A Study Of Justice In Erdrich's “Justice Trilogy”

This thesis centers on the multifaceted depiction of justice and probes into the theme of justice in the “justice trilogy,” i.e.The Plague of Doves(2008),The Round House(2012),and LaRose(2016)composed by Louise Erdrich,a contemporary Native American writer.It demonstrates that the trilogy reveals the underlying causes behind injustice and then offers solutions to it.Injustice overtakes American Indians,for they are stuck in “maze of justice” and are not protected by law.Faced with injustice,both white defiance of law and American Indians' “best-we-can-do justice” are virtually “rough justice.” The violence mutually inflicted by American Indians and whites brings about the absence of justice,and “restorative justice” featuring American Indian tradition proves to be the best way to confront injustice.The Introduction of this thesis introduces Erdrich and her “justice trilogy,” summarizes the prior studies of her works,and points out the significance of this thesis.Chapter One discusses the causes of Geraldine's unresolved rape case in The Round House,disclosing the byzantine jurisdiction and the chaotic land ownership on Indian reservations.Stuck in the law and land maze,Geraldine's son Joe was reduced to pursuing “best-we-can-do justice.” Chapter Two examines white and American Indians' strategies towards injustice.It reveals two “rough justice” respectively in The Plague of Doves and The Round House.On one hand,owing to ethnic bias,the white group blatantly violated the law and lynched American Indians;on the other hand,with no law to resort to,Joe was resigned to shooting Linden.Chapter Three explores whites and American Indians reconsidering measures to confront injustice,which turned out to be “restorative justice” in LaRose.After introducing the concept of restorative justice,it illustrates how restorative justice effectively healed the trauma resulting from Landreaux's manslaughter,how it realized justice by saving the two families from the vicious cycle and added incentive to ethnic syncretism.The Conclusion sums up the significance of Erdrich's “justice trilogy,” concluding that the gist of Erdrich's trilogy is to reveal the uselessness of retaliation and the tendency to ethnic syncretism.