재현의 윤리: 비밀의 길 에 나타난 하위자

Ethics of Representation: The Subaltern in Secret Path

This paper examines how an indigenous boy named Chanie Wenjack is represented in Secret Path, a graphic novel jointly-written by Gord Downie, a white singer and Jeff Lemire, a white graphic novelist. It first discusses what Gayatri Spivak means by saying that “the subaltern cannot speak” and moves on to discuss the novel in detail. Two white authors attempt to represent an indigenous boy who runs away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School and dies on his way home. While acknowledging the limitations and pitfalls of representation of the subaltern by two authors, this study is to highlight the positive side of their representation: a willingness and courage to speak on behalf of the subaltern whose voice has been silenced. By speaking for the subaltern, they attempt to expose the collected crimes of Canada regarding the indigenous peoples, children in particular and suggest that white people really need to revisit the past when the white governments and the churches broke up families of first-nations, abused children and eventually erased the indigenous communities. Secret Path testifies that despite limitations it may have, the representation of the subaltern is not a choice but an ethical necessity. It is a humble, sincere and ethical gesture that saves the text from skepticism and cynicism regarding the representation of the subaltern.