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International Journal of New Developments in Engineering and Society, 2019, 3(4); doi: 10.25236/IJNDES.030405.

Struggling between Bi-cultural Worlds—The Protagonist's Personality Structure in House Made of Dawn

Author(s)

Jin Li

Corresponding Author:
Jin Li
Affiliation(s)

Zhongyuan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, Henan 450007, China

Abstract

House Made of Dawn, the masterpiece of the Native American Writer N. Scott Momaday published in 1968, won him fame and recognition in dominant American society. The thesis analyzes Abel’s ego in the frustration, desperation and pain in trying to assimilate into the modern society. His isolation in Indian culture resulting from the environment and experience and bi-cultural dilemma leads him to frustration and he feels that he never has any sort of appropriate identity. The frustration and pain he undergoes disillusion him but wind him up the way to return to his own culture. His ego fails to adapt to the modern society but may find its way in his original place. It is the ancient Indian tradition that arouses Abel’s racial awareness and releases him from the confusion and frustration.

Keywords

House Made of Dawn; Abel; Ego

Cite This Paper

Jin Li. Struggling between Bi-cultural Worlds—The Protagonist's Personality Structure in House Made of Dawn. International Journal of New Developments in Engineering and Society (2019) Vol.3, Issue 4: 28-34. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJNDES.030405.

References

[1] Freud,Sigmund(1948).The Ego and the Id. London: The Hogarth Press Ltd., pp.84-86.
[2] Edited by Jim Kamp,Jaskoski,Helen(1994).House Made of Dawn: Overview. Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed., St. James Press.
[3] Noam, Stuart T., et al(1984).Ego Development and Psychopathology: A Study of Hospitalized Adolescents. Child Development,vol.55, no.1, pp.184-94.
[4] X.C.Sun(2010).Reconstruction under White Shadows: A Post-colonial Reading of House Made of Dawn. Shanghai International Studies University Master’s Thesis.
[5] Velie, Alan.R(1994).The Return of the Native: The Renaissance of Tribal Religions as Reflected in the Fiction of N. Scott Momaday. Religion and Literature,vol.26, no.1, pp.135-46.