Exploring the Text

1. Who is the speaker, the “I” of the poem? What is the effect of this choice on the poem’s impact? Who are “we” in lines 10 and 12?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Who is the speaker, the “I” of the poem? What is the effect of this choice on the poem’s impact? Who are “we” in lines 10 and 12?
2. In line 2, the speaker says she thought she would be “sliced in two.” What other images of division or conflict do you find in the poem? How do they contribute to your understanding of a central idea Louise Erdrich is developing in the poem?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - In line 2, the speaker says she thought she would be “sliced in two.” What other images of division or conflict do you find in the poem? How do they contribute to your understanding of a central idea Louise Erdrich is developing in the poem?
3. Who is “he” (l. 3)? Why does the speaker say, “There were times I feared I understood / his language” (ll. 7–8)?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - Who is “he” (l. 3)? Why does the speaker say, “There were times I feared I understood / his language” (ll. 7–8)?
4. How are the Indians depicted in the poem? Pay particular attention to their relationship to the natural world and the final characterization of the man leading “his company” (l. 50).

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - How are the Indians depicted in the poem? Pay particular attention to their relationship to the natural world and the final characterization of the man leading “his company” (l. 50).
5. How would you describe the speaker’s relationship with her God and religion? Cite specific lines to support your response.

   Question

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   Exploring the Text: - How would you describe the speaker’s relationship with her God and religion? Cite specific lines to support your response.
6. From the opening epigraph, Erdrich gives details about food and eating. What are they? How do they work together to contribute to overall meaning?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - From the opening epigraph, Erdrich gives details about food and eating. What are they? How do they work together to contribute to overall meaning?
7. To what extent and in what ways does your knowledge of Erdrich’s mixed European American and Native American heritage influence your interpretation of the poem?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Exploring the Text: - To what extent and in what ways does your knowledge of Erdrich’s mixed European American and Native American heritage influence your interpretation of the poem?