April Raintree Analysis

The novel, In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton Mosionier tells a story of two young Metis girls, whose lives are a constant battle between themselves and the people who are involved in their lives. April Raintree faces one of her biggest battles when she is sexually assaulted by three men. After reading the chapter of her rape, the question of if sexual assault scenes should be included in novels arises; this is something that leaves many people conflicted.

Sexual assault is not an uncommon topic for writers, and many people believe that these scenes should remain in the book. These scenes may make readers feel uncomfortable or disgusted, but detailed accounts of what happened allows readers to fully understand what these characters
Sixty percent of sexualt assault victims are under the age of seventeen, and of every 100 incidents only 6 are reported to the police. With these statistics, it is not hard to believe that there will be a student in almost every class that has gone through this tragic experience and has not spoken to anyone about it. It can be argued that this could help the victim, but it is also a strong argument that this could negatively affect the reader. For this person, reading a sexual assault scene required by the grade 12 curriculum could offend or upset this person, or anyone else who has a family member or friend that has been sexually assaulted. In many cases of sexual assault, family or friends may start to feel guilty that they were not able to keep them safe, or they feel it should have been them instead. When April Raintree was raped, her sister Cheryl said “Oh April I'm so sorry it's all my fault you came here in the first place, I'm sorry” (p.148). Cheryl blamed herself completely, and was so angry with herself for not being there. Cheryl believed that she should have been the one to get assaulted instead of her sister, April. In conclusion, rape scenes in books can be huge triggers for readers who have been, or know someone who has been sexually
After reading the chapter of her rape, the question of if it is acceptable for sexual assault scenes to be told in novels arises. People who believe it is okay for these stories to be told believe that it could help readers really grasp the experiences and real emotions of the characters. People in similar situations could potentially gain the confidence to speak out about their personal experience with sexual assault. Then there is the group that think it should not be written about. They argue that rape victims who read these stories will only be offended by them and it may trigger the emotions they have not let out. Also, they believe that having these sexual assaults discussed in books only makes the crime more socially acceptable. Although, there are valid points for each side of the argument, it is apparent that sexual assault scenes should not be included in writing because real life cases are less effective when it is more common of a