Monkey Beach is an adaptation of “Queen of the North,” both written by Eden Robinson. The texts both touch on the theme of intergenerational trauma within Indigenous communities. Through the lens of different main characters, however, Monkey Beach approaches the topic differently through its portrayal of the transmission of trauma. In “Queen of the North,” the transmission of intergenerational trauma is most clearly seen through Josh reenacting trauma onto Adelaine. In contrast, as a novel, Monkey Beach offers a more nuanced depiction of the methods of intergenerational trauma transmission, such as the loss of Lisamarie's cultural identity. The adaptation from a short story to a novel, and the shift in perspective from Adelaine to Lisamarie, …show more content…
In comparison to a cycle of sexual abuse, the loss of culture is a subtler transmission method. As an adaptation, Monkey Beach gains greater breadth and scope to explore this nuanced transmission method because it changes the genre from a short story to a novel. According to Aguiar and Halseth, “centuries of colonial policies and practices aimed at suppressing and undermining cultural identity while simultaneously assimilating children into Euro-Western culture through the residential school system have led to severe trauma that is being passed through the generations” (7). As a result of this history, Gladys denies the visions and spirits that Lisamarie sees and writes them off as dreams. However, Ma-ma-oo tells Lisamarie that Gladys has the same spiritual gift as Lisamarie: “She doesn’t tell you when she sees things. Or she’s forgotten how. Or she ignores it” (Monkey Beach 154). These multiple possibilities reflect the multiple ways intergenerational trauma can originate from the loss of cultural identity. The possibility that Gladys has “forgotten how” to see spirits reflects the loss of Indigenous knowledge and practices, which were lost due to the suppression of cultural identity mentioned by Aguiar and Halseth. Alternatively, the act of choosing to ignore her spiritual gifts can be seen as a form of assimilation. In order to fit into the dominant Euro-Western society, Gladys rejects the notion of spirits, despite having the same abilities as Lisamarie. The cyclic nature of intergenerational trauma is reinforced by the fact that Lisamarie and her mother have the same gift. Their shared spiritual ability serves as a metaphor for the struggles faced by many Indigenous peoples in the face of intergenerational trauma. They must balance their
Evan Davies Monkey Beach January 14 English 12 Ms. Neilson Throughout the novel "Monkey Beach," author Eden Robinson tells the story of a young Haisla woman named Lisamarie as she navigates the aftermath of several traumatic experiences in her Indigenous community of Kitamaat. Lisamarie's coping mechanisms and journey to find closure in dealing with her traumatic experiences demonstrate realistic responses to trauma that are faced by Indigenous communities across Canada, as well as the importance of reconciliation in finding closure in real-world Canadian Indigenous communities through healthy coping mechanisms. Through Lisamarie's coping mechanisms, Robinson highlights the realistic ways in which Indigenous communities respond to trauma,
Nanberry survives the sickness with medication from the doctor but is then orphaned after watching his parents die. The boy, Nanberry grows close to the lonely Surgeon White and with no-one left to care for him he is adopted for use a translator and much need company. The book gives insight into the lives of aboriginal people, it also focuses on the impacts that the first settlers from England had on them, which is still evident today in this day and age. The book has helped me to have a greater understanding of the hardships that the aboriginals went through in these bleak times, sickness, violence, racism and loss of their land.
When looking at Aboriginal life and culture, through the lens of fiction, there is often a heavy emphasis of the supernatural, many times portrayed through the images and stories of mythical creatures. These spiritual beings, such as the Weetigo, a cannibalistic creature of Cree mythology, can be seen as a representative of a society in which trauma plays an influential role in origin stories and in life; thus such stories often have a strong 'traumatic' base to them. Tomson Highway's Kiss of the Fur Queen and Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach, both utilize mythology and the spiritual world to describe the battle of dealing with various traumas. Through these novels the role of mythology and storytelling within Aboriginal trauma, and how to
This “unattended wound” illustrates that numerous people in the Native American community experience intricate and challenging lives, not just the characters within the novel. Further, Orange writes how Jacquie questions that the people around her often appear to be filled with confidence and a lack of self-doubt, but “Jacquie can’t remember a day going by when at some point she hadn’t
Hope VanderVelde Ms. Bowes NBE 3UOI June, 16 2023 The Effects of Sexual Assault on The Characters Elsie and Mooch An alarming statistic reveals that 40% of Indigenous peoples have experienced sexual violence before the age of 15. Victims of sexual assault have experienced devasting effects on their quality of life and most of them rely on alcohol and drugs as a way to cope. Indigenous communities have become greatly impacted by sexual violence which can better explain the abundant generational trauma and dysfunctional families.
In interviewing my mother and sister-in-law, I was fully aware that there would be two distinct perspectives relating to health, healing, birth and death. The fact that my mother did not acknowledge our indigenous bloodline was of no surprise to me. That is partially due to the society she grew up in, where repressing any indigenous identity, were rejected influences by colonization and intergenerational trauma. Whereas, interviewing my sister-in-law who is indigenous and identifies as a Kichwa woman, grew up with a completely different philosophy, belief and acceptance. The reason I state this is to give a clear understanding of how these two opposite ideologies influenced my world.
As Jesse describes the events he witnessed as a child, he explains, “The fridge had a few half-drunk beer bottles, an old light bulb, and a hardened turnip. Sometimes he’d go away for two or three days and leave us nothing” (Thistle 18). At this time, Jesse and his brothers, Jerry and Josh, were living with both their parents, and although they had been financially comfortable to a certain extent, they had to suffer from various forms of abuse from their father, which forced them to have to learn how to fend for themselves from an incredibly young age. Unfortunately, the concept of being raised in broken households, is common within the Indigenous populations in Canada, due to the trauma that has been passed down from generation to generation. In the article, “Intergenerational Trauma: Convergence of Multiple Processes among First Nations peoples in Canada,” it states, “It is further argued that the shared collective experiences of trauma experienced by First Nations peoples, coupled with related collective memories, and persistent sociocultural disadvantages, have acted to increase vulnerability to the transmission and expression of intergenerational trauma effects” (Bombay et al. 2009)
Within the novel, as Lisa gets older, she begins to understand the struggles of her family that all connect and come back to the leading cause, which is the residential school system. Monkey Beach shows how “Historical trauma coupled with ongoing present-day traumas such as anti-Indigenous racism and a lack of clean drinking water [has] a massive negative impact on Indigenous communities, resulting in (and combining with) issues such as addiction, limited education, incarceration, violence, abuse, suicidality, homelessness and poverty. These symptoms are what many social agencies and service providers focus on addressing. But without considering root causes, one of which is intergenerational trauma, conventional solutions and treatments simply won’t work” (Seto). The residential school system aimed to assimilate indigenous peoples into Western society and strip them of their culture.
B’gwus Beach Essay Roughdraft In the story excerpt, Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson, the author writes about a Haisla woman named Lisa who has just lost her brother Jimmy at sea. The excerpt recounts the grief Lisa and her parents are feeling. Followed by a flashback of Lisa and her family going to the acclaimed Monkey Beach. Throughout the excerpt, Robinson uses specific narration and setting techniques, that when examined thoroughly will aid in a deeper understanding of the text.
In order to fully understand the story it must be evaluated to show what lesson is to be learned from the reading. The story has an epiphany implemented into the writing which gives a new realization in the importance of this part. A major evaluation to this short story is to fully understand the main characters in it. One significant character in this story is Louise.
The novel Monkey Beach explores the idea of belonging and how to find your identity and culture when faced with loss and trauma. One of the themes in the novel is belonging, mostly to the Indigenous culture and tradition. Lisamarie is deeply connected to her traditional roots and struggles with balancing her heritage with modern society. Throughout the novel, Robinson writes about the challenges of belonging, which shows the
It's too much” (Orange, 53). Opal's statement about carrying the pain of her ancestors suggests that she is aware of the ways in which historical trauma has impacted her cultural identity. This use of the word “carrying” indicates that Opal feels a sense of responsibility for the cultural heritage, but also feels burdened by it. This infers that the loss of cultural knowledge and practices can create a sense of disconnection, as individuals may struggle to reconcile their cultural heritage with the trauma that has been passed down through generations. It is evident this passage represents the complex and multifaceted impacts of intergenerational trauma on cultural identity, and suggests that the loss of cultural identity is a significant consequence of historical and ongoing
The chapter vividly portrays the silencing of Indigenous voices, leaving these students feeling alone and without agency. The separation from their culture and identity further intensified the sense of dislocation and isolation experienced by Indigenous children in residential schools. Therefore, through this chapter, Downie highlights the need for awareness and understanding of the trauma experienced by Indigenous children, which has long-lasting effects, ultimately leading to the importance of reconciliation with
Eden Robinson’s Monkey beach is set in the small, coastal village of Kitamaat in western B.C., home to the province’s Haisla community. Robinson’s characterization of a Haisla family living in present day Kitamaat exposes the challenges that are faced by the Aboriginal people conserving their traditions, values and social mores under the dominating influence of Canada’s West Cost society. She frames these concerns by following the struggles of Lisamarie (Lisa) Hill as she reconciles the ideologies of her modern Canadian upbringing with the often-discordant beliefs of her First Nation heritage, which becomes more complicated by the experience of the supernatural appearances that only Lisa can see. Lisa’s relationship with the spirit world allows her to transgress the history of abuse and reconnect with her heritage, however, she must struggle with North American ideologies which consider the supernatural as flawed. With the help of Ma-ma-oo (Lisa’s grandmother) she begins to gain control within the spirt world, thus re-connecting with her heritage.
Garth Davis's film Lion effectively communicates Saroo's rights to protection, his survival needs, and his desire to reconnect with his cultural identity. Using these themes, Davis can illustrate Saroo's crucial message of never giving up, no matter what hardships or circumstances we face. Furthermore, Nam Le's Multimodal narrative the Boat concentrates on Mai's rights and needs for survival and safety, as well as her ambitions of a brighter future away from her war-torn home. As a result, Mai's portrayal offers an important message about remaining hopeful and resilient even in difficult situations.