Title: (Un)seeing is (un)belonging : the power of sight in "Vision" by Alistair MacLeod and "Eyestone" by D. R. MacDonald
Variant title:
- Le non-voir et le non-appartenir : le pouvoir de la vue dans "Vision" d'Alistair MacLeod et "Eyestone" de D. R. MacDonald
Source document: The Central European journal of Canadian studies. 2018, vol. 12-13, iss. [1], pp. 119-131
Extent
119-131
-
ISSN1213-7715 (print)2336-4556 (online)
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/138498
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
The article examines the notions of seeing and belonging as being central to the short story tradition of Nova Scotia, exemplified here by two of the region's most prominent writers: Alistair MacLeod and D. R. MacDonald. The stories analyzed (namely, in "Vision" and "Eyestone") further support the idea of the role of tradition and history as being central to the short fiction of Nova Scotia; also shown are how the problems and difficulties that arise between the opposition mainland/island very often lead to problems with understanding or even an inability to find one's place in the world. Analyzing the two texts in detail, the author argues that the two authors pay special attention to tradition as a central tool in their repertoire and that the problems outlined very often oscillate between the notions of seeing/unseeing as prerequisites for belonging/unbelonging.
L'article examine les notions de voir et d'éprouver un sentiment d'appartenance qui sont au centre de la tradition des nouvelles néo-écossaises, une tradition illustrée ici par les deux écrivains les plus en vue : Alistair MacLeod et D. R. MacDonald (plus précisément dans « Vision » et « Eyestone »). Les nouvelles analysées soutiennent davantage l'idée que le rôle de la tradition et de l'histoire est au centre des nouvelles de la Nouvelle-Écosse et que les problèmes et les difficultés qui surgissent dans l'opposition continent/île (mainland/island) entraînent souvent des problèmes de compréhension ou une incapacité à trouver sa place dans le monde. Après avoir analysé en détail les deux textes, l'auteur défend l'argument selon lequel MacLeod et MacDonald accordent une attention particulière à la tradition en tant qu'outil central de leur oeuvre et que les problèmes qu'ils soulignent oscillent très souvent entre les notions de voir / ne pas voir, comprises comme une condition nécessaire pour éprouver ou ne pas éprouver un sentiment d'appartenance.
References
[1] "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data." Statistics Canada. August 28, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
[2] Berces, Francis. "Existential Maritimer: Alistair MacLeod's The Lost Salt Gift of Blood." Studies in Canadian Literature 16.1. (1991).
[3] Campey, L. H. After the Hector: the Scottish pioneers of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, 1773–1852. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2008.
[4] Cook, Eleanor. "A Seeing and Unseeing in the Eye" Canadian Literature and the Sense of Place." Daedalus, Vol. 117, No. 4, In Search of Canada (Fall, 1988), pp. 215–235.
[5] Creelman, David. Setting in the East: Maritime Realist Fiction. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2003. Print.
[6] Kennedy, Michael. "Gaelic Nova Scotia an Economic, Cultural and Social Impact Study (Curatorial Report #97)." Nova Scotia Museum, ojs.library.dal.ca.
[7] MacDonald, D. R. "Eyestone": Stories. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1988. Print.
[8] MacLeod, Alistair. Island: the complete stories. New York: Vintage, 2002. Print.
[9] Papadopoulos, Renos K. The handbook of Jungian psychology: theory, practice and applications. Routledge, 2008.
[10] Soto, Cristina I. Sanchez. "The Place of Memory and the Memory of Place in Alistair MacLeod's Short Story Cycle As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories." Essay. University of Complutense, Madrid, 2001.
[11] The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.
[2] Berces, Francis. "Existential Maritimer: Alistair MacLeod's The Lost Salt Gift of Blood." Studies in Canadian Literature 16.1. (1991).
[3] Campey, L. H. After the Hector: the Scottish pioneers of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, 1773–1852. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2008.
[4] Cook, Eleanor. "A Seeing and Unseeing in the Eye" Canadian Literature and the Sense of Place." Daedalus, Vol. 117, No. 4, In Search of Canada (Fall, 1988), pp. 215–235.
[5] Creelman, David. Setting in the East: Maritime Realist Fiction. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2003. Print.
[6] Kennedy, Michael. "Gaelic Nova Scotia an Economic, Cultural and Social Impact Study (Curatorial Report #97)." Nova Scotia Museum, ojs.library.dal.ca.
[7] MacDonald, D. R. "Eyestone": Stories. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1988. Print.
[8] MacLeod, Alistair. Island: the complete stories. New York: Vintage, 2002. Print.
[9] Papadopoulos, Renos K. The handbook of Jungian psychology: theory, practice and applications. Routledge, 2008.
[10] Soto, Cristina I. Sanchez. "The Place of Memory and the Memory of Place in Alistair MacLeod's Short Story Cycle As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories." Essay. University of Complutense, Madrid, 2001.
[11] The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.