| This thesis links Walter Ong's theories in Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word to the issues of rising literacy in Louise Erdrich's fiction. Using Ong's theories I analyze Erdrich's novels, Tracks, Love Medicine, and The Bingo Palace, beginning with her use of oral tradition, portrayal of the clash between orality and literacy, and incorporation of electronic media.;While Ong's perspective stems from a more global, objective point of view, Erdrich demonstrates the powerful and often devastating effect of literacy on the Chippewa community from which she draws the central characters of her novels. |
