Characterization in “The Shawl” by Louise Erdrich

Skills: Analyze how an author develops a theme over the course of a text
through characterization and conflict.

Read: How Trauma Gets Past Down Through Generations and then reread the
last 2 pages of “The Shawl” (starting at “There was a time when the
government…”)

(10 minutes)
Write 3 take-aways when reading the article and the end of the story:
● Storytelling can help people manage the trauma in their life, similar to the
uplifting interpretation that the boy tells his father, helping him move
beyond his grief.
● Generational trauma can be passed through genetics, and those family
members may not understand why they are suffering or living in the
situations that they are: Struggles for Native Americans, such as being
forced onto reservations, resulted in emotional struggles that are passed
down families

Topic and Theme: (10 minutes - individual)

Topics of the Story ● Loss
● Blame
● Trauma
● Parenting

Theme of the Story In the Native American tale, “The Shawl,” by Louise Erdrich, conveys
making peace with a loss requires moving forward from blame by the
narrator’s father's decision to reconsider the loss of his sister as an act
of heroic sacrifice, which liberated him from his rage against his mother,
Aanakwad, so he could overcome trauma.

Characterization: (20 minutes - groups)

Character (Highlight yours):
● The Narrator
● Aanakwad
● The Narrator’s Father
● The Sacrificed Daughter

How are they ● He was aware of his surroundings/curious: For instance, he was
characterized intune to the fact something had happened to his sister (ErDrich
3).
early in the ● Empathetic: He imagines the pain his sister experienced after
story? Provide his father took him to what happened (ErDrick 4).
examples.

How does the ● He becomes less emotionally/mentally well: he becomes abuse,

characterization and is unaware of the pain he inflicts on his son(ErDrich 6)
● He remains empathetic because he continues to hold onto the
shift over the loss of his sister, since he confides in his son at the end of the
course of the story (ErDirch 7)
story? Provide ● He becomes less willing to reflect on the past, as represented by
examples. his struggles with recognizing his alcoholism

Putting it Together:
After identifying shifts in characterization, as well as conflicts, analyze how
these contribute to the themes which we determined earlier? (2-3 sentences)
● In the Native American tale, “The Shawl,” by Louise Erdrich, conveying making peace
with a loss requires moving forward from blame when the narrator’s father processes
his grief over losing his sister differently as a child than as an adult, which both cause
him and others pain. ErDrich utilizes the narrator’s father as a dynamic character to
convey the sense of liberation he finds once he confronts and lets go of his rage and
against Aanakwad and the fate of his sister,
● Following the incident in the woods after Aankawad and the narrator father’s sister
leave in a wagon, the narrator father’s is determined to find closure
○ He had the intuition that something violent occurred in the forest, and asks his
father for the truth
○ When he realizes the truth, he imagines the painful and scary experience for
his sister before she died, and feels anger at his mother for her selfish
decision.
● In the beginning, the story frames the narrator’s father as compassionate and aware
that his sister was in danger, which contrasts with his fathers determination to remain
silent.
● However, after the narration shifts, and the story shifts to when the father is older, he
becomes more resigned to the fact his sister is gone for unjustified reasons.
○ His inability to address his alcoholism demonstrates he is less willing to reflect
on the pain of his loss, unlike during his childhood as he sought to understand
the situation and who was to blame.
○ His violent actions towards his son demonstrate a loss of awareness of his
surroundings, unlike when he perceived the danger his sister and mother were
in.
● The narrator’s father represents the longing felt by Native American families to fill in
the unknowns of what happened to their family members, if they were separated as a
result of reservations, boarding schools, forced adoption, etc. Furthermore, the
influence of the narrator’s grandfather, on his father, signifies the trauma passed down
through Native American families, the narrator’s father developed his avoidant
tendencies from his father, who preferred to not face the reality of losing his daughter
to the wolves.