Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms and Cheryll Glotfelty’s criticism come together to depicts two very different cultural views through an unavoidable clash that occurs when their lives literally depend on it. There is the western culture that sees the earth as nothing more than a never ending resource without realizing that by their activities, they are at risk of creating their own demise. Then there is the indigenous culture that personifies the land. They see the earth as an entity that they have made a bond with; a bond that now lay broken. The book also utilizes silence not only as a symbol for something much bigger but also as a way to craft identity through the views of culture on a forged path of oppression, pain, and inner strength.
Angel, one of the main characters, is thrown into the middle of a battle between the indigenous Native Americans and the American government. One tries to protect their land, while the other wants to exploit the land’s natural resources. Hogan writes, “For us, hell was cleared forests and killed animals. But for them, hell was this world in all its plentitude”. For Angel, it is a journey of reconnection with the way of life in order to uncover her hidden past. The idea that the land is sacred differs drastically from the idea taught to her as she grew up. She is reunited with forgotten relatives, who teach her how deeply rooted their people depended on the natural environment; a dependence that was sown into everyday life. Which brings about “that human culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it and affected by it” (Glotfelty). There is a sense of similarity between Angel’s growth and the transformation of how she starts to perceive things. At first, Angel sees nothing more than scene...
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...f Eco criticism while the other is in denial. In order to secure their survival they will stop at nothing. The elder Tulik, says, “This is what happens to humans when their land is destroyed…they lose their inside ways” (Hogan 342). Hogan beautifully illustrates silence as a foreshadowing symbol of destruction, all the while construction a young broken girl’s identity through her past. Perception is pulled into play as two cultures struggle against each ultimately resulting in the dominant of the two winning.
Works Cited
"Ecocritical Readings; Plight of the Civilized Individual." : Linda Hogan's Solar Storms and Perceptual Disparity between Conflicting Cultures. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Glotfelty, Cheryll. "What Is Ecocriticism?" What Is Ecocriticism? N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Hogan, Linda. Solar Storms: A Novel. New York: Scribner, 1995. Print.
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Baym, Nina, Arnold Krupat, Robert S. Levine, and Jeanne Campbell Reesman. "The Storm." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York, NY: Norton, 2012. 557-61. Print.
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