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Magic Realism: Monkey Beach By Eden Robinson

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Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson uses magic realism to illustrate the difficulties of growing up as a native women in the modern world. Throughout the novel, LisaMarie Hill discovers more about her shamanistic abilities and how to manage them in the modern world, this relationship parallels her relationships with boys as she transitions form innocence to experience. Along side with this, Robinson depicts the sexual and physical abuse of native women, highlighting the a massive problem still encountered today. The journey of self discovery in LisaMarie Hill’s relationship with her supernatural ability, mirrors her relationships with males as she matures. The main character, LisaMarie Hill, possesses supernatural abilities, giving her shamanistic …show more content…

When she was younger, LisaMarie’s relationships with her supernatural ability and with boys were resisted.For example, when the little red-headed mans appears in LisaMarie’s bedroom she screams at him to leave: “the little man hoped on my dresser and grinned at me […] ‘Get out of here, you goddamned bastard!’ and kept screaming until dad burst into the room holding a bat”(Robinson 234). The author words the quote to make readers feel her discontent with the presence of the little man. Furthermore, the reaction by her father is a testament to how aggressively she reacted to the appearance to this supernatural sign. This rejection is similar to the way she views boys, when other girls begin talking about boys LisaMarie and her cousin Tabitha do not agree with them: “Girls in our class had become very silly, standing in the playground and whispering about this boy or that. I was glad I didn’t have to be a part of that” (Robinson 127). LisaMarie has yet to accept boys, just as she has yet to accept her talents. Furthermore, her negative attitude towards boys also extends to her brother Jimmy. After leaving him to

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