Cam Bullen's ENGL 470 Blog
An Exploration into the nature of Stories and Canada
3:7 – Famous 'Canadians' in GGRW (155-159)
Write a blog that hyper-links your research on the characters in GGRW according to your selected section of the book. Be sure to make use of Jane Flick's GGRW reading notes on your reading list.
The density of literary and historical references within King's Green Grass Running Water is remarkable. It is this density that makes an assignment like this so interesting, and also so vital for our ability to actually understand what King is trying to achieve. But unfortunately, this density meant that by the time I had finished analyzing five pages my blog post was already reaching its limit! Consequently, this blog will only cover pages 155-159 in the class edition of Green Grass Running Water, but I think there is still plenty here for a 2500 word essay, let alone a 600 word blog.
This section contains two parts, the first being the period in which the Canadian tourists – Polly, Sue, Archie, and John – visit the Dead Dog Café. As Jane Flick notes, these names are fairly undisguised references to the famous Canadian writers Pauline Johnson, Susanna Moodie, Archibald Belaney (although in my first read-through I had thought this might be a reference to Archibald Lampman), and John Richardson (Flick 154-155).
In the second part of this section, Latisha and George fight about the differences between Americans and Canadians, an argument which introduces tension into the whole section, including the tourists' visit to the Café. At first I struggled to understand how the two parts of this section related to each other, but eventually I realized that although this tension is primarily between Canadians (Latisha) and Americans (George), there is also a subtler tension over the question of what it means to be Canadian as opposed to European. Ultimately then, both parts of this section (and arguably large swaths of the book) are about identity. King makes the reader ask what does it mean to be 'Indian'? What does it mean to be Canadian?
"Americans are adventurous" George declared. "Canadians are conservative. Look at western expansion and the frontier experience. Lewis and Clark were Americans"
What about Samuel de Champlain and Jacques Cartier? Latisha had asked.
"Europeans." George laughed, and then he gave her a hug. "Don't take it personally, Country."
(King 156)
King uses the four Canadian authors as the characters for his tourists because they all struggled with these questions of identity in one way or another. In their arguments, George and Latisha mention a multitude of historical figures, but since many of these references are self explanatory (and in my view serve primarily to set the mood for the Canadian tourists) I will focus this post on Kings use of Polly, Sue, Archie, and John.
As King writes that "Polly here is part Indian" (King 158), so too was Pauline Johnson of mixed heritage, born to a Mohawk father and English mother. Her mixed heritage appears to have lead to a somewhat uncertain identity, with Johnson also going by her Mohawk name, Tekahionwake. This tension can also be seen in Johnson's performances, where she would often begin wearing traditional Indigenous Dress and then changing into Victorian clothing (An example of one of Johnson's costumes is on display at the Vancouver Museum).
The character of Sue is also easily recognized as Susanna Moodie, who we've already discussed in this course. When she appears in the Dead Dog Café, Sue herself brings up the idea of Identity: "with the exception of Archie," said Sue, "we're all Canadians… Archie is from England, but he's been here for so long, he thinks he's Canadian, too" (King 158). This is ironic because Susanna Moodie herself only moved to Canada from England after her marriage. In this way King shows us how fluid and complex the definition of 'Canadian' can be, and especially the hypocrisy in seeing more recent immigrants as 'less Canadian'.
Archie Belaney, the third of the four Canadian tourists, was famous for his convoluted identity. Born in England as Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, he later took on the name of Grey Owl, and claimed to be of mixed Scottish-Apache heritage, hence Sue's comment "he thinks he's Canadian, too" (King 158). Like Johnson, Belaney often wore traditional Indigenous dress on his speaking tours.
The fourth and final tourist was John Richardson, who, while he didn't necessarily struggle with identity issues himself, wrote the novel Wacousta, who's antagonist is an Englishman who becomes a 'savage' in an attempt to get revenge. Identity, and what it means to be Canadian, English, and Indigenous are central themes of this lengthy but fascinating novel.
I'm sure I've missed many of King's references to other characters or other aspects of these characters' pasts, so I look forward to reading what other people found!
Flick, Jane. "Reading Notes for Thomas King's Green Grass Running Water." Canadian Literature 140-172. (1999). Web. 26 July 2016.
King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1993. Print.
Onyanga-Omara, Jane. "Grey Owl: Canada's Great Conservationist and Imposter." BBC News. BBC, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 July 2016.
"Pauline Johnson." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.
"Pauline Johnson's Performance Costume." Museum of Vancouver. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.
Sinha, Maire. "Canadian Identity, 2013." Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. N.p., 2013. Web. 26 July 2016.
"Susanna Moodie." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.
"Wacousta; Or, The Prophecy: A Tale of the Canadas." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.
CamBullen
3:5 – Coyote
Cam is a Biology and English Literature student in his fifth year at UBC.
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2:3 – Finding Home on Common Ground
Comments by CamBullen
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Linda McNeilly Purcell
Hi Cam,
I enjoyed your post, and I feel you raised an important point with your comments about identity. I agree with you that much of this novel, if not all, concerns Native People connecting and re-connecting with their cultural roots, because they have experienced a disconnect from their cultural identity. This is an important issue, especially in light of the suppression of Native culture by the governments in North America. While I was reading the novel, it seemed to me that King's message is for Native People to understand their culture and history, while at the same time finding a way to incorporate this into modern society. My question for you is, do you think this was King's message? If so, why? If not, why not?
Thanks for your comment! A tough question though… I definitely think what you articulated about Indigenous identity is one of King's major messages, but probably not his sole message. For example, he probably also had messages for his non-Indigenous readers, such as providing readers with an insight into the lives of Indigenous peoples living in modern society.
I hope that partially answers your question! I'm afraid I don't know enough about King and his body of work to guess at any more specific answers.
sean sturm
I too enjoyed reading this blog, and agree with the constant return to King's exploration of identity within Green Grass Running Water. One aspect of self-identity you didn't address in your blog was that of First Nations identity. My question for you is, looking at Archie and Polly specifically, what do you think King was saying about First Nations identity in the latter two characters? More specifically, what do you make of the European settlers who seem to want to be identified as partially of First Nations descent?
Interesting question! Without trying to speak for King, it seems to me like more than anything King was trying to highlight the complexities surrounding the Indigenous identity (and any identity for that matter). From the brief segment in the book it is hard to tell whether King is necessarily criticizing these historical Canadian figures, but he does seems to paint them as being ignorant of, and perhaps insensitive to, what they call "the Indians" (King 158).
I don't really feel comfortable speculating on King's feelings towards European settlers who identified as First Nations, and I don't even know what my own feelings are! Something about it makes me uncomfortable, but at the same time it's hard to deny the positive environmental and social impacts Grey Owl had.
I hope that answers your question!
chartils
Thanks for the post – while I recognized the names I didn't know some of those details! The link to the Canadian Identity on StatsCanada is especially great because it shows important symbols to Canada which compare the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to hockey.
But I wonder if there is a reason King put these characters in this situation specifically. More than them just being slightly annoying, I wonder if King chose these characters and labelled them as tourists because of the mixed identities you mention that may question their own Canadian-ness or if the tourist title is purely focused on the fact that they are visiting the cafe and the reserve?
What do you think about the fact that they all consider themselves tourists whether or not they consider themselves Canadian?
Hey Charlotte,
I think you raise a good point! I think the 'tourist' identity definitely ties into what King is trying to achieve in this section, by making us think about not only what it means to be Indigenous but also what it means to be Canadian. This discussion is mirrored in the fight had between Latisha and George, further strengthening King's message.
However I'm not entirely sure of what to make of the characters self identifying as tourists. Perhaps it was just a functional mechanic of inserting them into the story? But then again King seems to be such a deliberate and creative writer that I find it hard to imagine him not being extremely intentional with his introduction of these characters. Sorry I can't answer this bit! Do you have any ideas?
Charlotte Grant
Thanks for your post! You brought forward some interesting and important points about identity. Most importantly, I think, is your discussion about the complexities of Canadian identity and what it really means to be Canadian. Fluidity, immigration, and a convoluted history really "muddy the waters" on all of our identities.
August 2, 2016 — 1:53 pm
I agree that all of these things have made the notion of a Canadian identity very complicated, but at the same time I think it is part of what makes Canada such a diverse and interesting place!
sanae mendoza
Hello Cam!
I'm just catching up on everyone's blog posts today, yours was really interesting! There are many layers to "Green Grass, Running Water" that have been revealed to me through these in depth character analyses. I was pleased to learn even more about the characters through your hyperlinks. Identity exploration from an Indigenous point of view is a topic I feel like I haven't encountered often. The duality of traditional and western values is depicted as challenging in GGRW. The circumstances are vastly different from many new Canadians who balance these same feelings. The latter is something I'm more familiar with. Having a connection to a "home nation" somewhere abroad and away, seems entirely different than retaining a strong connection to traditions that transcend Canada's establishment as a country. Identity politics among GGRW's characters described in your post seem to me to be relevant to many conversations in 2016. Anyways, just some thoughts. Thanks for the good read.
August 8, 2016 — 11:19 pm
Thanks for your comment! I agree with you, it is hard to imagine the conflicting identities that must arise in a country as heterogenous as Canada. But then again, perhaps King would say that these identities aren't conflicting, they can coexist…
I find Identity Politics fascinating, I'm glad you enjoyed it too 🙂
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"Hello Cam! I'm just catching up on everyone's blog posts today, yours was really ..."
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