What Does It Mean to Belong? The novel "Monkey Beach" by Eden Robinson is a powerful exploration of the human experience, focusing on exploring the idea of belonging and how to find your identity and culture when faced with loss and trauma. The story is centered around the life of a young Indigenous woman, Lisamarie Hill, who struggles to come to terms with the disappearance of her brother, Jimmy, and the effect it has on her community. Through her journey, the novel goes into the complexities of the human brain and how we try to find our identity and place in the world. The novel Monkey Beach explores the idea of belonging and how to find your identity and culture when faced with loss and trauma. One of the themes in the novel is belonging, mostly to the Indigenous culture and tradition. Lisamarie is deeply connected to her traditional roots and struggles with balancing her heritage with modern society. Throughout the novel, Robinson writes about the challenges of belonging, which shows the …show more content…
The book revolves around Lisa and her family's grieving process and how they cope with Jimmy's loss. Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be a challenging experience, and also dealing with it while sticking to your roots and traditions in modern society can be difficult. When Lisa first learns about Jimmy's disappearance, she experiences a lot of emotions, which include shock, disbelief, and confusion. She could not stop thinking about their childhood, the moments they shared, and the love and laughter that filled their home. Lisamarie’s grief affected her everyday life and really took a beating on her well-being and her identity: “Everything blurred and slid together, and I shook and felt like I was going to throw up” (122). Throughout the novel, Lisamarie cannot give up the search for her brother due to the overwhelming sense of loss and