Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Anna Vacková The Transgenerational Trauma in Sherman Alexie’s Autobiographical Writing Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. 2018 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. for his helpful approach and valuable advice he provided me. I would also like to thank my family, friends, and my partner for their support. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1. SHERMAN ALEXIE .................................................................................. 3 The Analysed Works ........................................................................................ 7 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian ...................................... 9 You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me: a Memoir ...................................... 10 2. THE CONCEPT OF TRANSGENERATIONAL TRAUMA .............. 12 3. ANALYSIS ................................................................................................ 18 4. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 30 5. WORKS CITED ....................................................................................... 32 6. ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... 37 7. RESUMÉ ................................................................................................... 38 Introduction The colonization of the Americas by Europeans is undoubtedly one of the most romanticized achievements of a civilized man (viz. Manifest Destiny). However, there are two sides to every story. For Native American people, the colonization represents a grievous milestone in their history which have disrupted their original way of life beyond repair. This thesis strives to explore the way in which the past traumatization, originating in the genocidal actions and loss experienced by Native Americans in the hands of their Euro-American perpetrators, connects to the contemporary maladies as well as ongoing forms of oppression troubling the Native American communities and how is this phenomenon manifested in the selected autobiographical writings of a contemporary Native American author Sherman Alexie. The first chapter of this thesis provides the brief history of Native American literature and contextualises Sherman Alexie among other Native American authors. The chapter further describes Alexie’s literary and personal qualities that differentiate him from his contemporaries, such as his engagement in American popular culture, the way he parodies historical Native American misrepresentations in his writing, or his unique “mix-blood” position in the multi-ethnical environment. Subsequently, the distinctive characteristics of Native American autobiographical writing style are described. The brief synopsis of selected writings, namely The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me: a Memoir are also included at the end of the chapter. The second chapter introduces the transgenerational trauma theory proposed by Native American theoretician Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart. The chapter begins with the delineation of the harmful historical legacy of colonization and further 1 oppression of Native American people during the postcolonial era. Additionally, the statistical data concerning health and welfare disparities between Native American and white U.S. communities are provided in order to avoid possible miscomprehensions or generalizations regarding the contemporary state of affairs. The rest of the chapter deals with the three main pillars of the transgenerational trauma: “the survivor’s child complex, disenfranchised grief, and intergenerational transmission” (Brave Heart and DeBruyn 61) and with their respective historical, social, and psychological causes and implications. The third chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the trauma in Alexie’s selected stories. The aim of the analysis is to exemplify the transgenerational trauma patterns present in the Alexie’s writing. Also, given the Alexie’s juxtaposition between Native American and white urban culture, particular focus is given to the theme of individual agency as opposed to traumatic legacy. 2 1. Sherman Alexie Over the course of the last five decades, the study of Native American literature has gained its recognition among literary critics and became sought-after by academics as well as being established by universities into their curriculums for ethnic and race studies. The consensus among many literary theoreticians1 dates the beginning of the American Indian literary renaissance to 1968 when N. Scott Momaday, then obscure author of Kiowa descent, won the Pulitzer Prize for his first book House Made of Dawn (1968). The field initially dominated by anthropologists, folklorists and historians became a sphere of great interest among the newly arising group of experts specializing in American Indian literature (Roemer 1). The call for Native American prose and poetry elicited a response from and motivated American Indian authors to greater prolificity. The first wave of Native American writers2 was followed by authors of generation X3 among which belongs Sharman Alexie (1966), one of the most prolific writers among present-day American authors (Berglund 12) and one of the most well- known social commentators in the contemporary Native American literary and intellectual circles. Kenneth M. Roemer even describes him as a figure who, unlike his peers, managed to reach “the celebrity status” (2), which can be attributed to Alexie’s involvement in popular culture (Grassian 6-7). The list of artistic activities he was, or still is, actively engaged in, contains besides writing, prose as well as poetry, also stand-up comedy performance and directorial work (MacGowan 190). Grassian associates the multitude of Alexie’s proficiencies to “the role of a trickster” who uses artistic devices in favour of his own outcomes (11-12). Jeff Berglund, on the other hand, ascribes Alexie’s many talents and 1 Kenneth M. Roemer (2005), Dr. P. Jane Hafen (2002), David L. Moore (2005), Louis Owens (1992) 2 Simon Ortiz, Gerald Vizenor, Leslie Marmon Silko 3 Joy Harjo, Linda Hogan 3 his consequent popularity to Alexie’s innate creativity and sense of humour combined with his extraliterary public appearances at universities’ discussions and forums (20) and his frequent participation in various interviews (23). Alexie was born on the Spokane Indian Reservation, Washington, to the father of Coeur d’Alene descent and the mother of Spokane origin. The reservation upbringing, living in the small and shabby HUD house, low cost house projected and built by US Department of Housing and Urban Development, with his four siblings and being part of a community defined by violence, alcoholism and general lack of opportunities and positive role-models for young people,4 became the source of themes and settings for Alexie’s future writing career (Grassian 6). Another topic that Alexie employs in his works5 is the motif of urban Indians and their struggle for the preservation of their culture and identity in ethnically diverse surroundings (Berglund 12). Christopher MacGowan writes, “His themes include isolation, alcoholism, domestic violence, and the oppression, stereotyping, and general mistreatment of Native Americans and their heritage by the dominant culture…” (190). Serious and controversial as these topics are, Alexie manages to talk about them candidly and without shame often employing self-ridicule or wry commentaries of social practices. “His insider’s view of the Indian world, when combined with confessional detail, creates an intimate distance from a non-Indian audience that is one key to the ironic strength of his voice” (Moore 297). Education was another aspect that greatly influenced the forming of Alexie’s literary persona as well as his critical view of intercultural relations between the white majority and Native Americans. Being subjected to missionary-like reservation 4 This assumption is drawn from the description provided by Alexie in the first chapter of his memoir You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me: a Memoir (3-29) dealing with his childhood years spent on the reservation 5 Indian Killer (1996), Flight (2007), War Dances (2009) 4 schooling ignorant of Native American culture at Wellpinit tribal school with outdated books and brutal teachers, which is described in Alexie’s memoir You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me: a Memoir (174-178), and his later attending an all-white high school in Reardan, Washington, resulted in Alexie having a distorted perception of identity6 and, especially, a sardonic sense of humour. In order to escape bullying and to demonstrate his intellect and wit, strengthened by intensive reading (Berglund 7-8), “[Alexie] quickly learned the value of humor both as a means of deflecting the abuse of other children and also as a means of personal empowerment” (Grassian 2). The humour often enables comics to quite openly address very controversial topics such as racism or abuse, similarly, Alexie’s writing is suffused with satiric humour and poignant social commentary concerning