What Is The Setting Of I Heard The Owl Call My Name

I Heard the Owl Call My Name Analysis

By Freddy Bacher

Essay question: How is setting used as an instrument of identity in Margaret Craven's 'I Heard the Owl Call My Name'?

Introduction

In this text, setting is used in many ways to further the plot of the story, and help us gain a better understanding of the characters throughout the novel. Setting is not only used in a physical sense as the background to the story, it is used in psychological and social ways, and is also used to understand the time period in which the novel is set.

Physical

This story is set in an isolated Native American village in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered by the ocean, and can be very difficult to reach. These details help create a sense of seclusion,

Throughout the novel Brian learns to develop a relationship with the country around him, and he begins to see that all living things are connected. This is a belief that the Native American people of the village share, and is explained in the following quote: "The Indian knows his village and feels for his village as no white man for his country, his town, or even his own bit of land. His village is not the strip of land four miles long and three miles wide that is his as long as the sun rises and the moon sets. The myths are the village and the winds and the rains. The village is the salmon who comes up the river to spawn, the seal who follows the salmon and bites off his head, the bluejay whose name is like the sound he makes—’Kwiss-kwiss.’ " - Chapter One, Page

Some of the key issues in this text (logging and assimilation), are very specific to the issues faced by indigenous people in the 1960s. Evidence of this is the 1956 Indian Relocation Act, which was a law that encouraged Native Americans to leave their communities and assimilate into "white man's world". This relates to the text with the character of Jim Wallace, who was used as a symbol of the greater struggle of Native Americans in assimilation as seen in this quote: "Jim's struggle was not just his own, but the struggle of all Indigenous people caught between the old ways and the new'' found in FIND QUOTE

Social

The predominant social setting of this novel is Kingcome, though other places of gathering are mentioned in the story, such as the hunting grounds, the longhouse, and the parish. It is clear throughout the text that the social hierarchy in this group was extremely patriarchal, and women were limited to caregiving roles INSERT QUOTE ABOUT ROLE OF WOMEN.

Furthermore, there was a deep sense of community and brotherhood in the novel, and it was very clear that the men of the village had strong relationships with each other. This is quite different to what Brian had experienced in his life prior to moving to Kingcome, as seen in this quote INSERT