Wednesday Circle Title Analysis

The representation the title in Robinsons, “Traplines”, symbolizes the presence and significance of native traditions in the main character’s life. The infrequency of the hunt, however, represents Will’s potential loss of tradition. The title of Birdsell’s “Wednesday Circle”, is also physically represented in the story, as the main character’s support group. However, she remains stuck almost ‘in the middle’ with her problem left unresolved, parallel to the fact that the church group meets in the middle of the week to gossip and are not productive.

In addition to the insightful clues these titles provide about the plots, the writers also utilize foreshadowing to intensify the events leading up to the Smythes offer to adopt Will in “Traplines”, and Mr. Joy sexually abusing Betty in “The Wednesday Circle”. Birdsell and Robinson’s main characters reject any possibility of escape from their unhealthy, abusive situations. These authors craft the presentation of their stories to maintain the realistic qualities of underplayed native roots and unresolved endings. Birdsell uses religious values to restrict Betty from resolving her abusive situation, and contrastingly, Robinson uses cultural values to restrict Will from accepting
Although Birdsell writes in the third person, the story is restricted to Betty’s knowledge as it tightly follows her experience of events. Keeping this in mind, the absence of Betty’s father and six siblings in Birdsell’s writing implies that Betty feels they are irrelevant to her story, or that she does not feel like she can talk with them. The only time Birdsell mentions Betty’s siblings in the text is when she describes how Mrs. Joy compares their appearances (287). By only referring to these characters once in the text, Birdsell illuminates their inability to help or listen to