Analysis Of Pushing The Bear By Diane Glancy

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Diane Glancy is an award winning American author. She grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, in a part Cherokee household which is what inspires her interest in teaching and writing about the Native American heritage. Glancy is from Native American descent and is also a Christian. Glancy is known for her ability to incorporate both genres into her writings. In Glany’s 1996 novel, Pushing the Bear, Glancy uses a historical novel to depict the journey of the Native American’s that walked the trail of tears. The two main characters of this novel are Maritole and Knobowtee. They are a married Cherokee couple from North Carolina. Not only does the Trail of Tears take a toll on them physically, but the trail puts their relationship to the test. Through the marriage of Knobowtee and Maritole, Glancy shows the …show more content…

The first principle that Glancy shows the reader through the marriage of this couple would be communication. The Bible states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov 18:21) (The New American Bible). This is a powerful verse in the Bible. Basically, what this verse is telling us is that through communication, marriage can either be prosperous, or disastrous. An example of this is perfectly depicted in this novel through Knobowtee and Maritole. For much of the journey on the trail Maritole is left by herself with only her baby and her thoughts. Many times, Knobowtee is nowhere to be found when he should be helping his wife with whatever she may need. Maritole tells the reader how the lack of communication between the two has taken its toll on her, “Sometimes I’d see Knobowtee walking in front of me or behind with other men. I felt as though he thought it were my fault we walked the trail. Knobowtee looked away if I saw him. Once I became face-to-face with his mother, but we didn’t speak. I wanted to talk to him, but there was nothing to say” (Glancy 109). Glancy shows us through this quote that the lack of

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