I've been reading up about the American presidents, and it turns out that Andrew Jackson - yes, the incredibly racist and violent Andrew Jackson - never had any children of his own. Instead, he adopted them, including one Native American orphan, Lyncoya. After massacring his family during his attack on the Creek tribes, Jackson had come across a baby on the brink of death. Feeling what he called "unusual sympathy", he brought the child home with him. While Lyncoya did grow up loved and cared for, he was treated more of a pet than an actual child.
It got me intrigued. How would it feel, to be adopted by the very man who killed your family? How would it feel to be raised like them, and having to deny your own culture? Would you be able to move on from the trauma, or would that knowledge haunt you for the rest of your life? Would you feel indebted or resentful to your family?
It sounds like a very complex (and very interesting) character study to write.
No comments:
Post a Comment