On The Identity Reconstruction For Native Women In The Round House

Louise Erdrich(1954-)is the representative of the second wave of Native American Renaissance,and she is also among one of the most influential native female writers in American.She has published fifteen novels until now.Her fourteenth novel,The Round House,was published in 2012 and was awarded the National Book Award for Fiction of the year.Erdrich was also awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Award in 2014 because of this novel.The Round House begins with a rape case on a reservation,and it authentically manifests the survival predicament for native women: 1 in 3 native women will be raped in her lifetime,and 86 percent of rapes are perpetrated by non-native men.Because of their racial identity and female identity,native women usually suffer from the double oppression in American mainstream society.But ironically,before the invasion of the white culture,women usually have great importance in tribal society because of the long existing tradition of matriarchal culture,and they are respected by the clan.The white patriarchal thought subverted the position of native women,and they are otherized and demonized.In order to get rid of their identity crises,native women have to reconstruct their native and female identity,so as to gain their voices in American society and restore their position in their culture.Through feminist theory,part of the post-colonial theory and Native American culture and history,this thesis will uncover the racial and gender identity crises of native women.At the same time,through the different female individuals who struggle to survive,the author of this thesis will also conclude the strategies implied in the story about constructing identities for native women,namely,the awakening of female subjectivity,revival of native tradition,and pursuit of social justice.This thesis consists of three parts: introduction,the body and conclusion.Introduction part introduces the author Louise Erdrich,research approach,research significance and researches at home and abroad.The first chapter talks about the gender and racial issues in The Round House.Chapter two analyzes the racial and gender crises in the novel through four main female characters.Chapter three is the manifestation of Erdrich‘s identity construction strategies through three aspects: the awakening of women,the revival of tradition,and the pursuit of justice.The last part is the conclusion of this thesis.