Hero or villain? In Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief, Calum commits violent crimes and by all accounts should be considered the antagonist. However, this is not the case. To outsiders he appears violent and rough, but within his clan he is the compass that guides all its members. An intrepid leader who falls victim to his own history, Calum lacked guidance as a young man and this contributed to his later struggles with the law. In fact, Calum’s greatest downfall comes from his goodness. He is
Alistar Macleod’s “No Great Mischief” is a novel full of constant recollections of the Clann Calum Ruadh’s past and genealogy and relating it to the history of Canada; everything that happened in the family’s past effected the life they live currently. This is evident in the characters Alexander McDonald, his brother Calum, the different groups of people and all the connections they have with their family’s past and connections they have with the Clann Calum Ruadh. Alexander is the main character
In everyone’s life, family is the only members who will always be together during suffering, happiness, and Etc. Even in the novel, “No Great Mischief” demonstrates how a family will always stick together no matter how big or how insulting the situation is, they also help each other out in times of trouble. The main character Alexander went through a lot of difficult times, his life was not easy. At a very young age, he learned a lot of things which an adult will learn during his age. Alexander learned
No Great Mischief champions the importance of a family’s loyalty and love for each other. This is shown through many acts of familial solidarity in the novel. However, the significance placed on the quote “no great mischief if they fall” and the meaning behind it create a warning. This quote, both in the title and the text, reference history repeating itself. It expresses a dichotomy of traditional values and modern society. It also warns against misguided loyalty, isolation, and correlating one’s
Is Calum a hero or villain? In Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief, Alexander’s oldest brother commits violent crimes and by all accounts could be considered an antagonist. However, this is not the case. To outsiders Calum appears violent and rough, but within his clan he is their guiding compass. An intrepid leader who falls victim to his own history, Calum lacked guidance as a young man and this contributes to his later struggles with the law. Through anecdotes and flashbacks Calum is revealed
The search for and importance of family and identity of the Calum Ruadh clan in Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief is significant to the concept of blood being thicker than water. The importance of family, as indicated in No Great Mischief, is very apparent in regards to the main point of prominence in this deeply emotional Gaelic- Canadian tale. An idea that arises No Great Mischief[, is MacLeod’s ability to prove to the readers that it is impossible to talk about the Scottish-Canadian heritage
No Great Mischief Quotes • “her head cutting a V through the water and her anxious eyes upon the departing family she considered as her own” (23). • “like the goose who points the V, and he temporarily wavered and lost his courage” (25). • “When the Canada geese fly north in spring, there is a leader who points the way, a leader at the apex of the V as the formation moves across the land” (260). In the novel No Great Mischief there is excellent symbolism displayed. One example of symbolism is
Alistair MacLeod's "No Great Mischief" In No Great Mischief, Alistair MacLeod proves to the reader that it is impossible to talk about the Scottish-Canadian heritage without mentioning tradition, family and loyalty. MacLeod wrote this book about loyalty to family tradition. It is common to talk about these three things when one describes his family or his past in general, but in this book, MacLeod has included every single intricate detail about each one of the three aspects. Family plays
not often do people stop to think about what makes up a specific person’s identity. The novel No Great Mischief demonstrates the importance of identity by exploring national and family history of a Scottish family. It is a novel about the MacDonalds that immigrated to what Canada was in the 1700s. Their family history is told by Alexander MacDonald, a descendant of Calum Ruadh who was his great-great-great grandfather. Calum Ruadh set off on the journey from Scotland and settled in Cape Breton Island
A Clan Connected through History No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod is powerful in its art of storytelling, and provides a clear and concise, yet artistic view into a story told from the view point of Alexander MacDonald, an orthodontist and member of the Chalum Ruaidh clan. Alexander travels regularly to see one of his older brothers, Calum MacDonald, in his apartment in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, where most of the story takes place. The story centers on Alexander more so than Calum’s interactions
Allistar MacLeod's, “No Great Mischief,” is a story about the Scottish, Highland MacDonald clan, and Calum, who immigrates to Cape Breton Island. The prose has many themes that include, identity, home, and language. This novel promises no greater way to explore them. Identity is represented by the repetitious mention of, “red and black” hair throughout. The colors seem to be a true identification for many specific characters, radiating their origins and historical roots. “When my twin sister was
the country. The significance of loyalty in family relationship is an integral part in both Macleod’s novel No Great Mischief and Shakespeare’s play King Lear. However, the characters in No great Mischief have demonstrated true devotion towards every family member whereas Lear’s stubbornness prevents him from being faithful which is shown by the characters. In the novel No Great Mischief, the narrator, Alexander MacDonald, and his twin sister are raised by their grandparents after the deaths of their
each Trickster varies from tradition to tradition, Tricksters have important roles in the creation, development, and sometimes destruction, of each culture. The Coyote of Native North American traditions is often depicted as assisting the “Great Mystery” or “Great Spirit” in the creating and populating of the world (Leeming). In the Greek myths Hermes is initially a sly infant who captures a tortoise with his untruths and fashions the first lyre from its shell, but eventually transitions to a place
author of this article, Mike Royko, was American, and was on Fay’s side, he thinks that a flogging is wrong. Royko defines what Fay did as “mischief”. Giving someone a rubber pencil when they ask to borrow a real pencil is mischief, spray painting, egging, switching license plates and tearing down street signs is vandalism, which is more serious than mischief. I think that Royko was trying to downplay what Fay did, to prove his point that flogging is much too harsh for vandals. President Clinton
The book Much Ado About Nothing is a book written by William Shakespeare in . I personally believe this book is one of Shakespeare’s best work. This book has it all, romance mischief, and comedy. Shakespeare’s intention of this book was to make it humorous for his readers and audience. If you haven’t read this book, this book’s central theme is trickery and deceit. What this means is by tricking and deceiving people is how the characters got what they wanted, even if it was a dirty way of doing
dear to him and he chose to depict the American Boy’s childhood as fun and fancy-free. The story is told trough Tom’s eyes and is enchanting and adventurous, just as any young boy’s life would be. His daily life included mischief and budding young love, which is told with great detail. Although it is a fictional account of one young boy, the story of Tom Sawyer has touched many readers and lives on today as it did when it was written long ago. Tome Sawyer does not have many relatives, his mother
Writing an Editorial Assignment ECrosby Can graffiti be considered art? Art is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. Graffiti may not be inspiring but it is great to look at. Like all other artistic forms, graffiti has experimented movements and styles. Graffiti is a way of life and gives the city its own urban originality and flare. Graffiti is found everywhere whether in Chicago, Miami, or Jackson, somebody took time out of their day be creative. Vandalism
with their own distinct style. Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians are all linked to the history of gangs. The gang culture is usually linked to the amount of criminal mischief, relevance, and competitiveness the gang has. The criminal mischief a gang has, can build the reputation of a gang. Mischief such as thief, assault, and even petty larceny can help a small gang build reputation in the area that the gang is located but can be easy controlled by the local police department. Bigger
Mark Twain Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Clemens---America's most famous literary icon----was born in the small town of Florida on Nov. 30, 1835. He is a mastermind of humor and realism, is seen as a giant in world literature. His humor had great impact on the following men of letters. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", which is seen as one of his famous works, was written in 1876. The young protagonist of the novel, Tom Sawyer, is drawn from real life, but is a combination of the characteristics
the window, I gotta glimpse of unmistakeably stormy grey eyes. It really was my Trouble and she really was apparently the best in class. I can’t help but smirk proudly. Go figure. She could do anything. It’s not such a surprise that she was also a great dancer. Not to mention, she looked really-and I mean reeeaaally good in her ballet attire. Genevieve wore these shoes which Sarah told me was called 'pointe shoes'. Something that