The Round House, by Louise Erdrich

Characters
American Indian	White American
Antone Bazil Coutts – “Joe” Antone Bazil Coutts – father, Bazil Geraldine – mother, tribal enrollment specialist Mooshum – grandfather, told stories in his sleep Aunt Clemence – mother’s sister Uncle Edward Virgil Lafournais – friend, “Cappy” Randall – older brother, had vision about Joe Zack Peace – friend Angus Kashpaw – friend Uncle Whitey – owns gas station Sonja – wife, ex-stripper Albert and Betty Wishkop Linda Lark – unofficial adopted daughter Mayla Wolfskin – called Geraldine for help Tanya - baby daughter – Yeltow trying to adopt her George and Aurora Wolfskin – custody of Tanya	Dr. Egge Father Travis – priest from Texas YEC – Youth Encounter Christ Zelia Grace and George Lark – wanted to kill weaker, second twin (Linda) Linden – healthy twin Soren Bjerki – FBI agent assigned to Indian Country Curtis Yeltow – governor of South Dakota, Tanya’s father, wants to adopt

 For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. At the beginning of the novel, Joe writes that he was lucky because he “was a boy doted on by women” (page 25).   Why did he think this was a good thing?
2. When Edward and Bazil were discussing Father Travis and his “questioning sermons”, Edward wondered if “he’s entirely stable, or then again, if he might be simply…intelligent” (page 77).  What did you think of this observation?
3. Regarding Father Travis, what did you think about the incident when the three boys were spying on him because they thought he was a suspect?  He revealed his injuries to the boys and did not tell their parents what they had done.  Was what he did and did not do appropriate?
4. Why do you think Linda donated a kidney to her brother, Linden, after the following: her mother looked for Linda only after Linden needed a kidney, the doctor told her that his kidney failure was his own fault, and Linden told Linda he did not want her kidney because she was so ugly (chapter 6)?  Later on, she told Joe she was sorry she had helped Linden.
5. Father Travis was at Dealey Plaza when JFK was assassinated.  When telling Bazil the story and about how a dog had run into the street, Father Travis reflected that “…how many unknown and similarly inconsequential accidents and bits of happenstance were at this moment occurring or failing to occur…” (page 132).  Were there bits of happenstance in the novel that influenced the story?   Have you experienced an inconsequential happenstance that later proved to be important to your life?
6. How did you understand the American Indian terms throughout the novel?
1. Joe’s doodemag, luck, were cranes and herons (page 134)
2. When someone throws their spirit at you, Mooshum advised, “go to your doodem… find the ajijaak” (page 132)
3. A wiindigoo could cast its spell into another person, eats fellow humans
7. Was it appropriate for Sonja to help Joe put the money he found in the lake in multiple bank accounts?  What should she have done with the money?  Were you surprised she took most of the money?
8. What did you think about Sonja’s birthday present to Mooshum?  Why did she continue on with Joe in the room?
9. What was the point of the story about Akiikwe (Akii) and her son, Nanapush.   Her husband said Akii was inhabited by a wiindigoo and should be killed by Nanapush.  When on the run, Nanapush saved himself by sheltering in a buffalo carcass and following that the buffalo woman spoke to him.  The people built the round house (where attack occurred) in the buffalo’s image (page 215).
10. When Father Travis was explaining to Joe why there was evil in the world (page 253-4), do you think he knew Joe’s ulterior motive for wanting to learn to shoot gophers?
11. Father Travis gave Joe the book Dune, by Frank Herbert.  In this science fiction novel, the main character, a boy, goes on a journey to avenge a plot against his family.   What does this tell you about what Father Travis knew?
12. Bazil used a visual analogy with the moldy casserole to explain to Joe why he did what he did.  In the end he said, “What I am doing now is for the future, though it may seem small, or trivial, or boring to you” (page 230).  Did this help you to understand the plight of the American Indian?
13. Were you surprised that Joe killed Linden in the end and that Cappy came to help?   How much did Joe’s parents know or suspect?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd Edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hardcopy from Amason.com and hardcopy from wordassociation.com.   Click on the upper right link.