Estelle Walks Above

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Recommended: Culture influences on adolescents

1) By referring to herself as Estelle Walks Above in “The Life & Times of Estelle Walks Above”, the narrator’s “mother became more Indian in the presence of her friends” (pg. 135) because of her white friends’ fascination with her name. She refers to herself as Estelle Walks Above rather than her actual name, Estelle Miller. Using the name Estelle Walks Above is Estelle’s way of trying to feel important, fit in and gain approval from her white friends, and also to form a connection with her Native American roots. It is human nature to seek acceptance and approval from others, especially when there is a particular clique/group of people a person is wanting to belong to. Alexie is suggesting that we use our racial identity to form a type of camaraderie and understanding with those who share the same ethnic …show more content…

150), indicating that the narrator and his girlfriend enjoy the social aspect of the ceremonies, but find the religion itself to be stifling to their growth as young adults. The narrator most likely felt that way about religion because “My Indian daddy, Marvin, died of stomach cancer when I was a baby” (pg. 150). His father dying when the narrator was too little to remember him had a profound effect on him, in that there was an absence of a true father figure, which left the narrator feeling empty and wanting to know more about his father, his father’s culture and his father’s family. Feelings of anger and sadness may have also contributed to the narrator’s religious perspective being what it is, since cancer is more often than not successfully cured with the use of effective medical treatment, and he most likely feels anger and sadness at experiencing feelings of abandonment from both his father and

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