In The Rez Sisters by Cree playwright Tomson Highway, the family road trip promotes each woman’s understanding of their relationships by creating an environment for personal growth and discovery. The road trip, with the help of Nanabush, helps reconnect the sisters and strengthen their bond so they are prepared for Marie-Adele's death. The inter-family conflicts show how the sisters encourage each other to be better people, survive the struggles of living on the rez, and support each other through hard times. The sister's fights are usually underlined with their desires to make each other into better people. The sisters are connected by their pursuit a better life causing them to push each other towards their goals. When Emily gets herself The sisters band together to raise funds for their road trip to the “BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD” (1125) distracting them from their fighting. “[T]he women start their fundraising activities with a vengeance” (1143) each of them using their individual skills as well as pairing up to maximise all of their efforts. The ladies use this fundraising frenzy to distract themselves from the “crazy” (1115) life on the rez where there are “[n]o jobs[, and] nothing to do but drink and - forget about [their] Nanabush” (1115). Only Marie-Adele and Zhaboonigan know the truth that Nanabush is back and having “a holiday” (1143) messing with the girls fundraising activities. The sisters finally raise enough money to get to Toronto and “THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD” (1139) and start on their road trip full of “intimate conversations” (1148). Philomena discusses the child she gave up for adoption 28 years ago with Pelajia, Annie and Marie-Adele discuss what is going to happen when she dies, Emily discusses her lost lover with Marie-Adele and Pelajia, and Zhaboonigan and Emily discuss having children. Throughout all of the discussions, each sister gives advice and support to deal with the issues most of which were caused by living on or being from the rez. This part of the road trip was influenced by Nanabush’s attack on Marie-Adele and became important The bingo game “is lit so that it looks like “The Last Supper” (1159) foreshadowing the conclusion of the play. “Marie-Adele waltz[es] romantically in the arms of the Bingo Master” (1160) who is another incarnation of Nanabush. This waltz signifies Marie-Adele's passing into the spirit world led by Nanabush who most of the sisters believe is gone forever. Nanabush helps Marie-Adele pass into the spirit world peacefully and gracefully showing how he uses his powers to support the sisters through everything in their lives. The sisters use Marie-Adele's death as a time to learn that they “gotta make the most of it while “they’re” here[,] - giv[e] it one good try” (1161) and remember how special their sisterly bond is. The sisters lean on each other for support during their time of grief. Emily takes Zhaboonigan under her wing by enlisting her to help with the store, Emily supports Annie by going to her shows where she “sing[s] back-up for Fritz” (1162), and Veronique is “cooking for Eugene and the children” (1163). Emily and Zhaboonigan formed a special bond during and after their trip. Zhaboonigan begins to feel a strong affection for Emily and Emily confides in Zhaboonigan. Each sister uses their own talents to help support one another after the death of Marie-Adele showing how they bonded throughout their road trip to Toronto. Their time at the “BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD” (1159) with the help of
...rs, '?was one of the most toughing exuberant, cleverly crafted and utterly entrancing plays?';(Cover The Rez Sisters.) Tomson Highway did a great job at giving the reader an idea of what reserve life is about. He gave us the opportunity to experience the hardships of native people and some insight to how they form their identity.
Jeanne is a senior in high school, and she tries to start over in the new school. The following spring, her homeroom nominates her to be carnival queen. On Election Day, instead of dressing like a typical 1950s bobbysoxer, Jeanne dresses in an exotic sarong with her hair down and a hibiscus flower behind her ear. The applause and cheers indicated that she would win by a landslide. Her friend Leonard Rodriguez finds out that the teachers are trying to tamper with the outcome and he stands up for her which ends up with her winning. Jeanne’s father
As she got older, Jeannette and her siblings made their own life, even as their parents became homeless. Jeannette and her older sister Lori decide to run away from their family in Virginia and go start a new life in New York City. However, after a few months, the rest of the family moves to New York and settles down. While in the City, Jeannette gets a job as a reporter, which was her life goal, and one day on her way to an event she sees her mother rummaging around in a dumpster. While the rest of the family gets along, Maureen, the youngest of the family goes insane and stabs their
All siblings are cruel to one another in many different ways; but the story written by James Hurst called "The Scarlet Ibis" takes the idea to a whole new level.
Everyone wants a perfect family, but nothing is ever perfect. The family in “Why I Live at the P.O.” is most definitely less than perfect. When Stella-Rondo returns to her old home after leaving her husband and bringing her small child who she claims is adopted, much conflict in the family increases. Stella-Rondo turns every family member living in the household against Sister, her older sister, and every family member betrays Sister by believing the lies Stella-Rondo tells about Sister to them. Through much turmoil and distress, Sister becomes so overwhelmed with the unending conflict that she feels she must leave her home and live at the post office. In “Why I Live at the P.O.,” Eudora Welty strongly implies that the function of the family can rapidly decline when family members refuse to do certain things they should and do certain things they should not through her use of point of view, symbolism, and setting.
Throughout the story, it has been Sister who has tried to persuade the reader to take her side in the debacle with her family. The truth is that it was Sister who caused the entire dispute that is going on with her obsession to compete with her sister that goes back to her childhood where she feels that Stella-Rondo is spoiled and continues to be spoiled up to the end following Sister’s desperate need for attention.
The group of sisters collectively decide that they want to attend THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD. In order for this to happen, the sisters display ambition on making their trip a success. They all march together to the council to enquire a loan to go towards their trip. “I say we march down to the Band Office and ask the Band for a loan that will pay for the trip to this bingo” says Pelaija (Pg. 1269). In order for the sisters to make their trip happen, they head over to Pelaija’s basement to discuss various fundraising methods they each contribute to make the trip a success. The sisters display ambition again when they’re doing various labor to
Both Emily and Maggie show resentment towards their sisters. The sisters who God rewarded with good looks and poise. Emily's mother points out the "poisonous feeling" between the sisters, feelings she contributed to by her inability to balance the "hurts and needs" of the two.
The story is told from the point of view of the protagonist, first person narrator, Sylvia. Sylvia is a preteen African American girl, strong willed, intelligent, and the obvious leader of the pack. The story's plot involves a college educated black woman who comes back to an economically disadvantaged neighborhood on weekends and takes the local children on field trips of a sort. On this particular trip she lets the children experience their first ride in a taxicab to a toy store in Manhattan. It is played out through a chronological series of events from the time they leave their neighborhood, until the time they arrive back there.
The women in The Rez Sisters are highly influenced by materialism and White society beliefs. This influence is apparent when one looks at the goals of the sisters, which are acculturated and reflect the attitudes of White society rather than Native society. In Act 1, the women’s aspirations are perverted and extremely acquisitive. Annie wants to “buy a huge record player, the biggest one in the whole world”, Marie-Adele wants to “buy [herself] an island...the most beautiful island in the world” with a “real neat picket fence, real high, long and very, very, very white”, Philomena wants a “toilet... big and wide and very white”, Pelijia wants to “build [herself] a nice paved road”, and Veronique wants to “go shopping for a brand- new stove...the biggest stove on the reserve” so that she can “be the best cook... go to Paris... write a cookbook...become rich and famous” (Highway 5, 35-37). Elements of the American dream like the white picket fence and gross wealth are integral in the women’s speeches, as is the colour white. These short term goals represent an assimilation with White society and are
In conclusion, co-dependency and rivalry is very common in the world today. Though it is not a big issue out in the open, it is an emotional attachment that only one can define. In this short story the two main aspects of having siblings is the theme which revolves around codependency and rivalry. Having siblings is a part of everyday life and problems do occur which sometimes makes a person, or changes a person in ways. In this situation, Pete and Donald are completely different people but they are in fact very dependent upon one another.
The conflict between the sisters is an example of a tense relationships, physical violence and a continuous struggle for attention, affection and love of their father. Not until the end of the play we see Baptist being content with the results of his daughters new husbands. The relationship between Katharina and Bianca is a realistic in its portrayal of rivalry between siblings, and it allows the audience to connect with the theme of this play. The values of true sisterhood and how its can later effect their lives.
"King of the Bingo Game" analyzes the exact separation felt by blacks in the United States. A young black man, the main charater of the story, who remains nameless throughout the story, cannot find work. The Bingo King, is alone in the world and his isolation is further stressed by the potential death of his wife, Laura, who is extremely ill and in serious need for medical care. Pressured by his wife's illness, he visits a movie theatre where he takes part in a Bingo game, hoping to win. As a winner of palying Bingo, he is then given a chance at the jackpot. In "King of the Bingo Game" The working-class blacks of the day were new to inner-city life. Ellison provides an analysis of this relationship with fate, and more specifically, a black
The tensions between them are clear, but being a sister they remind me of myself crying out for daddies attention when the other gets more, or I feel less like the favorite. Everyone wants to be the favorite. However, in greek mythology as women they will always come after and below men. I think this is the most important thing they have in common and should stick together for that
Jealousy between siblings materializes because one of them feels overshadowed by the other. For girls, this results in a lack of confidence. If a girl loses to her sister, younger or older, insecurity builds underneath often causing hostility between them. In Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.,” Sister’s resentfulness towards her sister hinders her ability to become independent.