Monkey Beach V.S Whirligig January 21, 2010

 

Over the past two weeks, I have read two novels, one completely different than the other. Monkey Beach and whirligig. Two seperate stories, yet somehow relating. Both of which, have suffering, self discovery and forgiveness.

 

The suffering in Monkey Beach, was toward the natives and how they were treated by the government, as well as people of different religions. This pain affected everyone’s lives and will never be laid to rest. Whirligig however, had a different sort of suffering. While Brent’s attemmpt at suicide failed, death was in the air. A teenage girl, Lea, was struck by Brent’s runaway vehicle and was killed that very night. The pain and struggles that Lea’s family experienced was heartbreaking. Though the suffering in these books were different, death played a major role in each one. Lisamarie lost family members close to her, and friends of Lea, lost a loved one.

 

At an early age, Lisa marie had a gift. The kind of gift, that allowed her to talk to spirits. She had a difficult time accepting this and discovering the meaning of it all. As time went on, she began harnessing this power and was able to use it to her advantage. Now, she would listen to what the spirits were trying to warn her about, opposed to running scared and avoiding the signs of danger. By doing this, she learned more about herself and became comfortable with the spirit world. Brent on the other hand, had another gift. One that would spread to joy to people across the United States. He had the skill to build whirligigs. He would have never guessed, that he had the talent to put together a contraption as odd as a whirligig, and would never have known, if Lea’s mother hadn’t sent him on his journey. When he first set off on his expedition, Brent was at a roadblock in his life and he couldn’t imagine how his life could get any worse…but as his travels continued, he met new people and learned to appreciate life and what this world has to offer.  He becomes more aware of himself, as well as others and how to deal with the problems that are bound to come his way.

 

Without forgiveness, what would our world be like? It would be filled with grudges, hatrid and sadness. This is why forgiveness is so important in our everyday lives. Lisa Marie looses sight of what is important, as her life is spun in a different direction. She moves away, starts fresh and lives a life she never thought she would. In this case, it was a negative experience. When she returns home, she is forgiven for the mistakes she’d made while on her detour and learns to forgive others. This was a life changing experience to her benefit, as well as her family’s. In Whirligig, Brent sent an apologetic letter to Lea’s family, espressing his thoughts and hoping for the least bit of forgiveness in return. The letter was mailed back to him, with one new added feature. The stain of a cigarette being crushed onto the page. Brent assumed this meant that the forgiveness he had been praying form, would never come. On the other hand, Lea’s mother responded with a different approach. She was much more suttle, as she had accepted Lea’s death and was in the process of moving on. In exchange for forgiveness, Brent was asked to place four whirligigs in the United States, with some sort of representation of Lea on each one. He was desperate and agreed to the task. He completed his journey faster than expected and enjoyed himself along the way.  Lea’s mother forgave Brent for his actions and he forgave himself for giving up on life. He discovered that with forgivness, comes relief and with relief, comes happiness.            

 

-Kaprise

The Land Of The Dead January 18, 2010

The harm the characters experienced in the novel, Monkey Beach, is far beyond repair. How can you put together the pieces of someone’s life when everything has been destroyed?

 

The natives had no way to defend themselves, therefore, they would be pushed around and not given the chance to prove themselves. Everyone deserves a chance and should not be stereotyped because of their colour or religion. The government failed to see this and forced the natives to live a life they never asked for. The blindness of the government, caused pain beyond belief to the people on the reserve and for this, they will never be entirely forgiven. Though the government agreed to free the natives of taxes in their communities, what does this tell us? Yes they know now that they made a mistake, but do they understand the consequences of their actions? Maybe, but do they comprehend the outcome of this injustice? NO. Treating them like they did was inhuman and the best thing they can think of is eliminating taxes?? The situation is ridiculous and should have been handled better.

 

Saying that this mess would take years and years of forgiveness, would be an understatment. The natives deserved better and we, as a nation, should now put our ancestors mistakes behind us and put this descrimination to an end.

 

-Kaprise

In Search Of The Elusive Sasquatch January 15, 2010

 

Drinking, partying, smoking, running away…do these seem like good solutions to deal with problems? No, but unfortunately these are the most common strategies the characters in Monkey Beach choose to use. What they fail to understand is that by coping with their problems in this manner, results in even more problems on top of thier original cocerns.

 

There are so many other options they could consider. Including talking to friends and family who are dealing with the same problems, that way, they would understand what they were going through and help them see that life goes on wether we want it to or not.

 

One solution Lisa used to cope with her uncle Mick’s death, was cutting a  large portion of her hair off. This helped her move on, though it may have been strange, it was a reasonable solution. No one was hurt and it made her feel relieved, so why not?

 

Everyone has thier own way of coping with loss and pain and this is completely normal. It just makes more sense to deal with it in a more mature way. Sure drinking may clear the mind and ease the pain for a few hours, but what happens after the fun is over? Nothing changes. Having a more suitable solution and sorting everything out in a more appropriate manner will help conquer the problem forever, rather than one night out.

 

-kaprise

The Song Of Your Breath

 

The characters reactions to social injustice in the novel, Monkey Beach, was for the worst. The natives living on the reserve were treated so badly, that they turned to alcohol and drugs to ease the pain. They saw no other solution and took their chances.

 

The main character Lisa, became a party girl which was the opposite of the impression I got from her at the beginning of the novel. She seemed like a sweet girl and no one could tell her what to do. She knew what she wanted and life was going fairly smooth considering the native resrictions. When her uncle Mick and grandmother passed away, life turned a corner and went straight downhill from here. These were the two most important poeple in her life and she would talk to them about everything. They were also the only two people to believe her when she would talk about her spirit sightings. With them out of the picture, who would she have to turn to? Her parents? No, they didn’t understand. Her brother? No, he was too young. Her friends? What friends? Without anyone to talk to, she wound up making friends for short periods of time and travelling with them to parties around the village and sometimes further than the village borders. She picked up smoking at an early age and drinking wasn’t far behind. Lisa dropped out of school and moved to Vancouver. Here, she continued partying with people she barely knew and life hadn’t taken any new routes since the day she realized she was alone.

 

Aunt Trudy reacted to the injustice in a similar way. Instead on constant partying, it was constant drinking. She became an alcoholic and this ruined her life, as well as her family’s. She would come home and take all of her pain out on her daughter, Tabitha, who did not deserve it. Tab became used to her mother’s actions and didn’t take any of her harsh comments to heart. No matter how much it hurt inside.

 

The injustice took a toll on everyone living on the reserve and changed their lives forever. If the government were to look back on this now, they should ask themselves this question…was it worth it?

-kaprise

Love Like The Ocean January 13, 2010

 

The novel Monkey Beach written by Eden Robinson has one point of view, as a native girl, Lisamarie, living on a reserve tells her story of growing up, beling classified as ‘different’. While living here, she experiences many changes and is struggling to find her social ground. As she searches for her inner self, she  deals with drugs, alcohol and is forced to cope with family deaths. 

 

The injustice of Monkey Beach can be described as unfairness to the native peoples. The way their government has handled their presence has resulted in displeasing actions. The younger population of Kitamaat, was harshly against the regulations they were forced to oblige. Many of which, turned to alcohol, cigarettes and drugs to help them deal with these issues.

 

 One of the regulations they had to respect, was going to a school on the reserve, where they were taught to worship only one God, the catholic God. Here, they were also forced to speak only english and forget about their culture.

 

At one point in the book, Lisa’s Ma-ma-oo (grandmother) is discussing her husband’s experience when he returned from the second world war. He had lost an arm during the war and it was impossible for him to find work in his condition. He also couldn’t get his money from Veterans Affairs because Indian Affairs were supposed to take care of him. Indian Affairs said that if he wanted the same benefits as a white vet, he should move off of reserve and throw away his status. He would recieve the payments, but if he chose to do so, he would loose their house, and at the time they were expecting their 4th child.

 

The injustice to the native poeples was hard on everyone living on the reserve. The amount of partying the youth was interested in, was enormously high. Meaning more drugs and alcohol was injested, causing their better judgment to lessen. Suicidal actions where also a result of the injustice.

 

It would have been easier if the goverment had treated everyone as equal and had given them equal rights to do as they please and raise their children the way they would have liked to. No one would have been dissapointed, hurt or have felt bellow everyone else.

-Kaprise