Canadian Literature - Traits of Canadian Literature

Traits of Canadian Literature

Traits common to works of Canadian literature include:

• Failure as a theme: Failure and futility feature heavily as themes in many notable works; for instance, Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley or Kamouraska by Anne Hebert.
• Humour: Serious subject matter is often laced with humour. See also: Canadian humour.
• Mild anti-Americanism: There is marked sentiment of anti-American often in the form of gentle satire. While it is sometimes perceived as malicious, it often presents a friendly rivalry between the two nations
• Multiculturalism: Since World War Two, multiculturalism has been an important theme. Writers using this theme include Mordecai Richler (author of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), Margaret Laurence (author of The Stone Angel), Rohinton Mistry, Michael Ondaatje (author of The English Patient) and Chinese Canadian writer Wayson Choy.
• Nature (and a "human vs. nature" tension): Reference to nature is common in Canada's literature. Nature is sometimes portrayed like an enemy, and sometimes like a divine force.
• Satire and irony: Satire is probably one of the main elements of Canadian literature.
• Self-deprecation: Another common theme in Canadian literature.
• Self-evaluation by the reader

• Search for Self-Identity: Some Canadian novels revolve around the theme of the search for one's identity and the need to justify one's existence. A good example is Robertson Davies's Fifth Business, in which the main character Dunstan Ramsay searches for a new identity by leaving his old town of Deptford.
• Southern Ontario Gothic: A sub-genre which critiques the stereotypical Protestant mentality of Southern Ontario; many of Canada's most internationally famous authors write in this style.
• The underdog hero: The most common hero of Canadian literature, an ordinary person who must overcome challenges from a large corporation, a bank, a rich tycoon, a government, a natural disaster, and so on.
• Urban vs. rural: A variant of the underdog theme which involves a conflict between urban culture and rural culture, usually portraying the rural characters as morally superior. Often, as in Stephen Leacock's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town or Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief, the simplicity of rural living is lost in the city.