Mediation in Contemporary Native American Fiction
In Mediation in Contemporary Native American Fiction, James Ruppert examines contemporary Native American fiction as a means of mediation between cultures, a way to "[double]the contexts and spheres of discourse since it moves from one cultural tradition to another as well as connecting the locutor to the listener” (9). He explains: By mediation, I mean an artistic and conceptual standpoint, constantly flexible, which uses the epistemological frameworks of Native American and Western cultural traditions to illuminate and enrich each other. . . . it is more useful to see [Native American texts] not as between two cultures (a romantic and victimist perspective) but as participants in two rich cultural traditions. (3)
To illustrate his ideas about Native American literature, Ruppert looks at the work of N. Scott Momaday, James Welch, Leslie Marmon Silko, Gerald Vizenor, D'Arcy McNickle, and Louise Erdrich. In each chapter, he examines one major work by these authors and the way that that work addresses both Native and non-Native readers in order to bridge the gap between their cultures.
His approach to Native American literature is particularly useful because it shows how literatureendeavors to move the readers implied by the text to question the way they form knowledge and meaning, but in the end it seeks to re-education those readers so that they can understand two codes, two traditions of discourse. In short, texts aspire to change readers. The more complete the fusion between the implied reader and the real reader, the more complete the change. (11)
It shows the way that literature, Native American literature in particular, can effect change in the reader and can thus change the world.
To illustrate his ideas about Native American literature, Ruppert looks at the work of N. Scott Momaday, James Welch, Leslie Marmon Silko, Gerald Vizenor, D'Arcy McNickle, and Louise Erdrich. In each chapter, he examines one major work by these authors and the way that that work addresses both Native and non-Native readers in order to bridge the gap between their cultures.
His approach to Native American literature is particularly useful because it shows how literatureendeavors to move the readers implied by the text to question the way they form knowledge and meaning, but in the end it seeks to re-education those readers so that they can understand two codes, two traditions of discourse. In short, texts aspire to change readers. The more complete the fusion between the implied reader and the real reader, the more complete the change. (11)
It shows the way that literature, Native American literature in particular, can effect change in the reader and can thus change the world.