Douglas Coupland’s Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture: an alternative voice
On production of his first novel, Coupland was labelled by critics spokesman for a new lost generation - “Generation X” - those individuals aged between mid-twenties and mid-thirties who have come of age in an increasingly technological and materialistic bureaucratic society. As a consequence, they are emotionally scarred and alienated, reject conformity and search for some kind of meaning to life. When asked about this label, Coupland stated that he spoke “...for myself, not for a generation. I never have”, arguing that he addresses issues relevant to himself and his peer group who grew up in Vancouver (Hall, Sharon K. “Douglas Coupland” Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 39, 29). The subsequent success of Generation X both in America and Europe, indicate that the experiences Coupland records are global, appealing to a wide audience who share his fears and expectations.
While the debate about the lack of a distinctive Canadian voice continues, the critical reaction to Generation X illustrates the problems inherent within Canadian literature. Coupland wrote the novel in America, and it was here rather than his native country that it was actually published. In “Malaise of the Mall-Raised”, Brian Fawcett details the reasons for Coupland’s initial lack of success in Canada, indicating that it was the book buying public rather than the literary establishment who put Coupland on the literary map:
...the book couldn’t find a Canadian publisher, that the Globe and Mail didn’t review Generation X, or that Books in Canada...rejected [it] for having an attitude problem (Fawcett, Brian. “Malaise of the Mall-Raised” Books in Canada, Vol. 21, 44-6).
Typical of this critical reaction, Laurel Boone in a Books in Canada review of Generation X, is scathing towards the novel which she describes as “shallow”, and for the fact that its Canadian characters do not translate the French phrases they use (Boone, Laurel. “Review of Generation X.” Books in Canada. Vol. 20, 50-1).
Boone also faults Coupland’s use of cartoons, definitions and slogans within the work. One of these pop art cartoons shows a young man reading a real estate magazine and telling his father: “Hey, Dad, - You can either have a house or a life I’m having a life.”
In contrast to Boone’s opinion, it was the actual format of the novel as well as the content which appealed to the reading public.
The reason Coupland was overlooked may be due to the fact that his novel was viewed as the antithesis of conventional Canadian writing.
The mood established by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," plays a crucial role in conveying to the reader his underlying theme. For example, when Montresor, the narrator, st...
McQuade, Donald, ed. The Harper American Literature. Harper & Row Publishers: New York, 1987, pp. 1308-1311. This paper is the property of NetEssays.Net Copyright © 1999-2002
In this paper, I will argue that Douglas Coupland in "Player One", incorporates storytelling to highlight the loss of personal identity. This is evidently shown by appearance of Player One, also know as Rachel, technology becoming one, and the lack of rationality with time and setting.
All the world appeared hostile to Ginger Coffey when he tried to carve a niche for himself in this new country, for he felt insecure as a New Canadian—and he was faced with midlife crises to boost. As a schoolboy, Coffey had been warned by old Father Cogley that boys who didn’t settle like everyone else would sink in this world and the next, "because that class of boy is unable to accept his God-given limitations…has no love of God in him…is an ordinary, lazy lump and his talk of finding adventures is only wanting an excuse to get away and commit mortal sins." (The Luck of Ginger Coffey, 18) Coffey dreamed of a world in which "all men had reached the top of the hill; there were no dull jobs, no humiliating interviews, no turndowns; no man was saddled with ungrateful daughters, there were unlimited funds to spend…You were free." (40) Indeed, Coffey was a dreamer who longed for personal freedom.
Benton, Richard P. "The Cask of Amontillado: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Dec. 2010.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “ The Cask Of Amontillado.” Heritage Of American Literature .Ed. james E. Miller.Vol.2.Austin:Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,1991.20.Print.
"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.
With the end of the first World War in the year 1918, many soldiers, young and old, came home to their families dark and cynical. Many famous authors of this time, like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, wrote short stories not of their times at war, but of how material the world truly is. These were considered the “Lost Generation,” due to their lack of belief in humans in general and their dreary outlook of life in general. F. Scott Fitzgerald is famous for his book, The Great Gatsby which showed how he as an author viewed the Roaring Twenties, as one of the main themes is the idea that the American Dream is dead and humans are fickle and obsessed with material things, like money. On the opposite end of the spectrum, though, was the bright young generation, which “came into power” shortly after the Lost Generation. These young people were full of bright ideas and with the American Economy is a good place, everyone seemed to be happy. Art and fashion changed drastically, w...
The main characters of the novel are travelling into Canada. The non-established landscape was full of wild animals, Aboriginal people, and whiskey posts. This story of conflict is entwined tightly to the story of love. Three brothers known for different qualities, an intellect, ex-military officer, and an idealist all form different relationships with their father, Henry Gaunt, an English gentleman. Therefore the theme of the story has men with money and power come to Canada with a purpose which also stays true to the historical facts because men have a commanding influence in this times social arrangement and the treatment of women gets explained in this book as a less powerful position.
The Modernist Fiction period took place during the 1920’s and revolutionized the American way of life in literature, economically, and socially. There was a national vision of upward mobility during this time that represented the American Dream. The upward mobility was seen through the consumerism and materialism that dominated this decade economically. Popular novels of this time reflected the mass consumerism in the lives of those wrote them. During the American Modernist Fiction period, Americans became increasingly materialistic throughout the roaring twenties; therefore, the American Dream was to obtain upper class status through the possession of material goods, which was reflected in many of this period’s works.
Reading the article Education by E.B.White, I recall a personal experience, which I had to deal with two years ago when my family and I wondered if it would be better for me to attend a private school in Athens, Zyrithy, or my local public school in Oropos. All began one day in July when a family friend spoke to my parent about the huge opportunities which a private school supplied. He also spoke about the success of private education in the Paneladices exams. Finally he managed to convince my parents that a private school was the best for me in order to achieve my purpose and succeed in passing the exams for the Greek universities. At the beginning, I was hesitant on deciding to attend the private school due to some false biases. However after I attended that school, l realized that although the basic education system is the same among private and public education, the differences between concern the quality of education.
Piper, Henry Dan. "Social Criticism in the American Novel in the 1920s." The American Novel and the Nineteen Twenties. Ed. Malcolm Bradbury and David Palmer. London: Edward Arnold, 1971. 59-83.
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
“A king is he that can hold his own or else his title is vain” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion). After reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth, readers learn about multiple different male characters that would bring a different perspective to the idea of being king. Out of Macbeth, Malcolm, Duncan, and Macduff, Macduff would make the best king. This statement can be proven with a comparison of which of the twelve kingly graces each character possesses: justice, verity, temperance, stability, bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, loyalty, patience, courage, and fortitude.
According to a Center on Education Policy research named ‘Are Private High Schools better academically then the public High Schools’ (2007), the overall findings state that students that attend private schools gain neither immediate academic advantages nor long-term advantages. Nevertheless, these students don’t even gain job satisfaction.