In the short story called ‘Borders’ by Thomas King, he articulately shows how important yet challenging it can be to stand up for one’s identity and belief in what is right. One should be proud and confident of one’s origin and identity just as the narrator’s mother was in the story, and stand up for it so others can accept it too.
The story not only shows us the physical division between Canada and America, but takes us into a deeper understanding of the title of the story, ‘Borders’, that there are differences between the two popular countries. The mother in the story is given two options, by the guards at the border, to answer about her nationality – Canadian side or American side. But she puts away these imposed identities and confidently stands up for being a ‘Blackfoot’ because of which she and her son are actually stranded in no-man’s land between the two borders. This does create frustration in the boy (narrator) as sleeping in the car for two nights is certainly not comfortable. To add to his frustration the stock of food they had is also depleting. While his mother tells him stories all he’s interested is whether the guard will bring them any sandwiches or not. There is a mix of emotions in the boy throughout the story. He’s excited to see the new city where his sister lives, and at the same time eager to meet her as well. His excitement is killed by the identity conflict that goes on at the border, but again comes up when they go shopping and skiing in the Salt Lake City. However, the fun and joy is temporary as the boy realizes that life for him is so much better in the reserves.
The boy’s views about his cultural identity are influenced by his mother. Just as the two countries are divided by the border, similarly he is in the middle of two cultures (Blackfoot and American). His mother was very steadfast in telling the guards she was a Blackfoot, but it was annoying for him and he stated “It would have been easier if my mother had just said “Canadian” and been done with it”. He is not emotionally attached to his culture but his mother’s stance in calling herself Blackfoot, impacts his view about his culture very strongly. At the border he experiences the imposition of claiming one identity of either a Canadian or an American. Unlike her son, the mother is so strong in taking a stand for being a Blackfoot that she doesn’t even care if she has to return home without meeting her.
The narrator moves back and forth in the story remembering what his sister used to say about the Salt Lake City. He tells of his sister’s aggressive decision to leave for the new place, in order to find a good job and have a better lifestyle. His mother on the other hand had pride in her own culture and this certainly had influence on the boy.
In the story there is physical division between the countries, and then the separation of the reserves (where the narrator lived) from the rest of the country. When the narrator crosses the reserves with his mother he’s also crossing cultures and moving to a culture where he has no sense of belonging. Through his mother’s defiance of her identity he is able to understand the roots of his identity. Initially he was excited to see the beautiful Sal Lake City, but “after a week or so, I got bored and wasn’t at all sad when my mother said we should be heading back home.” This shows that he was deeply connected to the place he came from and belonged to it in every way. The charm of the new city could not weaken his connection from his roots. Here we see that in the end not only did the narrator realize his own cultural heritage and identity, but his sister also desires to return home.
Reference
Borders. 2013. UBC Faculty of Law. 17 February, 2013.
http://faculty.law.ubc.ca/myoung/constitution/images/Thomas%20King%20Borders.pdf
A Short Story from Canada in the Geman EFL-Classroom. 2013. Revue LISA/LISA e-journal. 17 February, 2013.
http://lisa.revues.org/2675
Borders – Thomas King. 2013. Rocky_07. 17 February, 2013.
http://rocky-07.dreamwidth.org/819.html
