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The Round House Transfigures

470 Words2 Pages
Joe Coutts in Louise Erdrich's The Round House transfigures from a sordid boy obsessed with his aunt's breasts to a man with responsibility and the ability to wipe his own ass. Joe's behavior in the beginning of the story differs minimally from any boy in another coming-of-age story. As the story unravels, the boy finds himself understanding more and more about the concepts of vengeance and justice. In the final chapter of the novel, Joe has grown old with many of the other characters and feels the full burden of adulthood. Most of Joe Coutts's expulsions of his former philistine ways are attributed to the evolution of his morals. Joe's initial attitude towards the brutal rape of his mother, Geraldine, is a prime example of his own failure
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