A trapline requires mathematical planning and maintenance to successfully catch the desired prey. A person must often come back and check for a catch. If empty, they will restructure their line until they get what they are after. There are countless traps to ensure optimal kills. Eden Robinson's Traplines unfolds the systemic and metaphorical ‘traplines’ set out to exile indigenous peoples in a world dominated by colonialistic values. The character of Will lives directly on this trapline. Forced to tiptoe with every step he takes to escape the interconnected, systematic blockades before him. Faced with the impacts of intergenerational trauma, Will must navigate the presence of white substances and subsequent abuse within his household. Leading …show more content…
Robbins portrays life on the reserve as a place where white cultural influence has become destructive and pervasive. The intergenerational trauma experienced by Will’s family leads to a butterfly effect. From substance abuse to physical abuse. The ‘matter of fact’, short sentence style in the text emphasises a sense of acceptance, and normlessness the experiences of abuse are for Will. In his telling of events, it appears that the isolation is both physical from the privileged town and psychological. The short sentence structure omits Will's surroundings and the feelings he has about the situation. Evident in his altercation with Eric. “Eric sneaks up behind me. He doubles over. He has a towel stretched between his hands. his choking game.” (Cite 8). The absence of elaboration of his surroundings and feelings contributes to this sense of psychological isolation. The reader gets the sense that Will is so accustomed to the abuse that he withdraws emotionally, a strategy for coping with his daily reality. Typically, children describe their surroundings and emotions in vivid detail. However, Will's narration is devoid of such details, creating a sense of emotional …show more content…
Additionally, the invitation for Will to live with the Smiths was given by Mr. Smith telling Will “You will be safer here” (Cite). He does not know Will’s home life or the dynamics behind it. Yet he assumes Will should abandon his heritage and assimilate into the town. For Will to live away from the village, and move to the town with Mrs Smith, it would be safer for him undoubtedly. This is not the issue. The issue arises with the assumption that a colonial way of life is better for Will. The village allows Will to remain intact with an already fading rich culture of his ingenious routes. Despite his household being contaminated with the substances and consequently abused by colonial origins, remains the last barrier to complete assimilation. However, there is evidence that the Smiths did have a lasting impact on Wills's perception of indigenous identity as he consequently falls into the trap of a cultural divide. Highlighted with the pronoun uses of ‘I’ and ‘They’ when referring to his friends around Mrs Smith. “Tony grabs his crotch. Billy is cleaning his nails. The other guys are
From the prologue through chapter one in “Wilderness and the American Mind”, the author emphasizes the affect wilderness had on the Europeans during the colonization of America. In today’s society, we are familiar with the concept of wilderness but few of us have experienced the feeling of being encapsulated in the unfamiliar territory. Today we long for wilderness, crave it even. We use it as an outlet to escape the pace of life. However, we have a sense of safety that the Europeans did not. We are not isolated in the unfamiliar, help is usually a phone call away. Though we now view the wilderness as an oasis because we enter at our own terms, in the early colonial and national periods, the wilderness was an unknown environment that was viewed as evil and dangerous.
...sed in the first scene; the white family appear more superior over the aboriginal family, music, such as the Celtic music used in early scenes to foreground the idea of white settlement and the reluctantcy to incorporate any values or ways of life that the original inhabitants had. Her powerful dialogue seen in ‘this land is mine’ scene, which significantly empowers to audience to question whether the white settlers have failed to incorporate any of the ways of life and values of the Indigenous people. Finally, Perkins’ fine editing skills allows audiences to physically see the contrasts of the two families and their beliefs, values and ways of life. From the film, audiences can learn, and also forces them to question whether they have failed to learn from the original habitants of the land they live in today.
The places in which we live are an integral and inescapable aspect of who we are, as they largely determine culture, community, and determine the outlook that one has on the rest of the world. In the American South, physical and cultural geography has played a particularly important role in the historical and modern contexts of racial relations. The dynamic between enslaved peoples and the natural landscape is a complex one that offers innumerable interpretations, but inarguably serves as a marker of the wounds created by institutional racism and human enslavement. In her collection of poems entitled Native Guard, Natasha Trethewey utilizes external features of the natural environment in the South in order to communicate the repressed grief, both personal and collective, which can arise as a result of inflicted systemic violence. Through comparing part one of Native Guard, which focuses on
The novel Go Ask Alice written anonymously tells the story of one girl’s struggle with drug addiction. The conflict in this novel is person versus self. The protagonist is struggling against herself trying to overcome addiction. The mood is depressing. The main character reveals how drugs ruined her life, which evokes depressed feelings in the reader. The point of view is first person. This is a publishing of a teenage girl’s diary and she wrote in first person. The conflict, mood, and point of view make this book a work of realistic fiction.
The novel “Through Black Spruce”, written by Joseph Boyden, details life of Native Culture and the corruption within its society. Will Bird and his niece Annie Bird alter narrations every chapter telling their individual stories of their struggles to remain pure in Native culture. Both characters experience a detachment from their roots and must learn to rely on each other for the livelihood of their culture. All characters in the novel show negative effects of being impacted by the white culture, seen through the use of drugs and alcohol leading to isolation from the community. Through detailed analysis of both Will and Annie’s narrative, their connections to their Native roots seem to be vanishing and the need to integrate the traditional
This behaviour is extremely evident in his ill treatment to and towards the Aboriginals. In the scene where William Thornhill is at Smasher's place, William observes Smasher's treatment to a female, Aboriginal that Smasher took ‘captive'. “William saw the whip catch her around the small of the back as she stumbled outside," (pg. 262). This example of cruelty emphasises on Smasher's disgusting treatment towards the Aboriginals. The words such as "stumble [and] the whip catch her" are dehumanising the Aboriginal female in this scene, and making her sound like a dangerous animal that needs and deserves to be whipped for wrongdoing. Together the words "stumble” and “whip”, demean the rights of the Aboriginal woman and as a result, this use of dehumanisation highlights Smasher's treatment towards the Aboriginals, and subtly gives the audience the image of Europeans in general, as a race that treated the Native Australians as if they had no
These moments of pure happiness inspire hope in the hearts of his characters. The Indians are able to find peace for just an instant holding onto it in a beautiful way that allows them to forget the strains of their lives. This psychological phenomenon is exhibited constantly throughout the collection of stories but Victor best embodies it when he remembers his father. He changes “[T]he memories. Instead of remembering the bad things, remember what happened immediately before. That’s what I learned from my father.” (page 34). Instead of remembering how his dad left him when he was young he savors the memory of him when he was there. By being able to be thankful for the days with his father Victor can make life without him less painful. Alexie shows through Victor’s use of this coping mechanism of thankfulness that Reservation Indians are happier with the little they have than the spoiled people of the rest of our country. This idea is clearly a positive and shows that Alexie’s realism is not all just the racist, stereotypical garbage that many claim it is. Instead it has actual meaning behind it; it is simply an examination of the Native American’s lifestyle and world-view
Nic Sheff wrote a masterpiece that is viewed both as a fiction as well as the educational and life changing book. It became one of the most selling books due to its portrayal of the effects of drug addictions. Tweak gives a chronology of events that transpired during growth time of the character both in a forward and backward manner. Nic in the first pages of the book gives as some faint reason as to why he got hooked to drug addiction. It is at this point that we come to learn about his backgrounds and family life. He was brought up in a privileged family where his stepmother is an artist while his father is a writer working for the national magazines. The family dwells in the city of San Francesco although it has another house in the rural. Their family is popular and well known which means they have a great connection and knowing several people in the journalism world. What made a great turning point in Nic’s life was his parents
When a native author Greg Sams said that the reservations are just “red ghettos”, the author David disagree with that. He thinks there must be something else beyond that point. After his grandfather died, he somehow changed his mind. Because he could not think anything e...
...erhaps in another social location, with different social forces, Will may not have become a deviant but rather took on another role. If Will had been socialized properly, with normal parents and friends, perhaps his role and identity would be different. In different social locations, there are different institutions what require different roles and there are different social forces to control these roles. The sociological perspective has many concepts that examine the underlying reasons for why Will’s actions and identity are the way they are. Social location determines all aspects of one’s life, how they are going to be socialized, what friends they are going to have, what career, what role they will take on, etc.
In a desperate attempt to discover his true identity, the narrator decides to go back to Wisconsin. He was finally breaking free from captivity. The narrator was filling excitement and joy on his journey back home. He remembers every town and every stop. Additionally, he admires the natural beauty that fills the scenery. In contrast to the “beauty of captivity” (320), he felt on campus, this felt like freedom. No doubt, that the narrator is more in touch with nature and his Native American roots than the white civilized culture. Nevertheless, as he gets closer to home he feels afraid of not being accepted, he says “… afraid of being looked on as a stranger by my own people” (323). He felt like he would have to prove himself all over again, only this time it was to his own people. The closer the narrator got to his home, the happier he was feeling. “Everything seems to say, “Be happy! You are home now—you are free” (323). Although he felt as though he had found his true identity, he questioned it once more on the way to the lodge. The narrator thought, “If I am white I will not believe that story; if I am Indian, I will know that there is an old woman under the ice” (323). The moment he believed, there was a woman under the ice; He realized he had found his true identity, it was Native American. At that moment nothing but that night mattered, “[he], try hard to forget school and white people, and be one of these—my people.” (323). He
Everyday people are peer pressured and influenced into multiple unhealthy behaviors. Acts such smoking, alcoholism, and unprotected intercourse are frequent issues in any lifestyle. Friends, family, and especially the media have a way of twisting a person’s mindset into believing these unhealthy choices are safe. Currently, the most reoccurring phenomenon is issues with drugs. More often than not, there are reports on people misusing and abusing drugs, particularly celebrities and athletes.
It was the late 19th century when a lot of conflict for families from the Industrial Revolution and illegal drugs had easy access to anyone in the United Sates. These illegal drugs like morphine, cocaine, and alcohol were available through manufacture, delivery, and selling. It was proved that the over use of alcohol and violence in families’ homes were linked together around the 1850’s and that women and children were being abused by the father and husband from the letters and journals that were wrote. These were times when women were stay at home mothers and it was the man’s responsibility to be the provider for the wife and children. Because of the abuse in the household it led up to the temperance movement. The purpose
Many human beings consider abortion as something cruel and unnatural for destroying a little living being life. Why you may think? Because that little living being didn’t tell you that they wanted to come into this world. There can be pros and cons about abortion it all depends in the situation that you are in. But, have you ever thought about how dangerous abortion is to the baby and yourself? Have you done research about it? See what clinic is the very best and how much will it cost? Before you think about all these questions ask yourself first. Would I regret this decision later on? Would it be worth it? Would I commit a crime if I decided to abort the child? Give yourself sometime and think about these type of questions and think what is the best for both of you all not just you but the baby or the father. Would you commit to abortion?
Alcohol and drug abuse is one of biggest problems in United States today. It is not only a personal problem that dramatically affects individuals' lives, but is a major social problem that affects society as whole. "Drug and alcohol abuse", these phrases we hear daily on the radio, television or in discussions of social problem. But what do they mean or what do we think and understand by it? Most of us don't really view drug or alcohol use as a problem, if that includes your grandmother taking two aspirins when she has a headache or your friends having few beers or drinks on Saturday night. What we really mean is that some drugs or alcohol are being used by some people or in some situations constitute problem with which our society must deal. It becomes a real problem when using or I should say abusing drugs cause accidents, antisocial behavior, broken relationships, family instability, crime and violence, poverty, unsafe streets and highways, worker absenteeism and nonproductivity, and the most tragic one death. The situation in which the drug or alcohol uses accurse often makes all the difference. The clearest example is the drinking of alcohol, when individual begins to drink during the job, at school, or in the morning, we have evidence that indicates a potential drinking problem. If a person takes narcotic drug because he just wrecked his knee while his physician prescribed playing football and the drug, most of us would be not concerned. If, on the other hand, he took the same drug on his own just because he likes the way it makes him feel, then we should begin to worry about him developing dependence. Even use of illegal drugs are sometimes acceptable, but it also depends on situation, for example in some countries smoking marijuana is legal just like drinking alcohol in United States. Some subcultures even in United States that accept the use of illegal drugs may distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable situation, some college age groups might accept marijuana smoking at a party on weekends, but not just before going to a calculus class. Most of people would accept a fact that a bartender or a waiter who is working at a night club is having a beer or a drink on his break or that a landscape worker is having a cold beer with his lunch on a hot summer day. I'm not saying that it is "OK" but we wouldn't complain a...