Abstract
This article has employed the theory of Bakhtin’s (1895–1975) dialogism, and Wolfgang Iser’s (1926–2007) reader-response theory to examine the socio-political, and historical implications of Gerald Vizenor’s The Heirs of Columbus. The Heirs of Columbus (Heirs) was written to dismantle the historical oppression of Native Americans (NA) throughout the post Columbian era. Dialogism is an umbrella term that creates difference between historical and Native American discourse, providing new passages to comprehend the marginalized silenced other; in other words, it helps create a voice for the vanishing Indian. We have systematically identified the use of dialogic techniques like subversion, carnival, polyphony and heteroglossia in Heirs while, at the same time, analyzing his text through the framework of Iser’s reader-response theory. We have come to the conclusion that Iser’s theory is not enough to analyze Vizenor’s revolutionary text since Vizenor provokes his readers to draw their own conclusions rather than conforming to set of fixed ideals of author.
Highlights
Vizenor’s (1934–) Heirs is a subverted, mythical account of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus that revolves around the themes of Native Americans (NA) discrimination and oppression by the western world, re-connecting with tribal ethnic identity, and survivance (Vizenor & Vizenor, 1991)
We have systematically identified the use of dialogic techniques like subversion, carnival, polyphony and heteroglossia in Heirs while, at the same time, analyzing his text through the framework of Iser’s reader-response theory
The Native American (NA) literature is an ideal genre to be analyzed using the theoretical framework of dialogism and reader’s response theory since the writers of Native American literature are the proponents of the world of periphery, and because these writers have to face issues like dual nationality, and are victims of stereotypical identity even though, they are an integral part of American historical landscape (Carmack, Gasco, & Gossen, 2016)
Summary
Vizenor’s (1934–) Heirs is a subverted, mythical account of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus that revolves around the themes of NA discrimination and oppression by the western world, re-connecting with tribal ethnic identity, and survivance (Vizenor & Vizenor, 1991). It presents the NA heirs i.e., Binn Columbus, Stone Columbus, Felipa, and Miigis flowers who are interested in recovering the human remains of Pocahontas, and their father Christopher Columbus. Misinterpreting and molding the NA identity to benefit Western agenda is, the greatest mark of injustice done by western invaders
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