As in much of Erdrich's work, the literary influence of Faulkner is evident. The friendly and hostile narrators of Tracks are reminiscent of the narrators that present a picture of Caddy in The Sound and the Fury (1929). Since the tribal vision of Nanapush and the jealous vision of Pauline both magnify Fleur's importance, the significance of her life becomes much greater as a result.

As Nanapush says, Fleur is the "funnel of our history," so what happens to her happens to the tribe. This substitution of character for tribe allows Erdrich to simplify and compress her story; Fleur's personal story translates into the tribe's story.