Analysis of The Story 'Borders' by Thomas King

According to Thomas King borders are just ‘a figment of someone else’s imagination’. It has long been considered that the border between Canada and America represents a soft border, a mental state than a physical feature. The affairs at the border are no longer just about trade goods and customs, rather its existence authorizes the citizenship and identity of the people fleeting through it. In “Borders,” Thomas King examines how being associated with a specific location can influence each of the character’s sense of identity.

Portraying the Sense of Identity in Thomas King "Borders"

Thomas King emphasizes that the mother’s portrayal of pride of her origin place encourages her son to carry that same pride in his identity. The narrator states, “Pride is a good thing to have, you know. Laetitia had a lot of pride, and so did my mother” (King 271). The mother is persistent in making the border guards believe that the place she belongs to is called “Blackfoot”. The mother believes that Blackfoot is its own independent nation and shows pride in identifying herself as a citizen of this nation. At first the son seems almost irritated by his mother’s refusal to claim her citizenship. The narrator explains, ‘It would have been easier if my mother had just said ‘Canadian’ and been done with it, but I could see she wasn’t going to do that’. Later witnessing his mother’s continues struggle to claim her identity, the son changes his outlook to be more supportive and respectful of his mother’s decision to identify herself as a Blackfoot. After watching his mother’s prideful act, the narrator claims, “I figured that someday, I’d have it, too”. The mother’s strong refusal to conform encourages the son to also be prideful of his roots.

Thomas King suggests that Mel’s sense of identity is weakened by placing him in between the borders. The narrator explains that “the manager had a name tag with a tiny American flag on one side and a tiny Canadian side on the other” (King 271). The store manager, Mel, and the mother portrays a contrasting sense of identities. The mother identifies herself as a proud member of the Blackfoot nation, while Mel fails to embody any single nation by wearing flags from both countries. The mother denies to identify herself as a Canadian or an American. Blackfoot, being her only home is the one single nation she insists on being associated with. Mel, being located in between the borders lacks to develop the same amount of pride that the mother holds. Therefore, he is unable to relate to the mother’s circumstances in the beginning of the story and displays rude behavior towards her. The narrator recalls that Mel, “told us we should buy something or leave”. Mel’s sense of identity is confused by placing him in the middle of the Canadian and American border, making it difficult for him to be prideful of one single nation.

Thomas King revels that a new sense of identity emerges in Laetitia by a change in location. The narrator mentions that “Laetitia had not left home with my mother’s blessing, but over time, my mother had come to be proud of the fact that Laetitia had done all of this on her own” (King 269). Laetitia and her mother hold the same amount of pride in their identity, but each of them identify with a different location. Laetitia displays a lack of awareness of her identity as a Blackfoot. She justifies her decision to leave the reserve by claiming that her father is an “American”. With a change in location, a change in identity also occurs within Laetitia. Because Laetitia lives in America, she views herself as English-speaking American. The narration describes, “‘you can still see the mountain from here,’ my mother told Laetitia in Blackfoot. ‘Lots of mountains in Salt Lake,’ Laetitia told her in English”. The mother is speaking to her daughter in Blackfoot, while Laetitia replies in English. The use of the Native language spoken in Blackfoot as opposed to the English language spoken in America firmly underlines the differing sense of pride in identity these two individuals embrace.

In conclusion, Thomas King’s “Borders” demonstrates that one’s sense of belonging and pride stems from the area which each individuals choose to identify themselves with. Borders are indeed just a production of people’s imagination because they mostly influences one’s inner thoughts and identity, than regulate custom and goods.