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.