The women in The Rez Sisters are highly influenced by materialism and White society beliefs. This influence is apparent when one looks at the goals of the sisters, which are acculturated and reflect the attitudes of White society rather than Native society. In Act 1, the women’s aspirations are perverted and extremely acquisitive. Annie wants to “buy a huge record player, the biggest one in the whole world”, Marie-Adele wants to “buy [herself] an island...the most beautiful island in the world” with a “real neat picket fence, real high, long and very, very, very white”, Philomena wants a “toilet... big and wide and very white”, Pelijia wants to “build [herself] a nice paved road”, and Veronique wants to “go shopping for a brand- new stove...the biggest stove on the reserve” so that she can “be the best cook... go to Paris... write a cookbook...become rich and famous” (Highway 5, 35-37). Elements of the American dream like the white picket fence and gross wealth are integral in the women’s speeches, as is the colour white. These short term goals represent an assimilation with White society and are …show more content…
The destructive nature of cultural collision is symbolized when Emily’s lover, Rose, kills herself because of “how fuckin’ hard it is to be an Indian in this country” (Highway 97). The suicide of Rose, which happened when Rose “went head-on” into a “big 18-wheeler...like a fly splat against a windshield” shows the brutality of cultural collision (Highway 97). The rape of Zhaboonigan is an indicator of the violence inflicted on Natives (especially Native women), and functions as a metaphor for the “intrusive, destructive impact of one society on another” (Nothof 2). Cultural collision results in a fragmented society, where the subdued struggle with their identity as a result of the violent colonization of the dominant
Each culture has its own way of living based upon the expectations of family living. Within those expectations, there is a dominant gender role that comes into play. In the essay “Once More to the Lake,” White lives a traditional life, where men play the more dominant role. In the essay “Street Scenes”, Hood brings the reader back to her home town through vivid memories of her modernized life, where she and her mother play the female dominant role in society. E.B White and Hood represent entirely different gender roles that are acquired in society within contrasting generations, containing similar values.
In the book Bad Indians, Miranda talks about the many issues Indigenous People go through. Miranda talks about the struggles Indigenous people go through; however, she talks about them in the perspective of Native Americans. Many people learn about Indigenous People through classrooms and textbooks, in the perspective of White people. In Bad Indians, Miranda uses different literary devices to show her perspective of the way Indigenous People were treated, the issues that arose from missionization, as well as the violence that followed through such issues. Bad Indians is an excellent example that shows how different history is told in different perspectives.
In the book Literature by Edgar V Roberts, Faulkner begins the story “A Rose for Emily” with an extremely long sentence which shows the communities reaction to death and immediately displays a scene through gender differences:
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
One of the hardest realities of being a minority is that the majority has a thousand ways to hurt anyone who is part of a minority, and they have but two or three ways to defend themselves. In Sherman Alexie’s short story The Toughest Indian in the World, Roman Gabriel Fury is a member of the Native American minority that makes up less than two percent of the total United States population (1.2 percent to be exact). This inherent disadvantage of being a minority, along with various cultural factors, influences the conflicted character of Roman Gabriel Fury and his attitudes toward the white majority. Through his use of strong language, demanding tone, and vibrant colors, Roman Gabriel Fury is able to reveal his complex feelings about growing up Indian in a predominately white world.
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
The systematic racism and discrimination in America has long lasting effects that began back when Europeans first stepped foot on American soil is still visible today but only not written into the law. This racism has lead to very specific consequences on the Native people in today’s modern world, and while the racism is maybe not as obvious it is still very present. These modern Native peoples fight against the feeling of community as a Native person, and feeling entirely alone and not a part of it. The poem “The Reservation” by Susan Cloud and “The Real Indian Leans Against” by Chrystos examine the different effects and different settings of how their cultures survived but also how so much was lost for them within their own identity.
William Faulkner and Charlotte Gilman are two well known writers for intriguing novels of the 1800’s. Their two eccentric pieces, "A Rose for Emily" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" are equally alluring. These authors and their works have been well recognized, but also critized. The criticism focuses on the society that is portrayed in these novels. The modern readers of today’s society are resentful to this dramatic society. These two novels are full of tradition, rebellion and the oppression over women’s rights. Both of these novels share the misery of the culture, but there is some distinction between the two. "A Rose for Emily" is a social commentary while "The Yellow Wallpaper" is an informative novel about the writer herself. The authors outlook focus on the gloomy structure in society during that time frame and therefore, create down hearted, reckless characters that offer stimulation for women of all generations.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
One idea that is clearly shown in this movie is that their dream did not work out as they expected. They came to America in search of the American Dream and went to one of the most important cities. However, they did not expect to be put into the culture that they were put into in New York. An example of the difference in cultures they experience in New York is when the girls have to make costumes for their school. Their costumes are homemade, while all of the other classmates were bought. This shows that the...
In the poem “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway the narrator opens the poem with vivid imagery about a bi-racial little girl who is trying to find her true identity between herself and others around her. She tells little lies about being fully white because she feels ashamed and embarrassed of her race and class and is a having a hard time accepting reality. The poem dramatizes the conflict between fitting in and reality. The narrator illustrates this by using a lot imagery, correlations and connotation to display a picture of lies. The narrator’s syntax, tone, irony and figurative language help to organize her conflict and address her mother’s disapproval.
By utilizing an unbiased stance in his novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe promotes cultural relativity without forcibly steering his audience to a particular mindset. He presents the flaws of the Ibo tribe the same way he presents the assets—without either condescension or pride; he presents the cruelties of the colonizers the same way he presents their open mindedness—without either resentment or sympathy. Because of this balance, readers are able to view the characters as multifaceted human beings instead of simply heroes and victims. Achebe writes with such subtle impartiality that American audiences do not feel guilty for the cruel actions of the colonizers or disgusted by the shocking traditions of the tribesmen. The readers stop differentiating the characters as either “tribesmen” or “colonizers”.
For example, in the local school, stereotypes such as the image of the ‘wild man’ are consolidated by claiming that there was cannibalism among the indigenous people of the northwest coast (Soper-Jones 2009, 20; Robinson 2010, 68f.). Moreover, native people are still considered to be second-class citizens, which is pointed out by Lisamarie’s aunt Trudy, when she has been harassed by some white guys in a car: “[Y]ou’re a mouthy Indian, and everyone thinks we’re born sluts. Those guys would have said you were asking for it and got off scot-free”
The movie, The Other Sister, truly displays the struggle people with disabilities have due to what stigmas we have attached to them. It shows how the main character, Carla Tate, is a victim to the stigmas society have created but also illustrates the empowerment she is able to gain due to accepting her disability. The psychosocial aspects Carla faced was heavily due to the stereotypes placed on her. The movie depicted intellectual disabilities in a positive uplifting view and explored the psychosocial aspects of sexuality,employment, and treatment as well as the idea of quality of life for someone with intellectual disabilities.
The Rez Sisters is a Native play written by Tomson Highway. Highway has written this play about seven sisters on a reserve trying to win the bingo to better their lives. The Rez Sisters see the biggest bingo in the world as a way to fulfill both their needs and wants, even though it is all the way in Toronto. Although Marie-Adele and Annie Cook both wanted to win the biggest bingo, their reasons for wanting to win was only to conclude their happiness. In the end they both found a different type of fulfillment they needed was not winning the bingo.