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【Abstract】House Made of Dawn is a 1968 novel written by N. Scott Momaday. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969， it is crowned as the breakthrough work that led Native American literature into the mainstream. This essay is going to analyze the influences white culture has exerted on Native Americans in House Made of Dawn from the perspective of the Power Dynamics of Gaze by Michael Foucault.
【Key words】House Made of Dawn； Native American； White Gaze； Power Dynamics
【作者簡介】郭看（1989.04-），女，汉族，江苏苏州人，文学硕士，苏州旅游与财经高等职业技术学校，讲师。
“The Longhair”， the first part of N. Scott Momaday’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel House Made of Dawn starts in 1945 when the protagonist， Abel is returning from the battlefields of the Second World War. The young Navajo’s war experience epitomizes Native Americans’ increasing involvement in the white cultural and political affairs as well as their growing interaction with white people. Momaday also introduces the special date July 20th “upon which the Navajo were ordered to surrender at Fort Defiance in 1863” （Owens 96）， alluding to the “entropic pressure of colonial and modern history” haunting the tribe people.
In and out of the reservation， Native Americans are consistently under the pressing gaze of the white. The white gaze is ubiquitous in the novel： the curtains which will provide Indians with privacy are unwelcome and the sneaking neighbor always watching “like she thinks you’re going to sneak up on her or steal something from her” （Momaday 157） as well as the numerous questionnaires brought by the social worker which functions as a written form of surveillance. Understanding the gaze cast by the dominant white society at Native Americans is central to understanding their marginalized position. In Discipline and Punish， Michael Foucault elaborates on the gaze to demonstrate the power dynamics in the relationship between the gazer and the gazed. Assuming the centrality， the white gazer is granted the privilege to arbitrarily shape the images of Indians and stereotype them as the “exotic other”.
Nevertheless， upon a closer inspection of the gaze scenes in the novel， it is discovered that the equation of the gazer with power is completely subverted through Momaday’s rewriting of the history. Under his pen， the gazer is no longer rendered powerful， neither the gazed powerless. The privilege of the gaze never sides with either party for the power surpasses the usual binary opposition as observer/the observed. The power of gaze， in itself， functions in a circular motion. Nowhere in House Made of Dawn is the flow of power between the gazed and gazer so clearly embodied as in relocation place where social workers keep “coming around” and “looking at” the Indians. Daniels， the foreman in the relocation plant keeps showing off his power by watching the Indian workers “pretty close” and getting on them “pretty bad” （Momaday 140）. Due to Abel’s previous absence from work， he comes over to the work line， “looking over his shoulder”， “inspecting everything he did” （Momaday 142）. Abel is made tense by his gaze and makes several tiny mistakes over which Daniels makes a fuss. As the white gazer， Daniels is in the commanding position with the privilege to “riding” Abel. However， the embodiment of the power transfer occurs when Abel finally “dropped everything and looked at Daniels hard， like maybe he was going to hit him or something” （Momaday 142）. The burst of Abel “took Daniels by surprise” （Momaday 142） and renders him speechless for a few minutes， indicating that he has been deprived of the power of ordering. His later exasperation and yelling further demonstrates the shame he feels as a loser.
The characterization of Martinez also exemplifies the process of flow of power from the gazer into the gazed and exposes white people’s underlying fear of the Native Americans. This fear is shared by the wasichus in Black Elk Speak in the chapter of “The Butchering at Wounded Knee”： Driven by the fear that the Big Foots people are dangerous， the soldiers begin to disarming during which an accidental rifle discharge triggers the massacre. The easily-irritated white soldiers just act as the counterpart of the Mexican cop. The unconscious conviction that Indians will threaten their assumed central position haunts them， and pushes them to treat them with extreme violence through which they can get a temporary relief. In House Made of Dawn， through the usual gazing at hands of Native American workers， the capricious white man feeds his racial superiority on the fears shared by some of them such as Ben. The sight of the “steady” （Momaday 153） hands of Abel evokes in him a rage of being threatened and insulted， which well explains his hysterical behavior of beating Abel’s hands “hard and fast”（Momaday 153） with his police stick. What he wants to break into pieces is not only the hand bones， but also the esteem of Abel as a Native American. During the fierce encounter， Martinez plays hard to disguise himself as a man with strength and dominance， whereas his “short and quick” （Momaday 153） breath betrays his inner upset and fear. Different from the scrambling for the power of gaze among male characters， the dynamics of power between different genders eventually ends in a balanced state while the distinction between the gazer and the gazed is usually blurred. Perhaps the clearest indication of that balance lies in the case of Angela St. Johns. Looking “down from an upstairs window” （Momaday 28）， the white woman is “using her eyes to absorb and comprehend Abel’s world” （Owens 106）. Under her watchful gaze， the Indian man “stood， dumb and docile at her pleasure， not knowing， she supposed， how even to take his leave” （Momaday 31）. However， she fully realizes that her inability to “be contemptuous of” （Momaday 30） the “powerless” （Momaday 31） Indian young man because she feels confused by his attitude of gazing at “nonbeing”（Momaday 33） when he chop the wood. This mysterious gaze incapacitates her from manipulating him. Seven years later， the gaze scene is replayed as Abel and Ben watch Angela walking on the street. Apart from the reversing of the observer and the observed， Angela’s vision of Abel as “a badger or a bear” also suggests the healing that Abe will bring her since badger and bear are “considered by the people of Jemez to be younger and elder brother， respectively， and powerful healers” （Owens 106）. Correspondingly， Angela also heals the broken Abel in the hospital by telling the story of “a bear and a maiden” （Momaday 164）.
The point that balance and reconciliation can be achieved through the integration of the gazer and gazed is also embodied in the interaction between old Carlozini and two Indian young men. At the beginning of “The Night Chanter”， Ben is annoyed by the old woman for “she’s going to tell the landlord as sure as anything”. She occupies an advantaged position over him and “always opens her door a little， just a crack， and watches” him go by （Momaday 157）. But the gaze is never one-way. Abel and Ben also gaze at her through the wide open door when she is grief-stricken by the death of her guinea pig. Once they enter her room， the unequal gaze disappears. Through Ben’s eyes， we can see the old woman isn’t as aggressive and sneaky as before. She is so “friendly and nice” to them to the extent that Ben begins to feel sympathy for her and think about the possibility to “make it all right” which means exercising a healing for her. In fact， Abel did make it： the old woman “nodded” at his words and “wasn’t crying” （Momaday 158） any more.
Besides， the ambiguous characterization of Albino also deals with the topic of gaze. Depicted as marble-like man， the white-skinned albino is an Indian body with white gaze. His confrontations with Abel feature both the flow of power and the mutual gaze. Wearing a pair of “little round colored glassed” which brings him the privilege of watching others freely （Momaday 37）， he is “large and thickset， powerful and deliberate in his movement” （Momaday 38）. Abel is overshadowed by him in the Santiago feast for Albino is “too strong and quick for him” （Momaday 39）. But later in the bar， the man is paradoxically described as “weak” （Momaday 72）. The embracing gesture vaguely suggests the connection between the two whose names shared the same initial letter： Albino seems to pass his power to Abel at the price of his life. The fighting scene ends with the mutual gazing between the dead and the living： the eyes of the white man “curdled and impervious” to where Abel knelt down， “looking down” （Momaday 74）. Whether this scene borders closer to the violent male fighting for the power of gaze or to the female peaceful sharing can never be pinned down， which is probably an example of the indeterminacy intentionally set by Momaday.
References：
[1]Momaday，M.Scott.House Made of Dawn.New York：HarperCollins， 1999.
[2]Owens，Louis.Other Destinies：Understanding the American Indian Novel.Norman：University of Oklahoma Press，1992.
【Key words】House Made of Dawn； Native American； White Gaze； Power Dynamics
【作者簡介】郭看（1989.04-），女，汉族，江苏苏州人，文学硕士，苏州旅游与财经高等职业技术学校，讲师。
“The Longhair”， the first part of N. Scott Momaday’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel House Made of Dawn starts in 1945 when the protagonist， Abel is returning from the battlefields of the Second World War. The young Navajo’s war experience epitomizes Native Americans’ increasing involvement in the white cultural and political affairs as well as their growing interaction with white people. Momaday also introduces the special date July 20th “upon which the Navajo were ordered to surrender at Fort Defiance in 1863” （Owens 96）， alluding to the “entropic pressure of colonial and modern history” haunting the tribe people.
In and out of the reservation， Native Americans are consistently under the pressing gaze of the white. The white gaze is ubiquitous in the novel： the curtains which will provide Indians with privacy are unwelcome and the sneaking neighbor always watching “like she thinks you’re going to sneak up on her or steal something from her” （Momaday 157） as well as the numerous questionnaires brought by the social worker which functions as a written form of surveillance. Understanding the gaze cast by the dominant white society at Native Americans is central to understanding their marginalized position. In Discipline and Punish， Michael Foucault elaborates on the gaze to demonstrate the power dynamics in the relationship between the gazer and the gazed. Assuming the centrality， the white gazer is granted the privilege to arbitrarily shape the images of Indians and stereotype them as the “exotic other”.
Nevertheless， upon a closer inspection of the gaze scenes in the novel， it is discovered that the equation of the gazer with power is completely subverted through Momaday’s rewriting of the history. Under his pen， the gazer is no longer rendered powerful， neither the gazed powerless. The privilege of the gaze never sides with either party for the power surpasses the usual binary opposition as observer/the observed. The power of gaze， in itself， functions in a circular motion. Nowhere in House Made of Dawn is the flow of power between the gazed and gazer so clearly embodied as in relocation place where social workers keep “coming around” and “looking at” the Indians. Daniels， the foreman in the relocation plant keeps showing off his power by watching the Indian workers “pretty close” and getting on them “pretty bad” （Momaday 140）. Due to Abel’s previous absence from work， he comes over to the work line， “looking over his shoulder”， “inspecting everything he did” （Momaday 142）. Abel is made tense by his gaze and makes several tiny mistakes over which Daniels makes a fuss. As the white gazer， Daniels is in the commanding position with the privilege to “riding” Abel. However， the embodiment of the power transfer occurs when Abel finally “dropped everything and looked at Daniels hard， like maybe he was going to hit him or something” （Momaday 142）. The burst of Abel “took Daniels by surprise” （Momaday 142） and renders him speechless for a few minutes， indicating that he has been deprived of the power of ordering. His later exasperation and yelling further demonstrates the shame he feels as a loser.
The characterization of Martinez also exemplifies the process of flow of power from the gazer into the gazed and exposes white people’s underlying fear of the Native Americans. This fear is shared by the wasichus in Black Elk Speak in the chapter of “The Butchering at Wounded Knee”： Driven by the fear that the Big Foots people are dangerous， the soldiers begin to disarming during which an accidental rifle discharge triggers the massacre. The easily-irritated white soldiers just act as the counterpart of the Mexican cop. The unconscious conviction that Indians will threaten their assumed central position haunts them， and pushes them to treat them with extreme violence through which they can get a temporary relief. In House Made of Dawn， through the usual gazing at hands of Native American workers， the capricious white man feeds his racial superiority on the fears shared by some of them such as Ben. The sight of the “steady” （Momaday 153） hands of Abel evokes in him a rage of being threatened and insulted， which well explains his hysterical behavior of beating Abel’s hands “hard and fast”（Momaday 153） with his police stick. What he wants to break into pieces is not only the hand bones， but also the esteem of Abel as a Native American. During the fierce encounter， Martinez plays hard to disguise himself as a man with strength and dominance， whereas his “short and quick” （Momaday 153） breath betrays his inner upset and fear. Different from the scrambling for the power of gaze among male characters， the dynamics of power between different genders eventually ends in a balanced state while the distinction between the gazer and the gazed is usually blurred. Perhaps the clearest indication of that balance lies in the case of Angela St. Johns. Looking “down from an upstairs window” （Momaday 28）， the white woman is “using her eyes to absorb and comprehend Abel’s world” （Owens 106）. Under her watchful gaze， the Indian man “stood， dumb and docile at her pleasure， not knowing， she supposed， how even to take his leave” （Momaday 31）. However， she fully realizes that her inability to “be contemptuous of” （Momaday 30） the “powerless” （Momaday 31） Indian young man because she feels confused by his attitude of gazing at “nonbeing”（Momaday 33） when he chop the wood. This mysterious gaze incapacitates her from manipulating him. Seven years later， the gaze scene is replayed as Abel and Ben watch Angela walking on the street. Apart from the reversing of the observer and the observed， Angela’s vision of Abel as “a badger or a bear” also suggests the healing that Abe will bring her since badger and bear are “considered by the people of Jemez to be younger and elder brother， respectively， and powerful healers” （Owens 106）. Correspondingly， Angela also heals the broken Abel in the hospital by telling the story of “a bear and a maiden” （Momaday 164）.
The point that balance and reconciliation can be achieved through the integration of the gazer and gazed is also embodied in the interaction between old Carlozini and two Indian young men. At the beginning of “The Night Chanter”， Ben is annoyed by the old woman for “she’s going to tell the landlord as sure as anything”. She occupies an advantaged position over him and “always opens her door a little， just a crack， and watches” him go by （Momaday 157）. But the gaze is never one-way. Abel and Ben also gaze at her through the wide open door when she is grief-stricken by the death of her guinea pig. Once they enter her room， the unequal gaze disappears. Through Ben’s eyes， we can see the old woman isn’t as aggressive and sneaky as before. She is so “friendly and nice” to them to the extent that Ben begins to feel sympathy for her and think about the possibility to “make it all right” which means exercising a healing for her. In fact， Abel did make it： the old woman “nodded” at his words and “wasn’t crying” （Momaday 158） any more.
Besides， the ambiguous characterization of Albino also deals with the topic of gaze. Depicted as marble-like man， the white-skinned albino is an Indian body with white gaze. His confrontations with Abel feature both the flow of power and the mutual gaze. Wearing a pair of “little round colored glassed” which brings him the privilege of watching others freely （Momaday 37）， he is “large and thickset， powerful and deliberate in his movement” （Momaday 38）. Abel is overshadowed by him in the Santiago feast for Albino is “too strong and quick for him” （Momaday 39）. But later in the bar， the man is paradoxically described as “weak” （Momaday 72）. The embracing gesture vaguely suggests the connection between the two whose names shared the same initial letter： Albino seems to pass his power to Abel at the price of his life. The fighting scene ends with the mutual gazing between the dead and the living： the eyes of the white man “curdled and impervious” to where Abel knelt down， “looking down” （Momaday 74）. Whether this scene borders closer to the violent male fighting for the power of gaze or to the female peaceful sharing can never be pinned down， which is probably an example of the indeterminacy intentionally set by Momaday.
References：
[1]Momaday，M.Scott.House Made of Dawn.New York：HarperCollins， 1999.
[2]Owens，Louis.Other Destinies：Understanding the American Indian Novel.Norman：University of Oklahoma Press，1992.