Truth And Bright Water Revision

In the novel Truth And Bright Water, the author, Thomas King, proposes the idea that there is a definite struggle within an individual’s quest to restore honor and certainty. The struggles that these individuals are faced with are presented through the characters Lum, Auntie Cassie, and Monroe Swimmer. These characters develop throughout the novel and demonstrate their growth through the actions, and choices that they must make, and how they will renew their reputations.

Lum, when first introduced, is described as having black eyes, and is holding a gun. From just reading this, the reader can assume that Lum has a troubled life, and by playing with a gun, the judgment made is that he does not value life. As the plot progresses, Lum does not mature the way that Tecumseh does. When the boys find the skull, Lum becomes obsessed with it. Lum searches for the certainty that he is not sure exists. Lum lost his mother, and throughout the book, often is not sure of whether or not his mother is alive. “Sometimes Lum remembers that his mother is dead, and sometimes he forgets.” Certainty is having faith in the future. From the beginning of the novel, it is evident that Lum does not care for his future, but Tecumseh does. Due to prejudices of today’s culture, the future is not bright for Many Native American teenagers. The novel directly relates to real life in the fact that these young people struggle to pursue bright futures, and there is a struggle to restore honor. After watching Reel Injun, many students were shocked to discover that Native Americans do not act the way they do in the movies.  The author presents this topic discreetly, and by showing us what lum has been going through, she can be presented with the idea that the struggle for restoring honor and certainty is a large task for one individual, whereas it must take more than one person to do it, and for a culture to be unified it needs to have a want for change, and want to regain their original reputation, and one that is not created by society’s views and opinions.

          Auntie Cassie is another important key in this theme. She starts out as just a side character, but subtly becomes one of the most important people we are shown. We don’t learn much about Auntie Cassie, but what we do learn shows us her growth in the novel and her search for certainty. King uses Cassie as a symbol of how an individual may think that they have done something right, but in reality they find themselves regretting it right after. Auntie Cassie struggles to restore her honor because she feels that once her honor has been brought back, she can forget about Mia and how her troubled past is still haunting her. When an individual seeks to regain certainty in their life, they often try to forget what has been troubling them. Throughout the novel, Auntie Cassie often spoke of Mia, and when she did she became very melancholy. “” I suppose this is about Mia,” says my grandmother. Things go quiet then as if somebody has done something rude and no one wants to admit what they did. Auntie Cassie looks at the floor.” The grandmother has brought up a touchy subject, and by analyzing the scene, the reader can easily comprehend that the subject of Mia is a negative topic.  King uses this to show the reader that there is a subject that has yet to be understood by the narrator, and gives us foreshadowing of why Auntie Cassie really went back to Bright Water. Nar the end of the novel, and after Cassie’s character has developed more, there is a scene that impacts the reader the most and proves Cassie’s restoration of her certainty and honor, by letting go of her memories of Mia. “She opens the quilt and puts it around her sister’s shoulders, while Auntie Cassie takes each piece of clothing out of the suitcase, deliberately, one at a time, and casts them all into the flames.” P 260. The  significance of this scene placement is that it takes place at the giveaway, while everybody is having a good time receiving gifts, Cassie can finally let go of what has been hurting her. Cassie struggled to restore her honor, but King presents the idea that even though it may seem to be too much of a struggle, it also must be done for an individual to reinstate their certainty in themselves.

          The third character that demonstrated the most understanding of reinforcing certainty in themselves was Monroe Swimmer. Monroe struggled against society’s ideas of what Native American culture was like, and struggled to grasp onto what history he still had. By working in the museums, he was able to “rescue” the bones of the residential school children. King used Monroe to demonstrate that individuals not only seek to restore honor and certainty in themselves, but in other people, objects, and in history. When Monroe painted the church he wanted the prairies to look the way that they should. Natural and untouched. Monroe was symbolic of what people today should do, respect the land that was given to us. King uses the scenes of Monroe painting the church to show us the relationship between man and land that should exist, but often goes unheard of. The giveaway is an important scene because it shows how Monroe wants others to restore certainty in friendships. Many people do not think highly of Monroe, but at the giveaway they begin to become keen to his kindness, and start to realize that if they treat others with the same respect that they want, they can easily bring back their respect. Monroe was a significant character in the plot development because he was a symbol of the way Native Americans should be- proud and willing to stand up for themselves and to reinstate their self image.  Monroe also brings back the bones of the children from museums, because he believes that they belong at home, and by restoring them into their natural place, they can be at peace. “This is the centre of the universe. Where else would I bring them? Where else would they want to be?”

Throughout the novel Truth And Bright Water, Thomas King has developed the thematic idea that to regain an individual’s honor and certainty, there is a struggle that makes the effort worth it. By using Lum, Auntie Cassie and Monroe, the reader can analyze the key events in these characters lives that has lead them with the need to restore their certainty in themselves, as well as in the life-altering choices they must face.