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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OTHES DIPLOMARBEIT TITEL DER DIPLOMARBEIT “The Politics of Storytelling”: Reflections on Native Activism and the Quest for Identity in First Nations Literature: Jeannette Armstrong’s Slash, Thomas King’s Medicine River, and Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach. VERFASSERIN Agnes Zinöcker ANGESTREBTER AKADEMISCHER GRAD Magistra der Philosophie (Mag.phil.) Wien, im Mai 2009 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 343 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Anglistik und Amerikanistik Betreuer: o.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Waldemar Zacharasiewicz Acknowledgements To begin with, I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Waldemar Zacharasiewicz. He supported me in stressful times and patiently helped me to sort out my ideas about and reflections on Canadian literature. He introducing me to the vast field of First Nations literature, shared his insights and provided me with his advice and encouragements to develop the skills necessary for literary analysis. I am further indebted to express thanks to the ‘DLE Forschungsservice und Internationale Beziehungen’, who helped me complete my degree by attributing some funding to do research at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. I also wish to address special thanks to Prof. Misao Dean from the University of Victoria for letting me join some inspiring discussions in her ‘Core Seminar on Literatures of the West Coast’, which gave me the opportunity to exchange ideas with other students working in the field of Canadian literature. Lastly, I warmly thank my parents Dr. Hubert and Anna Zinöcker for their devoted emotional support and advice, and for sharing their knowledge and experience with me throughout my education. I also thank Carlo for his support and humor. He gave me his continued encouragements and played an important role throughout the writing process. Declaration of Authenticity I confirm to have conceived and written this paper in English all by myself. Quotations from other authors and any ideas borrowed and/or passages paraphrased from the works of other authors are all clearly marked within the text and acknowledged in the bibliographical references. Vienna, 19 May 2009 ______________________________ Abstract (in English) First Nations literature is a rather new field of literature, which was recognized as a distinct literary category only in the mid 20th century. Since then, First Nations authors have tried to work against stereotypical images about themselves by means of writing and have aimed at a more authentic portrayal of indigenous peoples from a Native point of view. In my analysis of the three selected novels – Jeannette Armstrong’s Slash, Thomas King’s Medicine River, and Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach – I point out two of the themes that can often be found in First Nations literature; firstly, the portrayal of political activism that constitutes a rebellion against government policies; and secondly, the quest for identity of the protagonist, which happens in relation with the Native community and the homeland. By analyzing and comparing the three novels, I came to the conclusion that although they differ greatly in the genres, styles and structures applied – Slash is a very realistic account of the “Red Power” era, Medicine River is a humoristic parody on the cultural differences of Natives and non-Natives, and Monkey Beach depicts the quest for an adolescent lost at sea in the form of a Gothic novel that shows relations to the world of spirits – the themes mentioned are central in all three works of fiction. This means that the novels all comment on the influence politics has had on the lives of Natives and illustrate that it is important to come to terms with cultural traditions in order to find one’s own identity as a Native person. Table of contents: 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................1 2. First Nations Literature and its Contexts .................................................................4 2.1. Socio-historical Background..................................................................................4 2.1.1. Colonial Impact and the Influence of Residential Schools .............................4 2.1.2. Political Organization as a Form of Resistance.............................................9 2.1.3. Significant Political Events of the “Red Power Era”...................................11 2.2. Literary background.............................................................................................16 2.2.1. “From the Oral to the Written” – A Historic Survey of First Nations Literature ................................................................................................................16 2.2.2. “Search for One’s Own Voice” – Distinct Style and Common Themes .......22 2.2.3. “The Politics of Storytelling” .......................................................................29 3. General outline of the novels....................................................................................31 3.1. “To do it the Indian way” - Jeannette Armstrong’s Slash (1985)........................31 3.2. “Intimate like a picture” - Thomas King’s Medicine River (1989)......................40 3.3. “Elvis and Sasquatch” - Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach (2000).......................48 4. “Seeking a Third Choice” – Native Activism in First Nations Literature...........57 4.1. Writing as a Political Act .....................................................................................57 4.2. The Portrayal of Native Activism in the Selected Novels ...................................60 5. “All My Relations” – The Quest for Individual and Communal Identity ...........76 5.1. The Search for the “Self” as a Characteristic of the Red Power Novel ...............76 5.2. Relatedness to Land and Community ..................................................................84 5.3. The Significance of Storytelling ..........................................................................89 6. Conclusion..................................................................................................................95 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................97 Index.............................................................................................................................108 Appendix......................................................................................................................111 Summary (in German) ...............................................................................................117 Curriculum Vitae ........................................................................................................119 1 1. Introduction Canada has always been a multiethnic and multicultural country. Yet, it had been a long struggle to recognize its ethnic diversity, and only as late as the 1960s the Canadian government eventually acknowledged its multiplicity, which manifests itself in policies such as the Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1985) or the Official Languages Act (issued in 1969 and amended in 1988). In spite of the implementation of policies that recognize and promote the understanding of multiculturalism, ethnic minorities in Canada have suffered from exploitation and subjugation until today. What is noteworthy, however, is the fact that since the official recognition of multiculturalism there has been a significant rise in First Nations literature, which stems from a need to work against clichéd images by conveying narratives from a Native point of view. This is due to the fact that our people [Natives] have been stereotyped, misunderstood and misrepresented in many ways. This has been damaging and exploitative. People need to tell their own stories, whatever culture they’re from in order to relate to one another in a more truthful sense. (Armstrong, qtd. in Williamson 126) First Nation writers have begun to publish novels that deal with the influence of politics on their everyday lives. Most prominently, these are events happening at the time of the “Red Power” movement in the 1960s and 1970s in both Canada and the United States. With their novels, the authors strive to overcome the obstacles that represent cultural gaps and biases. Moreover, their portrayal of political aspects as well as the dilemmas that indigenous peoples face in daily life both operate as an attempt to build bridges between the diverse cultural groups. One problematic in the analysis of First Nations literature is cross-cultural interpretation; in other words, the fact that it is predominantly done by white scholars who apply Western criteria of structure and style which are not always accurate. According to Ruffo, ‘[it] is not to say the [Native] novel is incomprehensible to a non- Native audience but rather that it operates according to different levels of understanding and, hence, meaning’ (“Inside” 163). Therefore, to get a deeper insight into the respective culture and to analyze the works of fiction in a more serious and appropriate manner ‘is a question of cultural initiation, of involvement and commitment, so that the 2 culture and literature itself becomes more than a mere museum piece, dusty pages, something lifeless’ (Ruffo “Inside” 174). My thesis is informed by my endeavor to unlearn racist stereotypes and to gain knowledge of racial and cultural differences between white and