Tomson Gets Her Trout Sparknotes

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Tomson Highway deftly uses drama to depict the ethical and cultural struggle between the Secwepemc and the European colonists in his play Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout. The playwright's interactions and dialogue are expertly portrayed. Set in 1910s British Columbia, the novel fully reflects the Secwepemc people's relationship to colonial values of perspective, spirituality, and governance. It also highlights Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's impending major visit and reveals the Secwepemc people's intricate relationship to land, personal property, and family ties. The work compares and contrasts secwepemc and colonizer beliefs, spirituality, systems of government, and other relevant values. To emphasize the depth of these conflicts, an analysis is also …show more content…

Ernestine's intention to prepare the trout with locally sourced ingredients is a deeply communal gesture. She realizes the river and all of its resources are a common resource that should be respected and preserved rather than being her own. This understanding is based on the belief that people are a part of a wider ecosystem in which all human activity is interrelated and affects the health of the environment and society as a whole. The European conception of dominance over nature, which holds that land and its resources are private property to be used for one's own benefit, is in opposition to this viewpoint. However, Isabel's claim about the Saskatoon Bush draws attention to the European predilection for private property rights, a basic idea that has Western legal and economic structures. It is against the spirit of Secwepemc to assert that Isabel is the sole owner of the Saskatoons bush, given that these resources are customarily shared by the entire

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