Native American Culture Character Analysis

The cultural in the book is authentic within the characters even though the author does not state whether the characters are Native American other than the illustration’s and on the cover page when the author states “with gentle words and magical images, this contemporary Native American story tenderly embraces the natural cycle of life” (Boyden,2002). Even though the author does not state their ethnicities Boyden made sure to have the characters embrace their cultures in their everyday life. Boyden characters are influenced by their decisions and viewpoints with the Papa instilling in the granddaughter what he was taught as a child in the natural cycle of life. The way he teaches his granddaughter about the cycle of life is a way many Native
Americans are taught as children going to back to generations and that is learning in the garden. The opening paragraph introducing the reader into this culture in a way many Native American children are taught “on the day I was born my grandfather planted a rosebush under my bedroom window. He dug the hole deep, threw in a few chunks of dead fish, and then tapped down the soil”. (Boyden, 2002) The dead fish, the rosebush and the granddaughter symbolizes the natural cycle of life in a way the author is trying to establish to the reader. The author Boyden first want to establish this family as their own. For example the author does not state where these characters originated from after doing research on the author I learned Boyden was Cherokee and understood that she wants all readers of all ethnicities to see this family as not just Native American family but as normal family in passage Boyden states “