Margaret Atwood

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Margaret Atwood is not merely a writer but also the author of a more formative treatise on Canadian literature, "Survival", which serves as a context for interpreting and understanding the work of Canadian authors, in which she claims that Canada has a distinct national literature, distinguished from American and British standards. The author relates that Atwood argues that the central organizing metaphor or "symbol" for Canadian literature is survival, not merely that act of living through difficult times but rather an entire mind-set, which pervades the people and literature of the nation. The paper states that Atwood, writing from her own experience, lived as a child in the deep bush and observed the difference between what the characters of "Cat's Eye" call the wild and the tame of the world and the characters of "Surfacing" call the natives and the Americans.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Atwood's Career History
Survival: The Theory
Nature and Meaning in "Surfacing"
Survival and Nature in "Cat's Eye"
The Influence of Atwood's Life
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The challenge of surviving society and seeking legitimacy is perhaps the greatest challenge in "Cat's Eye", and yet the society of Toronto against which Elaine struggles is rather tame in comparison with the difficult situations of some of Atwood's other heroines, such as Offred. In "Handmaid's Tale", the great difficulties which patriarchy creates for women who wish to communicate with one another are made less subtle and more blatant. Offred spends months communicating with Ofglen before they begin to be able to communicate more than a few words at a time. She is likewise unable to truly communicate with Serena or with the Marthas. Here the Aunts inform and abuse their fellow women, and paranoia and backstabbing are the norm."

More papers on Margaret Atwood:

• Analytical Essay # 130175 : "Religion in Margaret Atwood's "Cat's Eye"
• Essay # 137893 : "The Construction of Masculinity in Margaret Atwood’s, The Edible Woman"
• Book Review # 131936 : "Silence in Margaret Atwood's "Surfacing"
• Book Review # 131900 : "Narrative in Margaret Atwood's "Surfacing"

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