The Power of Naming: Monkey Beach as Associational Literature Natasha Borden College

The novel Monkey Beach, written by Eden Robinson, can be called an example of what Thomas King has named "associational literature" (King p.14) because, even though the novel includes issues which are directly connected to the impact and repercussions of colonialism, it does not place the colonizer at the center of the story. Essentially it is not in reaction to the issues of colonization but is instead a construction of Aboriginal based reality. The novel is written using a traditional orature style which emphasizes an Aboriginal worldview instead of revolving itself around a "non-Native expectations concerning the glamour and /or horror of Native life". ( King p.14) The first page of Monkey Beach opens with the crows speaking to Lisa "in Haisla". (p.1) Nobody else in her family shares her shamanic abilities and her mother teases her about it being a "sign" that she needs "Prozac". (p.3) This introduction represents the overarching and repeating issue that weaves throughout the entire novel: the difference between Native and non-Native realities. Robinson grounds the novel in the Native mindset first by using the traditional oral style of including information and teaching as part of the storytelling and second by using the...