Thomas King's short story "Totem" is a symbolic attack on Canadian colonization and the struggles faced by Aboriginal people. He used symbols to narrate the story, “Totem” as a symbol to describe the Aboriginal community of southern Alberta, “Museum” as land, “Director and staff” are the government, “Art” in the museum is considered as the Canadian Culture. The characters in Thomas King's “Totem” play a special role in hitting the theme of the story. “Totem” is about the land of the first nations, who however were forced to live on reservations and their very existence was considered nothing more than an obstacle to the government and the colonized peoples. The story begins with Beebe Hill, at the reception to make a complaint: “he thought the other people were annoyed too, but they were too polite to complain about the noises the totem pole in the far corner of the room was making” (p. 13). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMrs. Hill represents the population of European settlers who moved to Canada and found the Aboriginal people there. The totems were considered ugly, noisy and strange, they wanted to remove them. The people represent the majority of citizens, she represents the majority, she only listens to their concerns, the minority, the 'totem' is considered noisy. “Walter assures you that this exhibition is about contemporary Canadian art from the Atlantic provinces.” (p. 13) The author states that there is no place for totems as they are not part of current culture and tradition. They shouldn't live here because they should be on the reservation. Ms. Hill, who represents the majority, wants the totems gone as they begin to represent themselves in the museum in the form of “sculptures, paintings and photographs,” because the art in the museum represents a rich culture. Thomas King uses this as an example of colonization showing a racist attitude towards the Aboriginal population. “It doesn't make any sense,” he said, “because the floors are concrete. I was here when they built this building and I don't remember them pouring the floor around a totem pole", "We could take the chainsaw and cut it close to the floor" (p. 15). Again it states that the totem poles were knocked off their land, under no circumstances could they be here with the general population. They are finding an easy solution by removing Aboriginal people from the rest of the population and throwing them into the reserve or prison. The government again takes a silent position on the rights of Aboriginal peoples, giving consent to the majority to do whatever he wants but don't. Here we will discuss the oppression faced by the aborigines. Walter, the head of the museum, has found a quick and easy temporary solution is to cut down the totem with a chainsaw and move it to the basement , to the surprise of Walter and his employees, "'There's a totem in the corner and it's grunting." (p. 16).Another totem appeared and made even more noise totem poles until he had no more space in the basement to store them. Thomas King uses satire to highlight how ridiculous the solution of moving Aboriginal people to a place where they don't belong is. The Canadian government is not finding a real solution to the problem, but is trying to live with the problem. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay As a conclusion Thomas King brilliantly used symbols , irony in Totem to convey the oppression that Aboriginal people are experiencing from the government and colonization. King effectively uses the museum and art as a way to/.)