Canadian Literature: Untold Narratives The relationship between person versus nature is an ever present theme in Canadian literature. This relationship and its relevance to Canadian literature, is in some ways a form of cultural expression. Proof of this is shown in the fact that, “ many Canadians view the natural heritage of Canada as being a vital part of their identity and culture, on both personal and national levels, ( Freedman, Turner 170).” Additionally, Canadian author’s, “ [articulate] their feelings about nature through literary expression, and to thereby gain insight into their empathy for natural ecosystems and native species, and their concern about damage caused to those values, (170).” Thus, the thematic integration of nature into Canadian literature, is a result of the historical conflict between Canadians and their landscape. “In a country with such a high ratio of trees, lakes and rocks to people, images from Nature are almost everywhere, (172).” For this reason, it is only logical that Canadian literature would be filled with mentions of the wilderness that so defines the Canadian landscape. Margaret Atwood’s, Death by Landscape, and Alice Munro’s, Open Secrets, are prime examples of Canadian literature and Canadian Realism. Reason being that, the writing in both of these works is intended to depict the real life experience of surviving the Canadian wilderness, through literature. Moreover, Alice Munro’s Open Secrets is often seen as a pseudo response to Margaret Atwood's Death by Landscape because of the overwhelming commonalities shared between the two short stories. Both concern the mysterious disappearance of a young girl, while partaking on a camping expedition. In Atwood’s short story, the girl of issu... ... middle of paper ... ...rom textural allusions in order to develop there own conclusions. In both narratives there is never an answer given for the disappearances of the young girls, instead the reader is provided with hints to solve the mystery. Moreover, although both short stories include narrative omissions, Atwood's short story, provides more evidence to draw and create a plausible explanation for the mysterious disappearance. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. “Death by Landscape.” Canadian Short Stories. Ed. Russell Brown, Donna Bennett. Ontario: Pearson Canada Inc, 2005. 268-284. Print. Munro, Alice. “Open Secrets.” Canadian Short Stories. Ed. Russell Brown, Donna Bennett. Ontario: Pearson Canada Inc, 2005. 268-284. Print. Turner, Kate, and Freedman, Kate. “Nature as a Theme in Canadian Literature.” Environmental Reviews 13.4 (2005): 169-97. ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
Cronon, William “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” ed., Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1995, 69-90
“Clearing the Plains” begins set in the time period of 1100 C.E before Europeans ever settle into Canada. It depicts the laid back lifestyle that Indgienous people became accustomed to where everyone had a role and the community worked together to survive. However, as time goes on the Indigenous populations becomes thrust into a disease stricken society where there is no hope for survival due to minimal resources. The author, James Daschuk goes on to argue the reasons for this
The characterization of nature is detrimental in shift of 20th century modernist writing to impressionist truths of Canadian landscapes. Al Purdy and Archibald Lampman were two significant Canadian writers who both possessed similar impressionist ideals on Canada’s nature. Both Purdy’s “Trees of the Arctic Circle” and Lampman’s “Heat” display not only negative judgments on Canadian landscape but demonstrate a shift from a frustrated outlook to an appreciative perception on nature.
The novel Through Black Spruce is an incredible book that shows the real truth and real life scenario of the First Nation community across Canada, it shows the real hardship and struggles the community faces every day and how they overcome it. The presence of the symbolism does give the novel a whole new meaning to it, the symbolism of beaver representing family and how they stick together, this shows Will bird a bush pilot in the novel, his struggles. The symbol of a bear portrays protection and love, proving once again the hardships the characters face throughout the novel and seeking for protection. While the symbol of Gosse represents seeking freedom, taking on a long journey, and seeking someone is what both of the main characters in the novel try to do. In the novel Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden, reveals to the reader that symbolism is a self-reflection of the character’s struggles’ and culture which helps the reader understand their own way of living.
The book Into The Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, tells the story of Chris McCandless a young man who abandoned his life in search of something more meaningful than a materialistic society. In 1992 Chris gave his $ 25,000 savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, and burned all of his money to chase his dream. Chris’s legacy was to live in simplicity, to find his purpose, and to chase his dreams. Chris McCandless’s decision to uproot his life and hitchhike to Alaska has encouraged other young adults to chase their dreams. Neal Karlinksy illustrates the love Chris had for nature in the passage, “He was intoxicated by the nature and the idea of a great Alasican adventure-to survive in the bush totally alone.”
"The Bull Moose" by Alden Nowlan is a finely crafted poem which reminds us of how far man has strayed from Nature. Through a carefully constructed series of contrasted images, Nowlan laments, in true Romantic fashion, man's separation from Nature.
At the outset, Atwood gives the reader an exceedingly basic outline of a story with characters John and Mary in plotline A. As we move along to the subsequent plots she adds more detail and depth to the characters and their stories, although she refers back with “If you want a happy ending, try A” (p.327), while alluding that other endings may not be as happy, although possibly not as dull and foreseeable as they were in plot A. Each successive plot is a new telling of the same basic story line; labeled alphabetically A-F; the different plots describe how the character’s lives are lived with all stories ending as they did in A. The stories tell of love gained or of love lost; love given but not reciprocated. The characters experience heartache, suicide, sadness, humiliation, crimes of passion, even happiness; ultimately all ending in death regardless of “the stretch in between”. (p.329)
Organizing a topic as diverse as Canadian history into periods is challenging. Canadian history spans hundreds of years, covers events from varying points of views, and contains dimensions of culture, theme, and politics. To understand how to organize history logically into periods, it is helpful to refer to Canadian history sources.
What does it mean to be a Canadian? What are the common values shared by the Canadian citizens? Denise Chong, who was an economic advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister, delivered the speech “Being Canadian” during the Canadian citizenship week, 1995. She explains in this speech the importance of Canadian citizenship, the values shared by the Canadians and how to strengthen the Canadian values.
Nature writing can be found in numerous genres and each can portray different opinions, thoughts, examples, solutions, etc. Therefore, setting up a general set of guidelines allows people the opportunity to define what is meant by nature writing. Defining genre can be highly influential when readers are trying to capture the essence of what they are reading. Lawrence Buell’s four criteria for what constitutes an “environmental text,” provide a basic set of understandable guidelines. However, as the criteria stand they are too directed at the factual context and overlook the “experience” or emotional resonance of reading such works.
The twentieth century has witnessed many transformations in the ways we produce and respond to works of art. It has seen the rise of altogether new media, approaches, and a wealth of new interpretative frameworks. The emergence of manufactured goods, modernism, and a ubiquitous mass culture contribute to the upheaval, in the 1960’s and 70’s, of established art practices and approaches. Pop Art emerges as an important response to, extension of, or parody of what Clement Greenberg called “Ersatz culture” and “kitsch”, which, to paraphrase Greenberg, represent the omnipresent abominations of commercial and replicated art (Greenberg 9). This essay will observe and discuss the interaction of Canadian pop culture, art, and identity in Joyce Wieland’s “O Canada (Animation)”, and will underline how works of Pop Art serve to elevate kitsch into “a new state of aesthetic dignity” (Eco 228).
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
Canada’s own identity starts with our remarkable sense of culture and customs. For the native peoples, the Canadian identity stretches thousands of years into the search of struggles to retain elements of their ancient culture. From a colonial perspective, the traditions which surface in Canadian culture seem to be born of an earlier time, of different origins and places, of old-fashioned rituals, and customs. Unlike the United States, its senior neighbor, Canada’s aged-like identity is more reserved and skillful, unwilling to commit it self to anything specific. Within each region of Canada-
Tobias Wolff’s “Hunters in the Snow” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” have related elements, but also divergent styles. The two stories expose that their characters were desperately looking and needed a change in their lives; either a change to help get over the limitation of the character’s freedom or a change in domination. The way Wolf and Faulkner wrote their stories caught many different types of audience by how similar and different their stories share, even though the stories were written in different time periods.
Nature is often a focal point for many author’s works, whether it is expressed through lyrics, short stories, or poetry. Authors are given a cornucopia of pictures and descriptions of nature’s splendor that they can reproduce through words. It is because of this that more often than not a reader is faced with multiple approaches and descriptions to the way nature is portrayed. Some authors tend to look at nature from a deeper and personal observation as in William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, while other authors tend to focus on a more religious beauty within nature as show in Gerard Manley Hopkins “Pied Beauty”, suggesting to the reader that while to each their own there is always a beauty to be found in nature and nature’s beauty can be uplifting for the human spirit both on a visual and spiritual level.