The Rez Sisters Essay Questions

Why do the women want to go to Toronto?

All of the women want to go to Toronto in order to play "THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD." The grand prize is $500,000, and each of the women has a different dream for what they would do with the winnings. The bingo represents their shot to have more in life—to dream bigger, and imagine better lives for themselves. Thus, the bingo takes on a symbolic meaning for the women, representing everything they can dream about.

Why has Emily returned from San Francisco?

Emil left the reservation after living with an abusive husband, and joined a biker crew that rode to San Francisco. She has returned to the reservation after her lover drove her motorcycle head-on into a semi truck. After the tragedy of this loss, Emily has vowed never to return to San Francisco again.

What is the significance of Nanabush in the play?

Nanabush is a pivotal figure in Indigenous spirituality. Nanabush is a "Trickster" that teaches the people about the nature and meaning of existence, as well as disrupting normal patterns. Though Nanabush is thought to have left when the white man arrived in North America, Highway places Nanabush in the play as a way of connecting the spiritual world and traditional culture to the reality of these women's lives in the present.

What is unusual about the play's representation of THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD?

The play's depiction of THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD is not realistic in the slightest. While there have hitherto been moments that diverge from realism in the play, this entire sequence takes on an otherworldly and over-the-top quality. The Bingo Master speaks in a highly theatricalized way, and the stage gets overtaken with a technical cataclysm (light work, objects flying through the air, etc.) that suggests that the scene is not being objectively depicted, but is rather an impressionistic, non-literal representation of the event. The entire bingo culminates with Marie-Adele waltzing with the Bingo Master in the center of it all. He whispers "bingo" in her ear, which—it turns out—does not mean that she has won the bingo, but rather that her time on earth is over. With this in mind, the entire scene becomes a montage that builds towards Marie-Adele's death.

How does the play depict the women's relationship to life on the reserve?

On the whole, the women's relationships to living on the reserve are ambivalent. While it is their home, and some of them are intent on never leaving, there is a strained and complicated relationship to the outside world and to the promise of autonomous life outside the bounds of the reserve. Philomena is the most attached to the reserve, vowing to stay forever, but we also learn that this is in response to a traumatic experience she had when she was living in the city. Annie dreams of having a music career, but is still connected to the reserve. Pelajia wants desperately to leave and be near her family, but must stay. Finally, Emily took some time away from the reserve after living with an abusive lover, but like Philomena, had to return after having a traumatic experience in San Francisco. The bingo in Toronto comes to represent the women's dreams of better lives and imaginings of different possibilities for themselves, but they are inevitably drawn back to the comfort and security of life on the reserve, even if that life has its difficulties.