Split Tooth

How do Tagaq’s descriptions of the real world compare to those of the spirit world? How do her descriptions of each change as the distinctions between them blur?

How does the author use the different elements of the narrative (e.g., prose, poetry, illustration, etc.)? What function does the poetry in the novel serve? What about the illustrations?

How does the author establish the narrator’s character in the early sections of the novel? In what ways does the narrator change as the narrative progresses? How do Tagaq’s descriptions of her change as the narrator changes?

How does the fact that most of the characters in Split Tooth are unnamed affect your understanding of them? What significance do you ascribe to Tagaq’s choice not to name the narrator? What impact do names, or their lack, have on the story?

How does the setting inform the narrative and its characters? How does the natural world figure into the narrator’s spiritual journey? Use textual support.

The ending of the story is ambiguous. What do you think happens to the narrator’s spirit after she dies? What details from the story have helped you reach that conclusion?

How does Tagaq develop the theme of generational trauma in Split Tooth? How does the legacy of colonialism inform the behavior of the adults around the narrator? In what ways does that behavior affect the narrator’s generation?

Tanya Tagaq describes her art as “a way to excavate feelings and thoughts and ideas,” and as a “way of staying healthy” (Gillis, Carla. “Tanya Tagaq Steps out Onto an Unfamiliar Stage.” Now Toronto, 12 Sept. 2018). Does this perspective resonate with what Split Tooth seems to be doing? Why or why not?