "regular old–self" but in the end he ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
There was no actual evident mention of their American part of lifestyle until this point of their life,
dealing with Henry after war. In the end, the reader can see that red convertible is a bigger
representation of Henry and his individual changes after the Vietnam than anything else. It is his
changes that affect his whole family and thus his strong relationship with his brother and thus why
the car also counterparts their brotherly relationship. Further as the red convertible re–introduces
itself throughout the story, it is the first and foremost object that shows the lifestyle of Henry and
Lyman as Chippewa and American members of society. As a Vietnam veteran and owner of a
convertible car with his brother, the two boys show an attempt to assimilate themselves as American
Indians. To begin with, before the war, both brothers drive "all one summer", not hanging on to the
details. However, Lyman recalls "one place with willows"...feeling comfortable covered by branches
"like a tent or a stable" (Erdrich 26). The Herder Symbol Dictionary conveys that braches "are
regarded as granting good fortune or protection"(28). Lyman feels comfortable even perhaps
protected but realizing what tree he lying under, the reader finds that there is a completely different
meaning and rather a warning. The Herder Symbol Dictionary describes that the weeping willows'
"form [is like that] to streams of tears falling to the ground", and so

The Effects of War Shown in Louise Erdrich's The Red...
The Effects of War Shown in Louise Erdrich's The Red Convertible
It is always said that war changes people. In the short story 'The Red Convertible', Louise Erdrich
uses Henry to show how it affects people. In this case, the effects are psychological. You can clearly
see a difference between his personalities from before he goes to war compared to his personalities
after returns home from the war. Before the war, he is a care–free soul who just likes to have fun.
After the war, he is very quiet and defensive, always watching his back as if waiting for someone to
strike.
The first and most obvious change in behavior is shown by comparing Henry?s actions when they
stopped at the place with the willows during the road trip ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
(Sutton). Instead of just having fun and telling jokes, he is very quiet and keeps to himself. He acts
as if he is waiting to be ambushed.
Another major change brought by the war is a change in Henry?s personality. Before the war, he
was always a jokester and just seemed to go with the flow. When Henry and Lyman picked up the
girl named Susy, they asked her where she lived. ?We?ll take you home,? I says. ?Where do you
live?? ?Chicken,? she says. ?Where the hell?s that?? I ask her. ?Alaska.? ?Okay,? says Henry, and
we drive. (366)
They didn?t have a plan. This gave them a destination and they went with it. Henry also showed his
silly side when Susy showed them her long hair. He asked her to jump on his shoulders. Once she
did it he declared, ?I always wondered what it was like to have long pretty hair? (366). This all
ended when Henry got drafted. Lyman compared the old Henry to the new one. ?He?d always had a
joke then, too, and now you couldn?t get him to laugh, or when he did it was more the sound of a
man choking, a sound that stopped up the throats of other people around him? (367). Henry?s
attitude had done a complete one–eighty. He was the exact opposite of his old self. According to
Lyman, ?Henry was jumpy and mean.? (367)
War takes a toll on people; the intensity varies from person to person. In Henry?s case, the toll was
very heavy. The Henry before the war was the opposite of the post–war

A Yellow Raft In Blue Water And Love Medicine Analysis
Ultimately, the authors of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water and Love Medicine create sympathetic
indigenous female characters throughout their novels by portraying them as victims of circumstance.
Throughout both the novels, there is an overbearing sense of anticipated calamity which
overwhelms these characters lives. They are imprisoned literally within their impoverished and
bleak circumstances. The prejudice against First Nation people limits their prospects and makes
them more vulnerable to drugs and abuse. In addition, they endure being women in a patriarchal
society with fewer advancement possibilities; trapped by traditional mores which dictate their roles
in the family; lacking positive and successful role models; suffering from an absence

Love Medicine is a compelling story of love, power, and pride. Its' collection of characters all tell
there own story offering different opinions and views. This variety makes the story very interesting.
The reader gets to know each character very personally because of all the different views. Many of
the same events are described differently by each character, as expected. But this variance allows the
reader to draw his own conclusions and affords the opportunity to know the personality of everyone.
The story is quite confusing, however, with the tremendously large and connected families. It seems,
to the reader, that everyone is somehow related. This complexity can be extremely confusing and
leaves the reader without a solid frame of reference when reading of other characters. The main
character of the novel is difficult to identify. It appears to be June, but she is dead and, in fact, does
not even come up very frequently in other conversation. One could argue that there are multiple
main characters. They seem to be Lulu, Lipsha, and possibly Nector. All of theses characters come
up very frequently and seem to be the most dynamic characters. LuLu is portrayed trying to gain
power in every aspect of her life; at home, politically, and among her peers. And as it turns out, she
does attain the level of power she aspires to. Lipsha seems secondary and passive until LuLu raises
question of his ancestry. This uncertainty sends Lipsha on a journey to find the

Summary Of Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine
Louise Erdrich's book, Love Medicine is said to be an authentic narration when it comes to Native
American life. This essay looks at the similarities between the love triangle that is depicted in
Erdrich's novel, along with the male–female relationships which are described in Ruth Landes
ethnographic study of Ojibwe women and gender, which was first published in 1938 (Introduction).
Parallels between the two books certainly exist. One is even able to substitute the characters of
Nector Kashpaw, Marie Kashpaw, and Lulu Lamartine, into an almost identical situation in Landes'
book The Ojibwa Woman, due to the similarities.
Louise Erdrich herself is a recognized member of the Ojibwe tribe. She also runs an independent
bookstore in Minnesota along with her daughters. The name of the bookstore is Birchbark Books; it
specializes in Native American books, jewelry, and arts. Part of the description on the website reads
"Birchbark Books provides a locus for Native intellectual life. We are native owned (Louise Erdrich
is an enrolled Turtle Mountain Chippewa) and our staff is of either Native background, or
exceedingly Native–friendly".
Ruth Schlossberg Landes, author of the book The Ojibwa Woman is a cultural anthropologist from
New York City. Landes received her B.C. from New York University along with her Master's degree
in social work. Later, she earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University. During the
1930s at the age of twenty–three, as part of her doctoral studies, Landes traveled to Fort Frances,
Ontario to research the lives of Ojibwa women. She pursued her studies aided by a woman of mixed
Scotts–Cree descent named Maggie Wilson. Wilson, who grew up amongst the Ojibwas was also
known for her broad knowledge of Ojibwa customs and beliefs. Like other Native–American
groups, the Ojibwa were victims of colonization and systematic oppression. Much of their land was
usurped by the government. In addition, many of the Ojibwa cultural traditions were banned or
white–washed. All these factors combined resulted in the marginalization of the tribe and the erosion
of their culture.
On account of Love Medicine being the title of Louise Erdrich's book, it makes sense, to begin with,
its description as

Literary Elements In Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich
Literary elements appear in all exceptional literature, they are what helps build a strong story. There
are many literary elements visible in Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. In the novel there are
elements such as foreshadowing, tone, several examples of symbolism, and several major themes. In
Love Medicine foreshadowing is demonstrated several times throughout the novel. In the second
scene Albertine Johnson describes her family by saying, "Patient Abuse. There was two ways you
could think of that title. One was obvious to a nursing student, and the other was obvious to a
Kashpaw" (7). This tells the reader several details about Albertine and her family. First of all, it
informs the reader of Albertine's schooling and how she is ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
One recurring symbol is June Kashpaw as Jesus Christ. The first time the author symbolizes her as
Jesus occurs as she is walking home right before she dies, "The snow fell deeper that Easter than it
had in forty years, but June walked over it like water and came home" (7). She is similar to Jesus
because both of them walk on water. Another time she is symbolized as Jesus is during the chapters,
"Crown of Thorns" and "Resurrection." Even the chapter titles represent Jesus because he wore a
crown of thorns and was resurrected from the dead. In "Resurrection" Gordie Kashpaw, June's
husband, imagines June is resurrected like Jesus, and he hits her while driving. Although in reality,
Gordie hits a deer, but because he has guilt for treating June badly during their time together, he
imagines he hits June.
Another literary element in Love Medicine is theme. Two themes from this novel are family and
assimilation. The family relationships of the Kashpaws are so important and confusing in this novel.
It is demonstrated by the family tree diagram in the beginning of the novel. The author would not
have put the diagram there, if family is not an important. Another theme is assimilation of the Native
Americans to the American culture. The family partially assimilates from its Chippewa roots to
those of Western Christians. As a child Marie desires to have a life with the nuns, so she rejects her
tribal heritage and assimilates. However towards the end

Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich Character Analysis
Love Medicine is a wonderfully written novel that has many different points of view. We see in the
beginning the death of June. This novel speaks a lot about death. While it is not just centered on
death, it does have many instances on it and how it affected the people around them. Death the one
thing guaranteed in life. Louise Erdrich used one person's death to start stories on her life. Erdrich
tells of both what someone dying was thinking and what someone watching thought. June Morrissey
left her husband and son. She dies walking home in the cold. "The heavy winds continued. Even
when her heart clenched and her skin turned crackling cold it didn't matter, because the pure naked
part of her went on." (7) Erdrich describes death in this ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
June had not only died, but she had died leaving Gordie. He turns to drinking. This is very common
in society and is relatable. Gordie is not only sad but he blames himself. The guilt is consuming him.
One night he drinks so much he starts to hallucinate. He leaves the house to go for a drive
completely intoxicated. He sees June's ghost on the side of the road and ends up hitting a deer. He
goes out to look at it and decides to put it in his backseat to sell it for more booze. While he is
driving away he believes that he actually killed June and not the deer. When the deer goes to sit up,
he hits it several times between the eyes. Even though Gordie had felt so much guilt and sadness
over June's death he tries to kill this hallucination of her. Gordie drives to a convent to confess to the
crime that he believed he committed. When the nun realizes it's a deer the police are still called and
Gordie runs away. Gordie doesn't seem like a good person. He has a son that is left with him after
June dies and he turns to drinking. He then tries to kill June when he thinks that he accidently ran
her over. Death, while it didn't change Lulu, changes Gordie for the worst. Chapter 13 gives another
view on death. In this chapter we see what has happened to Nector, Marie and Lulu. Nector has
started to lose his memory and is becoming like a child again. Lipsha, who is the son of June and
Gerry. He has the gift of healing. He is

Essay on Use of Humor in Erdrich's Tracks
Use of Humor in Erdrich's Tracks
An old adage claims that laughter is the best medicine to cure human ailments. Although this
treatment might sound somewhat unorthodox, its value as a remedy can be traced back to ancient
times when Hypocrites, in his medical treatise, stressed the importance of "a gay and cheerful mood
on the part of the physician and patient fighting disease" (Bakhtin 67). Aristotle viewed laughter as
man's quintessential privilege: "Of all living creatures only man is endowed with laughter" (Bakhtin
68). In the Middle Ages, laughter was an integral part of folk culture. "Carnival festivities and the
comic spectacles and ritual connected with them had an important place in the life of medieval ...
[in] a kind of personal tribalism that begins with two people, configurates around families,
composes itself in extended kin and clan, and ends up defining a culture" (Lincoln 63). In Tracks,
the power of Native American humor to profoundly affect human experience is portrayed through
the characters of Nanapush and Fleur.
In his role as "Nanabush" the trickster, a central figure in Chippewa (Ojibwa) storytelling, Nanapush
demonstrates the power of Native American humor in his own life, when he challenges the gods and
cheats death by playing a trick on them: "During the year of the sickness, when I was the last one
left, I saved myself by starting a story . . . . I got well by talking. Death could not get a word in
edgewise, grew discouraged, and traveled on" (Erdrich 46). The trickster figure is characterized as a
man of many guises, dualistic in nature–good and bad–and often considered quite a lover. He is a
survivor, physically and psychologically. As one who endures, he transcends the temporal and
functions as an affirmation of the self. The trickster is also "central to the tribe's worldview," with
power that extends beyond himself, guiding his people toward a view of themselves and of
possibility that they might not have seen otherwise (Ghezzi 444). To fulfill his role as trickster,
Nanapush uses humor as powerful medicine not only for himself, but also for his tribe.
Nanapush purposefully directs his own special brand of humor–raucous

Love Medicine Chapter 18 Summary
Foster brings up rebirth again through the idea of baptism within chapter 18 of his novel. He starts
off by defining what Baptism is and how it is the symbolic death and rebirth of a certain person.
Foster states that drowning is a type of symbolic baptism because the character would come back up
and be reborn. He explains how this is representing a form of rebirth where the character who is
being baptized is leaving behind their old life and gaining a new one. Other forms of symbolic
baptism that Foster mentions are traveling on water such as oceans and rivers. Some people don't
want to survive the drowning and he shows this by explaining the story Love Medicine where the
main character's uncle imagines going to the bottom of "Lake Matchimanito" ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
You can see how the rain chapter is correlated through this one because it even states that rain is
able to baptize and have some sort of purity. The other chapter is the Biblical one because Baptism
is obviously something relating to the religion of Christianity and has been used in the religion
traditionally. However, when these two chapters mix together it does emphasize many points. It
doesn't only show that rain can baptize but other things are able to also. I'm going to bring up the
story Lord of the Flies because, again, it has many symbols relating to the Bible and religion. When
the story begins, we notice that a plane full of English boys is headed towards army training or some
sort of recruitment. However, the plane crashes and ends up on an island. Here we can assume that
everyone on that plane has died. That assumption is somewhat right actually. The boys died there on
the plane and left their old lives back but now they are reborn and on an island where they don't
know anything. They don't know how to survive at all when stranded and they are like babies that
need help from their mother. However, they do learn and eventually create a small society with
enemies and such. With the plane crash, we are able to see how baptism can be symbolized by
anything in

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