two lives paralleled by god
In the book Tracks, written by Louise Erdrich we meet various characters, including Pauline. As we hear stories about her life and circumstances that she encountered and overcame, we gain insight into the life of a woman who fought to gain acceptance in a world where no one would accept her. As Erdrich wrote the book she based the life of Pauline on a Native American historical figure, Tekawitha Kateri. When looking at the lives of these two women we can see the many similarities in their lives, but also many differences that make them unique from each other. As children, Tekawitha and Pauline grew up without the aid of their parents. At age fifteen, Pauline asked her father to send her away to go to live with his sister. Pauline wanted to be like her mother who was half - white and like her grandfather who was pure Canadian. Her father obeyed her wish and sent her away to her aunt. Like Pauline Tekawitha grew up with out parents. When the whites came to the Americas they "...brought sickness with them and many of the Indian people died" (Tekawitha 1). This was the case with Tekawitha's parents. They both died of a sickness when Tekawitha was only four years old. Soon after, she wen
Pauline realized this when she said "power travels in the bloodlines, handed out before birth" (31). In Tekawitha and Pauline's struggle to become as holy and cleansed by god as possible they both practiced rituals to bring them closer to god. The courage of Tekawitha impressed the man so much that he did not strike her but only walked away (Tekawitha 3). Tekawitha also tortured herself, but for different reasons though. Within Pauline's life it seemed that the rosary held different meaning for her. In Tekawitha's time prisoners were tortured. Pauline too wore the rosary around her neck just like Tekawitha. She never forgot where she came from. Tekawitha went into the woods to spend time with God. Pauline had many awkward rituals such as wearing her shoes on the wrong feet. Because of the differing faiths of the people in Tekawitha's time, many opposed what she was doing.
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Acceptance Essays
