FREE ESSAY ON FLEUR" BY LOUISE ENDRICH

FLEUR" BY LOUISE ENDRICH

Latina Blacknall
"Fleur" a story written by Louise Endrich is a tale about a young Chippewa Indian woman
who is feared by all the people that live on her reservation, Argus. They believed that
she has
been cursed by the water monster of Lake Turcot who seeks her life for his own. Her
general
lifestyle is an awe to them because she lives outside of traditional ways. She stirs
things up with
her uncanny luck and the circumstances that surround her. I believe this is a good story
because I
like the way that Fleur did things in her own way, she never let the people dictate her
life. 
The story begins with Fleur being rescued from Lake Turcot after her boat capsizes and
she goes down into the water. The two men attempt to rescue her and shortly after they
succeed
their lives are mysteriously taken. The second time that Fleur almost drowns in the lake
a similar
scenario occurs and it is then believed that every man that saves Fleur from the lake
will replace
her station in death. This causes the people of the town to be very suspicious and weary
of her.
Everyone pretty much steers clear of her just because she is a little different from
them. They are
too afraid to try to understand her and get to know her. 
Fleur lives the life of a very modest person, but she is hard working and strong.
Despite
the towns fear of her she continues to live and do things as normal as she can. She
really doesn't
have many friends or any family so she spends most of her time at the butchery where she
works. 
She helps cut and load meat for the Kozka family and while there she is able to mingle
with some
of the citizens in the town. She resides in an unused smokehouse behind the butchery
where she
worked and owned pretty much just the clothes on her back. Despite her apparent poverty
she is
very beautiful and the men all look at her in awe. However, even though she is very
wonderfully
attractive, the men of the town are too afraid of her and the curse to attempt to date
her. She lives
most of her life alone which is unusual for women of her age. I respect Fleur because she
was
never bothered by the fact that she lived alone she acted as if her life was as full as
she needed it
to be. 
The people of the town however did not believe that she was alone. The unusual events
that occurred with Fleur and the lake made people believe that her hand had already been
spoken
for. Misshepeshu, the water monster of Lake Turcot had already claimed her. This water
monster
was a well-known myth of the people living in Argus.
"Our mothers warn us that we'll think he's handsome, for he appears with green eyes,
copper skin, a mouth tender as a child's. But if you fall into his arms, he sprouts
horns,
fangs, claws, fins. His feet are joined as one and his skin, brass scales, rings to the
touch. You're fascinated , cannot move. He casts a shell necklace at your feet, weeps
gleaming chips that harden into mica on your breasts. He holds you under. Then he
takes the body of a lion or a fat brown worm. He's made of gold. He's made of beach
moss. He's a thing of dry foam, a thing of death by drowning, the death a Chippewa
cannot survive."
Fleur's lifestyle is among one of the many topics of their discussions surrounding her.
The
people on the reservation don't agree with the way that Fleur lives. She does many things
that
would not be deemed as honorable by the traditional thinking of the people of Argus.
"After the first time, we thought she'd keep to herself, live quiet, stop killing men off
by
drowning in the lake. After the first time, we thought she'd keep the good ways. But
then, after the second drowning, we knew we were dealing with something much more
serious. She was haywire, out of control. She messed with evil, laughed at the old
women's advice, and dressed like a man."
Fleur was a mystery to the people. Her arrival gave them something to talk about,
something to gossip on to make the day pass by. They were especially amazed by her card
playing
abilities. Women didn't usually play cards with the men so they were pretty stunned when
she
invited herself into a poker game with a few of the men who she worked with. After
sometime the
men got used to Fleur and continued to let her play. Another interesting contribution to
her luck is
that each game she started with one dollar and ended up with one dollar. The coincidence
of her
luck and the mysteriousness of her nature made her a very interesting character. 
To finish up the amazing coincidents surrounding Fleur, a huge tornado comes and almost
destroys the town. Fleur's last furry was caused by her being attacked by three men who
were
sour over a lost a sum of money in a poker game. These three men were found frozen in
the
meat freezer at Kozka's butchery. Is this just a freak occurrence or does Fleur hold some
power
that allows her to reek her vengeance upon those that do her wrong? Maybe. I believe that
she
does. The cosmic forces of the earth are truly a mystery and those that have the power to
control
it is conceivably an enigma also. I really like the end when Fleur goes off to live on
the lake and
gives birth to a child with green eyes and a dark coppery skin complection. It leaves
you
wondering what would happen next and allows you to create your own ending. I believe
that
Fleur lives a happy life with her daughter and now she has someone to love and love her
back.
The interesting circumstances that surround Fleur and the lake is a mystery to all.
Indeed
she may have been cursed by the water monster of Lake Turcot because every time she went
out
on the lake she found herself almost being drowned, and the ones who saved her life
eventually
wound up taking her place. I think there is tremendous irony in a situation when people
try to
save others but really need to save themselves. Fleur Pillager is a very interesting
character in this
story. I like her because she is strong, willed and determined to live her life how she
wants to. She
never listened to the gossip about her and let it get her down. I liked the fact that no
one could
quite understand Fleur. She represented a puzzle that no one could solve, no one was
meant to.
No one really knew where she came from, they just know that she appeared and with her
presence
they knew that their lives would be changed forever.