Future Home Of The Living God Louise Erdrich

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“He jumped into the car and drove off, not quickly, no sirens wailing, so there was then an unreal and frozen about the whole scene in which the only sound to hear was the high-pitched, broken sobbing of the child. . ‘Did you see it?’ I said. ‘They took away a pregnant woman.’” (Erdrich 86, 2017). The dystopian novel, “Future Home of the Living God,” by Louise Erdrich, follows the story of Cedar Hawk Songmaker, a pregnant woman living in a world of decaying evolution. The society she lives in seeks to control female fertility and “save humanity” by rounding up expecting women. She goes into hiding with the father of her child, who betrays her, and she ends up a hostage in the hospital. This essay will analyze the intersectionality of motherhood and indigenous identity through …show more content…

Not even inside your own body." This quote shows how the government's control of women's bodies violates their bodily autonomy and privacy, echoing broader authoritarian normalities that prioritize control over women's reproductive choices. Additionally, Cedar's interactions with the males of this novel continue to highlight the power dynamics at play. When discussing her pregnancy with Phil, Cedar writes, "He knew about my pregnancy and was treating me like glass." This quote reveals how notions of fragility and dependence inform male attitudes towards women's bodies and reproductive abilities. By analyzing these gender dynamics, we gain insight into how authoritarian structures maintain abuse and disempowerment, particularly in the world of reproductive rights. Cedar and others in this novel show remarkable resistance in the face of violating reproductive control. Cedar's journey towards reclaiming authority over her own body and reproductive choices stands as a powerful act of defiance against patriarchal oppression. When Cedar reflects on her determination to protect her unborn child, she declares, "I'll fight for my baby... I'll take risks, do

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