Truth and Bright Water Revision

Finding the Truth in Happiness and Pain Revision

By: Randi Reader

               

                In the novel Truth and Bright Water, the author Thomas King develops some different ideas about how individuals pursue or compromise their happiness, meaning whether or not you want to make yourself happy at the expense of others, or make others happy at the expense of yourself. The main one being the narrators mother, Helen. She tries to pursue her happiness in many ways. She talks of moving out of Truth and going somewhere else where she has isn't so stuck. She takes unexpected vacations, and the narrator (Tecumseh) is unsure whether or not she is coming back. Even though she does try and pursue her happiness, she also compromises it for her son. If they would have left Truth, Tecumseh would never be able to see his dad; whom he gets much closer to in  the book. Another person who pursues and/or compromises her happiness would be Aunt Cassie.  She travels all around the world, which to some people would make them happy, but she always seems to come back to Bright Water. She has also compromised her happiness. Mia, some people believe is the daughter she has given up for adoption; and if that's true it would probably have made her very unhappy. A character in the book who does almost nothing but pursues his happiness is Monroe Swimmer. He works hard to restore the Native culture back into Truth and Bright Water. In this book, there are a lot of ways people have either compromised or pursued their happiness in some way.

                When Helen is introduced in the book, the author presents the idea that Helen has a dream of becoming an actress. Tecumseh is always saying how Helen wants to get out of Truth and go somewhere with great performing arts schools. "'Then you could be an actress' My mother would smile when I said this, and no matter what city we settled on, you could see that moving out of Bright Water, away from the reserve, and becoming an actress was one of her dreams." (Chapter 17/Page 147) Although she doesn't because Tecumseh wouldn't have any relationship with his father if they left. Even though when Truth gets to be too much for her she goes on an unexpected vacation to Waterton. Something that displeases Tecumseh's father very much. Eventually she comes back and seems displeased with having to stay there. Tecumseh finds out that she has gotten the part in the revision of Snow White, but not the part that she wanted. Instead lands the part of the Evil Queen. "'No Snow White is just another pretty face. Your mother is going to be the Queen.'" (Chapter 26/Page 214) Was said by Carol when telling Tecumseh his mother got the 'lead.' All in all, Helen turns out to be one of the strongest characters in the book. She also lets go of all her hurt by making her quilt, Which is in some ways a pursue of happiness by letting go of the past and all the things that have previously hurt her.

                Aunt Cassie is in many ways, a complicated person. She will act happy on the surface and talk about all the places she has seen and all the people she met. Sometimes even bring them home. "Once Aunt Cassie came home with an older woman who was supposed to be really rich. The woman had one of those fancy German cars and she talked with a funny accent. I thought she was from Montreal or Newfoundland, but my mother said she was from Sweden."(Chapter 7/Page 56)  Underneath the surface she seems miserable. It shines through in a few ways. Examples would be the tattoo that she gave herself when she was drunk. "'When I did this I was drunk and in a mirror.'" (Chapter 29/Page 242)  Another would be the toys that she sends every June that are thought to be girls toys. "'Girls play with dolls.'"(Chapter 15/Page 125) Even after travelling to whole new places she eventually always comes back. Something always keeps bringing her back to where she came from. In the end of the book the reader sees her burning baby clothes, and one would think she did it because she was letting go of the unhappiness in her life to pursue her true happiness; in hopes that the other people around her are happier because of the sacrifices she has made to make them happy.

                Monroe Swimmer is one of the most particular characters in the book. He has this way of making the reader think he's crazy, but an artist at the same time. He starts out slow by making things blend into the surroundings. "Teaching the grass about green." (Chapter 6/Page 44) As the book progresses he installs fake buffalo to try and get the real ones to come back to the prairie. One would assume that it would never work, but as the land slowly goes back to how it used to be, the buffalo could come back to their native land. After a while Monroe has successfully made it so that the Church has looked as it's disappeared to the human eye. "I know where the church used to be. Across the river and on the bluff above Truth. But even here from this distance, I can see that it isn't there anymore. No roof, no steeple, no door. No church." (Chapter 27/Page 230) Beforehand, Monroe was travelling all around the world to restore paintings, he'd eventually let the old paint seep back through revealing the Native culture. After he'd get fired, but he still made a point of helping out the Native Culture instead of contributing to covering it up, which in the end made him a happier person also. Monroe is what one would call the hero of the story. He tries to help everyone's problems go away. In some ways he succeeds; and in some he fails. The point where one can see that Monroe is trying to help people out is the Giveaway. 'Monroe begins passing out all the stuff, and I help him. Lucy gets a poster of Marilyn Monroe, and Lucille and Teresa get one of the big rugs..." He hands out gifts to all the people at the gathering that would make them happy, in the end it's what makes him happy too. That's why one would think that Monroe is one of the characters that is mostly in the pursuit of happiness. Making the people happier, which is significant because Monroe deals with his happiness as well as others.

                So when a reader thinks of the pursuit of happiness, or the compromising of it, Helen and Cassie would be two of the main people to look at. Both of these character have had hard lives, Helen with not being able to pursue her dreams, and Cassie with the Mia thing. But all in all they both try their hardest to become happier with different coping stages. Helen with her quilt, and taking small get-a-ways. Cassie with her drunken states, flying all over the globe, and eventually burning baby clothes. Even Monroe, after being finished in Truth and Bright Water is off to help other places in need of their culture being restored. Or trying to make everyone's life a little bit better. He helps people for the greater good, in the end pleasing himself with it too. When a person thinks of all those things they should plainly see characters coping the pain and in the end trying to find happiness. Even though in the end one may not see the general outcome of their happiness and/or pain.