In 419 by Will Ferguson, there are characteristics of a postmodern Canadian novel. The definition of a “Canadian novel” has changed through the literature movements. Creating moral order and controlling landscapes was used in the colonial period and then, in the confederation period that followed, there was emphasis on nationalism and defining what it was to be Canadian. Nationalism in literature was important because it was necessary for the survival of the country in order to prevent the culture from being overpowered. The novel 419 fits in the categories of literature that came after the confederation period. 419 by Will Ferguson belongs to the category of a traditional postmodern Canadian novel since the novel has elements of intertextuality to show that texts are reconstructions, multiple narrative voices in the fragmented structure of the novel, and in the reconstruction of identity. Modernism started after the World War and two important themes developed: humans have the capacity to destroy themselves and the importance of Canadian nationalism. Many poets questioned their beliefs in God because of the World War and the poems were often cynical by suggesting that there was no grand reason for existence. Modernists attempted to cut off the romantics tied to emotions. There was no emphasis on the picturesque, but rather on chaotic everyday life. Nativist writers were interested in what it is to be a Canadian within the Canadian boarders while cosmopolitanism interpreted Canadian literature as literature in the broader spectrum of the world. Modernists attempted to recreate what Canadian literature is by removing inessential embellishments and focusing on ordinary life. Earle Birney was a Canadian nativist poet that demonstrates the modernist elements in “Vancouver Lights”.
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The location in Vancouver which suggests Birney is creating literature within Canadian boarders. “Vancouver Lights” describes a world destroying itself and the theme of destruction is used modernist literature. Paradox phrases, such as “troubling delights” (11), comment on the poems subject. The attempt to find rational in the world, although everything is contradictory, is shown in the contrasting images of light and darkness. Humans are described as “unique glowworms” (25) against the images of darkness. Birney claims that “we made and unmade them” (33) to show humans have the power to create and destroy. Similarly, modernists believed technology could save or destroy the planet. Humans are described as “sparks beleaguered by darkness” (19-20) which reinforces how there were no beliefs in a heavenly plan, but rather the idea that human life is fleeting. Birney’s literature describes the chaotic existence of Canadian life. Postmodern literature describes a fragmented and alienating world. Postmodernists questioned how things are known and attempt to immobilize universal beliefs by celebrating the breakdown of systems. Postmodern literature broke down the singular dominate “white male European” experience and focuses on multiple voices. Furthermore, postmodernism questions originality since every text is influenced by texts that came before. Postmodernist often emphasise the archaeological model of reading and writing. The archaeological model allows for discontinuity to occur in a text with layering and speculation. The archaeological model will supplant history and question chronological unity. In “Seed Catalogue” by Robert Kroetsch, elements of postmodernism are shown in the use of palimpsest, multiple voices and the paradox of presence and absence. Kroetsch challenges history and time using palimpsests, which are layered images. Since time is not linear and there is no starting point in the poem, there is no part of the story that is valued over others and that reinforces the postmodern archaeological model. The “Seed Catalogue” is a story about absences in the format, since there is no chronology, but also absences in the subject shown when the narrator says, “the absence of silkworms/ the absence of clay and wattle” (181-182). …show more content…
There are framing elements in the poem such as the image of the drowning framed in the photograph, and the speaker’s perceptions of the events that are framed in parenthesis. There is an emphasis on distortion of images and how recognizable things are. The house and trees in the poem are “smeared” or “blurred”. There is a sense of hope when the speaker says, “if you look long enough,/eventually/ you will be able to see me”(24-26). This hope is undercut since the speaker is dead so any possibility of clear vision of the drowning body is irrelevant. Postmodern literature often questions perception and has a bittersweet
The location in Vancouver which suggests Birney is creating literature within Canadian boarders. “Vancouver Lights” describes a world destroying itself and the theme of destruction is used modernist literature. Paradox phrases, such as “troubling delights” (11), comment on the poems subject. The attempt to find rational in the world, although everything is contradictory, is shown in the contrasting images of light and darkness. Humans are described as “unique glowworms” (25) against the images of darkness. Birney claims that “we made and unmade them” (33) to show humans have the power to create and destroy. Similarly, modernists believed technology could save or destroy the planet. Humans are described as “sparks beleaguered by darkness” (19-20) which reinforces how there were no beliefs in a heavenly plan, but rather the idea that human life is fleeting. Birney’s literature describes the chaotic existence of Canadian life. Postmodern literature describes a fragmented and alienating world. Postmodernists questioned how things are known and attempt to immobilize universal beliefs by celebrating the breakdown of systems. Postmodern literature broke down the singular dominate “white male European” experience and focuses on multiple voices. Furthermore, postmodernism questions originality since every text is influenced by texts that came before. Postmodernist often emphasise the archaeological model of reading and writing. The archaeological model allows for discontinuity to occur in a text with layering and speculation. The archaeological model will supplant history and question chronological unity. In “Seed Catalogue” by Robert Kroetsch, elements of postmodernism are shown in the use of palimpsest, multiple voices and the paradox of presence and absence. Kroetsch challenges history and time using palimpsests, which are layered images. Since time is not linear and there is no starting point in the poem, there is no part of the story that is valued over others and that reinforces the postmodern archaeological model. The “Seed Catalogue” is a story about absences in the format, since there is no chronology, but also absences in the subject shown when the narrator says, “the absence of silkworms/ the absence of clay and wattle” (181-182). …show more content…
There are framing elements in the poem such as the image of the drowning framed in the photograph, and the speaker’s perceptions of the events that are framed in parenthesis. There is an emphasis on distortion of images and how recognizable things are. The house and trees in the poem are “smeared” or “blurred”. There is a sense of hope when the speaker says, “if you look long enough,/eventually/ you will be able to see me”(24-26). This hope is undercut since the speaker is dead so any possibility of clear vision of the drowning body is irrelevant. Postmodern literature often questions perception and has a bittersweet