"Leaving Home"

Term Paper # 102819

"Leaving Home"

An examination of the concept of the "other" in Canadian culture through an analysis of David French's play "Leaving Home".

1,175 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper relates that the idea of culture, in David French's play "Leaving Home" reflects the idea of traditional perspectives towards the significance of belonging. The paper explains that French's play focuses on the character of Jacob Mercer, a Newfoundland immigrant who has relocated his family to Canada, who forcibly imposes his native values upon his two sons. The paper then examines how Mercer presents his view of the clash between generations, where the children recognize the opportunity for change and are willing to participate in it while the parent holds tight to the old ways.

From the Paper:

"The modern mainstream cultural landscape of Canada is one in which the concepts of shared values overcome cultural limitations (Angus, 21). Yet where Ben and Billy are indicative of the transformation within the mainstream, Jacob represents the fringe cultures; were the play written twenty years later, this would perhaps have been an ironic commentary on French's part, as Jacob is himself an immigrant into Canada and major resistance to the Canadian national project has come from immigrant communities (Chambers, 50). These fringe cultures are formed mainly from immigrants who have purposefully moved into limited geographic areas in order to preserve their cultural identity (Chambers, 50; Mackey, 71). "

Sample of Sources Used:

Angus, I. A Border Within: National Identity, Cultural Plurality, and Wilderness. McGill-Queen's Press, Toronto. 1997.
Chambers, Iain. Migrancy, Culture, Identity. Routledge, London. 1994.
French, David. Leaving Home and Other Plays. Harper Canada, Toronto. 1986.
Mackey, Eva. The House of Difference: Cultural Politics and National Identity in Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 2002.