Ravensong by Lee Maracle

1426 Words3 Pages

Many times when reading a novel, the reader connects with one of the characters and begins to sympathize with them. This could be because the reader understands what the character is going through or because we get to see things from the character’s perspective and their emotions and that in return allows a bond to form for the reader. The character that is the most intriguing for me and the one I found comparing to every book that I read during school was Stacey from the book “Ravensong” Lee Maracle. The character Stacey goes through a lot of internal battle with herself and it’s on her path to discovery that she begins to understand herself and what she’s capable of. Throughout the novel, Stacey has a few issues she tries to work through. This is emphasized through her village and in her school that is located across the bridge in white town. Stacey begins dealing with the loss of Nora, and elder in her town. And this in return begins the chain of events that Stacey begins on the path of self-discovery not only on herself but everyone around her. She begins to see things differently and clearly. Stacey is a very complex and confused character, and she begins to work through these complexities through her thoughts, statements and actions.

Stacey goes through a lot of growth as a character, and most of it is done through her daily experiences and internal thoughts and battles with herself. Stacey faces most of her problems with silence, and rarely approaches anyone to communicate her feelings. These feelings and confusion begin to surface right from the start at Nora’s funeral. Stacey looks around at her own village and the people in it and the way they’re dressed and compares it to the funeral she had attended when her friend ...

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...hat she is capable of more than she herself knows and that there is still a big future for her and the village. Stacey is the beacon of her town that shows potential for change and the bridge that symbolizes the separation between these two places. Stacey crosses this bridge daily and in that ending, a lot is unsaid about what could happen. Stacey was a challenging character to explore, because her identity continues to confuse her, and in her discoveries, the reader begins to understand her slowly and why it is she struggles so much and her frustrations. In return, the readers can almost understand her pain because of it and the journey she had to take which didn’t lead to achieving her dreams because of the separation that the village and town focused so much on.

Works Cited

Maracle , Lee. Ravensong - a novel. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc., 2012.

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