Lio Pinedo

Dr. Schildkraut

Writing 111

5/14/13

Themes within the Drum

“Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come

back again to where they were. The life of a person is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.”-Black Elk. The loss of someone always greatly impacts those who are left behind and they are left with grief, hopelessness, and the question of what if. Within the story, The Painted Drum, the author, Louise Erdrich writes about various families of Ojibwa Indians and how they are brought together through a drum and the loss that they are suffering. This story is told through two different perspectives,Faye Travers, a woman who appraises the possessions of those have passed on and Bernard Shaawano, who happens to work in the local hospital. While appraising many of the items left behind, Faye is stunned when she finds a rare drum—a powerful yet delicate object, ornamented with symbols she does not recognize, dressed in red tassels and a beaded belt and skirt. From Faye's discovery, the drum's lineage is traced to the reservation on the northern plains to New Hampshire and back. Through the voice of Bernard Shaawano, an Ojibwe, we learn how his grandfather fashioned the drum after years of mourning his young daughter's death, and how it changes the lives of those whose paths its crosses. The final episode of book is about the drum saving the lives of three children caught in the snow outside Bernard's house. It wakes them from the cold and guides them to his door with a silent insistent beat only the oldest girl can hear. Having more than one narrator in The Painted Drum allowed many underlying themes such as hope, loss, and curiosity to be discovered as well as connections to be made because of the personal and intertwining stories the narrators had to offer. One of the important themes that comes up within all three episodes is hope. The author uses both narrators to establish rapport with the readers so that they will feel the same way as they do. It is easily seen that Faye Travers feels the pain Kurt, her lover, is feeling and that at the same time when he is feeling hopeful that she also emanates his feelings. For example, she knows that he is feeling grief over the loss of his daughter but she also realizes that he is trying to get better, “It represents new growth. Besides its not just anybody’s grass. It’s your grass” (Erdrich, 60). Here it is seen that while Kurt is suffering the symbolism of new grass is used and shows that he is slowly but surely recovering from his terrible loss. After Faye has discovered the drum, in the story it is known that she takes the drum even though she knows that it will be putting the business her and her mother have together in jeopardy of being compromised. Her mother soon discovers the drum and she is upset but then she soon comes around which instills hope within Faye to discover the meaning behind the drum, “ But she says that she wouldn't think of returning it, that she's always wondered exactly how it was that Jewett Parker Tatro acquired his hoard, and that maybe in discovering more about this particular drum we will find that out. She’s willing to help me, in fact, learn its origins” (Erdrich, 68). Learning more about Bernard’s life, the reader learns that he was abused by his drunken father and immediately the reader feels sorrow for him and that hopefully some way or another that he could help himself as well as his siblings get out from under the abusive household. “And I know they were scared, but their faces, oh their faces rose up towards me in this beautiful reveal all full of hope and belief. So when he came in the door, and I faced him, I was not afraid” (Erdrich,114). This quote shows the theme of hope because his siblings were counting on him to come through and help them stay safe. He was hopeful in the way that he knew what he had to do but wasn’t sure that he could help his siblings evade their father’s drunkenness. The theme of hope is presented more throughout the story and helps the main points of the episodes be reached.

Another prevalent theme within the episodes is curiosity. According to Dictionary.com curiosity is defined as the desire to learn or know about anything; inquisitiveness. Many times curiosity is seen through Faye’s perspective as well as Bernard’s. In the beginning of the story Faye must go and appraise the belonging of the man that has just passed away, “It is a smell that alerts me, indefinable scent, really, composed of mothballs and citrus oil, of long settled dust and cracked leather. The smell of old things is what it is. My pulse ticks as I note that even on the ground floor an inordinate of closets have been added during some period of expansion” (Erdrich,28). This quote while morbid shows her curiosity as to what is inside the house and what treasures she will discover within. “ I am beginning to worry that the rumors were just that when, upon opening the first of a wide bank of drawers built into a wall, I find the first indication of, it seems curious to say, life” (Eldrich,34). This quote comes again to the curiosity of what is within the house and what she will find. Her curiosity to some can be considered morbid because she is taking excitement because she is looking at the belongings of someone who is now deceased but in reality she makes great finds for the family who is now left to grieve over the deceased. “ “Were there other things, American Indian, I mean, of that era?” I asked. “Did your uncles keep them all together somewhere? In a cabinet? Trunks?” “Oh God, yes, I’d forgotten all about it. One of the Tatros way back lived with Indians,” She says. “There were a lot of old beadwork and stuff. Come upstairs, I’ll show you.” On the way up the stairs, I try to breathe slowly” (Erdrich,37). She gets nervous because she knows that she will be making new discoveries and in fact she does because this where she ends up finding drum that changes everything for her. Curiosity can be bad as the saying goes curiosity killed the cat but at the same time curiosity also allows knowledge to be attained. In this case, curiosity was a good thing because she discovered the drum which lead her to discover more about herself as well as other stories.

The last prevalent theme that was seen throughout the book was loss. Many deal with loss everyday and have different ways of coping. Some people are in the beginning stages of loss and some have come to terms with what has happened. Either way these people still have to deal with it on the daily. When the story opens Faye gives some of her background and then immediately jumps into the story of others. She knows that her lover, Kurt’s daughter is dead, “ I stare at Kurt. My heart creaks shut. I turn away, leaving him to talk to the police, and walk directly into the woods. At first, I think I’m going off to suffer like the raven, but as I walk on and on, I know that I will be fine and I will be loyal, pathologically faithful. I will be there for him when he mourns” (Erdrich,25). This is a prime example of literal loss being that he has just lost his daughter to a car accident. Faye’s role in this is that she will feel what he feels when he feels it. So by that it does not necessarily affect Faye directly but in reality when someone that you are close too is suffering than you as a human being will also suffer. “ “There wasn’t any grass there to begin with, Kurt, it’s to early in the spring. The grass has really not begun to grow yet.” He’s very quiet. We breathe on the line. Eventually he clears his throat. “Oh, fuck,” he says, “ maybe I’m in bad shape. I didn’t notice that”” (Erdrich,60). It goes to show that even as time passes that not all losses heal as easily as others. “ “Faye, I know she’s gone. And I sometimes feel you slipping away, too, please don’t slip away” (Erdrich,63). Kurt is starting to feel the loss and seeing it everywhere. He is afraid of losing her since she has been the one that has kept him grounded through the times of his need. His grief is overwhelming and doesn’t know how to deal with what has happened to him.

In conclusion, The Painted Drum, depicts three very different stories but at the same time they are brought together by the drum and what it represented. The themes of hope, curiosity, and loss were brought forward with the use of multiple narrators. I believe that these themes were prevalent throughout the novel and made it worthwhile to read. Learning about the native american culture through this book has also made me realize how much this culture did for these people, as well as giving them legends so that they could have faith in something.