Linda+Hogan

Linda Hogan was born in 1947 and is part Chickasaw Indian. She has taught at the University of Colorado and the University of Minnesota and is currently serving as the first writer in residence for the Chickasaw nation. Hogan cites her interests as indigenous culture, spiritual issues and the environment.

Major Themes:
Hogan uses several main themes throughout most of her works. She mainly writes about aspects of her native culture, which incorporates themes of environmentalism and feminism. Her works generally focus on the lives of native women and follow them through their struggles and everyday lives.

The American Dream:
The American dream means many things to many different people. Each person's interpretation of the American dream is different. What satisfies one person's ambitions does not always satisfy everyone's dreams of goals. Throughout much of American history there have been conflicting ideals about what exactly success and by extension, the American dream, truly constitutes. When Europeans first settled in America, their goals and ideals were vastly different from those of the native Americans. The Europeans held onto the notion that private land ownership was a good measure of a person's wealth, whereas the natives viewed land as something to be shared and respected and as a part of their very being. Indians believed that everything, including themselves, was an aspect of nature and thus the concept of individual land ownership was totally foreign to them. This conflict between people of European culture, which eventually evolved into the modern culture of the United States, and the dwindling population of natives would remain for several hundred years, until the European culture would eventually overtake the natives and many of the ideas that the original inhabitants of America held sacred would all but disappear from modern culture.

The American Dream in //Solar Storms//:
Linda Hogan's //Solar Storms// challenges the modern notion that money, power and fame are the true facets of the American dream. Throughout the novel the theme of a strong connection to one's environment embraces the ideas that the natives peoples of America once held dear. The story follows Angel, a girl who was abused by her mother, throughout both her physical and spiritual journeys. Throughout the novel, Angel comes to terms with her true identity and instead of living as a product of two worlds, she embraces her native heritage. This embrace of her native heritage eventually spiritually transforms her and her views toward people and the world in general. Angel finds her own version of the American dream, not among the riches and wealth of modern society, but among the values and traditions of her native people.

Angel comes from a less than perfect family. Her mother, Hannah, was abusive and although she technically never laid a hand on Angel, she still found other ways to abuse her daughter. Hannah rationalizes that just because she never hit her daughter, she never actually harmed her. Angel eventually finds her way into the care of her elders including her grandmothers Bush and Agnes and her great grandmother, Dora. Initially, Angel has a hard time forming bonds with people and is self-conscious about her appearance due to the abuse that she received from her mother and her experiences in "modern" society. When Angel expresses interest that she would like to see her mother again, Dora, Bush and Agnes decide to travel North to the land of the Fat Eaters in order to see her. However, each of the women really has their own reasons for going North.

Dora, who is by far the oldest of the group, wants to return to the northern lands in order to die. Dora understands that her identity as a person is tied with the land, and she wishes to return to the land that she most identifies with. Along the way, Dora serves as sort of an inspiration to the rest of the group. Although she is by far the physically weakest member of the group, her sagacity and wisdom prove to be invaluable to the other members of the journey. Her wisdom seems to expose a part of the modern interpretation of the American dream that is often overlooked. In modern society once a person reaches a certain age, they are essentially cast aside by society and deemed useless and at worst, a burden. The modern American dream has no place for the elderly and wizened and is a stark contrast to traditional native culture. In her society, elders are the most respected members of the community and are often sought for their wisdom and experience and are treated with the utmost respect and consideration. Part of the American dream in native society is to one day grow old and impart wisdom to the younger generations, whereas in modern society old age is almost dreaded. Although Dora returns to her native land to find it utterly different from what she envisioned in her mind, she still eventually finds peace.

Agnes feels an obligation to accompany Dora into the North. As her daughter, she feels that she should be present when Dora eventually dies. However, Agnes falls apart emotionally during the journey and eventually perishes, her body never being recovered. Agnes' mental state worsens throughout the journey due to the ever looming idea that her mother will indeed die and also in part to her lack of a "security blanket". Agnes mentions early in the journey that she has left her bear skin coat back in her home and seems unnaturally saddened over the fact. In reality, the coat serves as sort of a reminder of who she is. Agnes had taken care of the bear, after some other members of the community had abused it. The bear eventually died, and its fur was made into a coat. This coat embodied everything that Agnes was and was essentially her shield from the outside world. Without the coat, she felt vulnerable both physically and spiritually during the journey. Although Agnes eventually perishes, she serves as a positive inspiration for Angel and her death is not wasted in vain. Her body is never found, and the group theorizes that it was eaten by animals, thus returning it to the earth and nature, which is what Agnes wanted all along.

Bush feels the need to go North because she is concerned about the environmental impact that dams being built up river are having on the ecosystem. This conflict between Bush and the dam builders harkens back to the conflict between the European settlers and the natives hundreds of years before. The dams are being built in order to improve modern society, at the cost of the local ecosystem and the destruction of many animal species. The dam builders are improving the infrastructure of society in order to hasten the American dream for potentially many thousands of people, at the cost of destroying the the American dream of the inhabitants of the land. Bush feels that it is her duty as an environmentalist to look after the best interests of both the ecosystem and of her people, who are tied to the land for survival.

When the remaining group members eventually reach the land of the fat eaters, they realize that everything is not quite as they had imagined it. The area from Dora's memory is completely different, save for a few old trees that were deemed too gnarled to be cut down by the loggers. The town in which Dora had once lived was a mere shell of its former self. Children were addicted to drugs and alcohol, and even young teenagers had children of their own, all of whom were neglected and left to fend for themselves along the desolate streets of the town. This mixing of two different cultures had a negative impact on the original inhabitants of the land. Although the town is in a state of disrepair, the group is still able to find a sort of peace and answers that they were looking for.

Hogan uses the dismal state of the town in order to show the negative aspects of mixing two totally different cultures and the effect that modernization has on unspoiled regions. The culture of commercialization took over much of the town and became nothing but a negative influence. This could be seen as a metaphor for how modern commercialism, under the guise of the true American dream, is impacting contemporary culture in all parts of American society. Popular media would tell us that commercialism is essential to the development of modern society, and that people should look to the future for answers, instead of looking toward the past, like many natives do. The world views people who look to the more traditional ways of the past for guidance as relics of a bygone age.

When Dora's cousin Tullik goes to the city to testify against the building of dams, he immediately realizes that he is out of place in the modern world. Money, power and fame are the measure of a man's wealth and Tullik is looked down upon as some sort of savage. The idea that the American dream might be different for people like Tullik, when compared to contemporary culture, is absolutely absurd to many of the city folk. Tullik feels that just because he disagrees with the direction that society in general is heading, that he is looked down upon by the judge and the people in the courtroom. To them, he is merely someone who is stuck in the past and his demands that the dam building stop, thus stopping modern progress, seem almost unreasonable.

However, Angel emerges from the whole debacle as a person at peace. Angel was not raised in a traditional home, like many Americans fantasize about. She was raised by her elders and those around her who influenced her spiritually and emotionally. Angel throws off the bonds of modern society that had consumed her mother due to her inability to connect with the land. Angel embraces her heritage and learns to commune with nature in order to find true inner peace. This peace is her own American dream, a dream that she herself has found. Her dream is her final desire to embrace who she is and finally accept her physical and emotional imperfections.

By: Andrew Sides

Sources:
[|Linda Hogan] []