The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Book Review Sample

Karen Louise Erdrich

Karen Louise Erdrich is a Native American writer born in June 7, 1954 in Little Falls, Minnesota as a daughter of American father and Chippewa Indian mother. She is self-renowned author of novels, poems and other books for children. Additionally, Erdrich is a significant native writer of the second wave of the Native American Renaissance. She was raised in Wahpeton in North Dakota where her grandfather was the tribal chairperson of Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation while her parents worked as teachers in the bureau of Indian Falls boarding schools.

Erdrich’s writing prowess in poetry and literature may have originated from early childhood days and heritage. This can be explained with the fact that she was constantly involved in reservations’ life while visiting her grandparents. This clearly comes out in the interview carried out by Janet Witalec. Erdrich’s literally works are defined with a variety of characters that appear in several stories. Her work covers various issues that affect not only the Indian society but also the white society. These elements are Catholicism, government policies and procedures and alcohol especially in the Indian community. Owing to Erdrich’s mixed heritage it was possible for the author to examine the societal practices and their effects on individual and family lives.

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse is the recent book written by Erdrich in 2001. In this novel, the author tries to embrace the verbal tradition by considering the themes while, on the other hand, not tolerating print culture. The main elements featured include trickster and myth, which symbolize crossing of the boundary: Erdrich uses Agnes Dewitt to emphasize on gender. The other element is gender and boundary crossing through religion.

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What is Father Damien’s Secret and Why Did the Priest Embrace that Secret? Explain.

Father Damien’s biggest secret was that his actual gender was of a woman. Once he was a nun named Agnes who later transformed to a farmer’s wife. The change of Damien’s identity begins with the flood that happened and took the life of first father Damien. This flood symbolizes a transition from woman to occur for Agnes. It is a new beginning for her. The events of the flood present Agnes an opportunity to take the identity of the priest in Ojibwa reservation. Additionally, it also represents a period of rebirth for her, who is now father Damien and who brings new religious practices in the parish at the reservation. The secret of her past life and the new Father Damien is what she hides.

The secret is also evident since, as we can see, Erdrich gives more consideration on the word “act” to put more emphasis on the new identity that Agnes has acquired. In this case, Agnes ends up dressing and acting out like a priest while being a trickster what is significant to the overall performance. Furthermore, it is vivid that she comes up with a list that helps her to learn and act out plausibly since she had to behave not only as a priest but also as a man. This involved a complete memorization of her script. Some of the listed items and rules included occasional humming a resolute march, accepting no explanations, and sharpening razor daily. On the same note, she mastered the art of admiring the women’s handiwork with amazement and exercised for muscle enhancement (Iovannone, 2009).

Two men she loved helped her to keep her deep secret. One of them was a priest, and the other was a farmer who was helping Father Damien. With the help of Nanapush, who told her all stories about Ojibwa, Agnes was able to live a priest’s life successfully as she learned the Christian religion and the Indian culture.

What Role Does Nanapush Play in Father Damien’s Spiritual Journey? Explain.

Becoming a priest was not a tall order for Agnes who had once left everything behind to embrace the life of a nun. As a result, she adapted to her new role of priest easily and quickly. Agnes had the power of saying the first words and being followed by the whole congregation. Once she began, the flow was like a river that was carrying her to Little No Horse. During her spiritual journey, she came around as a friend and as a teacher who was among the Ojibwa community. Agnes, who has taken the role of Father Damien, acts an important part as a priest and exposes the people of the parish. Nanapush is an unwavering pagan who has always been learnt to see God in all things. He sees God in the manner, in which Agnes was saved from the floods while the real

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