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Reflections on a Year of Reading Canadian Literature

Books read: Gil Adamson The Outlander, Cherie Dimaline The Marrow Thieves, Craig Davidson The Saturday Night Ghost Club, Will Ferguson Why I Hate Canadians 

What I learned about Canada:

I did not have a wide range of knowledge on Canada before reading these 4 books. In Craig Davidson’s The Saturday Night Ghost Club, I learned that people could live in Niagara Falls and it is not just a tourist destination. I did not know that there was housing around the area, I’m not sure why but I always thought of it as a tourist spot. From Will Ferguson’s Why I Hate Canadians, I learned that Canadians took Hockey very seriously and it is not a myth. In his book, Ferguson was very passionate towards hockey and spoke very highly of. And from what I have read everyone else in Canada was also very passionate over hockey. From Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves, I learned that there were tribes of Native people similarly to the United States. It never occurred to me that there were natives, I never thought about Canada as a piece of land and instead saw it as a “nicer version of the United States”. In the book they spoke the Cree language and it showed how oppressed the indiginous people were. Although the book was fiction, it had aspects of Canada’s darker history. A common theme between the four books was relationships, both friends and family. The characters in each book were heavily influenced by a family like environment. In The Outlander, Mary finds new people who help her and acts as her family, she is also being hunted down by her brother in laws. In The Marrow Thieves, the Miigwan family takes him in to bring him to safety and find his birth family. In The Saturday Night Ghost Club, Jake spends the whole summer with his uncle and the club acts as a family.

What I learned from each book:

From Gil Adamson’s The Outlander, I will always remember to never give up on hope and be determined. At the age of 19, Mary was on the run from her brother in laws as she had just murdered her husband. She had to leave everything behind and essentially start a new life. She made new friends along the way, who helped her survive. She always had to move forwards no matter what happened. Near the end of the novel, Mary was caught and put on trial for the death of her husband but at the very last second, the judge received an anonymous note and she was able to get away. For the entirety of Mary’s journey, she had hope and always moved forwards. 

From Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves, it showed me that you should always look out for others, even if you don't know them. The Miigwan family grew as Miig took in as many kids as he could. They all lost their families and had no protection, shelter, or basic necessities. He and his wife, Minerva, took care of these children regardless if they know them or not. From the novel I will always remember to be kind to others and always offer a helping hand. 

From Craig Davidson’s The Saturday Night Ghost Club, I learned that in order to protect who you love sometimes it is necessary to lie. In the end, it was revealed that Uncle C suffered from memory lost, when he was involved in an accident. All the stories and tales he told were parts of his memories and his sister (Jake’s mother) kept it from him to keep him happy. If he knew what was actually going on then he would most likely relapse and be in much more pain mentally. This book changed my perspective on lying. I used to think that it is always better to tell the truth but in this case, I would also keep the secret from Uncle C.   

From what I have read of Will Ferguson’s Why I Hate Canadians, I have learned that humor is a tactic used to put a facade on imperfections. Throughout the book, Ferguson was very passionate about Canada and it was clear that he loved the country. However he often used humor to shine a light on the imperfections. He mentioned his opinions of the American revolution and the flaws he saw from a Canadian perspective. In his words, he put it as the majority vs the minority, which I found interesting and that will stick with me.

What I learned about myself:

From reading the 4 books, I have learned that family is the most important thing in life. The characters in the book highlighted this idea to me and reminded me how grateful I should be. Without the love and support each character received from people who were seen as family, they would have not survived. For Mary and Frenchie, it is literal as they would have died from their hunters. However for Jake he survived mentally, with the help of his friends and especially Uncle C. In this case, he ”survived” the summer, meaning it got through it happily. Every year prior we saw that he was living an average life with little happiness. This led me to realize that I also value family very closely. I always knew I loved my family and friends, however these books have shown me how much I should be grateful for them. As for my reading habit, I learned that if the book is interesting enough, then I retain the information much better.

Word Count: 888

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Week #20 Blog

Title: Why I Hate Canadians

Author: Will Ferguson

Pages Read: 105-145

Word Count: 351

Summary:

Ferguson talked about the cold war, but not the one between the US and Russia. He was talking about hockey, and how important it was to them. However, the Soviets were one of Canada’s competitors and they had multiple intense games, all on the line of the big trophy. He then went on about Canada being the peacemakers of the world, and it’s history. He explained that without Canada keeping the peace, there may have been a third world war. Finally, he introduced his first question “Are Canadians really as nice as they think they are?”. He points out all the rudeness he has seen in Canada and exposes some stereotypes.

Critical Analysis:

As mentioned in last week’s post, an emerging theme of humor can be found in Will Ferguson’s book, “Why I Hate Canadians”. Ferguson uses a comedic approach when introducing his first question, “Are Canadians really as nice as they think they are?”. He wrote “I repeat: the only reason our history seems so sweet and gentle is because we compare ourselves-incessantly-to Americans.” (page 133) By prefacing the section with a joke it makes the section seem less harsh. He points out that there are some Canadians that are very rude however, we overlook it because Americans are far more aggressive and rude. This leads me to conclude that he uses jokes to show the theme of, “humor can be used to point out the flaws”.

Personal Response:

The sections I have read this week were very stereotypical, it had sections about hockey, peace and nice attitudes. I definitely enjoyed reading the book more when these topics were brought up. I loved seeing him be so passionate about Canada and hockey. It was the first time I felt that a Canadian was writing the book, in the early chapters it was not as apparent as it is now. I felt that I was talking to a Canadian who was very passionate about their country, which made the book even more interesting to me. When picking up the book, this is what I expected and it is finally showing.

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Depending on your bias, living in Canada is either like living beside a parade route-or downstream from a sewage treatment plant.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (145)

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I repeat: the only reason our history seems so sweet and gentle is because we compare ourselves-incessantly-to Americans.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (133)

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Canada developed the notion of peacekeeping, and Canada remains its biggest supporter.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (123)

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Remember, hockey is not a metaphor for war; war is a metaphor for hockey.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (110)

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Week #19 Blog

Title: Why I Hate Canadians

Author: Will Ferguson

Pages Read: 53-105

Word Count: 327

Summary: Will Ferguson talks about the Canada World Youth program, which was a program that was meant to reform. He wrote about his time in the program and his experience in Ecuador, with a group of strangers that quickly became his friends. While in the program he learned that local actions have global repercussions. Ferguson also wrote about “disco nationalism”, which was when modern Canadian nationalism sprouted (in late 1960s, around the disco era). He went on to talk about Canadian voyageurs and their relationship with the Natives. The last part I T was his thoughts on the Loyalists, during the American Revolution.

Critical Analysis: An emerging theme of humor can be found in Will Ferguson’s book, “Why I Hate Canadians”. When Ferguson was explaining the Canada World Youth program, he wrote, “And let's face it, real reforms are not going to be implemented by a bunch of Canadian teenagers descending on a village for four months.” (page 57) It is clear that he is making fun of the program for its good intent, but unrealistic goals. This backhanded statement shows a theme that “humor can be used to point out the flaws”. In Ferguson’s book, he does this multiple times, to point out that Canada is not perfect.

Personal Statement: I enjoyed reading everything in this section, except for the chapter about the American Revolution. That section was boring to me because I do not enjoy reading about american history, due to the fact that I have already learned about it. However I loved reading the section before it, which was some history about voyagers and their relationships with Natives. The two sections about the reform programs were so-so but still interesting. Overall I like how Will Ferguson incorporates humor into his book. So far I would describe the book as a humorous history lesson. And as someone who does not enjoy learning about history, his method to teaching it makes it more interesting and entertaining.

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Someone once described Canadians as "Americans with manners," but I would put it a different way. Historically and culturally, Americans are just Canadians in a hurry.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (98)

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The lumberjack and the voyageur are quintessential Canadian protagonists: one chopping down trees as he sings a rustic woodland tune, and the other paddling his canoe full of furs over rapids as he sings equally rustic French-Canadian tunes.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (85-86)

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After all, high points also mark the beginning of the end; there is nowhere to go but down.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (78)

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Katimavik was going to save Canada. That was the goal, that was the mission, that was the whole idea.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (67)

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And let's face it, real reform are not going to be implemented by a bunch of Canadian teenagers descending on a village for four months.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (57)

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Week #18 Blog

Title: Why I Hate Canadians

Author: Will Ferguson

Pages Read: 1-53

Word Count: 389

Summary: I had the 10th anniversary copy, so it opened with an introduction of the book. In the introduction, Ferguson reflexes on how his book did when it first came out. He then explains how his wife had a huge impact on the book but did not want to be a part of it, due to how the title could come off as rude. The book finally begins, with a story of how he left Canada to go to Japan, but is now coming back because he missed it. In the book, he will answer three questions, “Are Canadians really as nice as they think they are?”, “If so, when exactly did this happen?”, and “is nice necessarily a good thing”. He then talks about Quebec and it’s french origins.

Critical Analysis: Will Ferguson's, “Why I have Canadians'', is a nonfiction book that uses satire to reveal the theme of the book. An emerging theme of humor has been introduced. Ferguson uses figurative language, such as irony, to emphasize his sarcastic humor. The title itself shows this. When he was creating it he said, “Most people will get that it's a joke” (Why I Hate Canadians, page 6), to his wife. The irony is that the title states that he hates Canadians, when in reality he is writing to show us why Canadians are the best. The ironic title pushes the theme of humor throughout the reading. It is clear that Ferguson loves to joke in his book, and that his writing is not meant to be taken seriously.

Personal Response: So far I have enjoyed reading Will Ferguson's book “Why I Hate Canadians.” I like his sense of humor and how he incorporates it subtly into his writing. As myself, I am sarcastic and think he has the same sense of humor as me. There are a lot of contradictory statements that show his sarcastic energy. When reading the book, I could tell that he enjoyed writing it, which makes reading it enjoyable. On top of that, I am looking forward to answering the question of “Are Canadians actually polite, and why”. As someone from New England, who has visited Canada, I would say they are a lot nicer than here. However, since I have only been to one section (Toronto), I cannot judge for the entire country.

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I was constantly hearing about That Damned Trudeau. So often, in fact, that I began to suspect Damned was his first name.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (48)

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In Canada, we talk a good revolution, but when the time comes, we will die in our sleep, holding onto talismans, waiting for the magic to work.

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (37)

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I was assured by countless fellow Canadians that everybody simply loves Canadians. After all, how could anyone not love such a modest, restrained, swell bunch of people like us?

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (29)

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Canada was Camelot to me. Paradise Lost. A land of opportunity. A model for the world!

-Will Ferguson, Why I Hate Canadians (23)