Motorcycles And Sweetgrass

In the novel “Motorcycles and Sweetgrass,” author Drew Hayden Taylor is concerned with aboriginal community politics, identity, mythology, and intergenerational legacies. It is written in an adventurous perspective on aboriginal life and traditions. The characters respond to change and they embrace it. this is shown by examining the actions/ roles of the characters in the novel such as Maggie, Wayne and Sammy considering the purpose of this book is to connect the experience of aboriginal life through the characters from Motorcycles and sweetgrass.

Sammy Aandeg is an individual of many residential school survivors who refuses change but somehow finds ways to adapt gradually to the new lifestyle in Otter Lake reserve. Back in residential school change was forced upon Sammy from the different hairstyle to a different believe in cultural values. His will to stay true to himself lead him to rebellious actions while his stay at residential school,”when he arrived he’d bitten a nun attempting to shave his head.

That was seven years ago, and time and repeated punishments had not managed to subdue him.”(Taylor 11). He has strong will to resist the regular beatings and abuse done to him by the priest and nuns for continuously clinging onto his true identity and refusing to give up his language. This connects back to aboriginals and their will to resist in order to continue their traditions and teachings of their culture passed down to the younger generations. Although Sammy resists change, he still makes effort to adapt in the new lifestyle, he speaks in iambic pentameter which is Shakespeare and Anishnawbe combined,”he speaks iambic pentameter.

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Only in Anishnawbe. Same structure, weak, strong, weak strong. Ten syllables. All the usual rules.”(Taylor 170). Shakespearean is the only thing that Sammy tolerated during his time in residential school, therefore his use of iambic pentameter in anishnawbe is giving him the satisfaction of winning afte…

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