The Painted Drum Louise Erdrich

Author Information Erdrich was born in Little Falls, MN and grew up in Wahpeton, ND Her parents taught at Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools. She is the author of 11 novels and volumes of poetry. Famous titles: Love Medicine, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, The Blue Jay’s Dance, a memoir about motherhood, and Grandmother’s Pigeon, a children’s book. She currently lives in Minnesota and is the owner of a bookstore called Birchbark Books

Terms to know for this novel Frame narrative: a story set within a novel, play, movie that is told by a character in that novel, play or movie. Example #1: In the film, Inception, Leonardo Dicaprio enters into dream of Cillian Murphy to embed an idea into his subconscious. Leonardo puts him to sleep in a dream, following him to a second layer of dream that soon gives way to another dream. In the innermost dream, Leonardo is blown out and enters into an endless dream — “limbo” which could last for eternity, but only a few seconds pass in a real world. Leonardo eventually wakes up through layers of dreams; it seems like years have passed away, and he returns to his waking life. (Inception by Christopher Nolan)

Frame Narrative continued Example #2: In the movie, Titanic an elderly woman Rose begins the movie by telling a story of her voyage in the Atlantic Ocean. When the reader gets into her narrative, he/she finds himself/herself in the year 1912, where the story begins. There are only a few times we return to elderly Rose to get in touch with her experience; however, the movie ends as it begins. This is called framing technique in which the writer tells a story within a story. (Titanic by James Cameron)

Terms to know Point of view: the viewpoint or perspective from which the story is told. Examples: First person: uses the pronoun I “I could picture it. I have a habit of imagining the conversations between my friends. We went out to the Cafe Napolitain to have an aperitif and watch the evening crowd on the Boulevard” (Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises).

Terms to know Point of View Second person: uses the pronoun you “You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy” (Jay McInemey. “Bright Lights, Big City”)

Terms to know Omniscient Point of View: uses he/she; narrator knows everything about everyone “Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous …but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly…The Dursleys hadn’t even remembered that today happened to be Harry’s twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn’t been high?” (Rowling. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets).

Terms to know Point of view: Third limited point of view: the narrator has limited knowledge of one of the characters in the work of literature. “She flicked her wrist neatly out of Doctor Harry’s pudgy careful fingers and pulled the sheet up to her chin. The brat ought to be in knee breeches. Doctoring around the country with spectacles on his nose! “Get along now. Take your schoolbooks and go. There’s nothing wrong with me” (Katherine Anne Porter. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall).

Reading Schedule Part I summary: 9/7 Part 2, ch. 1-3: 9/13 Part IV: 9/27 Essay: 10/3