British Settler English - Essay Example

British Settler: English Susanna Moodie's Roughing it in the Bush, set in the mid-nineteenth century, deals with her personal experience of emigrating from England to Canada. She relates the exhilaration, frustration and fears she faces as her family and she grapple with issues-both physical and psychological-of settling down in a new environment. Resettling is always a difficult process, even if one believes that ultimately everything will turn out for the better. There is always that transitional phase, when one has let go physically of one's earlier home, but not the earlier identity, and one is in a new place trying to adjust to new demands.

There is that brief period when every physical thing that represented 'home' is packed and sealed into cartons, leaving one feeling disoriented.Even after one has set up one's new home, the feeling of disorientation does not cease. It is followed by the process of adjusting to one's new neighbors. There are new values and new ways of behaving to be understood and internalized. We become the stranger in this landscape, and our neighbors may treat us with disdain. Perhaps it is because of the harshness of the new environment, perhaps it is because they cannot see us as part of themselves that they trouble us.

Then, consider the concept of ownership and the practice of borrowing. We may have been used to thinking in terms of 'mine' and 'yours'. But the distinction gets blurred. And what is mine becomes yours. Perhaps after a while, we realize that the reverse doesn't happen. Finally, we have to resort to slightly manipulative ways to rid ourselves of 'good neighbors.' We eventually realize that we may have to do some borrowing ourselves, and neighbor has to come to neighbor's help. In the situations described by Moodie, a dose of humor is what helps one retain a sense of proportion and even sanity.

Change-even for the better-involves discomfort. Discomfort, when one has moved away from all that is familiar, and not yet acclimatized oneself to new situations. But discomfort is inevitable to move on and progress in life. One is also led to ponder on whether there really is something like a core or intrinsic identity. Emigration, or moving away from one environment to another, can change one's personality irreversibly. It makes one wonder whether personality or identity is really a function of the environment.

A harsh environment can make one harsh too, and ready to give up the niceties of 'civilized' society. Taking this train of thought to its logical conclusion, one wonders how one would react when placed in an extreme situation. Suppose we are stranded in an environment where there is no food or water, would instinct make us resort to just anything for survival Would we, for instance-to consider an extreme-be ready to sacrifice the life of another if it means safety for us What happens to emotions like trust, dependability, love and loyalty under such circumstances The answers to these questions while scary, on the one hand, on the other could be self-revealing as well.

We realize that we can never know our real caliber or values unless tested by adversity. There is also the problem of clash with an existing culture. In the history of the world, large-scale emigration has led to local cultures being replaced or damaged by a new one. This is still a problem in today's world. For instance, we have a situation of the Premier of Australia, Kevin Rudd, having to apologize to the aborigines (this happened in February, 2008) for the damage to their culture and psyche caused by British migrants to the Southern continent in the eighteenth century.

Works CitedMoodie, Susanna, Roughing it in the Bush, (first published 1852). Toronto: M&S, 1970