44 pages 1 hour read

Louise Erdrich

The Game of Silence

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2005

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

Writing Systems and Oral Traditions

In The Game of Silence, writing systems stand in opposition to oral traditions, and this dichotomy becomes symbolic of the differences between the white settlers and the Ojibwe community. White society systematizes language and uses it as both a record and a weapon. By locking the Ojibwe people into a written contract that uses unfamiliar language, white colonizers trick the Ojibwe people and rob them of their ancestral lands. Ultimately, the white government uses language as a trap. By contrast, the Ojibwe people rely on memory and oral storytelling to keep the legacy of their history alive, retelling “stories, songs, [and] the words to promises and treaties. Everyone memorized all that was important (20). Because “memory was Ojibwe writing” (20), it is clear that, unlike the white colonizers, the Ojibwe people trust each other to be honest and faithful to the integrity of the story.

The writing systems and oral traditions that Omakayas is learning are indicative of her role in a new life in which white people live alongside Indigenous communities—at least, until those white societies force the Indigenous communities from the land. Omakayas is of a newer generation of Ojibwe who are more accustomed to the influence of white society.

Related Titles

By Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

Antelope Woman

Louise Erdrich

Antelope Woman

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

Future Home of the Living God

Louise Erdrich

Future Home of the Living God

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

Love Medicine

Louise Erdrich

Love Medicine

Louise Erdrich

Plot Summary

logo

Shadow Tag

Louise Erdrich

Shadow Tag

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Beet Queen

Louise Erdrich

The Beet Queen

Louise Erdrich

Plot Summary

logo

The Bingo Palace

Louise Erdrich

The Bingo Palace

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Leap

Louise Erdrich

The Leap

Louise Erdrich

Plot Summary

logo

The Master Butchers Singing Club

Louise Erdrich

The Master Butchers Singing Club

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Mighty Red

Louise Erdrich

The Mighty Red

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Painted Drum

Louise Erdrich

The Painted Drum

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Plague Of Doves

Louise Erdrich

The Plague Of Doves

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Red Convertible

Louise Erdrich

The Red Convertible

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Round House

Louise Erdrich

The Round House

Louise Erdrich

Study Guide

logo

The Shawl

Louise Erdrich

The Shawl

Louise Erdrich