Preview

No Great Mischief

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1820 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
No Great Mischief
In No Great Mischief, Alistair MacLeod proves to the reader that it is impossible to talk about the Scottish-Canadian heritage without mentioning tradition, family and loyalty. MacLeod wrote this book about loyalty to family tradition. It is common to talk about these three things when one describes his family or his past in general, but in this book, MacLeod has included every single intricate detail about each one of the three aspects. Family plays the biggest role in this novel. Anything that the characters say or do usually has to do with family. The first time Alexander MacDonald, the narrator of the story, mentions family it is not his own. It is one of the immigrant families picking berries along the road that he is driving on (MacLeod 1). This point takes him directly into a slight mention of his own family: the grandmother (3). Since there is no main character in the book, it is thought to be the narrator. However, I wish to disagree with this fact and say that the real main character in this book is Alexander's brother, Calum, who lives in Toronto. The first time Calum is introduced, one of the first things to come out of his mouth is of family: "I have been thinking the last few days of Calum Ruadh," (11). We find out that Alexander has a close relationship with his brother and he drives to Toronto to visit him every weekend. This has become almost a tradition because he does not visit him to actually have a constructive conversation or to resolve a problem, although Calum has many of them, the most serious of which is drinking, but instead he visits him only for the sake of visiting him. It is also a tradition in that they do the same thing every time: they drink, not so much Alexander as Calum. We later find out that Alexander has a similar tradition set up with other family members. The most distinct of which is his relationship with his grandmother: Grandma. When he visits Grandma, it is always the same routine: they sing long Gaelic songs, like the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Dougy Quotes

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Another important theme in “Dougy” is Racial Conflict. Racial conflict arises in the book when the white people think they’re superior to the aborigines. An example of this is when Craig is upset with Raymond’s dad because he doesn’t pull his weight at work and Craig never gets to see his dad. “Your fathers never here and when he is he’s always drunk, he never does anything.”…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ron Rash’s short story, Blackberries in June, closely examines one family’s response to unexpected hardship while questioning the validity of familial obligation and loyalty. When does obligation end with one’s family of origin? For the central characters in Rash’s story, this seems to be an ongoing source of struggle with no end in sight and no clear solution. It’s leaves the reader rooting for the young determined couple and hoping that hard work and determination do pay…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Philip Roth’s story, Goodbye, Columbus, the Patimkin family as well as Neil Kulgman’s life portray the various psychological effects of wanting to win and dealing with losing in many aspects of life such as love, sports and business. Many of the interaction between the characters from Short Hills highlight the somewhat individualistic nature of those belonging to the upper class in comparison to Neil’s Aunt Gladys and Uncle Max from Newark. The latter are more family oriented as Aunt Gladys emphasises the importance of recognition and being grateful for what other members of the family may provide to them. Neil’s family also behave in ways that display more class loyalty and class resentment than the Patimkin’s. The importance of winning and the effects of losing are therefore very different from one family, representative of social class, to another and even within a same family as shown with Leo Patimkin’s statement about his unsuccessful business and financial circumstances at Ronald and Harriet’s wedding. In Roth’s story the psychological dimension of winning and losing is portrayed in the characters’ love lives, in the sports they play as…

    • 1981 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    [ 5 ]. David Wilson, The Irish in Canada. (Ottawa, Canadian Historical Assocation, 1989), 5.…

    • 3169 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The account of “Canada before 1760,”1 illustrates how life in Canada is often misinterpreted before this time. Misinterpretation often occurs due to the biased portrayal, as well as debates, on such topics as frontierism vs. metropolitanism, decapitation theory vs. changing masters theory, the significance of the roles played by the natives vs. the European colonists, and also the power religion had or did not have over the native peoples.…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this newspaper article, the author emphasizes the fact that the B.C. First Nations grand chief, Stewart Phillip, has recently declined to participate in a royal ceremony. This was done as an act of protest from the grand chief, with his argument being that there are too many problems in his communities that the provincial and federal governments have ignored. The author of this article, Hina Alam, is a journalist who has worked for many different newspapers including the Times of India, the Lufkin…

    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Canadian Folklore is traditional material passed down through generations either as oral literature or “by custom and practice.” It includes jokes, legends, proverbs, rhymes, superstitions and practices such as food and craft-making. Legends are most heavily concentrated in Canadian Folklore. Folklore…

    • 2149 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Essay Paper

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cited: Miller, Jim. "Which 'Native ' History? By Whom? For Whom." Canadian Issues. Fall 2008 33-35.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of the most contentious issues in Canada's history is that of the Metis. Some people feel this unique group of people does not deserve any sort of recognition, whereas others believe their unique history and culture is something to be recognized and cherished. The history of the Metis people is filled with struggle; not only struggles against other powers, but also a struggle for self-identification. Despite strong opposition, the Metis people of Canada have matured as a political force and have taken great strides towards being recognized as a unique people.…

    • 3732 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nichols, R. (1998). Indians in the United States and Canada: A comparative history. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.…

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Canadians need to look at the work of Canadian authors who have come here from different backgrounds. Canadians should connect with their multiculturalism is very important , Canadian residents are lost in a sea of international influences, it is hard to truly have a single identity. “What is a Canadian? A Canadian fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coupled with numerous examples of reflective thoughts on her hometown, Laurence is also able to bring forth many beliefs. Seeing one’s roots first hand is truly a fascinating experience, but nevertheless not as influential. Laurence has a strong belief that her “[homeland] draws [her] more than other lands”, as others “do not have the power to move [her] in the same way as [her own country]” (331). I share this belief as well as have experienced it recently. Though ancestral roots are important, they are “in a sense that no longer [matter] so much” as “my true roots [are] here” (332).…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Canada is known around the world as a strong and independent country with a unique identity. The belief in hard work and sacrifice has enabled Canadians to survive through the hostile environment and gave the birth to Canadian identity. The struggle and sacrifices were so great that Canada has been referred as the “Great Dominion” by the poets and writers. The art and culture and tradition of aboriginal people exert great influence on Canadian identity. The poem “Indigenous” by Lea Littlewolfe describes the struggle of aboriginal people to preserve their identity. The Canadian identity was even shaped by immigrants who faced hardship but still claims to be Canadian, Margaret Atwood relates an incident about a mother who lost her son when they came to Canada. The struggle and the sacrifice that gave birth to Canadian identity even go abroad to foreign land, in the poem “Ypres 1915,” Alden Nowlan tells the story about the Canadian soldiers sacrificing in World War 1. The harsh decision struggle of aboriginals, priceless loss of the immigrants and the gory sacrifice of the soldiers in foreign land gave birth to the Canadian identity.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    mounties v. cowboys

    • 689 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. Sarah Vowell reverses her friend’s assertion of Canada not being inspirational by writing about the Royal Canadian Mounted police, and how they are different from American cowboys who were taught to shoot any Indian that approached camp. The Mounties knew to avoid America’s problem with the western Native American tribes. She compares Canada’s one law for everyone to the America that always spoke of equal rights, yet they still have a lot of work to do about it. Although Canada may seem like a boring country that hasn’t really done much, it was actually a place of refuge for the north-west Native American tribes back in the day. The Indians called the border line between America and Canada the “medicine line”, and if they did not want to be shot at for approaching American settlers, that is where they needed to go. It may look like the Mounties haven’t done anything dangerous or victorious, but they are known for their fairness to Indians who seek refuge in their country, and that is how I see Sarah Vowell reversing her friends’ assertion that Canadian history “isn’t inspiring”.…

    • 689 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mischief Rule

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Mischief Rule is a rule of construction that judges can apply in statutory interpretation in order to discover Parliament's intention. In applying the rule, the court is essentially asking the question: what was the "mischief" that the previous law did not cover, which Parliament was seeking to remedy when it passed the law now being reviewed by the court?…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics