"Surfacing"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews and analyzes Margaret Atwood's book, "Surfacing" from the broader point of view of Canadian nationalism. It pays special attention to her powerful environmental and feminist themes, along with the personal rage evident when conflicting family and relationship dynamics come into play. The paper also discusses the pessimistic feelings many Canadians have toward the U.S. in particular and Western attitudes in general.

Table of Contents:
Thesis Statement
Introduction - How Canadians View themselves and the United States
Surfacing - Looking Closely at the Novel's Feminism, Nationalism & Guilt
A Closer Glance at Atwood, Feminism and Sex in the Novel
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Yes, "America" is a dirty word in this novel - and in real time, America is an intrusive, smothering influence on the Canadian culture - but beyond Canadian nationalism and the feminine and ecological themes, there is a power in this novel that transcends characters, themes, settings and conflicts. Human frailty and societal greed play a part here too thanks to the power of Atwood's writing skills. Atwood's protagonist / narrator is possibly a metaphor for what has happened to Atwood's beloved homeland; but the narrator is also very human, and very angry not just at her father's disappearance but at the fact that she believed her first lover when he said there haven't been any important women artists, and so she gave up her design work for him. Canada, too, gave up something (its virgin wilderness and innocence at least in part) because a new suitor (European colonialists) came along."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Atwood, Margaret. Surfacing. New York: Anchor Books / Doubleday. 1998.
• Barsto, Jane M. "Surfacing." Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series (2006), Retrieved August 6, 2006, from MagillOnLiterature Plus, Accession Number 9220000314.
• Brydon, Diana. "Beyond Violent Dualities: Atwood in Postcolonial Contexts." Approaches to Teaching Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Other Works. Ed. Sharon R. Wilson, Thomas B. Friedman, & Shannon Hengen. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1996. 50-51.
• Cardinal, Harold. The Unjust Society; the Tragedy of Canada's Indians. Edmonton: M.G. Hurtig, 1969.
• Cook, Sharon Anne. "'Patriotism, Eh?' The Canadian Version." Phi Delta Kappan 87.8 (2006): 589-593.

More papers on "Surfacing":

• Analytical Essay # 130954 : "Eco-Feminism, Gender and 'Surfacing'"
• Analytical Essay # 138450 : "Surfacing" and "St. Urbain's Horseman"
• Book Review # 131900 : "Narrative in Margaret Atwood's "Surfacing"
• Book Review # 131936 : "Silence in Margaret Atwood's "Surfacing"

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