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The Break Comparative Essay

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The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway and The Break by Katherine Vermette are two books that provide a unique insight into the lives of Indigenous people and the struggles they face in finding their place in the world. Both books explore the effects of colonization on Indigenous people, as well as the themes of loss and grief, character development, and etc. Through the characters in both books, readers are able to gain a better understanding of the struggles Indigenous people face in their search for identity and belonging. This essay states the similarities between The Break and The Rez Sisters, focusing on the effects of colonization and the themes of the books. By exploring the characters and their struggles, I will be able to provide a better …show more content…

Similarly, In The Break, Stella is dealing with the loss of her mother, as well as the ongoing impact of colonialism. Stella's grief is expressed through her attempts to find her mother's spirit, as well as her attempts to reconnect with her Indigenous heritage, she is disconnected from. Throughout both books, the characters attempt to find peace and ultimately become mentally stronger. Leaving the similarities aside, a difference between the two stories is the form of character development. In The Rez Sisters, the family develops quickly, and the seven sisters become closer as a family following an argument, whereas In The Break, the characters are already close because they are related by blood and then later split up with each other due to complications in the book. Despite the difference in the form of character development between the two books, the themes of loss and grief remain the same, and the authors successfully expound on the Indigenous experience of these …show more content…

This quote shows the conditions the Indigenous people deal with, after colonization. In The Break the protagonist, Stella tells us about her environment after Indigenous people moved into bigger cities away from reserves,“Now there are so many Indians here, big families, good people, but also gangs, hookers, drug houses, and all these big, beautiful houses somehow sagging and tired like the old people who still live in them.” (Vermette 4). This shows how colonization affects people in the past, present and even the next generation. Stella experiences the effects of colonization through growing up unprivileged, raised by her mother, who was a witness of colonization and was also a residential school survivor. Not only was Stella’s mother effected, she herself/ Stella being the next generation in her family was affected due to her mother being colonized. This proves how the characters of two different novels were affected by the same issue of

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