An Analysis Of Maria Campbell's The Half Breed

Maria’s search for soul
From the moment a person takes their first breath, they are in the race to find themselves. They struggle their whole life to search for themselves, and who they are, and many can go through life never truly understanding who they actually are. It takes a lifetime of experiences and struggles for a person to come at peace with themselves, and this is clearly evident by the character of Maria Campbell in her autobiography, Half breed. Throughout the memory of her life, she describes the brutal inequality that she and her people are subject to because of their race, She develops as a character, and her personality and who she is as a person clearly changes through her experiences and struggles living in a society where

Maria’s whole life is a test: she lives a life that is full of negativity and torment that engrosses her, and consumes her soul. A person can only take so much until they get to a breaking point. It is clear she tries extremely hard to overcome the racism and inequality, but like any human, there comes a point where she can not take it any further and she gives up on her expectations from the society. "The Half Breeds came here from Ontario and Manitoba to escape the prejudice and hate that comes with the opening of a new land "(Campbell 9). The conflict or battle is the hate and malice towards the Metis people. It’s a constant struggle they have to deal with. This sense of insecurity has taken its toll on the people, to the point where they are taught to fear society and it’s judgement. The main idea here is that native people are oppressed by society. They have no status or identity, and have been alienated and not even considered as people. This idea of prejudice is a recurring subject that Maria often refers back to and treated as an issue she has to overcome this is evident by when she states: "With the loss of the land they had always thought of as their own , they soon discovered that they had also lost the source of their identity. "(Campbell 28). Her accepting that as the white people took over their land, the Metis lost their identity is a major turning point in the story because it shows she has come to accept that they do not really have their own identity; something the white people have ingrained in their minds through all their constant racism toward the Metis. It leads to her discovery of self because she realizes she does not fit it to any preordained group, and must make a life for herself because there is no one out there to support