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The Mask Of The Bear By Margaret Laurence

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Margaret Laurence was a Canadian novelist born in Manitoba. She liked to travel and she based some of her works on the places she visited. Five of her books are based on a town called Manawaka, though it is fiction, it is based on her birthplace. The story The Mask of the Bear by Margaret Laurence, portrays a young girl that lives in an unhealthy environment, this is shown through the themes of entrapment and loneliness, through certain aspects of Vanessa’s writing by using her mind and body to escape, and furthermore, the story also combines the symbolism of wearing a mask. The theme of entrapment and loneliness displays how Vanessa lives in an unhealthy home. Through Vanessa’s writing, it is revealed that she uses her mind and body to …show more content…

The above quote states, “the family”, it does not say, “my family” and Vanessa keeps on referring to the house as “the Brick house”, it is never referred to as a home, this ties in to the idea of entrapment within this family and house that Vanessa feels estranged too. In contrast, all the family members had decided to cope in different ways, which included loneliness and entrapment within themselves. The grandfather only desired lone time, “[t]hen he went down to the basement by himself” (Laurence 77). It seems as though, the grandfather goes down into the basement every time he is faced with a hard situation. One of Vanessa’s uncles that lived in Toronto came for the funeral and his way of dealing is the least healthy, “Uncle Terence went straight into the kitchen, brought out his pocket flask, and poured a hefty slag of whiskey for himself” (Laurence 78). All the different ways that the family members decided to cope is very important because they all show Vanessa how she might consider dealing with future deaths. In brief, loneliness and entrapment is an unhealthy type of environment for children to be around, there are different ways that theses aspects are shown within this story; silences and the feelings of uselessness; neglect during hard times; and, seeking solitary and the help of a bottle.
Through Vanessa’s writing, it is revealed that she uses her mind and body to escape the real

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