Analysis of Medicine River

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of the novel Medicine River, including discussions on themes, characters, and symbolism. It also answers specific questions about the story and explores the cultural aspects of the narrative.

Running Head: ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Answer for Assignment Part 2.1
Answer to question 1.
Rose takes the boys from Calgary to Medicine River in order to go away from Granny
Pete who hates the marriage of Rose, an Indian native with Bob, who is a white (King). It is
the disgraceful behaviour of Granny Pete for which they were unable to live on the reserve.
Such disrespect is unfair to Rose as a woman as she was always attempted to become a
devoted wife and flawlessly performed her duties as a mother (Summary Tutor).
Answer to question 2.
The idea of symbolism can be realised from the incident in which, Harlen Bigbear
accidentally found a bunch of letters inside a packet, which Rose was hiding inside her trunk
at the time of leaving Casey (King). The act of Rose’s preservation of the letter from Will and
James, is a symbol of Rose’s secretive nature. This symbol is indicative of some mysterious
incidents from Rose’s past, which she cannot share even with her children
(shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in).
Answer to question 3.
Archetypical character in the novel are Granny Pete. These kinds of chacarter with
orthodox believes can be seen in other stories as well as novels, so this character is an
archetype. Another, archetypical character is the character of Rose, a woman with dedicated,
submissive and secretive nature. Her children are her priorities (King). She performs both the
duties of a father and the mother to her children. She hid her secrets and agonies deep inside
her heart. Such beautiful innocent and mysterious character of a woman can be observed in
short stories and novels, so this character is an archetype (RIVER and Kirkus Reviews).

2ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Answer to question 4.
“…her hands and arms constantly in motion, like a bird trying to fly.”(Page 31). This is a
perfect example of smile. In this example the gestures of Mrs. Oswald has been compared
with that of a bird which is about to fly. Moreover, here the comparison has been made using
the word-“like”, which is indicative of the existence of simile in this line.
Answer to question 5
In the chapter 5 of Medicine River, in order to counterpoint storyline about Rose and
Erleen, the narrator has been provided ‘foreshadowing’. The sentence “Will’s mother’s good
friend Erleen is caught putting cosmetics in her purse and accused of shop-lifting by the
store.” is an example of foreshadowing in this chapter (King). Foreshadowing is considered a
literary device through which the author of a story tries to provide an advance hint of the
upcoming incident in a particular chapter. Here the evil side of the character of Erleen is
foreshadowed. The foreshadowing in the beginning of the chapter 5, which has actually
helped the readers to form their expectations about the relationship between Rose and Erleen
and also about the predicaments of Rose (Journals.lib.unb.ca).
Answer to question 6.
Jake has been portrayed as an impulsive man. He was driven by his impulsive nature.
This is the reason why could not control his anger for January. This is evident from the
incident, in which January was hit by Jake after the commencement of a basketball game,
"right in the face with his fist". Critics like King pointed out the repentance of the character
of Jake. According to him, Jake shot himself as he regretted hitting his wife January.

3ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Assignment Part 2.2
Answer to question 1.
Through the the six chapters it has been revealed that Harlen is single. His budding
feelings for Louise evokes a desire inside Harlen to marry Louise. On the other hand, Will's
involvement with Louise, makes Harlen anxious as well as depressed. The nature of the
hidden pain in Harlen Bigbear's soul is portrayed through his intolerance to the people
marrying their beloveds. This is evident from Harlen’s inability to attend the wedding of
Jonnie Prettywoman and Cecil Broadman. This again makes Will concerned about Harlen.
Finally, Harlen finds his soul mate with the help of “Center for the Development of Human
Potential”, a dating service. This is the marital history of Harlen (King).
This marital history contribute to the characterisation of Harlen. From all this
incidents, it evident that, Harlen is a depressed and sad person. He is an introvert. This stops
him from expressing his feeling from Lousie. He is soft-minded too and cannot hurt his friend
Will who also likes Louise (King).
Answer to question 2.
Thomas King creates Will’s identity by using one’s five senses to examine the main
protagonist’s memory. This is evident from the instances when Thomas King makes Will to
look back in retrospect, and reminisce life with his mom and James in the apartment on
Bentham Street in Calgary; Will’s memory of Mrs. Oswald’s attempts to help all the white
and dark skinned children to become friends; Will’s recalling of Mrs. Oswald’s
dialogues-“And no matter what your colour, all of us here are Canadians”.; Will’s memory of
Jake hitting January after a basketball match; all these represents Memories of taste, aroma,
texture, sight, and orature (King).

4ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Answer to question 3.
Thomas King creates a story of a little community consists of Indians who married to
white Canadians. In other words, the community of Medicine River represents all native
nations. This is evident from the fact that Bentham Street in Calgary, where Wills and James
grew up consisted of Indian families, white fathers and their Indian wives and children, and
also Indian natives. The author’s representation to the native nations is also evident from the
Henry Goodrider’s act of preparing big cardboard containing the “Bentham Reserve, Indians
Only” (King).
Answer to question 4.
One of the important memories of Wills that affected his personal growth and shaped
his understanding about his family, was the memory of the letters of his father to her mother.
He remembered that when he had attempted to read those letters, his mother beat him black
and blue. This made him realise that his mother did not want him to know about the
complications that existed in the relationship between his father and mother (Bartleby.com).
Another memory that formed his understanding about his life in general included
Will’s memory of the disgraceful behaviour of Granny Pete towards his mother Rose, as she
hated Rose, an Indian, for marrying a white (King). This memory gave him the traces of the
orthodox believes of Canadian society. He could also realise the kind of treatment he may
receive in his life, for being a half-native.
Answer to question 5.
One thing that Harlen would not do but Joe might do was encouraging American
youths to be drunk. Harlen was against of the excessive drinking of the basketball players as
they lost matches due to their drinking habits. On the other hand, Joe Bigbear comes back to
the reserve after several years and hosted a party and encouraged the boys of the basketball
team to drink excessively (King).

5ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Another thing that Harlen would not do but Joe might do was showing being
aggressive to fulfil all his desires. Harlen was an introvert He was soft-minded too and could
not hurt his friend Wills and demand Lousie’s love aggressively, whereas Joe’s aggressive
attitude to acquire whatever he wanted in life was evident in several incidents (King).
Answer to question 6.
The humour that Lionel brings into one of his stories is evident from the line- “Lionel
smiled and leaned back in the chair. “Boy,” he said, “it’s good to talk about things like this.
You know, first time I went to fly somewhere, I had to walk through this fence, and the
police made me do it again, and then I had to take off my belt buckle. You know what? There
was this woman who waved this stick all around me.” (King).
Answer to question 7.
The Chapter 12 throws light on the past life of Lionel James and elaborates on his
recent visit to Ottawa a “big conference, you know, on Indians.” Lionel terms the curiosity of
the white men to know Indians, as ‘crazy’, because, he underestimates Indians. According to
him Indians have barbaric attitude and they do not know any manners or chivalry (King).
Answer to question 8.
The major conflict in this novel is between half-natives and natives of Canada. The
conflicts arises due to the conventional thinking of the Canadian society to the Indian
immigrants, especially women of Indian origin who are married to white natives of Canada
(King).
Answer to question 9.
The theme of family, community, identity, and Native American assimilation and
social issues. are explored in Medicine River. The exploration of the theme of community has

6ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
been reflected through several incidences in Bentham Street, where Will had spent his
childhood with the introduction of the characters like Mrs. Oswald. Through her
dialogue-“And no matter what your colour, all of us here are Canadians” I have learnt the
importance of abolishing all the barriers of castes and race and message of international
brother-hood (King).
Answer to question 10.
I sympathize with the character of Rose, as she had to tolerate lot of problems and
humiliations for the fact that she was an Indian.
Assignment Part 2.3
I find my experience of travelling to India very interesting. There I can find a lot of variation
in the religion and culture. The assimilation and unity between different culture is beautiful
The difference in culture taste and preferences has also been reflected in the food
habits of Indians. I was able to taste completely different savours in the North south East and
Wester parts of India.
The unity in the midst of diversity, in India help me relate the dialogue of Mrs.
Oswald-“And no matter what your colour, all of us here are Canadians” with Indian culture.
Assignment Part 2.4
Answer to question 1.
The comments-“You tell him to keep them opinions to himself”, “What else did he
say about me?” are ironic and situational, because these dialogues contains humour as well as
sarcasm (King).
Answer to question 2.

7ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Will is becoming or has become a father figure to South Wing has been reflected
through Will’s sacrifice in love and his affection to Louise’s daughter. Will gifts Louise's
daughter, Wilma, whom he affectionately calls South Wing, "real Indian rattle" which is
handmade (King).
Answer to question 3.
Providing an example from the novel, it can be proved that the above statement is
true. Being a woman Rose has to take all the responsibilities of the household. Bob was
portrayed as least bothered about Rose and Will. This is again evident from Bob’s abrupt
death due to meeting an accident while he was drunk (King).
Answer to question 4.
Will seem more relaxed and happy in the second and more recent photo because, after
consulting a marriage doctor he is able to get out of his dilemma (King).
Answer to question 5.
The example of humour can be found in the sentences-“I don’t need a canoe.” And “I
turned to Louise, who is always sensible in these matters.” “I don’t need a canoe.” Louise
looked at the canoe and shrugged. “It might be fun.” (King).
Answer to question 6.
Louise comments about the David and Ray episode to Will: “All that over a jacket!”
symbolizes two things-the assimilation problem and American Indian Movement (King).

8ANALYSIS OF MEDICINE RIVER
Reference:
Summary Tutor. "Detailed Summary of Medicine River – Chapter I". Summary Tutor, 2019.
Online. Internet. 23 Mar. 2019. . Available: https://summarytutor.com/2013/12/26/detailed-
summary-of-medicine-river-chapter-i/.
shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in. N.p., 2019. Web. 23 Mar. 2019.
RIVER, MEDICINE, and KIRKUS Kirkus Reviews. "MEDICINE RIVER By Thomas King |
Kirkus Reviews." Kirkus Reviews. N.p., 2019. Web. 23 Mar. 2019.
Journals.lib.unb.ca, Jack. "Writing Voices Speaking: The Aesthetic Of Talk In Thomas
King’S Medicine River." Journals.lib.unb.ca. N.p., 2019. Web. 23 Mar. 2019.
King, Thomas. Medicine River. Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2018. Print.
Bartleby.com. "Medicine River Essay - 517 Words | Bartleby." Bartleby.com. N.p., 2019.
Web. 23 Mar. 2019.