An Interpretation Of The Bildungsroman Theme In Momaday’s House Made Of Dawn

Navaree Scott Momaday is the leading figure of Native American Renaissance.His representative work House Made of Dawn is the first Native American novel thatwins the wide approbation in the American mainstream society. It is now viewed asan American classic. Many critics consider it still the finest Native American novel.The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in1969which paved the way for what has come tobe seen as a Native American Renaissance. Up till the present, there is no Chineseedition of this novel; its study in China still wants extension and depth. This thesisaims to interpret the initiation process of the hero based on the Bildungsroman theory.The motif of Bildungsroman is “innocence-temptation-departure from home–alusia-ordeal-losing innocence-epiphany-gain of a new understanding of life and self”.The unknown identity of his father and the untimely death of his mother and brotherleave Abel lonely and alienated in the tribe. He is shut off from gaining betterunderstanding of his tribe and identifying himself with his culture. A series of trialsand tribulations he suffers during the process of identity quest helps him understandhis culture and in time his identity crisis is defused. Finally, he achieves epiphany bylistening to his grandfather’s deathbed stories and reintegrates into the Indian culturesuccessfully.The thesis consists of six parts.The first part makes a sketch of Momaday’s life and his literary achievements.Then it reviews the domestic and overseas researches done into the novel. It also putsforward the significance of this thesis.Chapter One traces the origin and development of Bildungsroman. It also statesthe features and motif of Bildungsroman, and the Bildungsroman theme applied in thenovel.Chapter Two analyzes Abel’s growing background and his identity quest,accounting for Abel’s departure from home. Feeling dissatisfied with the reality in thetribe, Abel leaves home for a better luck in the outside world. After returning homefrom the war, he can’t reintegrate into the tribal life. With resentment of the tribalritual, he kills the albino in Feast of Santiago and is sentenced to jail for seven years. Chapter Three focuses on the ordeals and frustrations Abel goes through duringhis growing process. He undergoes ethnic discrimination both from hiscomrades-in-arm in the army and social authorities in Los Angeles. These experiencesgive Abel such a message: he can’t find his place in American white society.Chapter Four discusses the awakening of Abel’s ethnic awareness with the helpof his mentor Benally’s healing song “House Made of Dawn” and Angela’s bear story.Abel achieves epiphany through listening to his grandfather’s deathbed stories andsucceeds in reintegrating into his Indian culture, and thus completes his initiationprocess.The final part summarizes what has been discussed in the former chapters anddraws the conclusion: ethnic culture plays an important role in one’s growth process,and cultural identity helps fulfill one’s initiation. Ethnic culture is rooted in one’smind, nurtures him or her and provides ways to deal with problems. An ethnic manlike Abel, only by identifying himself with his own culture, can he meet thechallenges and face frustrations during his growing process.