Honour the Sun
Since the occupation of Canada by the British and French begun the Native inhabitants of the land have been forced into confined areas and poor living standards, with stripped rights, and brutal means of assimilation. Children being stripped of their family, culture, religion, and language they are forced into unwanted ways of life. Native Indians are provided with poor facilities and poor living conditions and forced to move to isolated areas of the land where they can govern to limited extent. In the novel Honour the Sun, by the author Ruby Slipperjack reflects upon many issues regarding the lives of Native Indians and the reserve communities. The novel follows a young girl, named Owl nearing her adolescence, and later adult hood and her experiences, disasters and tragedies on Native Indian reserves. The novel utilizes many current-day controversies in regard to Native Indian rights and status. The novel deals with many interrelated themes of alcoholism, poverty, and famine in the poor living conditions of the reserves. The theme that remains constant throughout the novel is the discrimination towards women. Many of the discriminated women whom are consistent in the novel include the Owl, Delia, and Jane. Mistreatment of women
I hate men! I want to kill him!! […] Barbara calmed me “I wanted to go out there and take mom’s .22 and kill him, Another victim of mistreatment of women in the novel is Delia. Delia is the mother of Owl. Delia is portrayed as strong, ineffable, mysterious and very wise. Playing a strong role in Owl’s life, she is moulded to be strong and brave, “she experienced it so much, and she has gotten used to it.” (112) Barbara, Delia’s eldest daughter describes Delia’s emotion when drunken men break into the house and threaten to kill her and their family. Delia was seen as too independent and drunken men were known to try to take advantage of her, “…come out Delia, and make me a cup of tea […] if your husband was a live, he would stop all of this nonsense, but he isn’t so get out here and give yourself to me” (76) one of the drunken men expresses the havoc Delia faces being a single mother taking care of her family. She confronts the men, but is severely beaten for confronting them. Drunken men enter the house regularly and it forces Delia into a state of panic and mental illness. Drunken men let out their rage on Delia’s home, by breaking and entering, and trying to molest her and her children, “…mom keeps the .22 just in case the drunken men go too far” (104). Owl reveals the lengths Delia takes as a women to protect herself and her family against the mistreatment of women. Women were emotionally abused for not having men support in running lives, and working. They were given low priority, Delia was seen as inferior to other families, and was looked down on, “I sat with horror as the husband beat her outside the grocery store, I am sure it was Bobbies parents […] she is bleeding, on the ground crying.” (192).
Some topics in this essay:
Jane Mistreatment,
Barbara Delia’s,
Bob Owl’s,
Native Indian,
Jane Owl,
Bobby Jane,
Native Indians,
Jane Jane,
British French,
Owl Delia,
severely beaten,
abuse women,
native indian,
owl delia,
mistreatment women,
begins realize,
abuse jane,
poor living,
towards women,
novel owl progresses,
living conditions,
owl main character,
owl delia jane,
discrimination towards women,
native indian reserves,
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Approximate Word count = 1516
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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