The Shipbuilder Play Analysis

Throughout various historical instances within individual societies, immigrants were often left to assimilate to the customs of their new home and leave their old culture behind. Society was not as well equip to establish a multicultural image and integrate new ideas into their lifestyles. Ken Mitchell’s play “The shipbuilder” is a Saskatchewan work that features the finish character Jaanus Karkulaimen whom challenged the cultural integration model of assimilation. Within “The shipbuilder”, Jaanus Karkulaimen chooses to reject assimilation and preserve his finish heritage. Jaanus first demonstrates his rejection of assimilation and preservation of his Finish heritage through the value he places into his finish name. This is initially proven
I am Jaanus Karkulaimen (47).
Rather than comment on the trial, Jaanus challenges how the judge addresses him by refusing to accept his local name. This proves that Jaanus does not wish to be spoken to as a North American, but rather the Finish individual he was born as. In rejecting his local name and demonstrating commitment towards his Finish one, it is clear that Jaanus has no intention of leaving his Finish roots behind and assimilating into the North American culture. Another aspect where Jaanus rejects assimilation and preserves his heritage is through the rejection of North American culture. Jaanus is not working as part of the local competition in an effort to become rich. As business man Sholer attempts to challenge Jaanus’ work, Bender defends Jaanus by exclaiming, “We’re not trying to compete, Sholer. We got all the work we can handle” (31). Unlike locals such as Sholer, Jaanus is not trying to prove himself to the new society that he lives in. Jaanus rejects the capitalistic focus of North America and works strictly for survival. It is evident that Jaanus is more concerned with his heritage than he is with the culture and values held by those within his new town. In addition, Jaanus’ fails to accept the religious customs of his new town. As Jaanus’ brother Jukka tries to convince Jaanus to go to church, Jaanus rejects the
NO. I build a ship. BENDER. Well I don’t know nothing about ship building. (50) Jaanus is focused on applying the shipbuilding skills he obtained elsewhere despite having moved to a region that may not require that skill set. As proven by Bender’s lack of shipbuilding knowledge it is clear that shipbuilding is not a popular practice in Saskatchewan. Jaanus receives an abundance of criticism from members of the community but chooses to finish building the ship regardless of their opinions of him. In choosing to value his skill set over the customs of the new community, Jaanus proves that he serves to protect his Finish heritage and reject assimilation. Jaanus Karkulaimen rejected historical society’s model of assimilation and attempted to preserve his Finish heritage. Through the defence of his Finish name, the rejection of community values, and the direct application of his occupational skills, Jaanus successfully challenged the norms of the North American society. It is with the foundations planted by individuals such as Jaanus that countries such as Canada broke beyond cultural assimilation to properly integrate the customs and values associated with all