Culminating The Novel of Brother by David Chariandary

David Chariandary’s parents Immigrated to Canada from Trinidad in the 1960. He was born in 1969 in Scarborough, Ontario. His father is from South Asian descent, whereas his mother is African. They were both working-class immigrants. His surname represents his Tamil and South Indian Origins from his father’s side. He wrote two novels Souvouyant and Brother. His recent novel (Brother) won the 2017 Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize, the 2018 Toronto Book Awad and the 2018 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Wikipedia Contributors. “David Chariandy.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 June 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Chariandy.

Scarborough, Ontario, a former municipality that is now a section of the city of Toronto, was established as a township in 1850 and as a city in 1983. In 1998, the provincial government, under the direction of Premier Mike Harris, merged six municipalities- Etobicoke, York, East York, North York, Scarborough and Toronto- to create the City of Toronto, a single municipality. Scarborough is located on Lake Ontario and makes up the eastern part of the city. “Scarborough | the Canadian Encyclopedia.” Www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/scarborough. ‌ Map of the Setting.

Thesis: In reading Brother by David Chariandary through Postcolonial perspective, we tend to understand that Black families experienced structural racism (Carding, Killing unarmed youth), which impacted their mental health. Argument one : Police treatment with Black youth. Explanation. Michael and Francis have had experience of police stopping them and searching, they developed anxiety and stress for the police’s treatment. The Police shot Francis while trying to defend his friend from the Police. After several years- The Police were cleared and reported the action of the Police was self-defense (David 110) Ruth slaps Francis after hearing that he is hanging out with his friends at a barber shop, Desirea, who are known to the Police. Francis left his family and lived with a group of youths, his whereabouts remained unknown (David 40).

Argument two: Stereotype faced the family Explanation One day, the neighborhood sees the Police bringing Michael and Francis home, which creates scrutiny in the community. People in the neighborhood started to avoid the family, whispering to each other about the boys and questioning the mother's parenting style (David 45). Francis and Michael felt ashamed after they saw neighbors including Aisha-Michael girlfriend witnessed the police drop off to their home, they worried about negative perception toward them, after that incident, the neighbors avoided socializing and interacting with the family as they suspect youths are engaging in criminal activities. (David 60). The family immigrated from Trinidadian and were living in Scarborough. The youth witnessed several shooting in the neighborhood and newspapers reporting the incident in a prejudiced way (David 15).

Argument three : Denial of grievance and anxiety impacts mental health. Explanation: Michael and Rut didn't grieve and refused to seek support and talk about the situation, they preferred to move on but that didn’t happen (David 152). Racial profiling for the family and the killing of Francis by the police impacted Rut's mental health, Michael devoted most of his time looking after her (David 150) Aisha talked to Michael about grieving, accepting and moving on. Initially, he resisted, but after several discussions, the family moved from denial and accepting Francis's death. With the support of Aisha family were able to recognize that denial is impacting their mental health.(David 160).

One sweltering summer in the Park, a housing complex outside of Toronto, Michael and Francis are coming of age and learning to stomach the careless prejudices and low expectations that confront them as young men of black and brown ancestry. While their Trinidadian single mother works double, sometimes triple shifts so her boys might fulfill the elusive promise of their adopted home, Francis helps the days pass by inventing games and challenges, bringing Michael to his crew's barbershop hangout, and leading escapes into the cool air of the Rouge Valley, a scar of green wilderness where they are free to imagine better lives for themselves (BookBrowse). BookBrowse. “Brother by by David Chariandy: Summary and Reviews.” BookBrowse.com, 2018, www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3797/brother. ‌

  (“‘Quietly Heroic Lives’: Lisa Ray and David Chariandy Discuss His Novel Brother”)

Akbar, Arifa. “Brother by David Chariandy – Review.” The Guardian, 12 June 2020, www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/18/brother-by-david-chariandy-book-review-arifa-akbar. Baldwin, Emma. “Postcolonial Literature.” Poem Analysis, June 2023, poemanalysis.com/genre/postcolonial-literature. BookBrowse. “Brother by David Chariandy: Summary and Reviews.” BookBrowse.com, www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3797/brother. Books, Cbc. “Brother by David Chariandy.” CBC, 22 May 2019, www.cbc.ca/books/brother-by-david-chariandy-1.4246382. Brother : Chariandy, David: Amazon.ca: Books. www.amazon.ca/Brother-David-Chariandy/dp/0771022905. CBC. “‘Quietly Heroic Lives’: Lisa Ray and David Chariandy Discuss His Novel Brother.” YouTube, 11 Mar. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBnCO5WC8t0. ​David John Chariandy, Writer, Professor of English Literature (Born in 1969 in Scarborough, ON). David Chariandy Is a Professor of English Literature at Simon Fraser University and a Very Promising Creative Wr...