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Analysis Of Coyote And The Enemy Alien

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Othering: As Shown in Thomas King’s “Coyote and the Enemy Alien” and the Canadian Government In the short story “Coyote and the Enemy Alien” by Thomas King, there is a common theme of othering that is demonstarted in the story. Othering is defined as to “view or treat (a person or group of people) as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself” (idk how to cite this). The idea of othering is expressed through the Coyote’s words and actions. Othering has been a significant part of the Canadian society with the inauguration of the Indian Act and unethical treatment of the Indigenous people of Canada due to the introduction of the new legislation. In “Coyote and the Enemy Aliens” by Thomas King, the main character, the Coyote, has the “most important job in the world” (King 55) as he states it is more important than being “truthful” (King 55), “reliable” (King 55), “fair” (King 56), and “generous” (King 56). The Coyote’s job is a direct parallel to the job of an Indian Agent when it was introduced in 1867. The Coyote’s job is to confiscate and sell any contraband items that the Enemy Aliens have in their possession or any items that the Coyote believes is unnecessary for the Enemy Aliens to have. Similarly, the job of an Indian Agent had the same duties. An Indian Agent had the right and role to regulate everything that happened on a reserve, including confiscating property and relocating problematic Indigenous people away from their home and family. With the Coyote’s ability to confiscate Enemy Alien property, especially the family heirlooms, this can cause depletion of Enemy Alien traditions and heritage can become lost. The loss of tradition was the goal of the Canadian Government when the Indian Act was introduced, “assimilation and civilisation of First Nations people” (Gov website). Eminently, King’s installation of the Coyote’s job appropriates the position that the Indian Agents portrayed in the history of Canada. It exhibits how much unquestionable authority and dominance the government had over the Indigenous society and how much the introduction of the Indian Act had on how the Indigenous people were scrutinized by society. With othering, it is viewing someone as intrinsically different

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