Tracks

            Tracks takes a different look at my big question. Most of the other books that I have read focus on how familial conditions impact our capacity towards free will. While Tracks has some aspects of this, it focuses more on how the circumstances of our birth impacts our ability to make choices.

            The setting of Tracks is within a Ojibwe reservation in the early 1900’s. The story discloses the hardship of several members within the tribe. Narrated by the pure blooded self-assured chief elder Nanapush and the cowardly mixed blood Pauline, the story offers several different points of views on the gradual extermination of their culture.

            It is implied that early in his life Nanapush had a lot of choice in his life. A male member of the tribe Nanapush is a man who holds a lot of respect. His strong willed stubborn nature also allows to have more choice within his life. However, as the story goes on Nanapush’s choices disappears with the rest of his culture. While he still stubbornly keeps his own religion and much of his culture as the white men invade his culture he slowly to give in to more parts of his culture. For example, when his granddaughter Lulu is born Nanapush places his name on the records, this goes against many of his beliefs as throughout the novel Nanapush discloses that he believes that written language destroys a person identity. As his culture is taken over Nanapush slowly has to yield to the customs and traditions of this new culture.

            Throughout her life, Pauline seems to lack control of her own circumstances. Being of mixed blood Pauline constantly struggles to fit into one of her two cultures. Early in the story she reveals that she had a preference towards the white part of her identity. However, she still always feels like a freak of nature. Often considered to be a bit homely she is in a constant state of jealousy; her target of envy is generally a pure-blooded Ojibew named floor. Much of her actions are made from this emotion, and her envy as insecurity’s eventually snowball causing her to slowly lose her sanity. Because of the circumstances, she was born into Pauline had a very limited capacity for free will, and as she focused on these circumstances her situation just got a lot worse.