Perpetuation of Oral Tradition through Multiple Narration in Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine

Abstract

Though on the surface Erdrich's use of multiple narration in Love Medicine seems to present the world as alienated and chaotic, a close look at the book in light of the Ojibwe oral tradition and culture reveals that the fragmentary multiple narratives, which are built layer upon layer, work together to express the Ojibwe worldview and cultural values, which were till date survived by oral tradition. As Ojibwe philosophy believes in holism, a holistic study is required for the comprehension of underlying Ojibwe traits in the novel. Study of both form and content, storytellers and stories justify that Erdrich strives to perpetuate the oral tradition through her various storytellers.