Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
MacDonald, Ian P.
Abstract
Louise Erdrich, an American Ojibwe, and Patricia Grace, a New Zealand Māori, incorporate code-switching, moving between languages, in their creative works. Rather than viewing language choice as an aside to cultural representation in fiction, codeswitching should be viewed as an integral part of the text because these writers attempt to rectify the oppression of their people by using code-switching as a tool of cultural and language survival that shifts power dynamics in response to settler colonization. However, while Erdrich and Grace use the same linguistic tool for similar purposes, they ultimately impart different themes; Erdrich’s language protagonist symbolizes reconciliation while Grace’s language protestors symbolize resistance. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Erdrich and Potiki by Grace should be read in conversation with each other so that we can better understand the role indigenous languages play in Anglophone fiction.
Extent
99 p.
Recommended Citation
Wilber, Elizabeth, "PERSEVERING THROUGH PRESERVATION: THE UNIFYING FORCE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE IN THE FICTION OF LOUISE ERDRICH AND PATRICIA GRACE" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 2250.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/2250
Identifier
FA00013428
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.