Anonymity In The Last Of The Crazy People

Through The Last of the Crazy People and Spadework, Timothy Findley portrays the consequences of the increased anonymity associated with urbanization. In these two texts, rural communities are portrayed as having a strong sense of community and consequently, a limited level of anonymity. In a rural setting, an individual’s identity is largely inherited and imposed: a person’s character was constructed by those around them, before the person has the opportunity to define who they are. Anonymity is defined as "the state or quality of be anonymous" (Oxford), and anonymous is defined as "having no known name" or "lacking individual characteristics; unexceptional" (Oxford). In these two texts, Timothy Findley criticizes the monotonous and inconspicuous

We consider these activities as destructive forms of behaviour. In In The Last of the Crazy People, Findley constructs a community where individuals are reduced to their contribution to society. Unemployed, Gilbert’s lack of “meaning” or worth eventually descends into self destructive behaviours. , Gilbert indulges in these immoral behaviours as a means to an end: he manipulates the anonymity of living within a city to act in an unethical way. Gilbert’s admittance that he “wants to be stopped” indicates that his behaviour is artificial: it is a desperate performance to derive purpose in his daily life. This reinforces the argument that Gilbert takes advantage of anonymity to partake in these negative behaviours. Given the personal independence and lack of governance

In The Last of the Crazy People, the main protagonist Hooker ultimately sees anonymity as an escape: it affords him a level of freedom that he otherwise would not have.

The boys at Markham College, and the teachers there, were to be strangers to him - and he would never tell them anything. Never. He was free. He gazed imperiously at the houses, knowing that soon he would be a stranger to them as well - that no one, anywhere in town, would know him. (Findley,