Circular Homecoming Pattern of American Indian Literature

Abstract：American Indian literature is one of the most important components of American literature. In the early period， most of the American Indian works were written in the form of circular homecoming pattern. Later， being greatly influenced by multi-cultures， American Indian literature went through a few transformations. However， its typical circular homecoming pattern has never changed. Such narrative pattern has been reserved till now. This paper starts from House Made of Dawn and tries to discuss the circular homecoming pattern in classic Indian works.

Key words：Circular； homecoming pattern； House Made of Dawn

1. Introduction

Circular structure plays an important role in traditional American Indian culture， which reflects the most intrinsic philosophical mind of the American Indians. In the American Indians eyes， the world and the cosmos are a harmonious whole. All powers in the great nature are operating circularly and all objects are in circular shape， such as the sun， the tree trunk and even the cells. The wax and wane of the moon form a circle， the change of seasons forms a circle， and our lifetime， from cradle to grave， also forms a circle. Thanks to their worship for the sacred circular structure， even their ceremony and activity are held in round form. To take Powwow dance as an example.When dancing Powwow， American Indians usually dance clockwise in a circle， which symbolizes the circular and endless life loop.

American Indians outlook on time and space deeply affect the writing style of Indian writers. In their writings， they usually adopt a circular pattern to describe the protagonists life， which usually keeps to the following pattern： the protagonists， being attracted by the white culture， leave their ancestors land for the world of the whites. After going through all kinds of hardships， they eventually return to their reservation to seek spiritual redemption. But during their struggling in the white world， their mind would go through tremendous changes. After they return， they finally comprehend the essentials of ancient Indian culture. So the whole process from the protagonists departure to his return forms a circle. The beginning and the end become one. Such kind of narrative form is the typical circular homecoming pattern in American Indian literature.

2. Circular homecoming pattern in House Made of Dawn

In 1969， Momaday published his first novel House Made of Dawn. The protagonist， Abel， is an Indian native. He is born and raised up in ancient Indian reservation. The whole story starts from Abels running at dawn and ends up with Abels running at dawn， so the entire structure forms a circle. In this novel， Momaday skillfully describes how the young man leaves from the ancient reservation for the white world， how he struggles in the white world and how he returns to the home of his ancestors at long last. The whole story is a journey， recording Abels spiritual transformation and identity recognition. The most remarkable feature of this novel is that from Abels leaving to his returning， Momadays narration has been concentrated on the power of conventional American Indian tradition and how such tradition influences Abel and motivates him to regain spiritual redemption. In the beginning， Momaday describes how Abel looks forward to leaving the reservation. He uses the word “eager” “anxious” to express Abels aspiration for the outside world. Then Momaday continues to describe how Abel suffers physical and spiritual hardships in the white world， finally describes how he struggles to go back to his reservation. Abel awakens to the truth after he returns. He joins in the ceremony of his tribe， in which his battered heart and soul get renewed. During the whole story， Momaday keeps stressing the magic power of American Indian tradition in redeeming the lost Indian youth. He deems that it is only in the land of their ancestors could the lost youth find themselves， understand their relationship with tradition， and finally obtain a sense of belongings. Once being divorced from the land， they would be lost in spiritual predicament. In House Made of Dawn， Abels journey from leaving to returning vividly confirms such conventional view. After Abel leaves the land of his ancestors， he loses his basic relationship with the native land， the direct result of which is that he is lost in a physical and spiritual dilemma. On one hand， he couldnt go back to the American Indian world， on the other， he couldnt integrate himself into the white world. He has undergone a lot of tortures and persecutions in the white world but couldnt find a way out. So he tries to seek for spiritual salvation in alcohol， which only makes him bog down deeper and deeper. Through this novel， Momaday wishes to reveal the spiritual predicament of the young American Indians resulted from their divorce from their land and intends to call the young American Indians to return to traditions. He adopts circular homecoming pattern in writing this novel with the purpose to advocate American Indian culture and also call on the young American Indians to inherit and carry forward their cultures and traditions.

In the last part of the novel， Momaday describes how Abel heals his physical and spiritual trauma under the help of his grandfather， and finally reestablishes his belief in American Indian culture and regains his cultural identity. The last chapter begins with Abels awakening of self consciousness. “Abel was suddenly awake， wide awake and listening”. “Awake” here has a symbolic meaning， indicating that Abels self consciousness begins to awaken. His outlook on the world and nature become maturer. After his grandfather dies， he begins realizing what to do. He joins the runners. During the run， Abel gradually realizes the significance of land and the integrity of life. “Pure exhaustion laid hold of his mind， and he could see at last without having to think. He could see the canyon and the mountains and the sky. He could see the rain and the river and the fields beyond. He could see hills at dawn”. Abel feels refreshed and regains his confidence in life again. He is no longer afraid of the unknown world and learns to see the world with awe and acquires some kind of harmony with this world. Finally， Abel finds his own identity in the running activity at dawn. Running symbolizes his returning to his ancestors land. Thus it can be seen that the journey of Abel forms a circular pattern， from leaving to returning， from repelling the traditional American Indian culture to accepting， from innocence to maturity. From the story of Abel， Momaday not only expresses his reflections of traditional American Indian cultures， but also points a way out for the young American Indians——to return to the land and the tradition.

3. Conclusion

Through describing the three processes that Abel seeks for his identity-from no sense of belongings to sufferings in the outside world and finally to discover identity in the reservation， Momaday wishes to appeal the lost young American Indians to reestablish their relationship with their land and traditions. In this novel， Momaday presents the amazing power of group cohesion and the long standing vitality， the eternal charm as well infinite potentiality of Indian cultures.

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【作者簡介】

張靜（1990—），女，江西上饒人，上海外國語大學碩士研究生在讀，主要研究方向：英語語言文學。