The Power of Society in Today's World

The Power of Society in Today's World

"I am not concerned with your liking or disliking of me... All I ask is you respect my culture and myself as a human being"- Jackie Robinson. In the short story "Borders", the author Thomas King tells how the survival of one's inner character is the true problem between acceptance and non-acceptance. The main idea of the text is the use of determination and cultural pride which is continually being showed by the mother throughout the story. Thomas King advises the political problem of how the minority groups of North America are being treated in today's society.

When the young boy's mother is asked her nationality we find she is not willing to label herself as either "Canadian" or "American" as she says "I am Blackfoot" (135). This is the mother's main way of demonstrating her gratification in her Native American roots. I believe the author is suggesting that acceptance for who you are and where you come from should be a major value in temporary North American society. With this story, I believe the author is trying to ignite a sense of realization within the audience on the thought of committing to treating everyone equally regardless of race, religion gender, disability, age or sexual orientation. A successful strategy used by Thomas King is the use of irony during the story. Irony is shown when the mother struggles to make it through the border when she states how she is "Blackfoot" which is a Native American tribe who occupied the land well before Canadians or Americans even existed. The North Americans not only over took the land from the Native American culture but is now respecting them as the minority in today's society.

The title, Borders, plays a significant role in the theme of the story in multiple ways. The title includes two main meanings, the first meaning being the US and Canadian border being used as the physical representation, while the second border is the border that society has imposed on the minority groups. We should be honored to have culture in our societies today, now it's time to start treating every culture and every human being equally.

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