In his 1993 story “Borders,” Thomas King depicts several incidents in the life of a female Aboriginal Canadian delegate devoted to her culture. In this short narrative, the main character tries to cross the border without giving a false account of her nationality. The author successfully introduces various socially significant subjects, including the struggles of minorities, generational disparities, and family disputes, which merits praise for the short story.
A young Canadian Blackfoot boy is the nameless narrator and the second-most significant figure in the story after his mother. His mother and his sister Laetitia, who is roughly ten years older than he is, make up his family. We learn from his interaction with the news reporters that he resides on a reserve with his relatives and extended family and appears content with his existence. Most of the narrative is devoted to the narrator discussing the motives and behaviors of other characters, especially his mother and sister.
In King’s writing, the tension between identity, citizenship, and the law is explored, and the mother and son’s voyage to Salt Lake City centers on this conflict. The confrontation between many personalities and institutions serves to develop this issue at personal and societal levels. Unique concepts of status and citizenship serve as a representation of the individual scale of identification. For instance, the mother’s sense of identity is primarily based on her Blackfoot citizenship; she does not see herself as connected to Canada.
Finally, Thomas King’s “Borders” tells the tale of a strong Canadian aboriginal woman who does not wish to surrender her cultural identity and gives birth to offspring who are less resistant to assimilation. The author introduces significant themes in this work, including generational differences, parent-child disputes, and personal identity. The author succeeds in describing ethnic minorities’ problems and connecting them to issues that parents and children face across all cultures.
Concerning the story’s impact on me, it makes me concerned with the problem of indigenous cultures being undercut and devalued. These people should be able to be proud of their heritage instead of concealing their origin. I also get sad by the conflict between the mother and her daughter. The misunderstanding between them and the mother’s refusal to accept her child’s wish to move to another place remind me of my own experiences. I disagree with such an approach and believe it should be normal for children not to adopt all the views of their parents.
Reference
King, T. (2021). Borders. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.