The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich

Bibliography:


Erdrich, Louise. 2005. The Game of Silence. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0060297905





Plot Summary:
Louise Erdrich writes a very knowledgeable novel about a little girl name Omakayas, who belongs to the Ojibwe tribe. The Ojibwe are living a peaceful live until their lives are interrupted.
They now are emerged into a porttait of a family and culture that are on the brink of a major change in their lives. Omakaya must face her visions, that seem to be her gift and lead her family to the next chapter of their lives. Endrich portrait of harvesting rice, smoke fish, telling stores, sledding on the snow, preparing for a wedding enables the reader to gain a fuller picture of the time, place and way of life of the Ojibwe people.

Critical Analysis:
Omakayas in Louise Endrich novel The Game of Silence is the main character. The story takes place in 1850 on an island in Lake Superior. The novel tells of the lives of the Ojibwe tribe. The chimookomanage were the white people (page 20), who wanted Omakayas and her people to leave their land and move west. Omakayas and her people know this means danger. They also know that the black marks (writing) were not right. They had only given permission for them to take the trees, cooper not the earth itself. The Ojibwes did not have a written language they relied on their memory and the earth. They know what the chimookomange would do because the chimookomange at force Miskobines and his people from their lands and everything they possessed, they had to leave behind. The Game of Silence was a game the children played. This game was important because it give the grow-ups the opportunity to communicate important business without distractions. Prizes were given for those who complied to the rules of the game; no talking. Endrich does not sugar-coat the plot and does not use stereotyping to get her point across. She delivers a powerful theme of not taking things for granted. Once Omakaya realizes her home and way of life is endanger she must face her fears, which will allow her and family to move on with their lives. Endrich does a outstanding job of writing this novel and capturing the souls of the Ojibwe people. She provides a comprehensive glossary of Ojibwe terms and dozens of lovely pencil illustrations of the characters and their natural surroundings.


Review Excerpt(s):
From School Library
JournalGrade 5-8 -Omakayas's tale, begun in The Birchbark House (Hyperion, 1999), continues in this book. Older and more insightful, Omakayas begins to understand the elements of life more fully as she accepts her gift of telling dreams. Changes are coming to the Ojibwa people and she struggles to deal with all that she is experiencing and her dreams foretell. Her sister falls in love with a warrior, strange and lost members of her tribe come to rely on her, and her people are threatened with certain eviction from their homes and food supply. But traditions are strong, and after Omakayas is sent off into nature to face the spirits and her dreams, she learns to accept the fate of her people and comes to see it as an adventure, "the next life they would live together on this earth." Although the story is set on an island in Lake Superior in 1850, readers will identify with the everyday activities of the Ojibwa, from snowball fights to fishing excursions, providing a parallel to their own lives while encouraging an appreciation for one that is very different. The action is somewhat slow, but Erdrich's captivating tale of four seasons portrays a deep appreciation of our environment, our history, and our Native American sisters and brothers.-Kimberly Monaghan, formerly at Vernon Area Public Library, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. Like its predecessor The Birchbark House (1999), this long-awaited sequel is framed by catastrophe, but the core of the story, which is set in 1850, is white settlers' threats to the traditional Ojibwe way of life. Omakayas is now nine and living at her beautiful island home in Lake Superior. But whites want Ojibwe off the island: Where will they go? In addition to an abundance of details about life through the seasons, Erdrich deals with the wider meaning of family and Omakayas' coming-of-age on a vision quest. Just on the edge of the child's daily life and coming ever closer are the whites--among them, a Catholic "soul-stealer" priest and a friendly teacher who helps the children learn to read and write both Ojibwe and English so that they can confront cheating white agents. Readers familiar with the first book will welcome the return of several richly drawn non reverential characters, including Omakayas' pesky brother, her irritable mom, and her bold, tough mentor, Old Tallow. As Erdrich said in the Booklist Story Behind the Story, "Little House on the Lake" [BKL Ap 1 99], about The Birchbark House, her research into her ancestors revealed the horrifying history and also a culture rich, funny, and warm. In this heartrending novel the sense of what was lost is overwhelming. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Connections:
Students could use this material when studying Native American Indian tribes or spoken languages that were later written.