Anne of Green Gables and A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder

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Anne of Green Gables and A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder
An Articulation of Canadian Identity
If there are two works of literature than can represent Canadian Identity, then it would be L.M. Montgomery`s Anne of Green Gables and James de Mille`s A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder. Since its publication in 1908, Anne has maintained a wide readership while Strange Manuscript is probably one of the most explored Canadian novel because of its unique genres.
Anne of Green Gables features the life of an orphaned girl named Anne Shirley as she journeys to adulthood. Adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, brother and sister, Anne is a happy girl who has learned to be optimistic even in impoverished situations. She is a generous spirit, but she may also be characterized an "outcast" because she intentionally defies codes of conduct. She is an imaginative girl, but soon loses some of her childish qualities as she grows up. She turns to academics and goes on to finish university and teach at Avonlea. It is a coming-of-age story which explores several aspects of the Canadian society, earning it the status of Canadian cultural icon. It a cherished book, "an archetypal example of the Canadian who finds fame and fortune abroad while remaining true to home" ADDIN Mendeley Citation{f332915f-5526-44cb-9639-b84dce7e7b81} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "URL" : "http://canadianicon.org/table-of-contents/mirror-images-anne-of-green-gables-and-rebecca-of-sunnybrook-farm/", "accessed" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2011", "11", "20" ] ] }, "author" : [ { "family" : "Classe", "given" : "Constance" }, { "family" : "Howes", "given" : "David" } ], "container-title" : "Canadian Icon", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2009" ] ] }, "title" : "Mirror Images: Anne of Green Gables and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm", "type" : "webpage" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=f332915f-5526-44cb-9639-b84dce7e7b81" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Classe \u0026#38; Howes, 2009)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (Classe & Howes, 2009).
Released posthumously and anonymously in 1888, A Strange Manuscript found in a Copper Cylinder contributes to two kinds of Canadian writing: satire and utopian fiction ADDIN Mendeley Citation{d56ad0b8-d88a-4e4d-aa5a-4259ab413029} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "family" : "New", "given" : "William H." } ], "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1938" ] ] }, "publisher" : "University of Toroto Press Incorporated", "publisher-place" : "Toronto", "title" : "Encyclopedia of literature in Canada", "type" : "book" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=d56ad0b8-d88a-4e4d-aa5a-4259ab413029" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "manualFormatting" : "(New, 1938, p. 285)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(New, 1938)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (New, 1938, p. 285). The work is often compared to the novels of Jules Verne and H. Rider Haggard, often unfavorably. It is a tale within a tale, a story of yachtsmen grappling with the meaning of the manuscript in the novel`s title. The characters of the story talk about different fields including paleontology, literary criticism, comparative theology, etc. It is a story of a man named "Adam More, who finds himself in the semi-tropical polar world of the Kosekin, where Western attitudes, as well as legal, political and economic systems are inverted" ADDIN Mendeley Citation{d56ad0b8-d88a-4e4d-aa5a-4259ab413029} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "family" : "New", "given" : "William H." } ], "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1938" ] ] }, "publisher" : "University of Toroto Press Incorporated", "publisher-place" : "Toronto", "title" : "Encyclopedia of literature in Canada", "type" : "book" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=d56ad0b8-d88a-4e4d-aa5a-4259ab413029" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "manualFormatting" : "(New, 1938, p. 286)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(New, 1938)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (New, 1938, p. 286). It is a society, which upholds all values opposite of human ideals: poverty and pain, darkness and death. It is a world where nightmares become reality, where those who have no money reign supreme. Here personal wealth is abhorred and improving your status in society meant you have to the lowest class. It is a confusing world, but one so familiar. De mille`s use of satire and allegory is so powerful that any reader will understand that this book is not for entertainment only. Instead, it is a commentary to the "rampant materialism and spiritual restlessness of Victorian culture" ADDIN Mendeley Citation{db2a520d-ebf0-4d1a-8761-02e8e00b1eeb} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "family" : "Ketterer", "given" : "David" } ], "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1992" ] ] }, "publisher" : "Association of American University Press", "publisher-place" : "Canada", "title" : "Canadian science fiction and fantasy", "type" : "book" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=db2a520d-ebf0-4d1a-8761-02e8e00b1eeb" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "manualFormatting" : "(Ketterer, 1992, p. 11)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Ketterer, 1992)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (Ketterer, 1992, p. 11). It is a clear expression of how the author views the world, as well as notes of social issues the current world was facing.
National identity is a social construction, it cannot defined by observable social characteristics such as dress, language or customs ADDIN Mendeley Citation{1d26cdd4-d516-45b6-9f7f-0d26e8062acb} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "family" : "Davis", "given" : "Thomas C." } ], "container-title" : "Political Psychology", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issue" : "1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1999" ] ] }, "page" : "25-47", "title" : "Revisiting Group Attachment: Ethnic and National Identity", "type" : "article-journal", "volume" : "20" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=1d26cdd4-d516-45b6-9f7f-0d26e8062acb" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "manualFormatting" : "(Davis 25)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Davis, 1999)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (Davis 25). As such, national identity is one of the most important topics in sociology. In order to understand Canadian identity, one has to determine the elements that contributes to this concept. It is important to remember however, that a national identity refers to an individual`s "self view of one`s group, rather than the tangible characteristics" ADDIN Mendeley Citation{1d26cdd4-d516-45b6-9f7f-0d26e8062acb} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "family" : "Davis", "given" : "Thomas C." } ], "container-title" : "Political Psychology", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issue" : "1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1999" ] ] }, "page" : "25-47", "title" : "Revisiting Group Attachment: Ethnic and National Identity", "type" : "article-journal", "volume" : "20" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=1d26cdd4-d516-45b6-9f7f-0d26e8062acb" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "manualFormatting" : "(Davis 26)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Davis, 1999)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (Davis 26), it is composed of the feeling of attachment and loyalty and is tied to individuals` definition of themselves, a person`s sense of belongingness.
The use of literature to understand society (through sociology) is not a new one. It is a multifaceted approach and is subject of important discussions not only by sociologists but also by literary scholars. In an article by Karen Hegtvedt, breaks down the relationship between literature and society: (1) literature reflects society, (2) it influences society, and (3) it functions to maintain or justify the social order ADDIN Mendeley Citation{90f2566d-b292-468d-b944-edaeb1006a74} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "family" : "Hegtvedt", "given" : "Karen A." } ], "container-title" : "Teaching Sociology", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issue" : "1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1991" ] ] }, "page" : "1-12", "title" : "Teaching Sociology of Literature through Literature", "type" : "article-journal", "volume" : "19" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=90f2566d-b292-468d-b944-edaeb1006a74" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "manualFormatting" : "(Hegtvedt 1)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Hegtvedt, 1991)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (Hegtvedt 1). There are two approaches used by scholars to understand society through literature. The first one seeks to determine how individuals and organizations are affected the production and consumption of the literature and the second one uses methods of literary criticism to reveal the meanings of text ADDIN Mendeley Citation{90f2566d-b292-468d-b944-edaeb1006a74} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "family" : "Hegtvedt", "given" : "Karen A." } ], "container-title" : "Teaching Sociology", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issue" : "1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1991" ] ] }, "page" : "1-12", "title" : "Teaching Sociology of Literature through Literature", "type" : "article-journal", "volume" : "19" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=90f2566d-b292-468d-b944-edaeb1006a74" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "manualFormatting" : "(Hegtvedt 1-2)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Hegtvedt, 1991)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" } (Hegtvedt 1-2). These two approaches will be used in trying to understand the two novels chosen.
Canadian Identity in Anne of Green Gables
Set in 1878, Anne is was based on an story by L.M Montgomery written when she was young. It draws on a number of Montgomery`s childhood experiences at Prince Edward Island. Several of the characters were modeled on real people, for example, Anne Shirley was made in the image of Evelyn Nesbit. Like her character, Montgomery`s loyalty lies with Canada, she resisted the lure of quick success in the "States" in order to be with her family. From the author`s background alone, one can already see that Anne will be an image of Canada, but whether it is an accurate projection of the society or rather, a construction is no longer a subject of this study.
In chapter 1 of the novel, Marilla says to her neighbor, Mrs. Rachel, "Give me a native born atleast. There`ll be a risk no matter who we get. But I`ll feel easier in my mind and sleep sounder at night if we get a born Canadian" ADDIN Mendeley Citation{fcdceabd-6cde-4d6c-a5a6-2017aff768e7} CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "URL" : "/~rgs/anne-table.html", "accessed" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2011", "11", "15" ] ] }, "author" : [ { "family" : "Montgomery", "given" : "Lucy Maud" } ], "container-title" : "Project Gutenburg", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "1908" ] ] }, "title" : "Anne of Green Gables", "type" : "webpage" }, "uris" : [ "/documents/?uuid=fcdceabd-6cde-4d6c-a5a6-2017aff768e7" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Montgomery, 1908)" }...