Sam Lee Wong

At Home in a Strange Place The Prairies are often portrayed as cold, lonely and harsh landscapes. The people of the prairies are often depicted in the literature as strong and enduring but with a genuine frailty. The stories of Gabrielle Roy take no exception to this trend. Prairie inhabitants are often viewed as bored and isolated persons, tucked away from excitement. Gabrielle Roy’s short stories “Where Will You Go, Sam Lee Wong?”, “A Tramp at the Door” and “Hoodoo Valley”, explore prairie dwellers in difficult landscapes surviving their isolation because of the friendships and connections that help them through, but more importantly, the objects or landscapes that remind them of their past and allow them to move forward. These reminders
to their past serve as a comfort for these people and allows them to live their new prairie life whilst never letting go of their old one.
Gabrielle Roy’s character Sam Lee Wong has come to Canada and settled in the small town of Horizon, Saskatchewan.
Sam Lee Wong lives shut away in his restaurant that doubles as his home. He is hard working and desperate to make his restaurant a success. Sam Lee Wong wants so badly to make life work in his newfound home. He soon befriends a town outcast named Smouillya, and together they find friendship and companionship in the harsh and lonely prairie town they call home. Sam Lee Wong lives a lifetime inside his little restaurant. He sees change and growth through his patrons and out the big glass window at the front of his store. Shortly after arriving, Sam Lee Wong learns that life in the prairies is often difficult and harsh. The cold winter months and intense heat of the summer are hard and difficult to deal with; however, Sam Lee Wong is strong and resilient but often portraying an image of frailty. The windows of Sam Lee Wong’s store allow others a look inside at the curious little Chinese immigrant they now share their town with but these windows also allow Sam Lee Wong a look at the outside world. He lives his life behind this window but is often transported beyond its panes of glass. He looks to the hills in the distance and sees another life, a past life. He is reminded of his time before the
Canadian Prairies, in China, where everything was comfortable and known to him (92). For Sam Lee Wong the hills represent his past, present and future. They remind him of the “little round hills of his childhood” (59), his present home in this small prairie town, and his future home, upon his death. The memories of his past and thoughts of his future along with his companionship with Smouillya allow Sam Lee Wong an outlet to life outside the four walls of his restaurant. When Sam Lee Wong leaves Horizon and finds himself riding a train to an undecided destination. He finds a home in Sweet Clover, Saskatchewan, a town where the hills can still be seen. For Sam Lee Wong, the hills represent something more than they are, they are his hopes, his dreams, and connections with the past. It does not matter where Sam Lee Wong is, as long as the hills can be seen, he will always be at home (96).
Gabrielle Roy’s story “A Tramp at the Door” allows the reader to feel the loneliness of the Trudeau family. The reader is granted entry into the home of a family in search of a spark, in wait of something. Albertine, who is silently waiting, watching out the window for something or someone to come along and rid her family of their boredom and isolation. Roy fulfills their needs by way of a Tramp at their door named Gustave. Arthur, the man of the family, does not share stories or speak at all of his relatives from Quebec. However, when “cousin” Gustave begins speaking of Arthur’s long lost “family”, we notice a stirring in Arthur. He is excited, although it has been his choice not to keep in correspondence with his relatives, he is eager to know more about his lost past. Roy even goes as far to say as “words were flying from his lips” (13). Arthur longing to learn more about his past and the players in it goes far beyond the simple idea of knowing what people are doing these days; Arthur longs to idealize his past, allowing him to idealize himself, helping him to find value in himself. After the Tramp leaves, the Trudeau family is left in a state of loss.
The time passes and they “no longer talked of him, but thought of him often, each of [them] , in the evening when a shadow grew long on the road outside” (31). The Trudeaus are dealing with the continuity of a life shut away, a life of quiet, cold, isolated, prairie life. Albertine, the female head of house, remained somewhat distant with the tramp while he stayed with the family; However, after feeling the loss of Gustave and his vibrant stories that seemed to transport the family outside of their prairie home, she comes to realize the fond thoughts and feelings he instilled in her. She could feel his absence. Gustave represents Albertine`s window to the rest of the world. Gustave’s stories took Albertine to places she had never been and introduced her to people she had never met. After the tramp returns and in his delirium confesses his ploy. Upon further investigation by Arthur, the Trudeau`s realize they have been played for fools by a con-man. Albertine, however, finally understanding Gustave`s statement ``Come now! Who`s related to who? There`s a question: where is starts, where it stops, who knows? ” (20). For Albertine, the tramp is fun and interesting. Albertine ends Gustave`s visit with the care and familiarity reserved for family and friends, shouting “Take care! Take good care…Cousin Gustave!”
(39). In Hoodoo Valley by Gabrielle Roy, a large group of new immigrants, namely the Doukhobors, are in search of the perfect location to settle and make a home. After weeks of not finding anything to their liking, “just the flat land” (100), the Doukhobors finally agree on an unpromising location because of its strong resemblance to their homeland. The dhoukkabors immediately decide this is where they must settle (108). The Doukhobors wept with excitement and happiness after finding a place reminiscent of their homeland; a place in this strange new land where they can feel comfortable and at home (110).
Prairie literature is peppered with unexpected friendships and connections to the past that aid in the survival and happiness of people living in the Prairies, often filling prairie dwellers with a sense of belonging, comfort, and community. Literature about the Canadian Prairies usually shares the theme of a cold, difficult and unwaveringly harsh environment. The inhabitants of this land are viewed as bored, isolated individuals. Gabrielle Roy’s stories offer them an outlet, an opportunity to experience the world through connections made with people, objects and landscapes. In a “Tramp at the Door”, Gustave, a traveller with no set address, a million stories and a chameleon’s traits offers the family exactly what they have been longing for, excitement and connection with people and the world outside their prairie environment. In “Where Will You Go, Sam Lee Wong?”, a Chinese immigrant feels acceptance and belonging with his newfound friend, Smouillya. This friendship allows Sam Lee Wong a sense of belonging and community. The hills in the distance allow Sam Lee Wong the comforts of his native land and the hopes of his future. Sam Lee Wong experiences friendship and connection in a lonely, strange place. The Doukhobors find comfort in the resemblance of their homeland and Hoodoo Valley, ultimately allowing them to feel at home and settled. Gabrielle Roy writes of the power of connection to a person, object or landscape, filling Prairie dwellers with the comfort, strength and sense of community needed to survive life in the Canadian flatlands.

Works Cited
Roy, Gabrielle. “A Tramp at the Door,” Garden in the Wind. Trans. Alan Brown. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1989. 3-40. Print.
Roy, Gabrielle. “Hoodoo Valley” Garden in the Wind. Trans. Alan Brown. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1989. 97-111. Print.
Roy, Gabrielle. “Where will you go, Sam Lee Wong?” Garden in the Wind. Trans. Alan Brown. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1989. 41-96. Print.