Maryanne's Clouds Today By Ivan Rehorek Summary

Almost everyone is aware of some story behind historic colonizers in his or her country. Whether it’s the United States’ story of Columbus, or the Mexico’s story of Cortes, people are familiar with what it means to be a colonizer. However, in the short story, “Maryanne’s Clouds Today”, by Ivan Rehorek, the author takes a spin on the post colonial mindset that is known as othering. This is when the colonizer sets himself apart from the colonized people by cultural values, difference in appearance or personality as a whole. Columbus used this sense of othering by pointing out the differences between himself and the natives he encountered. The difference can be seen through the eyes of the colonizer as an intriguing positive contrast (the exotic other) or as a savage negative contrast (the demonic other). Rehorek portrays this sense of the “exotic other” by telling the story of a white newcomer to Australia who sees the difference and yet beauty in his new connection with the native, Maryanne. As the two become

The idea of othering is then introduced when the narrator is integrated into the story. The author points this idea of setting one another apart by stating, “I remember her as a sedentary older lady” (Rehorek 167). The narrator chose to point out her age as a means of putting her in a different category than himself. This idea of differences is then reiterated in the following sentence by stating, “My first week at the college, as the new whitefella teacher…” (Rehorek 167). Although it may not seem obvious, the author uses the word “whitefella” to show the differences between the race of the current region and himself. Although the skin color does not matter, the author uses this description as a means of othering. However, as the story continues, readers see a switch from noticing physical differences to noticing things much more important