Intergenerational Trauma In The Break

The Break by Katherena Vermette exposes the reader to the lives and issues that impact generations of Indigenous women which is told by ten distinct voices, which includes Phoenix’s. The third person narrative of Phoenix reveals how intergenerational trauma has affected Indigenous women of Canada and caused them to experience family problems. The flashbacks and memories of Phoenix as a child highlight how intergenerational trauma has caused there to be a rift between Phoenix and her family. The internal monologue and the extreme actions she takes to be loved exposes the readers to how Phoenix, due to not growing up with a proper family, always seeks affection and approval. Furthermore, the conversation Phoenix has with her mother in prison

This exemplifies how intergenerational trauma has left victims desiring to be loved. Phoenix leaves the St. Vital Center and makes her way across town to her uncle's house. Phoenix decides to walk in the cold for hours until she has "lost feeling in her legs" (Vermette 25), all to impress her uncle. Phoenix’s decision to walk to her uncle’s house instead of asking for help continues to reveal to the reader how Phoenix has adopted a mindset of not showing weakness by asking for help, all while trying to gain admiration from her uncle. Additionally, as soon as she arrives at her uncle's house, she begins to plan ways to make her uncle happy. When Phoenix notices her uncle's house is filthy, she decides to clean it up because her uncle likes it "when she does girl things like that" (Vermette 25). Phoenix is portrayed in the text as harsh and commanding, but in reality, all she wants is to be liked, which demonstrates how victims of intergenerational trauma desire to be loved. Phoenix is also seen to be jealous and go to extreme lengths when Emily receives affection instead of her. Phoenix has been pregnant for “seven months” with Clayton’s child (Vermette 320) and now is in prison for raping a girl, Emily, who Clayton was hanging out with. Readers understand that Phoenix has never received a lot of affection when she was younger so she tried to be territorial around the person she loved, Clayton, which caused her to go to lengths in which she raped Emily. The third-person narrative of Phoenix highlights the extreme actions she takes to gain affection and approval. This helps readers understand the desperate desire of victims of intergenerational trauma to be loved as they were split apart and abandoned by their