Motorcycles and Sweetgrass

Throughout the narrative, Taylor uses anthropomorphism—the attribution of human knowledge, perceptions, and characteristics to animals or inanimate objects—to imbue the novel with a folkloric and mythological quality. For example, in the prologue, as Lillian and Nanabush have a romantic swim, a thoughtful sunfish decides to avoid interacting with human swimmers.

What’s more, because part of Nanabush’s powers as a deity is the ability to communicate with animals and elements of nature, the novel’s anthropomorphism sometimes even verges into the territory of fable. Nanabush’s relationships with the creatures around him are personal, long-standing, and very human—for instance, readers see him bargain with hungry mosquitoes. The most important example of this kind of fable-like anthropomorphism occurs with the novel’s raccoons. In Anishnawbe folklore, the trickster god has a rich history of interacting with animals; he is specifically said to be responsible for the raccoon’s distinctive facial markings—a punishment for stealing food. In the novel, Taylor makes funny use of this myth, positing a long-running feud between Nanabush and the general raccoon population based upon this event from the distant past. To end the dispute, Nanabush must purchase junk food for an army of raccoons.

The converse of the notion of anthropomorphism is theophany—divine beings taking human or animal form to interact with humans.