The notion of racism is a theme that is widely viewed, and explored throughout the play Walsh, by Sharon Pollock, and the novel The Loved and the Lost, by Morley Callaghan. In both works, those of Caucasian ethnicity neglect opposing races and believe them to be inferior. In turn, those of other ethnicities struggle to maintain a normal life in the world of white people, as the minorities are constantly being degraded. Yet, in each piece, there are characters – Walsh, and Peggy Sanderson – who will not allow race to define a person, and who do not succumb to the idea of inequality. These two Caucasian characters also empathize with individuals of diverse races, since they are able to see all of the hardships differing races must endure, simply …show more content…
Throughout the play Walsh, James Walsh – a superintendent of the North West Mounted Police – is in charge of the military men, and tries to maintain peace between everybody with whom he works. Maintaining peace is important, since he is dealing with a small war between the Native-Americans from both Canada and America over land. However, the Native-Americans do not feel inclined to settle and relegate their land since it is rightfully theirs, but the white people desperately want it, igniting hatred toward the Natives. Out of fear of losing land, the Native-Americans take every required measure to protect it – including violence – and in turn, many white people develop an attitude that the Natives are dangerous and savage-like people, ultimately giving them an unfavourable reputation. This repugnant …show more content…
Since the literary forms are different, the way that a reader perceives characters, settings, and plot developments is altered. In most plays, such as in the case of Walsh, one is unable to read the thoughts of characters, and therefore has to anticipate dialogue and attentively read the action in order to understand what is happening. This also means that the reader has to infer what the playwright is attempting to convey about plot and character, potentially allowing for more debate. The cause for debate may arise, since despite the playwright clearly trying to convey the idea that Native-Americans are neglected by the Caucasians, a reader may misinterpret this notion as he or she only hears the dialogue, and infers it as such. For example, one may read the dialogue between Walsh and MacLeod – Walsh’s colleague – discussing how to handle the Natives, and MacLeod cleverly contributes to the conversation of what they should do with the Natives by saying, “Sometimes a pawn is sacrificed on one side of the board to gain an advantage on the other” (Pollock 92). MacLeod states that some Natives have no future in Canada, so it is better if they leave. However, a reader may not follow the message that the author is trying to convey, and may assume that MacLeod’s idea is most effective. As the reader only hears the
In conclusion Thomas Flanagan is correct in his argument against Native sovereignty in Canada; through an evaluation of the meanings of sovereignty it is clear that Native sovereignty can not coexist with Canadian sovereignty. Flanagan outlines two main interpretations of sovereignty. Through an analysis of these ideas it is clear that Native Sovereignty in Canada can not coexist with Canadian sovereignty.
Fleras, Augie. “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Repairing the Relationship.” Chapter 7 of Unequal Relations: An Introduction to Race, Ethnic and Aboriginal Dynamics in Canada. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2010. 162-210. Print.
“Don’t you read the papers? I’m the Rampaging Redskin.” (Wagamese, 165) This quote indicates how the the Residential School system is starting to effect Saul’s mentality that he is inferior than the non-Indigenous population. In addition, the non-Indigenous population portray offensive racial slurs against the Aboriginal population. “Thirteen’s good for an Indian.” (Wagamese, 89) This quote states how society degraded Indians and consider them to be useless. Discrimination towards the Natives in Canada becomes the leading issue that Saul results into his tragic lifestyle. “We don’t eat with Indians.” (Wagamese, 133) This quote is a representation of the discrimination Saul is forced to endure and demonstrates the lack of education of non-Indigenous people. Consequently, the prevalence of racism in Indian Horse sets as a perfect example of the discrimination many Canadians are experiencing in today’s society.
As much as race does not matter, it does. Morrison leaves out the race of Twyla and Roberta to inadvertently expose the role of learned racism in the world of “Recitatif.” Upon entering St. Bonny’s, Twyla is placed in a room with a girl from a completely different race and assesses the situation, “And Mary, that’s my mother, she was right. Every now and then she would stop dancing long enough to tell me something important and one of the things she said was that they never washed their hair and they smelled funny.” (Morrison 1). Twyla’s first observation of Roberta, her skin color, is immediately indicative of the environment she has lived in, as the basis for her racial
When an individual belongs to two different disadvantaged classes, the risk of abuse and discrimination multiplies. Thus, Native American women are at a very high risk of violence and sexual abuse. As of 2007, “One in three Native American women will be raped at some point in their lives, a rate that is more than double that for non-Indian women, according to a new report by Amnesty International” (Fears and Lydersen 1). This is exemplified in the novel in the rape, murder and mutilation of Evelyn Rose McCrae and Madeline Jeanette Lavoix. There was the possibility of a third assault and it occurs in front of the two brothers on New Year’s Eve. A car full of white men, one of which Jeremiah believes to be in his history class, pulls up in front of a young pregnant woman whom the young men jeer and proposition. All three women were Native American and in seedy neighbourhoods at the time that they were offered a ‘good time’, and the two were assaulted and murdered. The two assaults and murders were perpetrated by young men, and to be assumed as young white men. Through these encounters we can see how Native women were treated in the city as a twofold minority. In the setting of the city, Native American women are treated as lowly sex objects by the young men in all three instances. They had a lower social status as being both women and Native...
Canada likes to paint an image of peace, justice and equality for all, when, in reality, the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in our country has been anything but. Laden with incomprehensible assimilation and destruction, the history of Canada is a shameful story of dismantlement of Indian rights, of blatant lies and mistrust, and of complete lack of interest in the well-being of First Nations peoples. Though some breakthroughs were made over the years, the overall arching story fits into Cardinal’s description exactly. “Clearly something must be done,” states Murray Sinclair (p. 184, 1994). And that ‘something’ he refers to is drastic change. It is evident, therefore, that Harold Cardinal’s statement is an accurate summarization of the Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationship in
Canadians view themselves as morally correct, yet the Indigenous peoples are oppressed and discriminated by Canadians. The Aboriginal peoples culture would last longer without Canada since Canada wants to control first, but not by understanding the culture and heritage. Aboriginal peoples express how they felt about the Canadian “Myth of Progress”. Some other works take a more satirical look like “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” but the points still stand. One of the points is Canadians are discriminating the Indigenous peoples to be lazy and corrupt.
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
I think this play is a lot about what does race mean, and to what extent do we perform race either onstage or in life:
Our government’s predecessors have attempted to eradicate Canada’s first people, which is not only an insult to the indigenous people of the past, but to the present. This country did not start off as a joint endeavor of the two general groups of people that inhabited it during its birth, but decimation and forced assimilation of great traditions and people. The assimilation of a great culture, the destruction of oral histories, and the forced loss of language destroyed the chance trust. Only by teaching disgust towards that type of attitude and action, by not excusing it or attempting to justify, will begin a new age of
What do the works, “As Canadian as Possible under the Circumstances” and “I’m not the Indian you had in mind” have in common? The dissection of these writing pieces revealed that they do in fact have multiple similarities. Those ideas are the use of identity, stereotypes as well as double meanings.
“In about half of the Dominion, the aboriginal rights of Indians have arguably been extinguished by treaty” (Sanders, 13). The traditions and culture of Aboriginals are vanishing at a quick pace, and along it is their wealth. If the Canadian Government restore Native rights over resource development once again, Aboriginals would be able to gain back wealth and help with the poverty in their societies. “An influential lobby group with close ties to the federal Conservatives is recommending that Ottawa ditch the Indian Act and give First Nations more control over their land in order to end aboriginal poverty once and for all” (End First). This recommendation would increase the income within Native communities, helping them jump out of
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”
Some say that this play is racial in that the family is black, and what the family is going through could only happen to people of that race. One prominent racial is...
Race shouldn’t be the way how people are seen and treated. In the book “Dutchman and The slave” by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) demonstrates the racial problems of how people with different color see each other. The Dutchman and The slave misjudgement of race that all race with same color are the same. This judgement shows how the world see other people with different ethnicity, culture, and race different from them. This misunderstanding cause big wars and fights between people of different race. Dutchman and The Slave has a huge meaning surrounding the racial problems within the book which draws readers intention to refer with the world outside and how it 's the same and different. These two plays gives the diversity of the world and its inception.