sp09250bmartinez

="Dear John Wayne" by Louise Erdrich (1984) =

// Brittany Martinez //


Those cells, burning, doubling, splitting out of their skins.
First Impressions | Engaging with the Text | Form and Relationship to Content | Unpacking Figurative Langauge | Setting | Point of View | Complexity/Ambiguity | Canonicity | Biographical Context | Historical/Cultural Context | Theoretical Application | Overall Interpretation | Works Cited

//Way 1: First Impressions//
 When I first glanced over my assigned poem, I noticed that it was neatly written in [what seemed like] eight equally sized stanzas, with the exception of the fifth stanza. Each stanza contained five to seven lines; the first two stanzas consisted of five lines; stanzas three, four, six, and seven contained six lines; the fifth stanza contained one line; and the last two stanzas consisted of seven lines. I find this particular set-up interesting because, starting from the beginning to the end, the number of lines gets greater as the poem goes on. The fifth stanza however, contains one line which makes it quite interesting in a way that makes me wonder why she chose to write the poem this way.

The first thing that caught my attention was the title, "Dear John Wayne." This is very catchy and makes you, as the reader, want to read it. At first, after seeing the title, I thought that the poem was going to be something like a letter or dedication to John Wayne. However, as I started reading the poem, I realized that it was not either of those things. In fact, after I had finished reading the poem, I felt as if it was more against John Wayne than Pro-John Wayne.

My first impression of the poem itself, was that it was just about an average night during a certain era where people went to a drive-in theater to watch a movie, in this case a John Wayne western. I didn't feel that it had any significant meaning, just something that she chose to write about for some reason or another. However, after I read the poem a few more times, I started to change my opinion; and after applying all the thirteen ways, my mind had changed completely. "Dear John Wayne" does indeed contain a deeper significant meaning, that one is only to find by "digging" deeper into the poem.



//Way 2: Engaging with the Text//
 After I read this poem over and over, to myself and out loud, I noticed that this poem contains numerous sound devices and poetic techniques. The first thing that I noticed was that it had some metaphors and similes. One in particular was in stanza 3, line 14: "Tumbling like dust weeds" (Erdrich line 14). This simile is comparing two images to each other: dead settlers and dust weeds. Another thing that I noticed was that it also contained personification. In stanza 3, line 12, Erdrich writes, "Only the arrows whining"; she was giving the arrows a human characteristic, in this particular case, the arrows are "whining".

The poem also contained many assonance's. Assonance's are "the repetition of vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of words that end differently" (Brown and Yarbrough 322). There were some in almost every stanza. Some examples include, "wind**o**w/mosquit**oe**s" in line 4 of stanza 1, "**O**nly/arr**o**ws" in line 12, and "t**u**mbling/d**u**st" in line 14.

I also noticed that there were numerous enjambments and caesuras in this poem. An enjambment is where the poem runs on from one line to another and a caesura is a pause that occurs in the middle of a line. Some examples as to where some enjambments occur is line 3-4, line 8-9, and line 12-13, just to name a few. There are many in stanzas 3 and 4 and throughout the rest of the poem. A big one that I noticed was actually from one stanza to the next: last line in stanza 6 to first line in stanza 7. This poem also contained a huge amount of caesuras, as you may have noticed in just about every stanza. Just to name a few, there are caesuras in lines 5, 7, 11, 12, 14 and the whole of stanza 4.

Erdrich uses quite a bit of imagery as well. I feel as if I am actually at this drive-in theater, watching this movie. It is as if I can hear John Wayne say the quotes that Erdrich incorporates into her poem. She has a natural talent when it comes to writing and using different poetic devices and techniques. This poem is a clear example.

Top of Page

Vertical Thinking: Close Readings of the Text


 **//Way 3: A Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content//**
After reading this poem, I came to the conclusion that it is a free-style poem. It has no specific forms of rhyme except for a few cases of internal rhyme slants. A few examples of where these are located are: stanza two- nor**th**/sou**th** (line 7) and stanza eight- play**ing**/tak**ing**/burn**ing**/doubl**ing**/splitt**ing** (lines 37-42). It also has no specific meter. If it did have meter and rhyme, it would be considered a formal poem; however this is not the case, which makes it an informal poem, more specifically a free verse.

//Way 3: Another Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content//
There are also spots containing some alliteration. They are not very distinct like "Sarah sees seven sandals", but they do repeat a consonant sound to produce a better effect. Some places in the poem where these are found are: Line one- "...**p**icture is **p**acked" and line 5- "...through the **s**moke **s**creen for blood." In the Way 2 exercise I also posted many other things I had found in the text, for example, the assonance's and enjambments. Those poetic techniques also deal with how the form of this poem is. Without any of these techniques or devices, this poem would not have the same effect; it wouldn't have the same meaning. Erdrich includes them in her poem for a reason, whether it be just for her reader's enjoyment or for a deeper meaning.



//Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language//
//"tumbling like dust weeds/into the history that brought us all here/together."//

__Expert Move Number 1__ Line number 14 is a simile, comparing the dying settlers to tumble weeds in the sense that like tumbleweeds, the settlers blew across our history that brought us all here together. Erdrich uses the word "like" which categorizes it as a simile, rather than a metaphor. If it was a metaphor, she would have said that "the settlers **were** dust weeds, tumbling into the history that brought us all here."

__Expert Move Number 2__ In order to find the denotative meanings of this simile, we need to explore the meaning of "dust weeds", in other terms "tumbleweeds." According to the Online Marriam-Webster dictionary, a tumbleweed is any type of various plant that separates from its roots and are driven about by the wind as a light rolling mass ("tumbleweed"). When using this simile she isn't comparing live settlers to tumbleweeds, but dead ones. She could be making reference to their ghosts because when the plant separates from it's roots, it technically is dead. Instead of using the term "dust weeds," Erdrich could have used other terms. For example, though it seems that she was trying to give it the effect of a light, quiet rolling mass, she could have used other terms that may have had the same effect: feathers, basketball, etc. Feathers are light and quiet, however, they are not so good at rolling (though they could blow in the breeze), so this would not work. Basketballs have the ability to roll/tumble, but they are not quiet or light, therefore this would not work either. I think that the term Erdrich chose (dust weeds) is perfect for this simile because it means exactly what she wants it to mean. No other word would have the same effect as "dust weeds."

__Expert Move Number 3__ This simile definitely is the tip of the iceberg. In order to explore the connotative meaning of this simile, I need to explore it with the rest of the stanza. The reason for this is because Erdrich is talking about settlers throughout the stanza and this particular simile ties in with the stanza. Lines twelve and thirteen start out by explaining that the Indians are shooting arrows through the sky at the settlers. Lines fourteen through sixteen tell us how the settlers are dying "beautifully, tumbling like dust weeds/into the history that brought us all here/together" (Erdrich lines 11-16). I believe that the connotative meaning of this simile is that she is talking about how when settlers die, their ghosts are part of our past. For instance, like I mentioned earlier, when tumbleweeds break from their roots, they are dead. Obviously, the settlers are dead and, like tumbleweeds, they peacefully tumble into our pasts.

__Expert Move Number 4__ It fits in with the rest of the poem because of the fact that it shows the readers what is happening through an effect that catches people's attention. Both simile's and metaphors do that. Because she is talking about the history of the Indians and settlers, this simile helps the reader get a better in-depth image of what happened.



//Way 4: Unpacking Another Instance of Figurative Language //
"//Only the arrows whining, a death-cloud of nerves/ swarming down on the settlers"//

__Expert Move Number 1__ Line 12 is a metaphor in the sense Erdrich is saying that the arrows are a death-cloud of nerves. Because she did not use the terms "like" or "as", line 12 is not a simile.

__Expert Move Number 2__ In order to find the denotative meaning of this metaphor, we need to explore the meanings of "nerves" and "death-cloud." Dictionary.com provides two excellent definitions of the word "nerves." The first says that nerves are "one or more bundle of fibers forming part of a system that conveys impulses of sensation, motion, etc., between the brain or spinal cord and other parts of the body" and it means "strength, vigor, or energy" ("Nerves"). A cloud is "anything that obscures or darkens something, or causes gloom, trouble, suspicion, disgrace, etc" ("Cloud"). It is also considered "a great number of birds, insects, etc flying together" ("Cloud"). Arrows are weapons used by the Indians. Erdrich could have used other words to get the point across, but what she chose has a greater effect on the reader because it allows you to see what is happening, to imagine it.

__Expert Move Number 3__ The connotative meaning is quite relevant. In expert move number 2, I explained that a cloud is anything that darkens something or a great number of objects flying together. This definitely fits the description of the arrows. If all the Indians shot off their arrows at once, they would all be flying together. Because they all will be flying together, they will form a "cloud" of blackness onto the settlers. However, Erdrich says that it was a death-cloud of nerves. Death symbolizes the fact that the settlers are about to die by the arrows of the Indians. Nerves, I believe, symbolize strength and energy...the Indian's strength. The first description of nerves I wrote earlier, says that nerves are one or more bundle of fibers. In this case, the arrows are the fibers that are conveying an impulse. That is the connotative meaning of this metaphor. The settlers are about to die by the arrows of the Indians and it shows the strength that the Indians posses when it comes to protecting their land.

__Expert Move Number 4__ This metaphor fits in with the rest of the poem because it too is conveying the history of the narrator's culture. It shows that the Indians tried to protect their land, their people. This fits in with the underlying meaning in the poem. Her description of the arrows and how they are coming down onto the settlers produce vivid imagery that help her readers "see" what is happening.



//Way 5: Analyzing the Setting//
The setting of this poem takes place at a drive-in, outdoor movie theater on an August night. The narrator is watching is a typical John Wayne movie while resting on the hood of a Pontiac. The first two lines give this away, "August and the drive-in theater is packed. / We lounge on the hood of the Pontiac" (Erdrich lines 1-2). In line 34, the narrator makes reference to the fact that the movie is done. This basically indicates, in itself, that they were watching a movie. The reason that I say it takes place on an August night is because usually you do not watch movies during the day, you typically watch them at night (at theaters). The whole body of the text also clearly shows that they were watching a John Wayne movie because of the images the narrator explains and the quotes that Erdrich incorporates into her poem from the John Wayne Film.



//Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View//
This can be quite difficult due to the fact that 3/4 of the poem is talking about the movie and is told in third person. However, the poem does not start out in third person. In fact, it is told in first person. Erdrich starts out by saying, "We lounge on the hood of the Pontiac" (Line 2). Though she does not use the terms "I" or "my", the term "we" symbolizes that it is in first person. She is stating that she is part of a group (or the narrator is). She could possibly be representing the whole of a certain race or culture. In this case, I believe she is talking about the Indian Culture. After reading this poem several times, I came to the conclusion that the narrator is part Indian and the term "we" represents her culture and the Indian population as a whole. I think that, in the poem, she was with a group of Indians, watching a John Wayne movie and they disliked how Hollywood portrayed their culture.

She starts out in first person, then goes into third person objective point of view, then ends in first person. The reason I believe that the body of the text is in third person objective is because you see what is happening during the movie (actions, dialogue); however, you do not have any insights to what John is thinking. In the sixth stanza, the movie ends and then the last two stanzas are back in first person point of view, Erdrich writes, "We are back in our skins" (Erdrich line 35). This set-up is very interesting and well wrote out.

If this poem had been written in second-person point of view, I do not think that it would have nearly the same effect that it has now. Erdrich would have had to start out by saying "Imagine that you went to a drive-in theater and it was packed." It just would not have worked, you would not get the emotion that is hidden beneath the words, that you get now when reading the poem. Second-person point of view would not allow you to see the effect that it has on the narrator because you may not be Indian; you may not know the history behind the Native American culture. If you don't know the history, you may not understand what it is that she is trying to say. If this poem had been written in third-person point of view, I do not think that it would have had as good of an effect that the poem has now; however, I think that it would still help you understand the poem better than it would if it had been written in second-person. If Erdrich had decided to write the poem from a third-person point of view, then it probably would have been best if she used third-person limited point of view. This is because then you would see how the narrator felt about the movie and the issue underlined by it. Any other third-person point of view would not be as effective.



//Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity, & Difficulty//
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This poem, to me, can be quite difficult at times, in terms of understanding and reading. One thing that makes it difficult to understand is the question, why? Why is she writing about a John Wayne movie, what is its significance? After doing some research, I saw that the author was Indian, so I am assuming that this is a poem from her point of view. Maybe she was possibly at this theater once and was writing about memories. Another thing, that I find makes it difficult to understand, is the fact that she doesn't have a topic sentence to go into talking about the movie. At first, I was confused because I didn't realize she was already into the movie and I had no idea what she was talking about. Eventually though, due to diction and the syntax, I realized that she was in fact talking about the movie. One other thing that confused me, was at the end, she wrote that "even his disease was the idea of taking everything" (Erdrich line 41). I didn't even know he had a disease and she didn't talk about it earlier in the poem, so I didn't understand as to why that was even in the poem. Almost all poems are going to have a difficulty of understanding, depending on the reader and the author. Some poets purposefully write their text difficult because they want their readers to read deeper into their poem and find the hidden meaning. I do not think that this was Erdrich's overall goal. I believe she was just writing about a typical night on or off a reservation for some Indians. I also believe that maybe she possibly had a deeper meaning within this poem, possibly dealing with the relationship between whites and Indians. Because of that, it makes the poem difficult to read, because I feel that there is a deeper reading, but I can't find it.  As for ambiguity, I feel that the whole poem is an ambiguity in itself. On the outside (the tip of the iceberg) you see that it is just about a night out at a John Wayne Western movie. However, if you really dig deeper, you will see that this is a poem about how Hollywood portrays Indians and Erdrich's distaste of that fact. You will also see that it is about Native American's past and how the "white" people took everything from them. Starting from stanza one, you will see that everything is pretty explanatory. She is talking about the scenery: where they are, the time (August), what surrounds them. However, the last sentence, line 5, is an ambiguity. Erdrich writes, "Nothing Works. They break through the smoke screen for blood" (line 5). When you first read this sentence, you assume that it is about the mosquitoes breaking through the "mosquito repellent" smoke for human blood, resulting in itchy little bumps. However, if you read deeper into this sentence, you will see that it is about history, our past. If we look at the previous lines, "surrounded by the slow-burning spirals they sell/at the window, to vanquish the hordes of mosquitoes", we see that the mosquitoes could refer to the white settlers and the "we" mentioned at the beginning of the poem refers to the Indians (Erdrich lines 3-4). The slow-burning spirals could be anything that the Indians (back then) used to keep the white settlers from taking their land ("to vanquish the hordes of mosquitoes"). However, nothing works because the white settlers break through it and come for blood...Indian blood ("they beak through the smoke screen for blood"). Going back to my comments on the difficulty of the poem, I now think that there __is__ a topic sentence that introduces the movie: "They break through the smoke screen for blood" (Erdrich line 5). This is because, like I just mentioned, the mosquitoes are the settlers and they break through the "smoke screen" to get the Indians; then the movie starts.  The next ambiguity is in stanza two. Erdrich explains, "Always the lookout spots the Indian first" (Line 6). This may seem like nothing, but when looking deeper, you see that Erdrich is trying to explain what always happens in movies...the Indians are always spotted. The second ambiguity in this stanza is lines eight through ten, "The Sioux or some other Plains bunch/ in spectacular columns, ICBM missiles,/ feathers bristling in the meaningful sunset" (Erdrich lines 8-10). Again, this just seems explanatory, like something you see in an everyday western. However, that's exactly the point! Not all Indians wore feathers, but Hollywood seemed to think so, and it seems that this movie was stereotyping a certain group of Indians: the Sioux or some other Plains tribe. Drawing away from all that, I am focusing mainly on "ICBM Missiles." According to Wikipedia, ICBM Missiles are usually long range missiles typically designed for weapon delivery; they have great range and fire power and carry a most destructive force ("Intercontinental Ballistic Missile"). I believe that Erdrich was trying to say that the Indians or their arrows were like ICBM missiles. For example, back in the day, they did not have ICBM missiles, so the arrows could have been the Indian's "ICBM missiles"; they were full of power, had long range, and had a destructive force when used in battles/fights. She could also have been referring to the Indians. Se wrote that they were in spectacular columns; maybe the reference to the ICBM missiles was actually there to say that the Indians had great range (there were many of them for a great distance) and they were a destructive force when in battles/fights. Besides, weren't Indians seen as savages according to Hollywood and isn't that part of the message Erdrich is trying to get across: how horrible Hollywood depicted Indians to be?  Stanza three, in my opinion, doesn't really contain an ambiguity. However, there are a few important details that help in the understanding of this poem and that can be quite difficult. First off, I should explain the word parlance because I feel that it has a significant meaning in this stanza. According to dictionary.com, parlance is a way of communicating. The reason that this is important in this stanza is because Erdrich starts it out by saying, "There will be no parlance" (Line 11). This clearly states that there will be no talk, no agreements, nothing; the Indians will fight for their land, their culture, their rights. As I stated earlier, this stanza also contains a simile (in which I unpacked in Way 4). The thing that I found to be most difficult about this stanza though, is the last line, "together: this wide screen beneath the sign of the bear" (Erdrich Line 16). I wasn't quite sure as to what this meant and I am still not sure. I know that from my American Indian Studies Class, the Ojibwa (Chippewa) had a clan system of seven different totems and the bear clan was one of them. According to Wikipedia, the bear clan was the "police" of the clan; they were known for their strength and leadership ("Anishinaabe Clan Systems"). Because Erdrich is part Ojibwa (see Way 9), she could have been part of the bear clan and line 16 may have something to do with that. It could mean, making reference back to the present, that because of the Indian's strength and leadership that they possessed during the 1950's and on, there they are now, recovering from the horrid events that took place in the past.  Stanza four is a close-up of John Wayne. What I mean by this, is that Erdrich makes a bigger than life image of John, showing a face full of revenge, angry that the Indians had won...this time. I believe that this stanza also contains an ambiguity. Erdrich writes, "His face moves over us,/ a thick cloud of vengeance, pitted/ like the land that was once flesh" (Lines 18-20). At first, I would have thought that his face was missing a few chunks because of the word "pitted", however, when I look closer at the poem, I realize that it isn't quite about that. The stanza goes on to say that he has scars, which I am going to assume is the reason as to why is face is pitted. She also makes reference to the land being pitted that was once flesh. What I get out of that, is that the white settlers stripped the Indians of their land...pitted it. The flesh could mean "Indians."  The fifth stanza contains only one line and though I am not sure it is an ambiguity, I think that it has major importance for the rest of the poem. John Wayne says, "Everything we see belongs to us" (Erdrich Line 23). This confirms my hypothesis that this poem is about the Native American's history. John Wayne, I believe, represents the white settlers. Back in the day, as soon as the French and other Europeans came to America, they took everything from the Indians out of greed (Lurie). They took their land, their food and other resources, and their rights. They forced children to go to boarding schools where they couldn't speak their language; they pushed them out of their lands and put them onto reservations where most did not have all the staples and resources that Indians needed for their physical, spiritual, and cultural needs (Loew). They literally thought that everything they laid eyes on were theirs, not taking into consideration who's land and resources they really belonged too.  I do not feel that stanza six contains any ambiguities, just details that greatly help with the meaning of the poem. For example, someone speaks to John during the movie, saying, "//The eye sees a lot, John, but the heart is so blind./ Death makes us owners of nothing//" (Erdrich Lines 26-27). This shows that someone at least has sense (in the movie), trying to tell John that killing the Indians is not going to help nor make the land his; that he has no consideration for the Indian's thoughts or feelings. It is in this stanza that the movie finishes.  Stanza seven contains a couple of ambiguities. To explain this, I am going to combine them because I feel that the ambiguities in this stanza compliment each other. Erdrich wrote, "We get into the car/ scratching our mosquito bites, speechless and small/ as people do when the movie is done./ We are back in our skins" (Lines 31-35). First off, I believe that Erdrich is comparing the mosquito bites to the viewers of the movie. She says that the bites are "speechless" and "small" (line 33). At first, you would think that this has no meaning, but it does. Because the narrator was Indian, she is explaining how her and the other Indians felt after watching the movies; they were speechless and small. By this, I mean that they felt small because of how Hollywood depicted the Indians. They weren't savage...the white people were, if anything. When the Indians fought, it was to protect themselves. When the white settlers fought, it was to get what wasn't theirs. If I were Indian, I would feel insulted as well. At the end of the movie, the narrator and her group are back in their skins. This is an ambiguity because Erdrich does not mean that they are literally back in their skins, considering they were always in their skins; but she was trying to say that they were back in reality. Being of the Indian race, during the movie she had to sit there and watch as her own culture and race was revealed as savages and the "bad guys". But, when the movie is over and she snaps back to reality, she is back in her skin: just a normal person who went to a movie, not a savage nor a bad guy, just a normal person.  The last stanza contained, what I found to be, a huge ambiguity and if not that, a key detail in the poem. The stanza is written as follows, "How can we help but keep hearing his voice,/ the flip side of the soundtrack, still playing:/ //Come on, boys, we got them/ where we want them, drunk, running//./ //They'll give us what we want, what we need//" (Erdrich Lines 36-40). First of all, we have to understand what the flip side of a soundtrack is. In my high school psychology class, we took a few days discussing subliminal messages. One subject that came up was when you played a song backward, you would get this message, sometimes "evil" playing. This could be what Erdrich means. On the flip side of the soundtrack, they can hear John Wayne speaking what he really means: "We got them (the Indians) right where we want them, drunk, running. They will give us what we want." It shows that John knows that he is going to win because they have "scared" the Indians. This could also make reference back to the "olden days" when the French and Europeans came to the Americas. They introduced the Native Americans to alcohol and eventually the Indians depended on it, resulting in them trading some of their goods for alcohol (Loew). If the Indians are drunk and scared, of course they will give them what they want. That is what happened in the past.

Top of page = =

//Way 8: Considering Canonicity//
I believe that this poem is canonical. First of all, Erdich's poem is very aesthetic. The word craft and language she uses really "makes" the poem. Secondly, though the longevity of this poem is questionable, I believe that people will still read it years from now. It appeals to the common people. This poem also appeals to a certain culture. It is written form the point-of-view of an Indian and is about Indians watching a John Wayne movie, but more importantly about the history between the white settlers and the Native Americans. Therefore it fits the cultural criteria. This poem also is quite educational and should be taught in the classroom. It provides historical significance and shows how things can be easily stereotyped. Because this poem fits all three criteria discussed in our lessons and textbook, this poem would be considered canonical.



//Way 9: Biographical Context//
"Dear John Wayne" is a poem which introduces the reader to real life events, specifically linked to Louise Erdrich. After reading, a few biographies about her, I found out that she was born of mixed blood. Specifically, German and Native American, Ojibwa. While searching for a biography that would provide me with enough accurate information, I came across two biographies that seemed to be accurate and useful. One of the sites, Wilson Web, contained a biography from "Tenth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators", published by H.W Wilson Company. This biography explained that her mother was a Native American, more specifically, Turtle Mountain Ojibwa (also known as Chippewa) and that her father was German-American ("Erdrich, Louise"). After I found out that she was part Ojibwa, I realized that culture had a huge effect on her writing. It seemed that most of her works focused on Native Americans and their lives. According to the biography in the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Erdrich's main subject to write about is the Chippewa Indians in the Northern Midwest (Encyclopedia Britannica). "Dear John Wayne" is one of these stories/poems. She is writing of Indians (probably Ojibwa) attending a drive-in movie theater, where they are showing a John Wayne Movie. This particular John Wayne movie involves Indians (like always) and Erdrich seems to be making relations. I haven't figured out yet, whether or not, the narrator is indeed Erdrich or whether this particular poem of hers is fiction or non-fiction. Because most of her works are fiction, I am going to assume that "Dear John Wayne" is fiction and not based on actual events.

//Way 10: Historical and Cultural Contexts//
While searching for historical context or cultural context on my poem, I didn't really find much. I had searched for events that happened in 1984 (when this poem was published), but I did not find anything of significance that would deal with "Dear John Wayne". I also searched for a relationship between John Wayne and Native Americans. With this search, I did find something that helped me understand the poem a bit more. My search directed me to a 1971 article from Playboy. Not being a reader of his particular magazine, I sucked it up and went on their website to find this article and what I found was of great interest. I realized that Mr. John Wayne was very discriminative...towards blacks and Native Americans. He wasn't racist, just discriminative in the sense that he believed whites were the dominant power and that the minorities should get over their past ("Playboy Interview: John Wayne"). Playboy had set up an interview with John Wayne ranging from politics to minorities to Hollywood and within this interview America learned a lot about this outspoken man. A particular section of this interview interested me however and provided me with information that helped in my understanding of Erdrich's poem: ~They've= Native Americans~


 * "PLAYBOY:** Do you think they've had the same advantages and opportunities that you've had?
 * WAYNE:** I'm not gonna give you one of those I-was-a-poor-boy-and-I-pulled-myself-up-by-my-bootstraps stories, but I've gone without a meal or two in my life, and I still don't expect the government to turn over any of its territory to me. Hard times aren't something I can blame my fellow citizens for. Years ago, I didn't have all the opportunities, either. But you can't whine and bellyache 'cause somebody else got a good break and you didn't, like these Indians are. We'll //all// be on a reservation soon if the socialists keep subsidizing groups like them with our tax money" (Playboy Interview: John Wayne).

With this, I realized that he had a disliking for how the Indians act. In Erdrich's poem, I think that she reflects this through the way she writes about John Wayne. In the last stanza she shows how he and the other actors describe the Indians and she wanted her readers to know his distaste:

//They'll give us what we want, what we need"// (Lines 38-40).
Also, in the poem, there is a section that talks about Indians laughing. This shows how the Indians are laughing at how Hollywood is portraying Indians; that is, how Hollywood pictured Indians in the "olden-days". Though I did not search anything up on this issue, I think it is evident how Hollywood assumed Indians looked like and acted like, through every movie they had made involving Indians.

The last thing that I had searched for was John Wayne himself and how he died. Erdrich wrote in her last stanza that "even his disease was the idea of taking everything" (line 41). Due to this line, I was curious as to whether he died of a disease or not. My curiosity led me to Wikipedia. Though I know that this can sometimes be an untrustworthy site, I felt it was accurate. On this site, it said that in 1969 he developed lung cancer due to his constant chain-smoking (though others speculate it was due to a nuclear contamination) but he had gotten rid of it after removing his left lung and four ribs ("John Wayne"). Before his death, though he was lung cancer free, he developed stomach cancer and eventually died because of it ("John Wayne"). This helped me to understand the poem even more. His cancer took his life from him, his career, his ribs, his left lung, and more. And that is what I believe Erdrich is trying to say. The white people had the goal to take everything from the Indians..their culture, beliefs, traditions, language, land, etc through assimilation, relocation, termination and more. Erdrich was comparing his disease to white's goal. She furthers this idea by writing "those cells, burning doubling, splitting out of their skin" (line 42). This refers to how the Indians had to force themselves out of their skins to become more "white" and "American".

//Way 11: Theoretical Application//
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">To understand this poem from a New Critical approach, you must ask questions about the structure of the poem and its meaning together. It is important that you do not focus on how the work affects you and you must not pay any attention to the authors intentions (Brown and Yarbrough 212). With this particular poem, a New Critic might ask, "what is its significance being free verse," "why did Erdrich decide not to use meter or rhyme," "what is the ambiguity underlined in this poem," "what are the connotative and denotative meanings of certain words: bear, vengeance, soundtrack, etc?" From a New Critical perspective, I would say that the ambiguity of this poem is the actual history of the Native Americans and the white settlers. Earlier in this project (see Way 7 ), I discussed all the possible ambiguities that I found located throughout the poem. Another thing I would say from a New Critic perspective, would be that the form has a lot to do with the meaning of the poem; especially the fact that in the middle of the poem, there appears to be a one-lined stanza (or some would say that it is just a line incorporated between two stanzas). Erdrich does this to stress the quote that John Wayne is supposedly saying and to stress the ambiguity behind it. In my opinion, it is hard to analyze any literary text by any one of these approaches unless you have a good knowledge of them. In my case, I am not too familiar with any of the approaches and find them difficult to understand, so it is hard for me to analyze this poem from different critical point of views.

//Way 12: Another Theoretical Application//
To understand "Dear John Wayne" from a Marxist Approach you have to realize who the dominant class is and the wants that they have. Although Marxist theorists normally use this approach on works pertaining to the economy or a communist society, I feel that this would be a great approach to "Dear John Wayne" because of the fact that the white settlers are the dominant society and the Indians are the inferior society. Also, the settlers have specific wants, in this case, the Indian's land and other resources. Though all these wants are not stated outright, you can see them in the ambiguities hidden throughout the poem. Some questions that a Marxist might ask would be, "what specifically do the settlers want," "what is so important about the fact that the narrator is back in his/her skin?" Again, it is difficult to analyze this poem from different critical approaches; however, if I had to choose, I would say that it would be more effective using the Marxist Approach rather than the new Critical Approach only because of the differences in social classes and how the settlers had the idea that everything was theirs, no matter who had it first.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> //Way 13: Unifying Interpretation//
At the beginning of this project, I had no idea as to what the possible meaning of the poem was. However, now that I have applied all twelve of the thirteen ways of understanding a literary text, my understanding of "Dear John Wayne" has grown immensely. My final conclusion of the underlying meaning in this poem is that it focuses on two main things: Erdrich's distaste for the portrayal of early Native Americans and the history between the Native Americans and the settlers. It wasn't until Way 7 that I really started seeing the meaning.

Looking back at Way 1, I see that I was right in my hypothesis that the poem contained a deeper meaning. Way 1 helped me to start analyzing the poem. If I hadn't wrote down my initial thoughts, I would not have had a starting point to base my thoughts off. Way 2 helped me to look at the content more. I looked for different types of poetic techniques and devices that would have produced vivid images to help me become more intact with my poem. Doing this, I found numerous cases of assonance's, alliterations, enjambments, and more. Way 3 tied in with Way 2; besides making points about form and its relationship to the content, I discovered that it was a free verse poem. Way 4 helped me to understand the meanings behind the figurative language, using the four expert moves. I found this step a bit difficult, in the sense that I couldn't find that many pieces of figurative language. Though I couldn't find that many, it did help me a lot in unpacking the rest of the poem because once I unpacked one piece of figurative language it helped me understand the rest of the poem clearer. Way 5 and 6 were fairly easy in determining because Erdrich clearly stated, using in-text clues, where the scene took place and what the point of view was. Like I mentioned previously, Way 7 helped me the most in understanding "Dear John Wayne." The reason for this is because I felt that almost every stanza had an ambiguity, and when I added it all up, the whole poem made sense. Way 8, to me, was kind of difficult. It didn't really help me understand the poem better, but it did kind of help me understand the importance of canonicity and how it is used today. The biographical context (Way 9) helped me greatly because I got a better knowledge of Louise Erdrich and her background. Seeing that she was part Indian herself, made me realize that she based her works off of her culture. She has a strong opinion and point of view about her culture. On the other hand, historical and cultural contexts (Way 10) also helped me to understand the poem better because I found out that John Wayne wasn't really a friendly guy towards minorities. Erdrich clearly shows this through the way she describes Wayne in the poem. The last two ways were the most difficult to write. Trying to analyze the poem in any critical approach is difficult, to me, especially if you have no previous knowledge on the subjects. Due to this, analyzing the poem from the two perspectives I chose, did not really help in my understanding of "Dear John Wayne."

In conclusion, the 13 ways helped me conjure up a well thought out analysis of the meaning of "Dear John Wayne." If I had never taken this class, I would not have been able to apply any of these ways to the reading and I would for surely not have known the meaning hidden throughout the poem. However, now that I have a better knowledge on unpacking literature, I can use these rules in future classes. "Dear John Wayne" written by Louise Erdrich is a fantastic poem that brings you into the realm of history through personification, ambiguities, similes, and vivid imagery. She sucks you in to the movie itself, providing you with a dramatic image of John Wayne and his goals to eliminate the Indians and take everything that is theirs for himself. Hidden beneath these images of a rugged John Wayne and savage-like Indians however, is the true story of the narrator's past. The white settlers came into Indian territory hundreds of years ago, claiming everything for themselves, not caring about who's it was or what it was for. The Indians were not savage, as Hollywood depicts them to be, nor were they the "bad guys." This is what Erdrich was trying to say all along. The Indians were stripped of their land, language, resources and more all because of the white settlers greed and today they are still trying to recover from those years they suffered.

Top of Page



//Works Cited and Consulted//
"Anishinaabe Clan Systems." __Wikipedia__. 11 May 2009. Wikimedia Foundation. 13 May 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodem>

Brown, James S., and Scott D. Yarbrough. __A Practical Introduction to Literary Study.__ New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

Chick, Dr. Nancy. "ENG 250 13 Ways Project." E-mail to Brittany Martinez. 24 Feb. 2009

"Cloud." __Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)__. Random House Inc. 13 May 2009. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cloud>

Erdrich, Louise. __Jacklight__. New York: Henry Holt, 15 Feb.1984.

"Erdrich, Louise." __Encyclopedia Britannica__. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 27 Apr. 2009. <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9104252>

"Erdrich, Louise." __Tenth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators.__ 2008. Biographies Plus Illustrated. H.W. Wilson. UW Colleges Lib. Online. 27 Apr. 2009 <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.uwc.edu/.>

"Intercontinental Ballistic Missile." __Wikipedia__. 7 May 2009. Wikimedia Foundation. 7 May 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icbm>

“John Wayne.” __Wikipedia__. 3 May 2009. Wikimedia Foundation. 3 May 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne>

Loew, Pattie. __Indian Nations of Wisconsin.__ Madison: The Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2001.

Lurie, Nancy Oestreich. __Wisconsin Indians__. Madison: The Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2002.

"Nerves." __Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)__. Random House, Inc. 13 May 2009. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nerves>

"Parlance." __Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1__). Random House, Inc. 13 May 2009. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/parlance>

“Playboy Interview: John Wayne.” __Playboy__. May 1971. 3 May 2009. <[]> "tumbleweed." __Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary__. 2009. Merriam-Webster Online. 27 April 2009 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tumbleweed>