Ty Sloan
Nick Beauchesne
ENGL 102
April 11, 2024
Intergenerational Trauma of Colonization Fought with Magic and Spirituality in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach.
In Eden Robinson’s novel Monkey Beach, indigenous culture is expressed in a way much more complicated and traumatic than is often seen or read about in today’s society. While many may reject the contemporary effects of a legacy of colonization, this novel demonstrates the unwavering struggle that indigenous individuals encounter throughout their entire lives. Exploring and combatting the intergenerational trauma that so clearly haunts the lives of those in the Haisla community is shown through forming connections with the spiritual world and using magic as a form of strength to heal …show more content…
The film The Impact of Colonialism in Canada by Matt Lemay serves as a reminder of all the atrocities of colonization and the lasting trauma it applies to indigenous peoples. However, even through generations of colonization, Lemay demonstrates that many aspects of their faith and spirituality are still preserved, and that when individuals can intellectualize the magical elements of their spirituality, it can act as a vessel for the traditions and ways of their past. These magical elements are evidently shown through Lisa in both the vision of Tab and the continuation of messages from Ma-ma-oo even after her death, allowing her to reclaim agency in her life. Lemay’s discussion of the development of an individual so greatly impacted by the finding of spiritual magic relates directly to Lisa’s journey after becoming reinstated with her magical qualities. Monkey Beach is a story much more significant than just a girl in a community in British Columbia. This novel demonstrates the impact that magic can have on one person and how it can cause a chain reaction of goodness directly opposed to the chain of destruction caused by colonization. Lisa’s revitalization of her spiritual qualities allowed her to come home and change not …show more content…
A. Magic Weapons : Aboriginal Writers Remaking Community after Residential School. University of Manitoba Press, 2007.
Mrak, Anja. A.S. & M.S. “Trauma and Memory in Magical Realism: Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach as Trauma Narrative.” [Sic]: asopis Za Knjievnost, Kulturu i Knjievno Prevoenje/A Journal of Literature, Culture and Literary Translation, vol. 3, No. 1 -. 2, 2013.
Knott, Helen. A. A. In My Own Moccasins : A Memoir of Resilience. Edited by Eden Robinson, University of Regina Press, 2021.
LeMay, Matt, editor of the book. The Impact of Colonialism in Canada. LeMay Media, 2016
Nick Beauchesne
ENGL 102
April 11, 2024
Intergenerational Trauma of Colonization Fought with Magic and Spirituality in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach.
In Eden Robinson’s novel Monkey Beach, indigenous culture is expressed in a way much more complicated and traumatic than is often seen or read about in today’s society. While many may reject the contemporary effects of a legacy of colonization, this novel demonstrates the unwavering struggle that indigenous individuals encounter throughout their entire lives. Exploring and combatting the intergenerational trauma that so clearly haunts the lives of those in the Haisla community is shown through forming connections with the spiritual world and using magic as a form of strength to heal …show more content…
The film The Impact of Colonialism in Canada by Matt Lemay serves as a reminder of all the atrocities of colonization and the lasting trauma it applies to indigenous peoples. However, even through generations of colonization, Lemay demonstrates that many aspects of their faith and spirituality are still preserved, and that when individuals can intellectualize the magical elements of their spirituality, it can act as a vessel for the traditions and ways of their past. These magical elements are evidently shown through Lisa in both the vision of Tab and the continuation of messages from Ma-ma-oo even after her death, allowing her to reclaim agency in her life. Lemay’s discussion of the development of an individual so greatly impacted by the finding of spiritual magic relates directly to Lisa’s journey after becoming reinstated with her magical qualities. Monkey Beach is a story much more significant than just a girl in a community in British Columbia. This novel demonstrates the impact that magic can have on one person and how it can cause a chain reaction of goodness directly opposed to the chain of destruction caused by colonization. Lisa’s revitalization of her spiritual qualities allowed her to come home and change not …show more content…
A. Magic Weapons : Aboriginal Writers Remaking Community after Residential School. University of Manitoba Press, 2007.
Mrak, Anja. A.S. & M.S. “Trauma and Memory in Magical Realism: Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach as Trauma Narrative.” [Sic]: asopis Za Knjievnost, Kulturu i Knjievno Prevoenje/A Journal of Literature, Culture and Literary Translation, vol. 3, No. 1 -. 2, 2013.
Knott, Helen. A. A. In My Own Moccasins : A Memoir of Resilience. Edited by Eden Robinson, University of Regina Press, 2021.
LeMay, Matt, editor of the book. The Impact of Colonialism in Canada. LeMay Media, 2016