Week 12: Sampling Indigenous Writing via Thomas King Flashcards
1
Q
What is an archetype?
A
Symbol, theme, setting, and character that recurs in different times and places in myth literature and folklore.
Embodies elements of universal human experience
2
Q
What is a trickster character?
A
- Not bad but not good
- Prankster, shape-shifter
- Ex.: Coyote in First Nations literature
3
Q
What is postmodernism?
A
- After modernism (1950-60)
- Displays reflexivity, irony, mixing of popular and high art forms
4
Q
What is metafiction?
A
- fiction in which the author self-consciously alludes to the artificiality or literariness of a work by parodying or departing from novelistic conventions (especially naturalism) and traditional narrative techniques
- Coyote creating the world= metafiction
5
Q
Who is Thomas King, and what is his contribution to fiction?
A
- Indigenous author
- Canadian/American citizenship
-Novelist/short story writer
6
Q
Who are the main characters and the main idea in “The One About Coyote Going West”?
A
- Coyote, grandmother/grandfather, raven
- Encompasses a Cherokee variant on Native Creation, the role of Coyote, the effect of white people on Natives, and a moral lesson classic to Native mythology.
7
Q
How is “The One About Coyote Going West” a postmodern story?
A
- Includes irony (ducks/eggs/Indians)
- Fragmentation
8
Q
Who are the main characters and the main idea of “Borders”?
A
- Mother, son and daughter
- The conflict between maintaining cultural identity and the systems in place that undermine and devalue indigenous identities.
9
Q
Is “Borders” a postmodern story?
A
Yes. It contains non-linear flashbacks
10
Q
What are the main symbols in “Borders”?
A
- Borders: colonialism, Blackfoot territory
- Salt Lake City: A Lot of white people, Mormon, very different from what they know/are used to
- Guns/gunfight
- Restaurants (food/hamburgers): Mother has their food (healthier, more traditional)
