A Traumatic Study Of Louise Erdrich’s The Painted Drum

Louise Erdrich (1954—), with Indian Ojibwe ancestry, stands out as one of the most influential contemporary Native American writers in the United States following the "the second wave" of Native American Literary Renaissance. Erdrich’s tenth novel, The Painted Drum, is strikingly characterized by its narration of trauma theme. Based on modern American trauma theory combining close reading of the text, this thesis, explores the trauma of main characters in this novel by presenting their traumatic events, effects, symptoms, thus aiming to expose the colonialism as the underlying cause of the Ojibwe trauma and also demonstrate the central role of the community in the process of recovery. The thesis consists of four chapters as follows:Chapter One introduces the writer Louise Erdrich and her novel The Pained Drum, including presenting trauma theory, the structural layout of the thesis, and also elaborating literature review on the study of this work, to demonstrate the significance, reasonability and innovation of the research.Chapter Two presents trauma of main characters in The Pained Drum, all of them with Ojibwe ancestry. Consisted of three parts, this chapter accordingly explores trauma of Faye, three generations of Shaawano family (Old Shaawano, Son Shaawano, Grandson Bernard Shaawano) and Shawnee, by examining their traumatic events, effects, symptoms and causes. Part One analyzes Faye’s psychological trauma caused by the death of her sister Netta since the childhood, by presenting her traumatic symptoms of hyper-arousal, intrusion and constriction. Besides, by the analysis of Faye’s disconnection with her mother, Elsie, it meanwhile demonstrates the traumatic effect of the communal cultural trauma to Faye’s psychological trauma, resulting from colonialism. Part Two presents the impact of trans-generational trauma of Shaawano family since the death of Old Shaawano’s daughter eaten by wolves. On the one hand, it exemplifies the transmission of trauma, by analyzing the psychological sufferings of Shaawano family transmitted from generation to generation; on the other hand, it discusses the underlying reason for wolves’eating of man is owing to imbalance of the food chain caused by colonialists’ over-hunting. Part Three demonstrates Shawnee’s psychological trauma after narrowly escaping from several deadly events. It explores that the underlying cause of trauma frequently happening in the Indian reservation is rooted in the government’s colonial policy. Besides, this part presents Shawnee traumatic symptom of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) of Shawnee, by the analysis of her detachment from her mother Ira.Chapter Three discusses three stages of recovery:establishment of safety, remembrance and mourning, reconnection, and also analyzes the great power and central role of the community in these three stages, by exemplifying how Faye, Shawnee and Shaawanow family can eventually heal their trauma after being summoned and connected by the communal healing drum.Chapter Four concludes that trauma endured by Faye, Shawnee and Shaawano witnesses and epitomizes the sufferings of the whole Ojibwe people in this work. Therefore, it is realistically significant for Erdrich’s narrative of trauma and recovery in The Painted Drum to accuse colonialism of its oppression, marginalization, and dissociation of the Ojibwe and above all to suggest the central role of the community in the individual healing process, with the aim of appealing to the Ojibwe members’ solidarity and mutual support as well as protection of traditional Ojibwe culture.