Alistair Macleod- Modern World Versus Traditional World Essay

Close your eyes and imagine a world free of war, suffering and pain; an environment that provides all the necessary luxuries to maintain eternal happiness; one that is stable, friendly, peaceful and enjoyable. In this world, every inconvenience known to man is rid of. We are no longer affected by disease, aging, heartbreak, depression or loneliness; conformity is at hand and stability is achieved. Now envision a world where there is no love, families do not exist, humans are no longer conceived yet created in test tubes, and sexual promiscuity is not only acceptable but enforced. Picture an environment where there is no religion, art or history. The human mind and body is assembled accordingly and we lack the freedom of

Overall, James Bartleman successfully addresses the issues of marginalization and assimilation of First Nations people in Canada. Through Bartleman’s stylistic choices, As Long as the Rivers Flow narrates the fictional story of a Native raised in

In his book A Chance in the World Steve Pemberton tells us about growing up in the Massachusetts foster care system. Steve was removed from his mother 's care as a toddler and went from the life of an abused and neglected foster child with no self identity, to a successful, professional man with a family of his own. Steve breaks his story into three parts.

"'God isn't compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness.'" So says Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. In doing so, he highlights a major theme in this story of a Utopian society. Although the people in this modernized world enjoy no disease, effects of old age, war, poverty, social unrest, or any other infirmities or discomforts, Huxley asks 'is the price they pay really worth the benefits?' This novel shows that when you must give up religion, high art, true science, and other foundations of modern life in place of a sort of unending happiness, it is not worth the sacrifice.

The short story “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod is narrated by a man who comes from a fishing family. His mother’s side of the family has forever lived and worked by the sea and continues this tradition. The narrator’s father always wanted to be an academic, but worked on the boat to support his family. Through this passage it is evident that the parents’ characters clash in many aspects of their lives and are in constant conflict. MacLeod demonstrates this through the use of repetition, the contrast in other unrelated ideas, and through information that is withheld.

In modern society, most traditions are viewed as customs that unify people, strengthening relationships between family, friends, and community. In contrast, Shirley Jackson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman blatantly exhibit how outdated traditions in history have severed relations amongst people, acting as divisive forces rather than unifying practices. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Lottery”, old traditions of the societies in the stories incite conflict amongst the characters, negatively influencing relationships between and within characters.

Upon watching the play Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion, written by playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, I found myself engulfed by a parallel narrative that illustrated a plethora of significant topics. Who knew that learning about a dead Canadian prime minister could be both captivating and informative? Taylor's Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion, commissioned by the National Arts Centre, does an arguably nearly flawless job of bringing light to some of Canada’s oldest and deepest shattered relations through two simple story lines that ultimately merge. This play informs viewers of current and serious topics through the plot and characters, with the help of a little singing and dancing of course.

North America. A land of acceptance, or so one would think. The story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie, is one such case wherein a stigma against a group is present that suggests otherwise. The stigma against American Indians stems from a place where European settlers were practicing genocidal behaviours, that marked the beginning of distrust and hate between the two groups. The outcome of this fractured relationship has been a society (the American Indians) that has been destroyed, and is looking to preserve its traditions and not be lost in the rapid change of the modern age. Within this modern age lives Jackson Jackson, a Spokane Indian living in Seattle who stumbles upon a family heirloom in a pawn shop while roaming the streets one day. Jackson Jackson’s quest to retrieve his grandmother’s regalia is one that represents a longing to reconnect with his past and the traditions of his culture that have been lost in the postcolonial world.

An idea that arises No Great Mischief[, is MacLeod’s ability to prove to the readers that it is impossible to talk about the Scottish-Canadian heritage without mentioning family history, loyalty and bonds. It is common for an individual to discuss all three factors when discussing family or one’s past in general. However, in No Great Mischief, MacLeod successfully

In this world where people can acquire anything they need or want, we have to wonder, “Is the government controlling us?” Both the governments in A Brave New World and in the United States of America offer birth control pills and have abortion clinics that are available for everyone, thus making birth control pills and abortion operations very easy to acquire. Although both governments offer birth control pills and abortion clinics, A Brave New World’s government requires everyone to take the pills and immediately get an abortion when pregnant. This in turn shows us that A Brave New World’s government is controlling the population and the development of children. China is one of the few countries that currently have control of the

Traditions and old teachings are essential to Native American culture; however growing up in the modern west creates a distance and ignorance about one’s identity. In the beginning, the narrator is in the hospital while as his father lies on his death bed, when he than encounters fellow Native Americans. One of these men talks about an elderly Indian Scholar who paradoxically discussed identity, “She had taken nostalgia as her false idol-her thin blanket-and it was murdering her” (6). The nostalgia represents the old Native American ways. The woman can’t seem to let go of the past, which in turn creates confusion for the man to why she can’t let it go because she was lecturing “…separate indigenous literary identity which was ironic considering that she was speaking English in a room full of white professors”(6). The man’s ignorance with the elderly woman’s message creates a further cultural identity struggle. Once more in the hospital, the narrator talks to another Native American man who similarly feels a divide with his culture. “The Indian world is filled with charlatan, men and women who pretend…”

Aldous Huxley wisely inserts many instances of distortion to the elements in Brave New World to successfully caution the world about its growing interest in technology.

The world of Ernest Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” exists through the mostly unemotional eyes of the character Nick. Stemming from his reactions and the suppression of some of his feelings, the reader gets a sense of how Nick is living in a temporary escape from society and his troubles in life. Despite the disaster that befell the town of Seney, this tale remains one of an optimistic ideal because of the various themes of survival and the continuation of life. Although Seney itself is a wasteland, the pine plain and the campsite could easily be seen as an Eden, lush with life and ripe with the survival of nature.

The global village is vastly evident throughout all of society, moreso than ever before. As a result of the formation of this global village, there has been many consequences for society. With the rising coexistence of local and global communities, local society is adapting to suit the needs of the global village. Hence, there is a battle between the individual and the power of globalisation, as the world is becoming more connected. Rob Sitch’s 1997 film, ‘The Castle’, portrays the effects of the global village through the juxtaposition of the Kerrigan family to the Barlow group, a transnational corporation. The global village concept is also portrayed in CBC TV’s 1960 interview with Marshall McLuhan, ‘The World is a Global Village’.

My example that I will be using is Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin. Modern times is a film developed after the industrial revolution. It serves the purpose of critiquing capitalism and the social world. Modern Times begin with a factory worker who starts developing anxiety through the lack of breaks and repetitive work. When the Worker is on break, his boss is always keeping an eye on him and demands him to go back to work due to the loss of production. Soon after, the factory worker goes on lunch break, but is again distracted by his boss due to the desire to try out a new lunch contraption. At first, the new technology seems to work since the factory Worker was being fed. But, after a few seconds the contraption goes haywire and starts hurting the worker. The factory Worker goes back to work, but suddenly starts to mess up. He goes around ruining all his co-workers’ work and even get himself in prison. However, he ends up saving all the cops from the inmates’ revolution and is released early from jail. He does not want to leave since he is treated properly in jail and will be homeless in the outside world. He tries to get himself in prison again, but meets a beautiful woman Gamin who is also homeless and workless. They run off together and commit burglaries to feed themselves, but is soon discovered by the police. They manage to escape and run off to live in a small house by themselves. The factory Worker and the Gamin decides to have lunch together, but finds out that a