Canadians and Americans: Myths and Literary TraditionsKatherine L. Morrison Routledge, 2017 M11 30 - 328 pages Much can be learned from a nation's literature. Examining three hundred years of cultural traditions, Katherine L. Morrison, a former American, now a Canadian, takes the reader through the historical, political, and sociological milieu of Canada and the United States to dispel misconceptions that they share near-identical social attitudes and historical experiences.To most Americans and much of the rest of the world, America and Canada differ little except in terms of climate. It is true that they share a common British heritage and immigration patterns, but there are subtle cultural differences between the two countries. These may appear insignificant to Americans, but they are not insignificant to Canadians. Comparing mythologies each of the countries share about the other, the author examines national views of their histories, from the common origin of both nations in the American Revolution, through the two world wars. She also examines the role of nature and images of place and home in Canadian and American literary writing, noting the disparate historical development of the two national literatures. Using specific works by recognized authors of their time, Morrison considers the role of religion and the church, violence and the law, and humor and satire, in the literature of both countries. The book also explores the role of women, race, and class in the literature of both countries. It concludes with a discussion of the tenacity of national myths, and draws some tentative conclusions.Now published in paperback in the United States, Morrison's broad-based approach to a largely unexplored subject will invite future study as well as improve understanding between Canada and the United States. Canadians and Americans will be of interest to cultural historians, American studies specialists, political scientists, and sociologists. |
Contents
A Sense of the Past | |
Nature | |
A Sense of Place | |
Religion and the Church | |
Gender Ethnicity and Class | |
States | |
Violence | |
Humor | |
The Tenacity of National Myths | |
Other editions - View all
Canadians and Americans: Myths and Literary Traditions Katherine L. Morrison No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
Adams Alice Munro American literature American Revolution American writers authority Big Bear Black British Canada Canadian literature Catholic characters church Civil claims colonies colonists comic Copyright critics culture Davies early Emerson England English Canadians father Faulkner fiction French French-Canadian frontier Frye God’s Haliburton Hawthorne Henry hero human humor Ibid Indian Jefferson John John Updike Kazin killed land Leacock Leatherstocking Lipset literary live Loyalists Margaret Atwood McClelland & Stewart Métis myth narrator Nat Turner nation Native nature never nineteenth century North America Northrop Frye novel outrage past Penguin poem popular prairie protagonist published Puritan Quebec religion religious Reprinted by permission Richard Slotkin road novel Robertson Davies Sam Slick satire says sense of place slavery slaves Slotkin society story tells Thoreau Toni Morrison Toronto town tradition Turner Twain twentieth century United University Press violence western wife woman women Yankee York young