Fleur
Fleur, in which the central character is Fleur Pillager, Erdrich captures the reader?s attention immediately and forces her character upon the reader with the first line of the story. ?The first time she drowned in the cold and glassy water of lake Turcot, Fleur Pillager was only a girl.? Right away the reader knows there is something unusual about this character. Erdrich also ties into her storytelling, tribal mythology. No one ?courted? Fleur even though she was very attractive because it was clear to the people on the reservation that Misshepeshu, the green eyed and copper skinned water monster wanted Fleur for himself. Fleur?s speech in the story is to the point. What she says sticks with you. ?You will take my place? (Baym 2571) is what she said to George Many Women the first person who touched her after she drowned the second time. Fleur is a strong, daring character that studies ancient ways and half forgotten medicine. The people of the reservation where she lived felt that she changed into animals and practiced evil ways, so they were just about ready to run her out of town when she left.
The men started drinking and upped the usual ante to a dollar, a sizable sum for the year 1920 when this story takes place. Fleur?s luck fluctuated, she won some and lost some, the pot grew round by round until it contained all the money. The final hand rode on one last card that made Fleur the winner. Even though Lily and the rest of the ?good old boys? wanted to play another round, Fleur scooped up her winnings and went out back to slop the hogs. Fleur left the men who continued drinking which stoked the fire of their discontent. Their plot had been thwarted. a small town south of the reservation called Argus where she stayed for a summer. At this time she meets a flat character. Pauline, who narrates the story. Even though Pauline tells the story she is an invisible, forgotten character. She comes to Argus when her mother marries ?Dutch? James who works at Fritzie and Pete Kozkas? Butcher Shop. Soon there after Pauline?s mother dies and ?Dutch,? her step-father, takes her out of school to clean up at the butcher shop. She hears everything that goes on because the other characters forget that she is there. Even Fleur?s
Some common words found in the essay are:
Fritzie Pete, George Women, Lily Veddar, Eventually Pauline, Soon Paulines, Fleur Pillager, Pete Fritzie, Fleur French, Fatso Lilys, Pillager Erdrich, butcher shop, stock characters, people reservation, short story, month fleur, fleur pillager, meat locker, fritzie pete, card game,
Approximate Word count = 765
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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