The Nature of the Canadian Imagination: A Product of Cultural Influence

1680 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How american culture influences canadian culture

The Canadian imagination may be divide into two distinct (However, not uniquely apart) forms: hinterland, or that of the wilderness and being often associated with unstructured verse; and baseland, or that of the settlements, following closely with traditional structured form carried over by colonists. Although apart in terms of verse form and theme, the two are linked by a largely prominent patrilineal cultural norm. That is, that both branches of this Canadian imaginative effort borrow methodology from some other source, and are not unilaterally Canadian. With the former statement in mind, the nature of a true “Canadian” imagination becomes one of question: is it possible to ascertain a unique Canadian identity without including the biases of external cultures? Moreover, can it be possible to determine a true Canadian imagination by allowing for this range of diversity? This essay will explore a hypothesis that suggests the Canadian imagination is not truly unique, rather it is the byproduct of a cultural mosaic; moreover, it is an identity that displays no novel characteristics and is largely composed of an increasing number of external influences. Furthermore, while the previous notion might suggest Canadian imagination as being rightly a product of multiple influences, it is assumed that a truly unique identity is one that can be discerned upon reading and not left to ambiguity and questioning. For the purpose of essay, works by Al Purdy, A.J.M. Smith, A. Lampman, and Isabella Crawford will be examined to determine their consistency to a developing imagination and to what extent they portray uniquity. In D.M.R. Bentley’s essay The Mower and the Boneless Acrobat, Bentley discusses the two orientations of Canadian poetry as mentioned in the introduction to this essay, baseland and hinterland. Bentley’s describes baseland poetry as, “… a tendency towards

Show More
Related

  • The Case of the Black Donnellys

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upper Canada was in the tumultuous process of settlement during the nineteenth century. From 1800-1860, wheat and flour exports went from a negligible amount to peak at 13 billion bushels in 1860.1 It is important to understand the rapid nature of settlement to contextualize life in rural Upper Canada. From 1805-1840, the population increased by over eight hundred percent.2 Many of these were Irish emigrants, even in the period preceding the famine; these pre-Famine Irish emigrants were predominantly “middling farmers,” «c'est à dire des fermiers cultivant des terres petite oucharacterizedes, Simmons, et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • A Critical Review of The Míkmaw Concordat by James Henderson

    1582 Words  | 4 Pages

    The books intent is to challenge written histories and to reinterpret early Mi’kmaq-French relations, particularly religious history among the Mi’kmaq. Using both Mi’kmaq and Euro history/knowledge to do so. Through the revitalization of Mi’kmaq histories, culture, and spirituality the text both bridges non-Aboriginal peoples to new understandings of Canadian history, as well as bridging Mi’kmaq youth to their elders and culture (11).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of You Re Not The Indian I Had In Mind By Thomas King

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas King uses an oral story-telling style of writing mingled with western narrative in his article “You’re Not the Indian I Had in Mind” to explain that Indians are not on the brink of extinction. Through this article in the Racism, Colonialism, and Indigeneity in Canada textbook, King also brings some focus to the topic of what it means to be “Indian” through the eyes of an actual Aboriginal versus how Aboriginals are viewed by other races of people. With his unique style of writing, King is able to bring the reader into the situations he describes because he writes about it like a story he is telling.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Book 'Clearing The Plains'

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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

    Read More

  • Simple Recipes Madeleine Thien Analysis

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most people are trapped into believing that Canada is a very diverse place to live as it welcomes many cultures, but do not realize what happens to their culture when they have lived in Canada after time. Throughout the stories Simple Recipes by Madeleine Thien and A Short History of Indians in Canada by Thomas King, the authors tell the actions of what is happening in the characters lives to show the stripping of other cultures when they come to Canada. These two stories reveal how difficult it can be to be a person with a different culture existing in Canadian society.

    Read More

  • American Poets: Biography of E. E. Cummings

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everett, Nicholas From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamiltong. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.

    Read More

  • The Influence of American Culture in the 1950s and 1960s in Canada

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    Canada as a nation has been striving to characterize itself as more ?Canadian? for decades. This has included numerous struggles and events such as protests, bans, and the creation of the Massey Commission, to encourage national development in the arts, and support major companies like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and National Film Board (NFB). However, this has not been an easy task for the Canadian government, as major influences from below the border (the United States) have been captivating the Canadian audiences by large. American media has had a momentous revolutionizing effect on Canada, even through efforts made to define Canada with its own cultural identity.

    Read More

  • Drew Hayden Taylor's Essays

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... a variety of readers, Drew Hayden Taylor uses a variety of tones. His views on First Nations stereotypes are expressed through his essays “What’s an Indian worth These Days” and “Why did the Indian block the Road”, and through his use of humorous, which shows how ridiculous stereotypes are, informative, which gives disproves stereotypes through evidence, and sarcastic tone, which stretches a reader’s understanding about a topic, he is able to challenge and contradict stereotypes about First Nations people.

    Read More

  • Book Review of People of the Three Fires

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    James M. McClurken writes the first section, which deals with the Ottawa people. McClurken tells about the Ottawa peoples’ relationship with the environment they lived in and how they adapted to change when contacted by Europeans. One thing I found interesting about the Ottawa is their beliefs. The Ottawa believed in respect for the individual. Their leaders represented the people much like our elected officials represent us when a decision is needed for the whole of the country. They are in tune with nature and consider the earth and animals part of their family, addressing them with “father,” “mother,” “brother,” “sister.” The Ottawa’s also amazed me at their ability to believe in the supernatural, the spirits that told what sickness a person has and the healing power of the firewalkers is a leap of faith. I am always amazed that people survived without Advil and Tums, and they didn’t just survived they thrived! The Ottawa were great traders, in fact they traded all over northern Michigan. A surprising fact I read in the section was of the fleecing of the Indian...

    Read More

  • Myth Of Progress: Discrimination In Canada

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Canadians view themselves as morally correct, yet the Indigenous peoples are oppressed and discriminated by Canadians. The Aboriginal peoples culture would last longer without Canada since Canada wants to control first, but not by understanding the culture and heritage. Aboriginal peoples express how they felt about the Canadian “Myth of Progress”. Some other works take a more satirical look like “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” but the points still stand. One of the points is Canadians are discriminating the Indigenous peoples to be lazy and corrupt.

    Read More

  • The American Influence in Canadian Popular Culture

    1937 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Lorna Jean Crozier's Watching My Lover

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    Her poetry is greatly informed by her childhood in hockey town Swift Current, Saskatchewan, with that environmental aesthetic often forming the backdrop to her stories of poverty, alcoholism, and the natural world. As a prairie girl myself, it’s easy for me to picture the agricultural landscapes and rustic animals described in poems such as “Inventing the Hawk”. Her authorial voice is wistful yet confessional, a voice that looks back fondly, but not blind to the issues of the past. Sex is also a recurring theme of her work, and the intimacies of her relationship with her husband Patrick Lane are a common topic of her work. One of her poems, “Watching My Lover”, tells of Lane bathing his dying mother, the mother’s scent lingering "so everyone who lies with him / will know he’s still / his mother’s son". Animals from cats to horses feature heavily in her work, tying in once again to her love of nature.

    Read More

  • I M Not The Indian You Had In Mind Essay

    408 Words  | 1 Pages

    What do the works, “As Canadian as Possible under the Circumstances” and “I’m not the Indian you had in mind” have in common? The dissection of these writing pieces revealed that they do in fact have multiple similarities. Those ideas are the use of identity, stereotypes as well as double meanings.

    Read More

  • Untitled and Advice to My Son, by Peter Meinke

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    Meinke, Peter. “Untitled” Poetry: An Introduction. Ed. Michael Meyer. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s 2010. 89. Print

    Read More

  • Regionalism in Canada

    1815 Words  | 4 Pages

    Riegel, Christian A Sense of Place: Re-evaluating Regionalism in Canadian and American Writing Calgary : University of Alberta, 1997

    Read More

More about The Nature of the Canadian Imagination: A Product of Cultural Influence

Open Document