In the short essay Pretty Like a White Boy by Drew Hayden Taylor and the short story Sara’s Gift by Barbara Smith, both protagonists come into conflict with forming their identity. The two characters illustrate Indigenous peoples' struggle with questioning their identity and searching for a belonging. The protagonists in both stories struggle with not fitting in because of their appearance. Drew Hayden Taylor never knew his white father, he grew up with his Ojibway mother and lived in the indigenous community, but was always looked at differently. “It’s Not Easy Having Blue Eyes in a Brown Eyed Village”(Taylor 504). Since Taylor did not look Ojibway, he felt insecure about his appearance and had a hard time fitting in, and had a difficulty connecting with his identity and whether he really was Ojibway. …show more content…
She had trouble fitting in with the white culture because everyone viewed her as Indigenous.“Lots of the white people look down on me because I’m Indian. I’m so confused, I don't know where I belong” (Smith 45). This caused Sara to question her identity because of how she looked. Next, the experiences of not being able to fit in make the two protagonists feel isolated. Taylor did not look like the other kids in the Ojibway community. “Whenever we played cowboys and Indians, guess who had to be the bad guy, the cowboy” (Taylor 504). This made him notice the difference between him and the other children, he felt isolated in his own community because of his appearance. Causing him to question his identity, when he felt ojibway but everyone saw him as white. Since Sara grew up away from her culture and has not spent a lot of time in the bush, when she went back she was not able to fully understand her native language. When she tried to speak, her family could not help but laugh
I believe this also plays a huge role in Taylor’s coming-of-age, although I am not sure if for the better or for the worse. I say this because due to this treatment Taylor has a mindset of ‘I always do it right’ and does not like to ask for help.
These both can possibly lead to her be unable to identify herself. Because of the conception and views of aboriginal people light-skinned Aboriginal people often face challenges on their Aboriginal identity because of stereotyping. In Black Chicks Talking talking Deborah Mailman also talked about the struggle with her father and his aboriginal identity. Deborah said her father didn’t want her or her sibling to hang around the ‘black’ kids. He perceived them to be bad influences.
By portraying indigenous characters in a nuanced and realistic manner, he challenges preconceived notions, enabling readers to recognize the inherent humanity we all share. Through his storytelling, he hopes to break down barriers and facilitate a better understanding of indigenous experiences, histories, and perspectives, thereby contributing to Canada's ongoing discussion of reconciliation and healing between indigenous and non-indigenous
In The Bean Tree’s, Taylor’s character grows and changes quite frequently throughout the book. When Taylor goes off on her own she becomes even more worldly and cultured. Not that she was ever naive, but experiencing and hearing things like Estevan and his wife's story then Turtle’s prowler encounter opens her up to the real corruption in the world which gives her character a strong desire to make the world better and help those who are mistreated. She also becomes more independent and strong willed from these experiences which is apparent from her name changing decisions. For, it is a very private decision and yours alone to
Taylor’s experiences relate to the thematic topic of community support. With the help of her new friends, Taylor slowly adjusts to her new home and faces the challenges that come when trying to adapt to a new environment. Taylor is having an internal conflict because she is struggling to fit into her environment. She is uncertain and scared, which creates tension within her throughout the novel. Kingsolver uses figurative language when Taylor says, “You would think you’d stepped right off the map into some other country where they use dirt for decoration and the national pastime is having babies” (Kingsolver 181).
She says “With a kind of misery I could not imagine.” Taylor is realizing the new horrors of the world and the new found empathy for this child. She acts in a noble manner by taking in Turtle and not putting her back on the street. This is a true act of courage, that now every human has in them but Taylor did; she had the courage to take in Turtle but she then developed compassion and love for the child that she did not birth.
At first, all Taylor wants in life is to drive away from home and avoid pregnancy. As soon as Taylor gets a car, she leaves everything
The detrimental and unfair categorization of people by race, gender and more, commonly known as discrimination, affects many in society both mentally and emotionally. Many instances of this act of hatred occurred among Aboriginal and Native Canadians in the 20th century. However, for a little Native Indian boy stepping onto the rink, this is the norm that surrounds him. Saul Indian Horse, in Richard Wagamese’s “Indian Horse”, faces discrimination head on, where his strengths for hockey are limited by the racial discrimination from the surrounding white ethnicity. Consequently, this racism draws him into a mentally unstable state, where he suffers heavy consequences.
Exploring Identity in Literature: A Comparative Analysis Imagine living in a world where you are not recognized and respected for who you are. This is the reality for many Indigenous people who have faced centuries of assimilation. In this essay, I will compare and contrast two works of literature that explore the challenges and experiences of the Indigenous people: Indian Horse by Richard Wagemese and Borders by Thomas King. Indian Horse is a novel about an Indigenous boy named Saul, who survives the horrors of residential school. He finds an escape playing hockey, but his past haunts him which later leads him to alcoholism.
Fighting For Their Lives How hard would you fight for the life you knew you deserved? This paper will take a look at two individuals who fought hard for the life they knew they deserved and the identity their families tried to suppress. We will talk about a young girl who fought for her identity instead of the identity that her family wanted her to have. We will also talk about a young boy who grew up fighting.
(183). All though Taylor began as someone who didn't want children, as she and Turtle became closer she found herself sacrificing their relationship in order to find Turtle's real parents. It truly shows how Taylor is willinging to do anything for Turtle even if she herself gets hurt. That truly shows how she loves Turtle and how Taylor is able to battle through her own moral decisions and battles. Through Taylor’s character it becomes evident that a woman must make significant sacrifices in order to find her identity as a competent, unselfish
In his book the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie portrays a teenage boy, Arnold Spirit (junior) living in white man’s world, and he must struggle to overcome racism and stereotypes if he must achieve his dreams. In the book, Junior faces a myriad of misfortunes at his former school in ‘the rez’ (reservation), which occurs as he struggles to escape from racial and stereotypical expectations about Indians. For Junior he must weigh between accepting what is expected of him as an Indian or fight against those forces and proof his peers and teachers wrong. Therefore, from the time Junior is in school at reservation up to the time he decides to attend a neighboring school in Rearden, we see a teenager who is facing tough consequences for attempting to go against the racial stereotypes.
In the book when she is in Williamson she feels she can not be her normal self like she is in Garden Heights. Her boyfriend had to pressure her into being more like herself because she kept complaining that she couldn’t be herself. Also in the story, her friend Hailey is racist because she doesn’t see what is so wrong with the Khalil situation. There are also other times like when they are playing basketball in chapter 7, Hailey says “Pretend the ball is some fried chicken. Bet you’ll stay on it then.”
Though, this piece could not be published as it is deemed controversial. But for Cheryl, she knows it by heart, and it outlines the problem both the Metis and Indian people are going through. On the other hand, April despises her Metis culture and heritage. “‘… so anything to do with the Indians, I despised’” (40). April dreams of living similarly to a white person.
Taylor was born in North Carolina and has been living with his parents since he was born. In this observation, which