Mentorship: From Childhood to ManhoodLouise Erdrich explores the inner conflicts of an Indian tribe in her novel Tracks. At the end of the novel, the tribes' agreement is broken by the lure of the white man's money and land reform. The divisions between the tribes are exemplified by the physical separation of the Chippewa people into different colors that correspond to their different land allotments. However, one chapter in particular contrasts with the tribe's tendency towards discord. Chapter 5, in which Nanapush and Eli overcome their differences and unite in an attempt to avoid starvation, gives hope to the disturbing series of events in Tracks that show conflict developing out of unity. The great snowstorm they experience together not only bonds them, but forces Eli to turn to his Chippewa roots to survive. Therefore, the real lessons of life can be learned through the life mentorship of a man becoming transparent through each other. In chapter 5, we see the culmination of Nanapush and Eli's relationship. Like everyone else in the book, Eli shows up at Nanapush's house to seek wise counsel. Unfortunately for Eli, Nanapush is not amazed by the adversity Eli is experiencing. We see this at the beginning of the chapter. We see Eli's inner child, trying to get the attention of the man, Nanapush. Eli tries to get Nanapush's attention; making comments under his breath and banging his head against the table. Meanwhile Nanapush is attentive, but does not make fun of the child's tantrums. The explosions in the dialogue finally emerge when Eli begins with "How much can a man endure?" Nanapush's response is small but powerful by simply stating, "What man?" (p.97) Nanapush r...... middle of paper ......ves from what might seem like just one season. And that's most of the time. They are typically brought into your life for you to learn and develop specific characteristics about yourself. But sometimes people come into your life in what may seem like a lifetime. These types of relationships are constantly being built. With Eli and Nanapush, they entered into a relationship based on the fact that they needed each other to survive. Eli needed Nanapush to have the wisdom to survive and face life's adversities and lessons. Nanapush needed Eli to survive physically in his time of desperate need. And when we look at the aftermath of the lessons Nanapush gave Eli, I realized that Eli then stepped up to mentor his younger brother. Then, after the lessons between Nanapush and Eli were over, the passing of the baton began for Eli to share wisdom with Nector.