Swamp Angel: The Forest At Three Loon Lake

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The osprey rose, carrying in its claws, pontoon-wise, a silver fish…From invisibility came an eagle. The eagle, with great sweeps and stillnesses of wings, descended upon the osprey…The osprey tried to escape. Then, as if suddenly accepting his defeat, he dropped his fish. Down swooped the eagle…Did a bird’s rage or a bird’s acceptance possess him? (Wilson, 113-114) Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature by Margaret Atwood discusses several works of text to explore the portrayal of the Canadian North. One of the texts observed is Swamp Angel. Atwood notes how “The forest [at Three Loon Lake] … reflects what the human mind brings to it. For Maggie it’s a source of strength…” (Strange Things, 102-103). The scene emulates …show more content…

Nell is dispassionate about Tig’s decision to move from the city to a shabby farm, yet, she agrees, and undertakes gardening and helps care for the animals to occupy herself. She forms a special bond with a runt lamb and decides to keep it in the house as it was rejected from the litter by its mother. As the lamb grows, it forms a loving, yet, possessive bond with Nell and attacks Tig each time he attempts to feed it. They realize that it would soon become a ram and cause severe harm so they decide to take it to the butcher’s. The story primarily uses the fauna aspect of nature, specifically the lamb, as opposed to sceneries, to display parallelisms between the lamb and Nell. In Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, Atwood discusses several aspects of a recurring theme in Canadian literature—survival; one of the topics discussed is “Animal Victims”. Atwood notes how it is “Very [rare that] an animal liked or disliked for itself alone; it is chosen for its symbolic anthropomorphic values” (Survival, 95). This concept is applicable to “Moral Disorder” as the lamb’s aggressive behavior presents an opportunity for Nell to indirectly address her vexation to Tig for paying more attention to the farm and his sons than her. Throughout the story, Nell implies of her pleasure at being loved more by the lamb than Tig, which

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