Monkey Beach

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Tracing the Trauma”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of the motif of intergenerational trauma by creating a chart illustrating the ongoing effects of the residential school system in the lives of characters in Monkey Beach.

Monkey Beach’s characters are impacted by several sources of intergenerational trauma—chief among these is the Canadian residential school system. In this activity, you will create a chart that illustrates how experiences with the residential school system impact both those who directly suffered under this system and those who “inherit” their trauma.

Review the Text

1. Make note of the characters who were sent to residential schools or who had to send their children to residential schools. Also make notes regarding the immediate impacts of this experience and whether or not these characters continue to suffer lingering effects later in life.
2. Make note of the ways that the members of generations who attended residential schools treat other people in their families and in their communities.
3. Make a list of reasonable inferences about how this treatment impacts the present generation of young people and their beliefs about themselves, their culture, and other people.

Create Your Chart

• In the center of the page, draw a circle and label it “Residential School.”
• In a ring around this circle, draw more circles labeled with the names of the characters you identified in step 1.
• Draw arrows from the central circle to each of the character circles. Label these arrows with the immediate and lingering effects that you noted in step 1.
• Draw an outer ring of circles, labeling each with the name of a character in the present generation of young people.
• Draw arrows among the character circles representing the ideas you wrote down in steps 2 and 3.

Reflect

After finishing your chart, answer the following questions in the form of a single paragraph:

• How subtle and complex are the effects of the intergenerational trauma portrayed in Monkey Beach?
• How well does your chart reflect this?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can be completed individually, with a partner, or in small groups. If students have access to computers, they can complete their charts using a presentation tool such as Prezi or Slides or a diagramming tool such as Lucidchart. If they do not have access to computers, you may need to provide them with blank paper large enough to accommodate their charts. After students have finished their charts, they may enjoy having a brief discussion to share their work, either before or after they answer the reflection questions.

Differentiation Suggestion: Because completing this activity requires the review of a substantial amount of text, students with reading fluency or attentional issues may benefit from working with a small group or a partner to gather evidence, even if they will later be creating individual charts. Literal thinkers and those with organizational challenges may struggle with creating an abstract visual representation of complex ideas; these students may benefit from working with a partner or in a small group to create their charts. Students with limited vision may not be able to complete this activity as written. Instead, they might be asked to write a brief cause-and-effect essay exploring how intergenerational trauma from the residential school era continues to impact the characters in this novel.

Paired Text Extension:

Read Eden Robinson’s “Queen of the North,” a short story written before Monkey Beach that offers Karaoke’s perspective on her life and relationship with Jimmy. Go back to your chart and add information from “Queen of the North.” Then, answer the following questions:

1. What do you notice when you compare the depiction of intergenerational trauma in “Queen of the North” to the depiction in Monkey Beach?
2. How is your answer to question 1 related to the differences in Robinson’s characterizations of Karaoke and Lisa?

Teaching Suggestion: The differences in characterization between Lisa and Karaoke are related to the differing depictions of intergenerational trauma in that their personalities are partially shaped by the different forms of trauma they experience and, conversely, their personalities partially shape how they interpret and respond to this trauma. Students may initially focus on only one of these two aspects, and they may benefit from hearing the ideas of their peers on this subject. You might then extend this conversation by challenging students to explain why Robinson wrote the more subtle and complex Monkey Beach after already exploring one of the most severe forms of intergenerational trauma in “Queen of the North.”

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Some critics see Lisa as an example of the Indigenous literary tradition of using a “trickster storyteller” as narrator.

• What aspects of Lisa’s voice and characterization link her to Haisla trickster figures? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how Lisa’s trickster aspect supports the novel’s thematic concern with The Importance of Haisla Culture.

2. Monkey Beach can be read as a piece of magical realism, as allegory, or simply as a reflection of an Indigenous author’s grounding in her own culture’s approach to historical reality.

• Which of these approaches is the most productive way to read Monkey Beach? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your opinion.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the approach you have chosen as the strongest impacts a reader’s interpretation of the novel’s thematic concerns with Communicating with the Dead, The Strength of Family Connections, and The Importance of Haisla Culture.

3. Monkey Beach contains many references to supernatural figures.

• Besides connecting the story to a specific cultural context, what is the rhetorical function of these figures—why include them at all? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the novel’s inclusion of supernatural figures supports one or more of its thematic points related to Communicating with the Dead, The Strength of Family Connections, and The Importance of Haisla Culture.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Although Monkey Beach’s setting and characters are Haisla, the novel is a standard coming-of-age narrative in some respects. What does Lisa learn about herself and others during the course of this novel? How does her outlook on life and her perspective mature? How does Lisa become more independent and capable of taking on adult tasks? Which events in the narrative cause these various changes? Write an essay analyzing Monkey Beach as a coming-of-age story. Comment on how Lisa’s coming of age impacts her understanding of the thematic points the book is making about Communicating with the Dead, The Strength of Family Connections, and The Importance of Haisla Culture. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. One concern that Indigenous literary critics have as they read Indigenous fiction is the extent to which a given work homogenizes the culture it represents. Does Monkey Beach present a wide variety of perspectives on what it means to be Haisla, or does it tend to homogenize the Haisla experience? What are the various ways in which different characters relate to their Haisla heredity and identity? Are all of these perspectives valued within the world of the novel? Are they valued by the narrative itself? How does the use of a first-person narrator impact the novel’s ability to give voice to multiple perspectives? Write an essay in which you analyze the book’s representation of a variety of perspectives regarding Haisla identity. Show how this relates to the book’s thematic interest in The Importance of Haisla Culture. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. Setting is one of the elements of fiction that varies considerably in importance from text to text. How important is setting in Monkey Beach? Which locations within the setting are of particular importance, and why? Could the action of this novel take place in any other setting—for instance, among the Haisla community in Vancouver? Is time period also an important aspect of the book’s setting, or is it mainly physical place that is significant? How does setting relate to the text’s commentary on Indigenous versus Western ways of thinking and the politics of place? Write an essay analyzing the significance of setting in Monkey Beach. Comment on the thematic motifs that are supported by the novel’s setting, particularly Communicating with the Dead and The Importance of Haisla Culture. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of these relatives does Lisa most look up to during her childhood?

A) Her mother

B) Her uncle Mick

C) Her father

D) Her aunt Edith

2. Which is the most accurate characterization of Lisa?

A) Poised and sophisticated, Lisa uses ironic humor to mask her depression.

B) Vivacious and carefree, Lisa hides her cynicism behind a friendly exterior.

C) Creative and insightful, Lisa uses artistic expression to cope with loneliness.

D) Independent and spirited, Lisa hides her sensitivity with a tough exterior.

3. Which character most clearly serves as a foil to Lisa for much of her life?

A) Tab

B) Frank

C) Erica

D) Jimmy

4. Which of the following are used in the novel as offerings to facilitate characters’ connection to the spirit world?

A) Blood, tobacco, food, and alcohol

B) Tobacco, food, alcohol, and hair

C) Food, alcohol, hair, and money

D) Alcohol, hair, money, and blood

5. Which of the following family members is most accepting of Lisa’s connection with the supernatural world?

A) Jimmy

B) Her mother

C) Ma-ma-oo

D) Ba-ba-oo

6. Which of the following is most clearly a motif in Monkey Beach?

A) Hunting

B) Fishing

C) Books

D) Music

7. What is foreshadowed by Gloria’s reminder to Lisa to pay her respects to the spirit of the water when she is at the Kitlope River?

A) Ma-ma-oo’s revelation that many women in Gloria’s family have been able to speak to spirits

B) The discovery of Jimmy’s raft and the presumption that he has most likely drowned

C) The incident when Lisa is dragged under the water after seeing a baby in a christening gown

D) The eventual reversal of Lisa’s and Jimmy’s relative status within the family

8. Which is the most reasonable interpretation of what crows represent in this novel?

A) They are a physical connection to the spirit world.

B) They are a manifestation of evil forces.

C) They are supernatural, semi-divine beings.

D) They are a reminder of Lisa’s troubled mental state.

9. What is foreshadowed by Ma-ma-oo’s explanations about oxasuli when she and Lisa are picking it in the woods together?

A) Lisa’s attempt to use the voodoo spell from her friend Pooch’s book

B) The dangers Lisa’s spiritual gifts present to her if she does not use them correctly

C) Cheese’s sexual assault against Lisa at the party at the abandoned house

D) The revelation that Pooch has died by suicide

10. With which of her relatives does Lisa share a nickname?

A) Mick

B) Tab

C) Trudy

D) Mimayus

11. What does Monkey Beach portray as the primary source of danger in Lisa’s life?

A) Spirits

B) Whites

C) Men

D) Addiction

12. Which creature’s appearance can most reasonably be read as a premonition of Ma-ma-oo’s death?

A) The b’gwus on the side of the road on the way to Pooch’s funeral

B) The dead crow with the broken wing

C) The fleshless, taut-skinned creature in the psychiatrist’s office

D) The baby in the christening gown in the water

13. Which most clearly represents the border between life and death?

A) Plants

B) The horizon

C) Sky

D) Water

14. Which is the best description of Lisa’s attitude toward her unusual abilities?

A) She is initially confused but later embraces her abilities as part of her identity.

B) She takes comfort in her relationships with spirits because of her loneliness.

C) She rejects her abilities because they separate her from ordinary people.

D) She vacillates between pride and embarrassment throughout her life.

15. Which character does not appear to Lisa in a dream or vision?

A) Tab

B) Trudy

C) Mick

D) Jimmy

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. How is the book’s non-chronological structure thematically related to its use of ghosts and supernatural beings like the b’gwus?

2. How does the way Mick died foreshadow the way both Jimmy and Ma-ma-oo died?