Family And Identity In Monkey Beach By Eden Robinson

Eden Robinson's novel, Monkey Beach, recounts the details of Lisa's life and community and her attempt to live freely from the Westernized views and opinions. Throughout the novel, various characters will respond differently to Lisa's character and power because each individual has his or her own beliefs and experiences, which can contribute to their sense of what is acceptable as a norm. Furthermore, Robinson suggests that through the expectations of family and of society, Lisa's autonomy may be stifled; however, through the guidance of at least one person, she can abscond from this dependence and practice her own way of living. In the novel's opening, Lisa gives insight into her world. She struggles to establish her own identity because …show more content…
Ma-ma-oo educates Lisa about their ethnic background. She teaches Lisa “a new Haisla word a day” (211) for her granddaughter “to really understand the old stories” (211) and fully immerse herself in their traditional heritage. Moreover, Ma-ma-oo openly embraces Lisa’s special ability and educates her about the spiritual world. When they went to Octopus Beds, Ma-ma-oo demonstrates to Lisa a way to communicate with the dead. She even states that Ba-ba-oo, Lisa’s grandfather “can come to [her] only in dreams” (79) which foreshadows how Lisa would receive visions from the spiritual world. She encourages Lisa to use her special ability cautiously by using oxasuli as an analogy. Lisa’s ability and the oxasuli are both “powerful medicine[s]. Very dangerous. [Both] can kill” (151) the person who is using them. Throughout the novel, Lisa practices some of Ma-ma-oo’s teachings; she offers a meat of a dead animal to the spirits for a revenge because Ma-ma-oo explains to her that “when you take something, you give something” (152). Ma-ma-oo serves as Lisa’s guide to find her calling and regards Lisa as a medicine woman; yet, Lisa’s parents deem her gift with suspicion and interpret her visions as …show more content…
These people helped her find ways to survive in a judgemental society and connect with the other world. Because of their deaths, Lisa is left with the feelings of regret because she ignored the premonitions of their death which she has received from the spirit realm. When her vision reveals that her brother is dead, Lisa is torn between giving into the monsters and trying to escape for her life; however, everything clears up when Ma-ma-oo’s ghost insists that Lisa “have to go back” (372). As the novel ends, Lisa’s response to her ability evolves from doubt to acceptance; she is no longer constrained by circumstances but rather she proves that it is possible to live a life with an identity that encompasses both the popular and Haisla culture like a b’gwus who is “-not quite human, not quite wolf, but something in between”