By grade 12 I hope to improve the amount of evidence in my writing and I need to be straight to the point giving my best examples. I could have added more evidence as it would help provide a more compelling argument as well as helping my thesis through examples. Secondly I need to get better at having just my strongest points. I tend to have some weaker evidence in my writing when I could have a stronger argument. I am proud that I chose two sources that may not seem similar from first glance. For example I didn’t choose two First Nations poems but rather I found similarities between two identities that are quite different. I did this to challenge myself and it was somewhat challenging but I got past that.

Minority Should Not Mean Inequality

Minority identities deal with many conflicts due to the fact that they are different from the majority of people. So what conflicts may arise when one has a minority identity? Alex Dang presents the conflicts he faces and the effects they have in his poem “What Kind of Asian Are You?” As he is Asian-American, he faces these himself and this has influenced his writing. The second source is a TED Talk called “50 Shades of Gay” presented by iO Tillett Wright. She speaks about the conflicts the LGBTQ community faces. These two speakers both face similar conflicts although their identities are very different. Alex Dang faces challenges and conflicts due to his race whereas iO Tillett Wright faces these due to her sexual preferences and choice of gender. Although the reasons why they face these conflicts are different: they do share common conflicts such as discrimination, feeling unaccepted, and losing parts of their identity. Both sources speak up about these conflicts to provide understanding and to help humanize these minority identities who, although different, are still human.

Both Asian-Americans and the LGBTQ community fall prey to discrimination. Alex speaks about discrimination when he says, “Let me tell you about derogatory terms and origins of words such as chink and gook,” ( Dang ). They are called names and treated as lesser just because of their race and this certainly has a hurtful effect. Even though Alex is American many people still discriminate against him because he is also Asian. He is American but people only look at his appearance and judge him because of it. The LGBTQ community feels the effects of discrimination as well. IO states, “You can legally be fired just for your sexuality,” ( Wright ). The LGBTQ community faces this type of discrimination because they do not have the same rights as everyone else. They may be different but they have the same basic needs as everyone else such as housing. This discrimination can have a lasting affect such as shame of their culture or sexuality.

As these minorities are different from what is considered normal they are often unaccepted for who they are. Whether this is due to a difference in race or a difference in what someone believes is sexually correct. Alex says, “I still feel the shame of being Asian,” ( Dang ). He does not feel accepted and is treated as though it is wrong to be Asian. He feels he has to change to be more American even though he himself is American, but those around him see him for his skin colour and race. IO grew up in a very accepting neighbourhood and with parents who encouraged her but that is not the case with everyone. She talks about people who were not as accepting when she says, “I met people who legally divorced their children for being anything other than straight.” ( Wright ). One may be fearful to express their sexuality as there are those who do not agree with them. This can cause internal conflict and make them feel isolated from others.

When one is part of a minority identity other people may start to assume things about them due to a lack of knowledge. This can lead to a loss of identity, for they are not seen as themselves but as a part of that group. This tends to lead to hurtful stereotypes as well. Alex mentions this loss of identity when he says, “Every time you confuse me with some other nationality that I might share similar features to is stripping away my individuality,” ( Dang ). He loses parts of his identity because people only see him for his culture rather than for who he is. The same is true for iO. She talks about being put into boxes. She says, “Because really, they describe nothing that we see and no one that we know and nothing that we are,” ( Wright ). When people call her gay they do not encompass everything that she is and thus she loses part of her identity.

In conclusion both of these minorities face similar conflicts due to being different. While they both have different identities they are more similar than different. Although they face these challenges they find the courage to speak up and bring awareness to these issues and hopefully create change. These differences should not lead to fear and hate but rather should be acknowledged and accepted. This way in the future a minority identity will feel accepted and not face these same conflicts.

Works Cited

Wright, Tillett. “Fifty Shades of Gay.” Ted, Ted, 2012, www.ted.com/talks/io_tillett_wright_fifty_shades_of_gay?language=en.

Dang, Alex. “Alex Dang – ‘What Kind of Asian Are You?” (NPS 2013).” YouTube, YouTube, 29 Jan. 2014, m.youtube.com/watch?v=VoP0ox_Jw_w.

Facing Hardship and the Road to Healing

All cultures face challenges, but the First Nations of Canada have faced some of the greatest challenges of all. Some of these being racism, discrimination, and abuse. Based on history how does one recover from experiencing intense hardship? The novel, Indian Horse, written by Richard Wagamese is a story set in 1960, Ontario. This story is about a young aboriginal man named Saul, his journey through residential schools to his eventual recovery. After facing racism and discrimination he must find a way to heal from his trauma and move past his pain. Sugar Falls written by David Robertson is about a young girl, Betsy, who is taken from her family and sent to a residential school. She must find the strength to endure through hardship and keep her promise to hold onto her culture and relationships. Both Saul from Indian Horse and Betsy from Sugar Falls recover from their hardship by opening up to those close to them and remembering their culture. Saul goes through his recovery alone without letting others help him until the very end of his journey. He finally realizes he needs to let others help him when he reaches his lowest point; he is able to recover through talking about his experiences; whereas, Betsy opens up and tells her story to educate others. She is able to find peace through remembering her culture and letting it give her strength. Ultimately they both recover through embracing their culture and opening up to others; thereby showing others how to face hardship.

After facing abuse at the residential school and racism at the hockey rink Saul begins to give into his anger. Saul is running from his problems and he fears having a family again for he has felt the pain of loss. For example he says, “It was far easier to leave if you never truly arrived in the first place” (Wagamese, 188). Saul says this as he leaves his new friend Ervin who offered him a home, he does not get too attached to those he meets as it hurts to open up to people. The reason he will not open up and tell his story is because he is unable to face himself. Throughout Saul’s journey he has experienced plenty of pain from getting close to people, even from Father Leboutilier, a man who he believed was his friend. While this may be true he does have those who try to help him: “We’re here if you need us, don’t forget that” (Wagamese, 194). While many of Saul’s experiences end up hurting him he does eventually learn to trust people and open up. Saul’s great grandfather Shabogeesick says, “You have come to learn to carry this place within you. This place of beginnings and endings” (Wagamese, 205). While Saul has lost many people and places he would call home he has kept his true home and family with him at all times. When he opens up to people and embraces his culture he is able to start healing. He does this by going back to where it all began and he realizes that his family and culture give him strength even though there is pain as well.

Betsy finds the strength to endure the residential school by holding on to her relationships and remembering the strength of her culture: “Relationships, this is where we find our strength as a people” (Robertson, 12). Betsy promises to hold onto her relationships and whenever she has a moment of weakness she remembers the promise she made to her father. In one such instance of weakness Betsy is about to leave the school to go home but “as quickly as I forgot I remembered everything” (Robertson, 35). The promise she makes is something she holds onto even after she leaves the residential school; Betsy begins to embrace her culture even more and is open to sharing her story. The residential schools were built to assimilate the First Nations and get rid of their culture but it’s Betsy’s connection to her culture that gives her the will to keep going: “No matter what they did to me, I held onto myself, my language, and my spirit” (Robertson, 38). Betsy knew that no matter how bad things were, holding onto her culture and spirit through this terrible time was a victory.

Saul and Betsy both go through very different paths to recovery but their final solution is the same. “So I went back to talk. I went back to learn to share the truth I had discovered locked deep inside me” (Wagamese, 207). Saul has learned that he can no longer run from his problems but that he has to share his experience and get help. “It took me forever for me to learn how to face my own truth. I ran from it for years and years” (Wagamese, 209). Saul talks to his adopted family as they went through residential schools as well. Saul learns that he is not alone by talking to those who have had the same experience as he has. “We need to look at the past to teach others our stories and the look forward, together, with knowledge and healing” (Robertson, 40). On the other hand Betsy talks to the younger generation to help educate them on what really happened at the residential schools. Talking about their experience helps them face the past and come to terms with it. Furthermore they both grow in their First Nations culture and realize that this is a part of who they are; it’s something they should be proud of instead of feeling ashamed as the residential schools would teach them.

In conclusion, both the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese and the graphic novel Sugar Falls written by David Robertson show that healing can be achieved through opening up to others and that one must face their past, in their case they must embrace their culture. Saul finds that his culture and family are always with him and because of this he finds the strength to open up to others. Betsy having already found that strength in her culture and relationships aims to educate people by telling her story. Facing ones past it always difficult but it is necessary; whether it’s to educate or to heal. One can’t run from their problems but they have to face them just as Saul and Betsy do.

Two things I did well:

I believe I was able to answer my original thesis while giving a good “so what” at the end.

I also believe that I chose good quotes to help answer my question.

Two things I need to improve on:

I need to make sure I stick to my thesis as there are times when I felt I was getting a bit off track.

I could have given more background information so that the reader would know the context of each characters problems.