Painted Turtle (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Clarence Major
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Experimental
- Time of Work: The 1930’s to the 1980’s
- Setting: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico
- Principal Characters: Painted Turtle, Baldwin “Baldy” Saiyataca, Old Gchachu, Grandma Wilhelmina, Waldo Etawa, Marelda Etawa
- Genres: Long fiction, Antistory
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Tradition, Racism, Sexism, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Gender roles, Self, Prejudices or antipathies, Dreams, West, U.S., Spiritual life or spirituality, Rape, Native Americans or American Indians, Multiculturalism, Singing or singers, Arizona, Colorado, Guitars or guitar players, Mysticism, New Mexico, Southwest
- Locales: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico
The Novel
Painted Turtle: Woman with Guitar is an experimental novel in the fable tradition that traces the moral, personal, psychological, and spiritual development of Clarence Major’s principal character, Mary Etawa, called “Painted Turtle.” Born into a traditional Zuni family on December 17, 1938, Painted Turtle gets her nickname because she crawls on all fours and raises her head like a turtle. In some ways, this name comes to define her position to everyone and for everything outside her own life. She tries to shut out the traditions of her family and the...
[The entire page is 2440 words long]
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