Sexual Harassment of Aboriginal Women in George Ryga’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe

Abstract

George Ryga is one the prominent English playwright who has an esteem place in the history of Canadian literature. He addresses issues relating to Aboriginals people in his country. The play, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe is considered as a landmark in Canadian
Literature as Sally Morgan's My Place is in Australian literature because it was one of the first literary genres which discuss issues relating aboriginal people which earlier never found place in the Canadian literature. The play structured in two acts recounts the story of Rita Joe, a young aboriginal woman, her struggle for survival in a completely adverse atmosphere. She belongs to a city where there is a monopoly of Whites and her tribe (Blacks) is being discriminated because of the color of their skin. The play is about the oppression of colonial power and the survival strategies of the natives. Through this play, Ryga has given voice to the voiceless and has been successful in his attempt in portraying the problems of the aboriginals in Canada in the best possible way. He has taken the human experience with a fine sense of compassion in dealing with the issue.