in search of april raintree essay

April Raintree Themes

April Raintree is a book about two sisters who are trying to find their place in the world. The book explores themes of identity, family, and belonging. April and her sister Cheryl go through many challenges as they try to figure out who they are and where they belong. April Raintree is a powerful story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

One of the themes that is explored in April Raintree is identity. April and Cheryl are both trying to figure out who they are and where they belong. They both have different ideas about who they want to be, and this leads to some conflicts between them. April wants to rebel against her family’s traditions, while Cheryl wants to follow them. They eventually come to understand each other better and discover that they don’t have to be exactly like each other in order to be sisters.

The theme of family is also explored in April Raintree. April and Cheryl have a complicated relationship with their parents. April feels like she can’t relate to them, while Cheryl feels like she has to protect them. They eventually come to realize that they need each other and that their family is worth fighting for.

The theme of belonging is also explored in April Raintree. April and Cheryl feel like they don’t belong anywhere. They both want to find a place where they feel accepted and supported, but they eventually realize that this place doesn’t exist. They have to create their own sense of belonging by building relationships with the people around them. April Raintree is a powerful story about sisterhood, identity, and belonging. It will leave you feeling inspired to find your place in the world.

April Raintree describes her father, Henry, as being “a little of this, a bit of that and a lot of Indian,” while Alice is described as “part Irish and part Ojibway” by Cheryl with April possessing pale skin. April and her sister who is eighteen months younger than she has been watching their parents have a “medicine problem” since they were children.

April’s father is an alcoholic and April’s mother has left him. April and Cheryl have different reactions to this situation; April decides that she wants to grow up and take care of her dad while Cheryl decides that she wants nothing to do with their father. April tells us that “we all have our own medicine inside us, but it can be hard to find or understand what it is. Sometimes we need help from somebody else to see it in us” (p. 11). This theme of personal journey, self-discovery and identity is one that pervades the novel.

April Raintree tells the story of a young girl who is growing up in a world where she doesn’t quite fit in. April is biracial, which means she is of two races, and she struggles with her identity throughout the novel. April’s journey to find her place in the world is a difficult one, but ultimately it is a rewarding one. April learns to love herself for who she is and to be proud of her heritage.

Themes of family, friendship, and love are also prevalent in April Raintree. April’s relationships with her sisters, parents, and friends are all important parts of her journey. April learns to appreciate the people who are closest to her and to value their relationships. Ultimately, April Raintree is a novel about finding oneself and learning to love oneself for who they are.

The protagonist, April, is a young girl struggling against being obese. She begins to lose weight following the death of her mother and gains hope that she might become less heavy in the future. However, as soon as she leaves home after receiving treatment for overeating by her doctor, it becomes apparent that something has changed about her behaviors around food.

For most of their relationship, this new friend shared some similarities with Theresa Sholl from John Irving’s The Fourth Angel (2001). A critical aspect of growing older is realizing how your own life experiences have influenced you for the rest of your life—the lessons you’ve learned along the way.

April, not able to take care of herself yet, moves in with her aunt Edna who April barely knows. April is angry and resentful at the world, feeling as though she has been dealt another injustice. It’s not until April is raped that she understands how much anger can hurt someone else.

One theme April Raintree explores is the power of anger. April is constantly angry throughout the novel, directed towards her family, the foster system, and men in general. This anger leads to a lot of hurt for herself and others around her. For example, when April finds out about her mother’s affair, she reacts by vandalizing her family home. This only causes more pain for her family and does nothing to help April deal with her anger. April’s anger also leads to her being raped. The rapist takes advantage of her anger and uses it to control her. April eventually realizes that her anger is hurting herself and others, and she learns to control it.

Another theme in April Raintree is the importance of family. April’s family is dysfunctional, but they are still her family. April loves her mother, even though she is often angry at her. Cheryl is April’s best friend, and April loves her deeply. April also has a strong relationship with her aunt Edna. April goes to Edna for guidance when she is struggling. April realizes that her family is not perfect, but they are still there for her.

April Raintree is an important book because it tells the story of a young girl who is struggling to find her place in the world. April is angry and resentful, but she also has a lot of love inside of her. April Raintree explores the power of anger and the importance of family. It is a powerful novel that will stay with readers long after they finish reading it.

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In Search of April Raintree

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Influential Indigenous novel In Search of April Raintree commemorates 40 years with anniversary edition

Beatrice mosionier's story of resilience, sisterly love and identity paved the way for indigenous storytellers.

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Beatrice Mosionier's novel, In Search of April Raintree , has resonated with readers since 1983. In honour of its 40th anniversary, a new edition will be published on Sept. 12.

The novel follows Métis sisters April and Cheryl Raintree as they are taken from their families and raised in separate foster homes. As they grow up, they stay close despite developing different feelings towards their Métis heritage and separate goals for their futures. 

Based on Mosionier's own experiences in foster care, In Search of April Raintree is a story about the importance of family, reckoning with identity and life as an Indigenous person in the child welfare system and beyond. 

Mosionier started writing the book after losing two of her sisters to suicide, Vivian in 1964 and Kathy in 1980. "When I found about [Kathy's] suicide, all these questions came to me, and the only way I could answer them is by writing a book," she said in an interview with Rosanna Deerchild on Unreserved in a 2016 interview. 

Initially, she was surprised by the response people had to the book. In fact, she didn't even think it would get published in the first place. 

"For me, it was just about two Métis sisters. They're not heroes, they didn't do anything fantastically recognizable, so it's just about their lives, essentially." 

But their stories resonated with generations of Canadians — and In Search of April Raintree was published in subsequent editions for high school and university students.

When writing the novel, Mosionier wanted to provide a truthful portrait of Indigenous people in the hopes of breaking free from racism and stereotypes that stem from years of continued misrepresentation. 

25 books that highlight beauty of Indigenous literature: 'It is time to tell our own stories our way'

"[The public] didn't know [Indigenous people] and they learned what they thought they knew from media accounts and governments and people like that who had a stake in making sure that people did not know the real us," she told CBC Books in a recent interview. 

Even Mosionier herself learned more about Métis traditions when writing In Search of April Raintree . She grew up in white foster families and would see her parents at family visits, but since her mother was a residential school survivor, she wasn't able to pass along traditional Métis teachings. 

"When I was doing all this writing, it was like learning about who I really was. So when I found out that I had tapped into other people's experiences, it was all new to me," she said. 

When I was doing all this writing, it was like learning about who I really was. So when I found out that I had tapped into other people's experiences, it was all new to me. - Beatrice Mosionier

The new edition features a foreword from Red River Métis author katherena vermette, who won the Governor General's Literary Award for poetry for North End Love Songs . vermette is also known for her novel, The Break , that was defended by Candy Palmater on Canada Reads 2017 .  

In the foreword, vermette credits In Search of April Raintree  with being the first story she read about someone like her. The response to Mosionier's story also showed her that people wanted to hear from Indigenous voices.

And she's not the only Indigenous author who has had this experience. 

"I am endlessly indebted to Beatrice Mosionier and April Raintree for lighting the way to my own stories," said Métis writer   Cherie Dimaline in a press release. She won the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature and was featured on Canada Reads 2018 The Marrow Thieves , a novel set in a dystopian future where Indigenous people are hunted for their bone marrow.

" In Search of April Raintree was the first book I read that spoke to the Indigenous experience, and it changed me for the better," said David A. Robertson in a press statement. A member of the Norway House Cree Nation, he won the Governor General's Literary Award for When We Were Alone , a picture book illustrated by Julie Flett that explores a grandmother's experiences in residential school.

• David A. Robertson on why you should read the classic novel In Search of April Raintree

While Moisonier is glad to have shown vermette, Dimaline, Robertson and other Indigenous writers that there is an appetite for their stories, she is disappointed that April didn't make the tangible difference she had hoped. "She didn't help much in making changes to the child welfare system and other systems that really need changing," Mosionier said. 

The 40th edition of In Search of April Raintree also includes an afterword by Ôtiskewâpit professor Dr. Raven Sinclair, an expert on Indigenous child welfare and a Sixties Scoop survivor. 

With this edition, Mosionier wants to reach the next generation.   

"I hope younger generations will take action, and figure out the things that they should be doing to support Indigenous peoples," Mosionier said. 

"We have a lot of structures in place that promote racism. And when you have those things, it's pretty hard to get rid of racism. So there's always hope that the younger people will be open to change."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Talia Kliot is a multimedia journalist currently working at CBC Books. She was a 2023 Joan Donaldson Scholar. You can reach her at [email protected].

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In Search of April Raintree: Critical Edition

Description.

In Search of April Raintree is the story of two Métis sisters growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After the girls are removed from their family, they are sent to separate foster homes. Métis writer Beatrice Culleton Mosionier recounts their struggle with loss, violence, racism, and search for identity in this moving narrative. This novel has become an important text in recent Canadian literature. This new critical edition includes the complete text of the novel and ten original essays. The essays address issues such as racism, “truth-telling” and the representation of social discourse, and Native history and the search for identity. The power of this novel extends to the literary community as the essays demonstrate. Recommended reading for literature courses at the senior high school to college and university levels.

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