| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 外國語文學系所 === 106 === In The Round House, Louise Erdrich arranges the rape of an Objiwe woman Geraldine Coutts as the beginning of the novel. In order to heal Geraldine’s trauma, her son Joe starts to search for justice. However, he finds out that the Federal Law he trusts cannot deal with the problem of the rapist. At the same time, he realizes that Geraldine’s rape is unusual. As a matter of fact, it is related to Objiwe historical trauma.
The thesis is divided into two chapters along with an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction simply introduces the literature review, the main argument, and the structure of the thesis. Chapter One involves three topics: animism, oral storytelling and historical trauma. First of all, interpreted through Alfred Irving Hallowell’s animism theory and Walter Benjamin’s storytelling theory, I will point out that Mooshum’s myth not only reveals the importance of animism but also explains the sanctity of the Round House. Also, Mooshum’s myth implies Objiwe people’s oppressed history. With the help of Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart’s historical trauma theory, I will reveal that Geraldine’ rape is related to Objiwe historical trauma. In this regard, Geraldine is a victim of Objiwe historical trauma. Chapter Two focuses on the complicated relationship between Geraldine’s rape and other characters'' traumatic experiences by means of Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory and Walter Benjamin’s memory theory. Joe’s narration reveals that characters’ traumatic experiences are not only individual but also collective. This is to say, Erdrich arranges Geraldine’s rape in order to bring out other characters’ traumas. As a result, I find out that Objiwe people suffer from different kinds of violence. Furthermore, based on Dori Laub’s witness theory, I will show that Joe has double identity. He is both listener and survivor. Joe narrates not only Geraldine’s rape but also his own trauma and guilty feeling of killing Linden. After realizing that killing is not the best choice to deal with any problem, he becomes a lawyer. Therefore, The Round House is considered a Bildungsroman. The conclusion combines all these discussions to conclude this research and to reveal that Erdrich’s traumatic writing not only voices for Objiwe people but also offers them a way to cope with their historical trauma.
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