Book Analysis Ivan Doig’s (1980) account of James Gilchrist Swan in Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America thus far has the earmarks of a narrative research or a case study, with a latent reveal of the ethnographical situation in which Swan found himself. It can be classified as a narrative research because it is a story of the individual and the researcher, Doig, is consistently connecting to Swan: most significantly their adventurous side. “I have prowled the Washington coastline where Swan plopped ashore at the end of 1852” (Doig, 1980, p 17). In addition, the journey through Swan’s diaries, which are strong narrative research evidence, Doig feels Swan’s presence in his current life, “At closing hour, Swan got up from the research table…show more content… 4). Narrative research connects the historical context and writer to each other as is unmistakable in this particular work (Creswell, 2013, p. 73). However, the evidence to categorize this work as a case study of specifically Swan’s life is that it focuses on Swan’s adventures based upon his diaries beginning in his twenties, so it has a chronological order to it. To clearly be considered a case study, multiple resources will need to be introduced (Creswell, 2013, p. 97). Lastly, the culture in which Swan lived is vividly revealed through his writings; the patterns and beliefs of the tribes and peoples with which he lived are described in depth, so it is as if Swan was working on an Ethnographic research and Doig’s narrative of him reveals those descriptions. Thus far, this text has been an excellent example of thick and rich descriptions of everyday life and Swan’s interpretations of it as seen through the prose and Doig’s perspective. “It is this interpretive characteristic of description rather than detail per se that makes it thick”
