tracks

It is interesting that no matter in what races, myths or traditional stories are transmitted generation by generation. We also can find that in all myths, a fearful character with mysterious atmosphere is necessary, such as Satan in Bible, Nian-sho (a year monster) in the Chinese-new-year-story, or Misshepeshu (a monster) in Track: “Even though she was good-looking, nobody dared to court her because it was clear that Misshepechu, the water man, the monster, wanted her for himself. He’s a devil, that one, love hungry with desire and maddened for the touch of young girls, the strong and daring especially, the ones like Fleur”(11). Pauline is constantly haunted by her own identity and religion. Talking about her identity, Pauline hates to be an Indian rather than a white, just as what she said, “I wanted to be like my mother, who showed her half-white. I wanted to be like my grandfather, pure Canadian” (14); “I was an orphan and my parents had died in grace, and also, despite my deceptive features, I was not one speck of Indian but wholly white” (137). Mentioning Pauline’s religion, she tremendously trusts Catholic God but hates her traditional tribal religion. In her thought, she would like to be a white, who will be protected by God: “It was like that with Him, too, Our Lord, who had obviously made the whites more shrewd, as they grew in number, all around, some even owning automobiles, while the Indians receded and coughed to death and drank. It was clear that Indians were not protected by the thing in the lake or by the other Manitous who lived in trees” (139). According to Pauline’s words above, we can apparently find that her concept of value is mistaken. Besides, being a mother, she even turned way her child and she ridiculously says, ”She’s marked by the devil’s thumbs” (136). Different from Pauline, Fleur, the courageous mother, bears her daughter bravely, although there is a bear intruding the birth house. In religion, Nanapush, the typical keeper for