Analysis of I Heard the Owl Call My Name from an Intercultural View

陳瀟晗　張培麗

【Abstract】Absence of intercultural concepts may lead to misunderstanding in daily life and even in literature analysis. Therefore， a thorough comprehension of intercultural analysis in I Heard the Owl Call My Name， a book representing cultural diversities between Indian society and American society， will be beneficial in its literature appreciation.

【Key words】culture differences； acculturation； multiculturalism

Introduction

The book， I Heard the Owl Call My Name， is a simple but moving one， in which the author， Margaret Craven， tells a sentimental story of a vicar， accomplishing his mission in a remote Indian village Kingcome. Beyond the simple descriptive word， the multiple gist of the story glows and ripples every sensitive heart. The following is an analysis of this story from an intercultural view of multiple concepts.

Culture Differences

People come from different backgrounds and culture. Culture should not be a mold which limits possibilities. However， sometimes culture differences cause misunderstanding， even conflicts. Just as the beginning of the story illustrated， the young teacher in the village did not like the Indians and they did not like him. “The teacher had come to the village solely for the isolation pay which would permit him a year in Greece studying the civilization he adored”. It is most likely that culture differences set the teacher and the Indian villagers apart.

See what the young vicar did at the very beginning of his arrival to Kingcome. “Mark asked carefully， ‘Shall we have supper？ Ill get it.” The vicar treated the Indian equally with himself， who was a white. In addition， he respected the Indians customs. The old Indian chatted. “Did you notice that at the graveside he left quietly and asked no questions？” They all nodded. “He respected our customs…” “This was the time of year when…no stranger asked， no photographs permitted. When Mark walked along the path past the long house， he could see masks in readiness， but he asked no questions and was told nothing.” At this time， respect becomes especially important， which does not mean acceptance of another persons values as our own but means tolerance of difference.

Acculturation

There are four results of acculturation： integration， assimilation， separation， and marginalization. Among those results， assimilation happens commonly. Since the vicar has suffered chores and problems with the Indian villages， he gradually became one of them. On his vacation， Marls talk with his sister was almost entirely of the village， of the Indians， of the little amusing happenings. When he returned Kingcome， he was like the man who comes to the door of his house， feels the weight of the day lift from his shoulders， and thinks， “Thank God， Im home.” He even couldnt imagine how he would live again in the old world he had almost forgotten， where men throw up smoke screens between themselves. This procedure is an assimilation one， in which Mark chose to maintain a positive identification in the Indian community.

On the other hand， Mark wished Gordon， the promising Indian boy who came out for school， to reach the integration end. He said， “（Gordon，） someday you will be able to live in both worlds. You will represent your people in the outside world and they will be proud of you.” However， the boy changed too much and could not ever return to his village again. The boy reached the assimilation result， too， but to the opposite direction.

Multiculturalism

However， it seems that the Indian village was not so lucky that it could survive in multiculturalism. Keetah was the only one of the tribe who had no proper English name. Others own their English names other than name of their own language. Whats more， “He is speaking the ancient Elizabethan Kwakwala which the young no longer know.” Peter faltered as if what he was going to say was too painful to utter. Also， in the late summer Mark and Jim took the four boys who were to be the first of the tribe to attend the white mans school. The old knew this was another bit of the slow dying of all they held dear in their own race. All the examples show that the Kingcome peoples cultural heritage may not survive long.

Conclusion

Culture differences， acculturation， multiculturalism， are all among the concepts closely related to contemporary society and life. Attention ought to be paid on the cultural factors behind the language in literature contexts. In addition， the more theories concerning communication between cultural groups are explored， the more benefits will be achieved in literature analysis.

References：

[1]Margaret Craven.I Heard the Owl Call My Name[M].Dell Publishing，a division of Bantam Doubleday Publishing Group，Inc.1973.

[2]嚴淑瓊.The Conflict and Reconciliation between the Two Societies—An Interpretation of the Novel “I Heard the Owl Call my Name” by Margaret Craven[J].福建教育學院學報，2001，（4）.