Summary Of St. Lucy's '

Karen Russell’s St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves highlights how cultural imperialism explores a minority population through the experiences of werewolf girls undergoing a forced transformation into “civilized” human beings. In Russel’s story, the wolf-girls are sent by their parents to St. Lucy’s, a Catholic boarding school where they are taught to abandon their wild, wolf-like nature and adapt to human culture. Through their struggle to shed their wolf-like instincts, the author illustrates how cultural genocide can have devastating psychological effects on a minority population. This psychological impact of cultural imperialism can manifest in three ways, such as the loss of their individual identities, the separation of their family bonds, and the punishment of defying or failing to conform to cultural
The term “purebred” may suggest the pressure to fit with the human standards, one that the narrator recognizes as alien and unnatural. This also may indicate that she feels as though her true self is being erased, and her use of “easy to kill” implies vulnerability. This inner struggle highlights the psychological damage caused by cultural imperialism, as the narrator’s attempt to mask her true identity shows the loss of confidence and freedom that comes from being forced to give up one’s own culture. Also, the Claudette’s instincts begin to resurface despite her attempts to suppress them. She confesses that she “narrowed [her] eyes at Kyle and flattened [her] ears, something [she] ha[s]n’t done for months.” The involuntary return to her wolf-like behavior may signify how deeply ingrained her true identity is. Despite the strict cultural conditioning she undergoes at St. Lucy’s, she cannot entirely suppress her wolf-like