Analysis Of We So Seldom Look On Love

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“Terminal Avenue” versus “We So Seldom Look on Love”
Eden Robinson’s “Terminal Avenue” was published in the anthology or collection of fictional short stories called “So Long Been Dreaming” in 2004. (Bose) “Terminal Avenue” is a futuristic dystopian short story about a young aboriginal man named Wil, who is torn between his aboriginal community whose traditions are being punished for by the police and or being punished by his family if he becomes a peace officer to survive the adjustment. Barbara Gowdy’s “We So Seldom Look on Love” is a collection of fictional short stories and was published in 1992. (Broadview Press) “We So Seldom Look on Love” collections include a short story about a young woman that lives the life of necrophilia who grew up in a moderately normal childhood until the age
In “We So Seldom Look on Love” the main character is a female necrophiliac. “Necrophilia is a sexual attraction to or sexual intercourse with dead corpses.” (Collins English Dictionary) Necrophiliacs are often thought to be of the male gender, but in this case it is a female which makes the situation of the main character more interesting. In “Terminal Avenue” the main character Wil has traditions of his culture that at the time are punished for by police if they were to be practiced, this includes the ceremonial potlatches. “A potlatch is an elaborate gift-giving feast common to most Northwest Coast Aboriginal groups that are held on special occasions of important social events such as marriages and funerals. As an assimilation strategy potlatches were banned because they were seen as wasteful." (Gadacz) “Terminal Avenue” also has a lot of cultural background from Aboriginal communities and the history they went through. This includes the American Termination legislation where one loses the privileges of a Status Indian.

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