The Rez Sisters: Exploring the Bonds of Indigenous Sisterhood Tomson Highway's play The Rez Sisters offers a deep exploration into the lives of Indigenous women in Canada's First Nations communities, showcasing their resilience in the face of tremendous adversity and loss. Despite facing significant hardship, the women in this story demonstrate tremendous unity and perseverance, echoing the analysis of synergy by Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald. Through this exploration, it has become clear to me that in my life, I do not recognize the struggles that women go through. Through the characters of Emily Dictionary, Zhaboonigan, and Philomena, Highway delves into the complex experiences of Indigenous womanhood, shedding light on the challenges they encounter …show more content…
Highway does not shy away from this harsh reality, using Zhaboonigan's narrative to shed light on the pervasive issue of sexual violence against Indigenous women and girls. Zhaboonagin states to Nanabush, “They took all my clothes off me. Put something up inside me here. Pointing to her crotch, underneath her dress” (47). Despite the immense pain and trauma inflicted upon her, Zhaboonigan's resilience shines through as she finds solace and strength in the company of her sisters on the reservation. Zhaboonigan's story is a sobering reminder of the ongoing struggle for justice and the need to confront the legacy of colonialism and its devastating impact on the loss of innocence of indigenous women and girls. Philomena's heart-wrenching experience of having to give up her daughter for adoption powerfully exemplifies the unity among the women in The Rez Sisters as they navigate profound adversity together. When faced with this devastating loss, Highway poignantly captures Philomena's sadness as she laments, "That child would be. 28. 28 years old" (81). At this moment, Philomena truly realizes that she has missed out on her child's
The story depicts the injustices experienced by both women of the land owning class and the indigenous people.
...e women face their opposition with a warrior's strength; yet also with a maternal-like gentle compassion. Whether it is picking up the pieces of a broken family, reaching out to a community, or having pride in one's heritage and background, the women all show a sincere dedication that is truly admirable. A woman's life is never easy, and the additional struggles of being a Native American make life on the Spokane reservation even harder. But these women bless the shields of their warriors as they face the unjust world, and they look towards the future with a warrior's spirit themselves.
The Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic, known as the butterflies, fought against the regime of the cruel dictator Rafael Trujillo. They were murdered on November 25, 1960, for their activism and work in the anti-Trujillo movement known as the Fourteenth of June. Their sacrifice is still recognized today, 57 years later, and has had a lasting impact on human rights activism throughout the world. Their brutal assassination led to a regime change and eventual assassination of President Trujillo, recognition of the power resistant movements hold and world-wide awareness of violence against women.
Donovan, Kathleen M. Feminist Readings of Native American Literature: Coming to Voice. Tuscon: U of Arizona Press, 1998: 76-120.
Furthermore, I will be discussing the women’s loss of identity. The women believe that life outside of the reservation is better. For instance, the women believe that “the bingos ... are getting kind of boring...”(Tomson, 14) on the reserve. Therefore, the women believe that they should leave the reserve and go to Toronto for more opportunity. Also, the women feel that white men treat women better, however, the white men treat the women harshly too. After the feeling of lost identity for the women, the women begin to empower each other. Highway portrays a special bond between the women and shows that together they can achieve their goals of raising enough money and going to the bingo. Also, while the women are driving, the women empower each other when they share intimate stories with one another. Additionally, when Marie-Adele almost faints the other women are there to protect her and make sure Marie-Adele is okay. Thus, like in the research journal, “Constructing the Female Self-A Reading Of Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters.” by KS Reschmi
Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry provides an effective feminist statement that conveys a feministic critique of a male society when it reconstructs women roles within the 1950s.The three African American female characters in the play, Lena, Ruth, and Beneatha, are prominent figures that represent three contrasting personalities, which personifies the view of females in a society. Lena and Ruth are from an older generation, and still withholds a traditional ideology of female roles, and are more wary of their actions. Beneatha on the other hand, has a different perspective than that of her mother, Lena. Beneatha aspires to become a doctor, a field dominated by men, and make a difference in the world.
In the play there are many obstacles that each character faces, one character in detail is Beneatha younger she is a strong and independent woman. she is Walter’s younger sister and Mama lena daughter “She is about 20 years old. She is as slim as her brother. She is not as pretty as her sister in law but her lean, almost intellectual face has a handsomeness of its own” , however Beneatha's is not like any other typical 20-year-old black woman in the 1950's because she goes to college and she tries to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor without the help of a man to support her.
The characters are Ms. Johnson, who is an older African-American woman. She is overweight and built more like a man than a woman. She describes herself as “a large, big-boned woman with rough, man working hands” (Walker 491). Although uneducated and poor, she views herself as an independent woman who takes pride in her lifestyle. Dee is the oldest daughter. She was blessed with the opportunity to receive an education. She is the popular, beautiful and tries to aims for higher goals in life. As the story goes on, she is portrayed as a materialistic, selfish, and difficult person to get along with because her view of her heritage is not the same as her mother an...
Not being exposed to Norma Jean’s independent way of life, the Native American women accept their lives of nurturing and care taking. The doctor’s visit to the Indian camp shows only women helping with the delivery of the baby. As they help the doctor, the men sit up the road away from all the commotion. No signs of resent...
The book The Marrow Thieves, by Métis Canadian writer Cherie Dimaline, exposes the role that gender and gender stereotypes have on the characters and overarching narrative. The story centers around a dystopian future where North American natives are hunted for bone marrow by recruiters to cure an unexplained madness. To understand how a gender studies lens impacts a story, one must examine the way in which characters defy or exemplify gender roles. The Marrow Thieves is focused on Native American culture and identity, which often influences a character's relationship with their gender. There are distinctions in Native American culture from Western ideology.
The book written by Mary Lawrence (1996) called My People Myself is a great story of a native women’s struggle in society. The book does an excellent job of portraying a native women’s life on an Indian reserve in British Colombia. With Mary Lawrence’s real life story the struggles facing natives are brought to the forefront and the truths of growing up as a native Indian are described in the harsh settings of old run down houses. Readers are able to read and see that native Indians have endured great pains over the years at the hands of society and the government. The struggles that are depicted in Mary Lawrence’s book are in regards to physical abuse and drug abuse.
Besides being figures of action, she shares that women instill resilience in others. Women endure the most pain and loss, yet refuse to accept defeat. She informs of the vow the women in her village make when they are married as they are the ones who keep the flame of hope burning: I will be a mother, I will suffer because of the circumstances created by white men, but I will bear it because those before me did not accept defeat(82). Despite facing systematic marginalization, violence, and death, Mench portrays indigenous women as resilient and resourceful agents of change within their communities as they often start movements and attempt to eliminate complacency among those in their community. Later in the text, she recounts instances where women unite for social justice and support each other in times of adversity, mainly through the grassroots movement, further bolstering her argument on how native women are not quiet and docile and how their determination is
In "The Rez Sisters" by Tomson Highway, the play greatly demonstrates the themes of love, compassion, and honour, showing us how these virtues can help heal the earth and each other. The story revolves around a group of Indigenous women on a reserve in Canada, each dealing with their own struggles and dreams. Through their obstacles and journeys, the play focuses’ the importance of love, compassion, and honour in fostering healing and unity within the community. The Rez Sisters is not just a story about individual goals, but a deep look into the connection between human bonds and nature. Love is a main theme in "The Rez Sisters," as the characters navigate relationships, family interactions, and personal growth.
Women in the novel are portrayed as vessels for the male role, are one-dimensional having no real meaning apart from their one-liners and complaints. In one instance, Hattie states, “We jes niggers, makin’ the white man crop for him. Leave him makin’ his own crop, then we don’t end up owin’ him money every season”. Melody the narrator of the story describes this interaction by stating, “Hattie kept at Big Mat, driving him crazy with her talk…” (Attaway). This interaction reinforces the stereotype of the crazy, hysterical, nagging woman. This portrayal of the female characters as told by Melody reflects Attaway or at least the novels’ bigotry towards women. The novel, which was largely narrated through Melody’s perception, often misread situations regarding female characters. As the novel comes to a close, what personally stood out to me were the female characters, Hattie and Anna that fell by the wayside in the tale of the three
History is not created through chance, but instead it is made through the work of inspiring individuals. An example of this would be how the Soong Sisters affected both China and other countries with their intelligent and powerful attitudes toward the world. Although they were known as sisters, these three women worked independently for many of their most powerful years, and eventually separated because of their husbands. Soong Ching-Ling and Soong Mei-Ling were more influential and significant working alone than together because of their personalities, their husbands, and their different influences upon different audiences.