Discrimination, Racism and Poverty in Campbell’s Half Breed

Abstract

Discrimination and poverty are the diseases to a healthy society. And these have been the theme in most of the literary pieces created in Canadian Literature. One such novel which deals with poverty and discrimination of native Canadians by the Whites is Maria Campbell’s HALF BREED. This is the autobiographical work of the author recording the bitter experiences of her own life as a lonely, depressed woman living in a community full of bigots. Maria Campbell was the first Canadian novelist from the natives,who wrote in English.At the age of 36, Maria Campbell wrote her first work, which is an uncoiled narration of her own experiences, comprising nothing imaginary, and everything it has with it is truth, bad and bitter truths of life. The whole novel “HALF BREED” is a portrayal of the varied difficulties, which every native Indian had to suffer under the dominant society.

This paper analyses her thirty three years of life, which was torn into pieces by the racism and discrimination as an example of degraded race half breed.