Use of Humor in Erdrichs Tracks Essay -- Erdrich Tracks

Use of Humor in Erdrichs Tracks An old adage claims that jape is the best medicine to cure charitable ailments. Although this treatment might rifle somewhat unorthodox, its value as a remedy can be traced back to ancient times when Hypocrites, in his medical treatise, stressed the brilliance of a gay and cheerful mood on the part of the physician and patient fighting disease (Bakhtin 67). Aristotle viewed laughter as mans quintessential privilege Of all living creatures only man is empower with laughter (Bakhtin 68). In the Middle Ages, laughter was an integral part of category culture. Carnival festivities and the comic spectacles and ritual connected with them had an important step to the fore in the life of medieval man (Bakhtin 5). During the trauma and devastation of German bombing raids on London during World War II, the stubborn resiliency of British humor emerged to sustain the spirit of the people and the courage of the nation. To laugh, nonetheless in the fac e of death, is a compelling force in the human condition. Humor, then, has a profound impact on the way human beings sire life. In Louise Erdrichs novel Tracks, humor provides effectual medicine as the Chippewa tribe struggles for their physical, spiritual, and cultural survival at the beginning of the twentieth century. succession the ability to approach life with a sense of humor is not unique to any one society, it is an intrinsic quality of Native American life. There is, and always has been, humor among Indians . . . (Lincoln 22). In deference to their history, this can best be described as survival humor, one which transcends the void, questions fatalism, and outlasts suffering (Lincoln 45). done their capacity to draw common... ...emain the contrary powers of Indian humor (Lincoln 5). For the Chippewa, this humor provides powerful medicine for the physical, cultural, and spiritual preservation of their tribe. Works Cited Bakhtin, Mikhail. Rabelais and His World. Bloo mington Indiana UP, 1984. Erdrich Louise. Tracks. New York harper Collins, 1988. Ghezzi, Ridie Wilson. Nanabush Stories from the Ojibwe. Coming to Light. Ed. Brian Swann. 1st ed. New York Random House, 1994. Lincoln, Kenneth. Indin Humor. New York Oxford UP, 1993. Sergi, Jennifer. Storytelling impost and Preservation in Louise Erdrichs Tracks. World Literature Today 66 (Spring 1992) 279-282. Towers, Margie. Continuity and Connection Characters in Louise Erdrichs Fiction. American Indian shade and Research Journal 16 (1992) 99-115.