CRITICAL / ANALYTICAL - Truth and Bright Water

“Hunger, love, pain, fear are some of those inner forces which rule the individual’s instinct for self preservation”

-Albert Einstein

Erin Williams

English 30-1

Henderson

It is often said that character is built through adversity. However, how would one face adversity if he were to not have character? It is through a delicate balance of these two elements that the need for self preservation is derived, and how although one may falter occasionally, it is essential to look within to regain certainty. By looking at Truth and Bright Water by Thomas King one can see through the use of main characters Helen, Cassie, and Monroe, and their individual struggles that the major theme of rot and corruption is tied very closely to that of self-preservation, and how through trying to restore honour and certainty, they were trying to restore faith in themselves.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of King’s writing was the striking portrayal of the character, Helen, the narrator’s mother. Although she did not have a significant role in the book, her quiet character was strong and determined. After what can be assumed a messy divorce, Helen struggled to restore her self-confidence and her honor, by which she attempted to move past her conflicts through the use of her quilt. After a difficult time in her life she found something to symbolize it, and placed it on the quilt. Although some things were dangerous, like razor blades and pins, those who were close to Helen realised that “[it] was a way [Helen] had of dealing with frustration and disappointment” (64) even though others believed it to be dangerous. The quilt was Helen’s way of honoring her past and although she may not necessarily have been proud of it, it was what shaped her into the person that she was. The flowers that Helen rescued were also symbolic of her struggles. She saw that the flowers were “in pretty bad shape”(17) and found herself responsible for attempting to make them beautiful again. Helen saw herself in the flowers, and through experience, realised that it was not their fault that someone did not find their beauty to be enough. As she struggled to restore certainty within herself, she tried to reach out to help other things to help cement the idea that she was in fact, a good person. At the end of the novel, when Helen seemed to regain certainty of herself, she “picks off the blossoms that have died, and carefully trims and cuts the flowers back until there is nothing left but the stems” (282).

The character of Auntie Cassie was noticeably struggling throughout the novel. Although Cassie was more obvious with her hardships and emotion, the reason behind the struggling was less apparent. The drama that revolved around her was one of the unsolved stories in the book, however with the information that was given, assumptions can be made about Cassie`s character as well as her restoration of honor and certainty within herself and her decisions. When she was young, Cassie had to make the impossibly difficult decision about giving up her child. Although she believed that it was the right thing to do at the time, it is assumed that it was this decision that led to Cassie`s guilt and need to restore certainty. After Cassie chose to give up her daughter, she almost certainly lost confidence within herself and her capability to make judgements, which may have led to her irresponsible lifestyle. An exemplar of her rash decision making could be when “[she] was drunk” (242) and carved MIA into the back of her hand, which symbolizes her being unable to cope with her decision, and her need to punish herself for dishonoring her own child. However, when Cassie reverts back to Truth and Bright Water, it seems as if she has returned one last time to give up Mia. When Cassie “[took] each piece of clothing out of the suitcase,... and [cast] them all into the flames” (260), it was her way of saying goodbye to that part of her life, and beginning to focus on moving on.

Thomas King developed the character of Monroe Swimmer in an interesting manner. We knew very little about him at the beginning of the book, however, as his character developed so did his significance. Although Truth and Bright Water was a fictional book, King used Monroe as a tie to the non-fiction issues of his book connecting mainly to the restoration of honor to the Native culture. Monroe was a “Famous Indian Artist” (46) who had left Truth and Bright Water to pursue his career, however at the beginning of the book, he returned to the reserve and no one knew why. As the narrator became closer to Monroe, he discovered that Monroe`s goal was to restore honor to the Aboriginal culture. Monroe attempted to do this through multiple projects. Before he returned to Truth and Bright Water, he “restored” (261) historic paintings by “paint[ing] the village and the Indians back into the painting” (142) even though he believed that “[the museums] liked their Indians where they couldn't see them” (261). He did this to return Aboriginals back to their rightful place in history. Since museums were respected for the high degree of accuracy in their pieces, Monroe found this to be a major flaw. As a part of self-preservation, Monroe felt that he was responsible for the restoration of these paintings, to tell the true story of history. Two of his other “restoration projects[s]” (139) included “nail[ing] the buffalo into the prairies” (141), as well as painting the church to look “as if [it] had never existed” (251). These two projects were highly significant to the direct consequences that the Settlers had on the Native culture. When the Europeans came, they had no respect for the Native people. Although the Aboriginals were an extremely civilised people, the Eurocentric mindset of the Settlers prevented them from seeing this, and as a result, the native culture was abused and not preserved. Having known this, Monroe felt that it was important for the people of Truth and Bright Water to feel a sense of hope and pride for their culture. Although he was aware that it was virtually unattainable to restore the land back to what it was Pre-Settler he wanted the people to embrace the native aspects of their beliefs and values.   

Although the novel Truth and Bright Water was very uneventful, after taking a look at the character’s lives, struggles, and relationships, a greater appreciation for the value of the book could be established. Thomas King did an exceptional job portraying how self-preservation is the root of restoring honour and certainty within oneself after hardships. As well as, in order to move on although it is acceptable to lean on others, the ability to truly progress must come from within.