A Study Of The Relationship Between American Indians And Nature In Tracks From The Perspective Of Ecological Holism

Tracks is a novel of the American Indian writer Louise Erdrich's North Dakota Saga which depicts the life of Chippewa in North Dakota after the arrival of the white men. By adopting the theories of ecological holism, this thesis respectively interprets traditional and non-traditional Chippewas'attitudes towards nature from aspects of land and culture, and how Chippewas'lives are affected by nature. It is hoped that people should be alert to the protection of nature and maintain a harmonious relationship with nature.This thesis, first of all, summarizes studies on Tracks both at home and abroad and the theories of ecological holism, especially its core criterion and its two important theories:Leopold's Land Ethic and Rolston's Natural Value Theory. It also hightlights the relationship between ecocriticism and ecological holism, and the development of ecocriticism in the field of literary research. In addition, this thesis explains why it is rational to apply the theories of ecological holism to interpret Tracks. Secondly, this thesis cites examples of traditional and non-traditional Chippewas" different attitudes towards nature. For Fleur and Nanapush who represent traditional American Indian culture, land is man's home and other nonhumans on it are man's relatives. As the hallmark of Native American culture, nature is not only a symbol of culture, but also the idol to be worshipped. However, with the enforcement of white men's land policies and the spread of Christianity, Pauline and other Chippewas hold anti-ecological thought. Land is not their home any more, instead it is goods which can be exchanged for economic interests. Nature is no longer revered. As a consequence, there appear problems of various kinds in Chippewas'life such as deficiency of materials, abnormal mind and tense interpersonal relationship. Thirdly, this thesis shows how Fleur and Nanapush strive to preserve the unity of human and nature. After the disasters caused by ecological imbalance, they firmly believe that American Indians should live in harmony with nature so as to achieve a peaceful life.Finally, this thesis emphasizes that Tracks is an eco-conscious novel. By relating a story of conflicting groups of Chippewas, Erdrich reveals a fact that human is just one member of nature. Human and human's culture entirely rely on nature. Now with the increasing serious ecological crisis, it is of great significance to awaken human's ecological awareness by studying Tracks from the perspective of ecological holism.