Search for identity in Thomas King’s Medicine River
Abstract
The present thesis focuses on the search for identity of a mixed-blood Canadian
Native, as depicted in the novel Medicine River by Thomas King. The aim of this thesis is
to explore how the protagonist Will manages to make peace with himself and whether the
Indian community, which he has never truly belonged to before, also plays any role in this.
This thesis contains four parts — an introduction, a literature review, an empirical
part, and a conclusion. Both the literature review and the empirical part have three
subsections.
The introduction places the novel in the context of the Native storytelling tradition
and specifies the aim of this thesis to explore why someone would lose their identity and
which external factors can help a person find one’s true identity as well as establish a sense
of belonging.
The literature review first outlines the development of the genre of Canadian Native
writing and states the importance of Thomas King’s works in this tradition. Next, the
literature review contains an overview of critical reception to date on Medicine River .
Finally, the literature review introduces the key notions relevant for an interpretation of
Medicine River .
The empirical part provides a close reading of the novel. The first subsection of the
empirical part explores the novel’s protagonist and explains his loss of identity. The second
subsection of the empirical part analyses the protagonist’s search for identity, and the last
part reveals the outcome of his quest.