Between Dangerous Extremes: Victimization, Ultranationalism, and Identity Performance in Gerald Vizenor's Hiroshima Bugi: Atomu 57

Abstract

This essay discusses Gerald Vizenor's novel Hiroshima Bugi: Atomu 57 within the context of identity construction, foregrounding parallels between nationalist movements in post-World War II Japan and in Native American communities. Through an analysis of Vizenor's characterization of these nationalist movements, the author argues for a reading of the novel as critiquing the potential for these movements to devolve into the extremes of victimization or excessive cultural pride. The essay concludes with a focus on how Vizenor employs a musical metaphor to suggest an alternative to the dangerous extremes of nationalism, and as an exemplar of how cultural exchanges and interracial alliances can function to support efforts for survival in a postnational, racially hybridized and hybridizing world.

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