The Game of Silence

Identify at least two roles that Old Tallow plays within the Ojibwe community. What is her significance to the protagonist, and how does she influence Omakayas’s journey towards maturity?

Contrast Old Tallow with Nokomis. What function does each woman serve within the tribe, and how do their approaches to teaching differ?

Erdrich’s secondary characters emphasize important messages about the power of familial love and tribal legacy. How is family defined in this novel? Analyze at least three different scenes that create a sense of toe Ojibwe understanding of family.

If you were a character in this book, whose gift would you prefer to have: Two Strike Girl’s ability to hunt, or Omakayas’s gift for visions and medicine? How does each gift contribute to the survival of the tribe as a whole?

Research the history of the Ojibwe people in greater detail. Erdrich describes the Ojibwe people’s displacement from their lands due to the brutality and deceit of the white government. What has happened to create this situation, and how does Erdrich incorporate historical references into the novel?

Father Baraga occupies a highly problematic role within the narrative. What larger theme or message does this character represent, and how do the Ojibwe people respond to his influence?

Why is Omakayas’s journey into the woods so important? Analyze this scene in terms of its literal importance to the plot and its symbolic significance to the author’s overarching message.

Why does Erdrich choose to structure her novel around the turning of the seasons? How does the imagery of each season foreshadow the events of each part of the story?