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Note to Users NOTE TO USERS The original manuscript received by UMI contains broken or light print All efforts were made to acquire the highest quality manuscript from the author or school. Page(s) were microfilmed as received. This reproduction is the best copy available CONSTRCTCT ING CANONS, CREAT ING CANAD TANS ; AN EXAMINATION OF CANADIAN FICTION ON HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULA BY Deborah C. Harman Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia Septernber 2, 1998. O Copyright by Deborah C. Haman, 1998. National Library BiMioWque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 W~ingtOnStreet 395. Ne Weuingtorr OttawaON KIAON4 OttawaON KlAON4 Canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the excIusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distriiute or sell reproduire, prêter, distn'buer ou copies of this thesis in rnicroform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/)ilm de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fkom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiek may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou amernent reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Canada For my family for knowing when to laugh at me, and my margarita muses for taking me seriously. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Canadian Literature: Defining a Canon, a Country, and its Citizens CKAPTER ONE Haggis and Hagar: Representing Canadars Culture(s) in Margaret Lausence's The Stone Anuel 26 CrtAPTER TWO Beneath the Iceberg: Attending che Floe of Consciousness in Joy Kogaws's Obasan CHAPTER THREE The Guise of the Indian Gaze: The Roie of the Native in Canadian Literature CONCLUSION Looking Towards the Next Measure APPENDICES WORKS CONSULTED LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A The Calgary Canon Today APPENDIX B Corse's 1988 Canon APPENDIX C Top Nine Novels of 1997/98 APPENDIX D Novels by/about Natives APPENDIX E Titles in Thesis ABSTRACT This thesis is an examination of the Canadian fiction on the current Canadian high school canon. Working under the premise that most high school literature is taught using what may be referred to as the reflection theory, 1 attempt to show what portrait of Canada is reflected through the texts authorized for use in tne classroom. Each chapter focuses on the reflection of the Canadian experience through a certain cultural lens: Chapter one analyzes the prominence of the Scottish Canadian experience in the canon through the most recomrnended novel, Margaret Laurencefs The Stone Ancel; chapter two investigates the problerns inherent in the posltion of Joy Kogawa's Obasan as the most popular "ethnic" text in the canon; and chapter three deals with the problems of the canonrs selection of a non-Native writer, Margaret Craven, and her novel, 1 Heard the Owl Cal1 rnv Narne, as the authorized representation of the Native Canadian experience (1 analyze her novel alongside another popular non-Native text, Peter Suchfs Riverrun, and two Native texts which have received recent authorization but have yet to gain full nation-wide support: Thomas King's Medicine River, and Ruby Slipperjack's Honour the Sun) . Overall, the fiction in the canon reflects white Canada as the dominant culture which is, nevertheless, willing to recognize its racism; a careful analysis of this image, however, reveals that it is only the racism of its past that white Canada is ready to acknowledge. The conclusion I corne to is that the canon, although it appears multicultural in rom, by containing narratives of different Canadian cultures, actually continues to serve and reflect the interests of dominant white society. Introduction Canadian Literature: Defining a Canon, a Country, and its Citizens "Canadian 1 iterature is especially powerful, for it embraces both traditional and contemporâry English literature, the rich mythology of our Native peoples, and the emotive literature that arises from pioneer and immigrant experiences, with the additional enrichment of translations from the many cultures that make up the Canadian mosaic. The creation and dissemination of Canadian literature can lead to increased understanding among our many peoples by establishing a deeper appreciation of one another's experiences," (Ontario Ministry of Education 2) Canadians should study Canadian literature to learn aimut their country and each other. This is the argument underlying the above excerpt from the Ontario Ministry of Educationfs 1987 curriculum guide for grades seven to twelve. It is the premise behind the push in provinces across the country to include Canadian literature in the high school curriculum. As Simon During asserts, "[i]c is becoming a commonplace that the institution of literature works to national ends" (138). Not only is this nationalist irnpetus behind the creation of a countryfs literature a commonplace, but the connection between nation and literature appears as each province's English Language Arts curriculumrs common goal. To gain an understanding of things Canadian is a goal that has plagued Canadians for decades. It is often quipped by humorists and critics alike that this search for an identity is, in fact, the defining characteristic of Canadians. This West for definition usually results in a study of Canadian culture - and Canadian literature particularly - for answers to such stumpers as Linda Hutcheon's fil1 in the blank challenge: "As Canadian as " (9). In his first conclusion to Literarv Historv of Canada, Northrop Frye argues that Canadian literature "is an indispensable aid to the knowledge of Canada" (64). To read Canadian literature is to rnove one step closer to understanding just what may fil1 in the blanK of Our idectity. I believe, however, that this irnplicit mimetic approach to understanding Canadian literature needs some complication. To echo Sarah Corse, 1 would like to suggest that national literatures "are not reflections of the national character, but manifestations of the 'inventionr of the nation, of the strategies used to create national identities" (74). One can invent a nation and its character by establishing its literature. As Corse suggests, then, it is in no way coincidental that the rise of nationalism in this country is linked heavily to the rise of Canadian literature. In the immediate post World War Two era, the federal government began to invent and disseminate an idea of Canada primarily through the financial support of its culture and literature. In 1951 the Massey report encouraged the study of Canadian culture, and recomended a commission to examine and promote such study, That same year also saw the creation of the National Library (Corse 51) . The federal governmentrs nation building activities through the next decade focused on the sponsorship of Canadian culture and literature and the creation of certain Canadian symbols; the government needed to invent something specifically Canadian with which its citizens could identify. By 1965, the government and, through consultation, a great many citizens agreed upon a unifying Canadian symbol, one which had first been used unofficially to identify Canada in World War 1 - our red and wnite maple leaf f lag.' Tom Henighanr s assertion that Expo '67 displayed "exceptional national pride" demonstrates the governmentfs success by this point in inventing and establishing recognizable concepts of nation and nationality of which its citizens could be proud (12). In the tunnels underneath Vimy Ridge is a small maple leaf etched into the limestone wall. It is thought to have been carved out by one of the Canadian soldiers who fought there and to be the first example of the use of the maple leaf to symbolize Canada. Substantial federal sponsorship of literature during the 1960s prompted Northrop Frye to comment on the bounty that the proudly Canadian writer may enjoy: Scholarships, prizes, university posts await the dedicated writer: there are so many rnedals offered for literary achievement that a modern Canadian Dryden might well be moved to write a satire on medals, except that if he did he would promptly be awaraed the rnedal for satire and humour. (65) Through its funding of small presses, grants to individual writers, writers-in-residence prograrns at universities, and control of the Governor Generalfs awards, the Canadian government enableci the establishment of a veritaDle body of national literature. Having contributed to the well-being of this body of literature, the government proceeded to provide the means to acquaint citizens with the country's literature. The Canada Council, founded in 1957, ensured adequate distribution of literary texts across the country by sending free kits of Canadian literature to "libraries in rural communities, prisons, senior citizens' clubs, cultural centres, hospitals, [and] prirnary schools in remote areas" (Ross Sm180). Clearly, the government recognized that literature played an important role in the invention of the nation and was anxious to make it available to al1 sectors of society. Concurrent with the rise of a national literature is the rise of national literary criticism. Leon Surette suggests that
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