The Gull's Road by bsb bella

"The Gull's Road" by Willa Cather: A Post Colonial and Ethnic Studies Reading.

bellabaker94 — 2025-03-08 23:08:56 UTC

The lack of other cultures in the memoirs in “The Gulls Road” shows western view of disinterest of other cultures and quiet suppression of non western cultures.

Character

bellabaker94 — 2025-03-08 23:19:12 UTC

The characters do not follow normal separation of class. An example of this is how our narrator can speak to the engineer's wife and is even thanked by the Engineer Lars Ebbling. "You have been very kind to talk to my wife" (Pg. 7 paragraph 4)

Plot

bellabaker94 — 2025-03-08 23:19:22 UTC

The story's plot lacks connection with this literary theory. Something to bring up is how this story would be different if POC were included.

The protagonist's affection and interest in the Western woman suppresses other cultures.

w2065040 — 2025-03-09 08:20:17 UTC

"Her splendid, vigorous body lay still and relaxed under the loose folds of her clothing, her white throat and arms and red-gold hair were drenched with sunlight"

Literary and Rhetorical Devices

w2065040 — 2025-03-09 08:34:42 UTC

"'It was like a baptism of fire... It seemed like the overture to Italy"' (Cather 4)

She had a rebirth in a sense, from a far she got a glimpse of life other than her own.

Symbolism

andrewgutierrez452 — 2025-03-10 19:27:56 UTC

"I opened it and lifted out a thick coil, cut from where her hair grew thickest and brightest... This, and a withered magnolia flower, and two pink seashells; nothing more." (Cather 14)

The love between them transcended time and all of the cultural differences.

Point of View

andrewgutierrez452 — 2025-03-10 19:31:23 UTC

"To her he spoke Italian, but he and his wife conversed in some Scandinavian tongue." (Cather 3)

'"It is very bad for her this trip that she speaks no English. I am indebted to you"'(Cather 7)

Language barriers lead to the dismissal of individuals from non-western culture due to stigmas and/or cultural differences. This closes her off to communicating with most of the other passengers as she doesn't speak English.

Setting

2025-03-10 19:33:09 UTC

"I saw her it first upon the deck of the Germania, twenty years ago"(Cather Pg 1, paragraph 6)

Some Challenges to Applying This Theory

bellabaker94 — 2025-03-10 20:02:38 UTC

My group collectively had a hard time finding a connection to this theory due to it's lack of representation of people of color. We also had a hard time finding a clear theme, hence why it is so broad.