Magijski realizam u suvremenom američkom etničkom pismu

One of the important and characteristic elements of contemporary Native American writing is the style of magical realism. For Native Americans, oral tradition is very important. Storytelling has been used as a way to preserve the tradition and rituals of their predecessors. Frequently, such stories erase the boundaries between the real and the magical. They attempt to convey a certain message and to teach the individuals how to behave and act in the present world. Louise Erdrich and Leslie Marmon Silko use magical realism in their novels to depict and emphasize the values of the community and preserve their tribal histories stories and therefore, tradition for the future. This paper analyzes two Native American novels: Silko’s Ceremony and Erdrich’s Tracks. Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony (1977) and Louise Erdrich’s Tracks (1988). Silko’s novel Ceremony depicts a story of a struggling individual who tries to preserve his Native identity in an ever degrading Western society. By using magical realism, Silko managed to connect old Native folktales with the modern world and show the importance of preserving and adjusting to the past traditions. In Tracks, Erdrich deals with many issues like the Natives’ loss of land, their starvation and destruction by disease and relationship to the animal world. By presenting a story through two different perspectives she puts an emphasis on the importance of the community and its survival, which turns out to be possible only through storytelling