Sexual Assault In 'The Break And Where The Blood Mixes'

Hope VanderVelde
Ms. Bowes
NBE 3UOI
June, 16 2023

The Effects of Sexual Assault on The Characters Elsie and Mooch
An alarming statistic reveals that 40% of Indigenous peoples have experienced sexual violence before the age of 15. Victims of sexual assault have experienced devasting effects on their quality of life and most of them rely on alcohol and drugs as a way to cope. Indigenous communities have become greatly impacted by sexual violence which can better explain the abundant generational trauma and dysfunctional families. Elsie, from Katherena Vermette’s The Break, and Mooch, from Where The Blood Mixes by Kevin Loring have both suffered from sexual assault which led to addictions that impacted their relationships. Elsie chose to isolate

In The Break when Stella, Lou, and Elsie went to a high school party, Elsie disappeared. Stella and Lou went to look for her when they overheard guys talking, “‘Dude, you have to go upstairs. Some girl is just giving it away. ’” (Vermette 202) Then when Stella walks in, she sees Elsie on a bed describing that “She was on her stomach. Some guy on top of her. His hand keeping her head down.”(Vermette 202) This quote describes Elsie being held down and getting sexually assaulted by multiple guys throughout the party. Adding on, in Where The Blood Mixes, Mooch recalled the time he was sexually assaulted in residential schools during his conversation with Floyd, “They took me back. That priest was waiting. He wasn't even angry, seemed like. He put his hand on my shoulder, took me down into the basement. Beat me, starved me. F***** me.”(Loring 59) In this quote, Mooch described the encounters he had with the priest who would take him down to the basement and sexually assault him. Both these sources prove that Elsie and Mooch are alike in that they both suffered from sexual violence. Following the traumatic experience of sexuality, both characters' lives changed as they struggled to regain inner

In The Break, Elsie’s daughter, Phoenix looked at her mom who had come to visit her in prison, “... and now she’s thinking about a hit. Elsie’s always been like this. Even when Elsie’s clean, she’s still so sad. When Phoenix was really young, Elsie got clean for a long while but still just cried all the time.” (Vermette 321) This quote confirms that Elsie has been abusing drugs for a long time, long enough that Phoenix remembers her mom always wanting drugs. Similarly, in Where The Blood Mixes, Floyd yells at Mooch for always buying him a beer by saying, “I'm sick and tired of it. Sick and tired of you... you... bumming off me. For once, just once, I'd like you to buy me a beer, without me even having to ask.” (Loring 22) This quote illustrates Floyd’s annoyance with always having to buy Mooch’s beers, indicating that Mooch had been drinking frequently. Later in the play, June yells at Mooch after he steals her grocery money, “What the hell am I worth to you? A jug? A case, maybe - is that all I'm worth to you?” (Loring 71) "This shows that Mooch had a strong alcohol addiction, one where he valued alcohol over June, his