eng215 exam notes part i “bread” – michael...
TRANSCRIPT
ENG215 (June 2014)
ENG215 EXAM NOTES PART I
“Bread” – Michael Crummey
Characters
• Female Narrator – Story is written in 1st person narration, and centered to her thoughts
o Her name is never provided
o She is 20 years younger than her husband
o She married her husband because he was a good fisherman, he had a house and was willing to take in her parents when they got older
• Husband – Unnamed, and is a fisherman
o He was married before, but his first wife died in childbirth
• Angus Maclean – The name of their first child who passed away
o Is only character to actually be named without the use of pronouns (‘he’ and ‘she’)
Themes
• Its literal shortness –stating less, meaning more is the direct definition of the short story
• Isolation – the story emphasizes her isolation she feels on account of her husband’s departure for the Labrador
• Bread is a power symbol
It has religious meaning (EX. Eucharist – associated with the Catholic Church)
It is an offering from the husband to the wife
Represents the growth and regeneration of her pregnancy and their relationship
• It invites questions of boundaries between novels and prose
• Crummey understands the short story, and treats shortness not as limitation, but a positive aspect to work with
• Transformations – Process of flour changing to bread mirrors growth of their love
After the loss of Angus (first son) they grow closer
• Absence of word ‘love’ – Though it’s not specifically referenced (eg. In specific terms), it is communicated through actions and gestures
Puts forward questions of love, growth and expression of love
“Coyote Tricks Owl” – Harry Robinson
• Coyote restricts Owl’s powers of being able to change forms (human & animal form), thereby making the world a safer place – (Summary 69)
Characters
• Owl – Villain
• Is mean and kills people (eats them)
• Has power to change forms—takes on human and animal forms
Gender does not matter—can become male or female
Power is emphasized by his large size
• Restricted to Owl (known by the world today) after Coyote deals with him
• Can’t kill people anymore, can only speak at night
• Coyote – Hero
o Mischievous, smart yet helpful
o Shape shifter—takes on both human and animal forms
Can switch genders like Owl
o Found out about Owl using his powers to kill people, and knew he had to stop it
o Coyote found Owl and changed into a female Owl
Lies to Owl and says she eats people too
Go out together to find food; Owl builds a fire while Coyote goes to find food
Coyote uses power to make two boys and two girls—they’re not real
They manage to kill Owl by roasting her over the fire (Coyote let her burn)
Reconstructs Owl to be the way she should be
o His power is verbal, not physical like the Owl
Has the power to create things (Eg. Folks he created to help kill Owl)
Themes
• Importance of StoryTelling – Challenges readers to denote importance and significance of oral stories’ and their meaning
“The One About Coyote Going West” – Thomas King
• A story within a story, that centers on Coyote wanting to head west to change the world. Before leaving, the narrator (represented as both grandma and grandpa) attempts to distract and restructure Coyote’s decision of heading west by telling her the story of the first Coyote going west, and the consequences which arose because of her aim to fix the world.
Characters
ENG215 (June 2014)
• Coyote – She wants to go West to visit family (Raven) and repair the world
o Is a trickster
o Sticks her nose in narrator’s cup many times—symbolizes disruption of colonialism
o Mixes up the names of Christopher Columbus and Jacques Cartier
Both men happened to locate aboriginals
o Points out all things that Coyote didn’t make (eg. Rainbow, moon, ocean blue water)
o Doesn’t really listen Narrator’s story—fails to see its hidden message/symbolism
• Narrator (INarrator) – Tries to distract Coyote from her trip by telling her the story of another Coyote who decided to head west – (Summary, 303)
o Good at storytelling
o Is both the grandfather and grandmother of Coyote
o Stresses importance of why it’s best to leave the world as it is. Trying to fix it only causes more problems than solutions
• Coyote – (Story version) Was the only one in the world
o World was blank (no forests, rivers, etc…) she felt the need to improve/repair it
o First thing she makes is a mistake
Fell in a hole because she was too busy thinking of everything she had to create for the world at once
This mistake is the first mistake in the entire world
The ‘Mistake’ has become its own character à steals Coyote’s mouth so she can’t sing and flattens her until she is a pancake
o Sings through her butthole
It is a healing song, which her butthole learns to play
Butthole produces a foul stench when playing the song
Odour is smelt from far and wide
o Fixes the river that was too straight and perfect
o Trying to fix the world so that it is perfect
o Goes searching for the person who is messing up the world
o Is looking for Indians
• Four Ducks – Symbolize the ridiculous notion of the Indians waiting for the Europeans
o There is a green, white, red and blue duck
o Help Coyote make Indians by laying eggs & dancing around them until they hatch
Baby ducks come out of the eggs
They try again—seven times later, they only have more ducks
Soon enough, ducks turn into 2 men and 2 women Indians
But the Indians aren’t happy—mourning loss of ducklike qualities
Blame Coyote for the mistake; stomped on her until she was flat
Themes
• Improvement – That the world needs to be improved
• Importance of the Past – Narrator tells Coyote the story of the first Coyote to get her to realize the error of the first Coyote’s ways so that she will not repeat them
• Gender Switch – Narrator switches from Grandma to Grandpa
• Balance – The world needs balance to function; better off trying to not fix some things
“The Closing Down of Summer” – Alistair MacLeod
• Located on Cape Britain Island, where the narrator, who happens to be a miner, speaks for himself and his fellow miners on the various sacrifices their work costs; such as separation from their family and friends – (Summary, 236)
Characters
• Narrator – Unknown name
o Is a miner
o Married and has seven children
o Often gets into arguments with wife
Work makes it harder to come home—not home often
When at home, the two bicker and fight
o Has grown apart from wife
o Is partially deaf
o Comes from a mining family
• Miners – Entire company
o Physical Appearances
ENG215 (June 2014)
Most are white to the colour of “milk” or “ivory”
Most have one shoulder lower than the other
Some have missing limbs (eg. Missing fingers, eyes, ears)
All are over 6 feet tall, and weigh 180+ lbs
o Work for 12 hour standing shifts
Themes
• Loneliness – The life of a miner is a sad and troublesome life
• Death – Miners have had to bury their kinsman (eg. Narrator buried his own brother)
• Loss of Culture – In this case, the culture being a mining culture
o Children won’t follow in their father’s footsteps, since they will go to university to study law, dentistry, sciences. Etc…
o They are following parents advice, which makes them happy, but also makes them sad since they’re children will never experience and understand the kind of work they endured for the sake of them and their futures
“Lazybones” – Frederick Philip Grove
• The story is situated in the Canadian prairies, and focuses on Elizabeth, a female prairie farmer, who lives with her lazy husband Walter. Elizabeth happens to do more work than Walter on the farm, but overall, she does not mind it, and is happier about it than sad.
• The story addresses the issues of how farms operated, and the pressures they exerted on male and female roles – (Summary, 51)
Characters
• Elizabeth Hurst – Wife of Walter (35 years old)
o Strong & Energetic
o Not beautiful; average appearance
o Birthed 5 kids (2 sets of twin boys, and 1 girl)
o Knew Walter was lazy, even when she accepted his proposal
o Elizabeth’s family opposed her marriage to Walter
o Married him because it let do what she wanted: Be able to stay on the farm
o Her house does not mirror her childhood dream house
o She can longer dream
• Walter Hunt – Husband of Elizabeth
o Lazy and Unsuccessful
o Handsome
o Son of the town’s blacksmith
Themes
• Isolation: Elizabeth feels isolated from her dreams, and the world
• Reversal of Gender Roles: Elizabeth = male; Walter = female
o The reversal is meant to challenge the story’s time periods expected gender roles, which depict men doing all the work—that the opposite in this story
• Practicality: Their marriage was more for practical reasons than love
“A Field of Wheat” – Sinclair Ross
• Repression demanded by the intensity of farm work and for the way emotional attachments to the land disrupt human relationships – (Summary, 97)
Characters
• Martha – Wife (Is 37 years old)
o She is the protagonist, and the story it oriented to her thoughts
o Has been married for 16 years
o Yells at John A LOT
o Has multiple inaccurate assumptions of John
• John – Husband (Is 39 years old)
o Physically he is “unkempt, ugly, morose,”
He does not take care of himself—more concerned about the wheat and kids
o He cares for his children a lot
Wants them to have a better life—that’s why he works so hard on the farm
o He never went to school
o He is slow and inarticulate
• Annabelle – Daughter
o Can play hymn tunes on the organ
o Is smart and has good manners
o Has an average appearance (lanky body; face oval and regular)
o Was partially excited by the hailstorm—the reactions it generated within her family
• Joe – Son
ENG215 (June 2014)
o Youngest; 8 years old
o Argues a lot with Annabelle
• Nipper – Family dog
o Dies in the hailstorm
Themes
• Struggle – The wheat is their primary struggle, but their primary source of income
• Landscape is its own character – In this case, the wheat and the hailstorm
• Rebellion – “How rebel against a summer storm, how find the throat of a cloud? (104)
o Martha is tired of John’s laid back attitude and the weather, so she unleashes her anger at John. Why? (Quote) How can a person rebel against Mother Nature?
• Renewal – Ideology that tomorrow will be better
o Seen with the sense of renewal the hailstorm triggers within Martha
o Witnessing John’s moment of despair, Martha comes to realize the wrongness of her actions (eg. Yelling and blaming John)
o Perseverance; Martha and John’s ability to move on after the hailstorm decimated their wheat
• Alienation – Martha is alienated from John because he places more concern on the wheat
“Rigmarole” – Morley Callaghan
• Centers around a married couple, Jeff & Mathilde Hilton, and their argument that causes Mathilde to leave as a result of miscommunication. Jeff had not wanted her to leave, but he never bothered to voice his true opinions, since he assumed that Mathilde would return.
Characters
• Jeff Hilton – Husband of Mathilde
o Job: Advertising man
Isolates his masculine ID and makes it hard for him to relate to Mathilde
o Never voices his true opinions
o Has biased assumptions on Mathilde because she is female
o Gendered and has stereotypical views of women
• Mathilde Hilton – Wife of Jeff
o Attention seeker
Likes attention from young men (Party mentioned at the start of the story)
o Childish personality, acts and talks like a young child
Themes
• Uncertainty – Both Jeff & Mathilde are uncertain of what they want/desire
• Lack of Communication – Neither are good at expressing their true sentiments & thoughts
“Ex Libris” – P.K. Page
• An example of postmodernism, where the story’s major themes examines the consequences of major readings. P.K. Page explores the power of reading by telling the story of how Ivor emerges from his world of books and creates a life for himself.
Characters
• Ivor – Protagonist
o Only child, who spent all his time reading
o Had out of body experiences with dogs
o Has long legs and arms
o Adored reading literature by W.H. Auden
o In College, he was a basketball star
Team went national
Encountered a talent scout, who recruited him to play for ‘The Tall Boys’
Was the only Caucasian on the team
o Basketball made him rich
o Adored Esmeralda—devoted his full attention to her (100%)
Spent all their time making love
o No longer recognizes Esmeralda after she has become a successful model
o Barely knew his father and mother—besides their love of books
o Falls back into his world of literature
o Suffers from a midlife crisis
“I was a deserted husband with a father bereft, in a house of despair” (125)
o Inherited his parents’ home, large sum of money, and their collection of books
o Got sucked into the books—primarily poetry, and art books
o Hired unemployed librarian to help sort the books (used catalogues on computer)
Had entire house renovated too
ENG215 (June 2014)
Bought the house next door, which was for sale
Hired an architect & had a large glass house built to accommodate all books
Featured Auden prominently in the
o Finds his life is much larger without Esmeralda
o He transformed both his house and the neighbours into a massive library, which became the focal point of the neighbourhood
o Location became an international success
o Conclusion: Did he die… ?
• Ivor’s Parents – Avid readers
o Filled their house with nothing but books
o Raised eyes from books when Ivor played basketball
o Have no TV or computer; only books
o Were book hoarders—could not get rid of any!
o Parents never acquired greater knowledge of the outside world
(Eg. Racism… lack of understanding on their part)
o Mother suffered a stroke and passed away
Farewell present she left for Ivor was Emily Dickinson
o Later the Father passes away
• Esmeralda – Ivor’s love interest
o Has an amazing voice
o Took on a modeling job
Wants to find herself; no longer wants to be a sex object
Ironically by becoming a model, she is continuing to be a “sex object,” but on a larger scale—not for Ivor alone anymore but the world
o Confident and knows she is destined to be a star
o Became successful and toured the world
o Moved to Hollywood to begin an acting career
• Holly – Esmeralda’s dog
o Hates Ivor
o Acts as constant separator, blocking Ivor from Esmeralda
Themes
• Relation – The title headings relate to the progress/development of Ivor’s feelings
• Discontinuity – Lack of consistent paragraphs makes readers forced to fill in the gaps of the story’s progression
• Limitations – There is only so much a person (Eg. Ivor’s parents) can obtain from reading
• Why do we read? – Story offers implicit conditions of why we read, which varies depending upon the character
“Open Secrets” – Alice Munro
• Focuses on the disappearance of Heather Bell, and the reactions of the citizens of Carstairs, where the story is situated. Throughout the story however, her disappearance becomes secondary, as there is more of a focus on the secrets of the community being revealed.
Characters
• Maureen Stephens – Married to Lawyer Stephens
o Was a C.G.I.T 20 years ago
o Has no children
o Lives in Carstairs
o Likes to gossip with Frances
o Had her fallopian tubes tied—cannot have children
Had a miscarriage and bled so heavily, that her tubes were tied
o Nicknamed ‘Jewel’ by Lawyer Stephens
o Helps Lawyer Stephens by typing out his correspondences and doing his chores
• Heather Bell – Girl who disappeared
o Vanished during annual C.G.I.T (Canadian Girls In Training)
o Plenty of speculation on how she disappeared (Eg. Suicide, Ran away from home)
o Left to get her sweater during the night, but never came back
• Mary Johnstone – Leads the annual C.G.I.T hikes
o In her early 60s
o Been doing the hike for years before the war
o Nearly died of polio at 1314 (left her with short legs, small body & crooked neck)
o Works in office at Douds Factory
o Would not let the C.G.I.T girls’ go looking for Heather Bell
Thought Heather was only playing a practical joke on them
ENG215 (June 2014)
• Frances – Cousin of Maureen
o She works for Maureen in her home
o Nearly a generation older than Maureen
o Worked in the house before Maureen arrived
o Average appearance
o Does not like Mary Johnstone—hates anyone who thinks too much of themselves
• Lawyer Stephens – Husband of Maureen
o Maureen is his second wife
o Had two children with his first wife: Helena and Gordon
o Had a stroke 2 years ago, at 69
o Gave up his law practice
o Does not talk much; prefers to talk with one word answers
o Always called ‘Lawyer Stephens’ by the townspeople
o Intelligent about the law, and honourable
o Has more trouble with his speech earlier in the mornings
o Sex addict
• Marian Hubbert – Wife of Theo Slater
o Husky woman
o Close to Maureen’s age
o Sold madetomeasure corsets (Called ‘Corset Lady’)
o Refers to her husband as ‘he’
• Theo Slater – Husband of Marian Hubbert
o Softspoken and simpleminded
o Overly thankful, apologetic and not too smart
o Always trails behind Marian
• Mr. Siddicup – Disgusting Englishman who cannot talk
o Used to be piano tuner at Douds
o Was married, but his wife passed away
o Had operation on throat (cancer?) which makes it so that he can no longer talk
o Horrid physical appearance—does not take good care of himself
o People believe he had something to do with the disappearance of Heather Bell
Themes
• Complexity – Centers on multiple characters, their lives, thoughts, etc…
• Mystery – What happened to Heather Bell?
• Secrecy – All the townsfolk have their own secrets (Eg. Lawyer Stephens = sex addict)
• Issues of Power – Lawyer Stephens has speech impediment, but is still powerful and well respected amongst the townsfolk
• Construction/Presentation of Identity – Characters can construct different realities, physical appearances and selves (Eg. Marian Hubbert putting on a costume, and telling a story that acts excuses herself and her husband from Heather’s disappearance)