English 1116 Assignment: Analyzing Native and Newcomer Literature

This assignment presents an analysis of various literary passages, including poems and excerpts from essays and short stories, focusing on themes of Native and Newcomer experiences. The analysis covers works such as Duncan Campbell Scott's "The Half-breed Girl", Drew Hayden Taylor's "Take us to Your Chief", and Susanna Moodie's "Roughing It in the Bush", alongside excerpts from Marilyn Dumont's "Circle the Wagon" and Andre Alexis's "Fifteen Dogs". The assignment explores the use of literary devices, cultural contexts, and the portrayal of Indigenous perspectives, examining themes like fear, colonization, memory, and the clash of cultures. The analysis also considers the evolution of Canadian narratives and the inclusion of Indigenous voices within the literary canon. The assignment includes close readings of selected passages, essay responses, and explores concepts like anthropomorphism, associational literature, and binary oppositions, providing a comprehensive understanding of the selected texts and their cultural significance. The assignment aims to analyze the literary works from different perspectives and contexts.

Running head: NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
Passage 1:
“She wakes in the stifling wigwam, Where the air is heavy and wild, She fears for
something or nothing With the heart of a frightened child.”
“The Half-breed Girl” by Duncan Campbell Scott
This passage is from the poem, “The Half-breed Girl” by Duncan Campbell Scott.
This poem is written in the from of “iambic pentameter” and the poem is narrated from the
perspective of a first person subjective matter. This belongs to the genre of meditative and the
tone used in it is depressing tone. It presents a conflict between life and death. This stanza
focus on the fear of the girl which has compared to frightened child’s heart. The term
‘wigwam’ used in the stanza means, a traditional Native American building which are used
for the purpose of housing, and these made of mud, wood, and hay (Scott).
The girl in the poem has moved out of her house in a city to a wigwam only because
wants to be close to the nature in order to return to her natural state of mind. The stifling
wigwam symbolises the atmosphere within the small house, which is suffocating and
unpleasant which is making the girl uneasy when her past haunts her. The poet is enhancing
the basis of frightened situation of the girl with the intensity of negativity that is present in
her past, and what she feels in side the house which is wild and heavy, also it can be noticed
that there is no such thing or object mentioned here the stanza which can depict the actual
cause of the fear, as its written that, she fears something or nothing, which shows that the fear
of the girl is from some situation and some material object. The fear from the memories of
her past which haunts all the time.
The poem “Half-breed Girl”, presents the situation of a girl who is troubled with
supreme fear and that fear is making her restless and at the same time it is not letting her
sleep during the very night. Presumably the girl is frightened because she is not able to forget

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
something, it might some memory or some situation in the past which haunting her. The girl
in the poem is supposedly dealing with a troubled past which she had and that the memories
of that past are not letting her live at peace, and the fear is following her wherever she goes
she sees appearances of her past. The fear is extreme particularly during the winter, this time
intensifies the fear even more. On the other hand Summer days reminds her of the happy
times and memories of her past life, however, it does not help her in any way to forget the
fear and the horrible frightening incidents that has happened to her in the past. The girl
previously lived in a big city and the life of the city did not suited her and the city life was
way too much for her as she used to feel suffocated, and the lifestyle she also never get used
rather felt unpleasant in that life. Although, the girl is now a grown up woman but she has
still not been able to escape the matter of her fear from the terrible and horrific past life of
hers, and she still feels the frightening sensation which haunts her wherever she goes and she
also gets glances of her past which makes her restless. Also, she is surrounded by nature in
her present situation but she will never be able to escape and nothing will help her to forget
her past and heal out of it. The poem ends with the conclusion that the girl will only be able
escape this fear and forget her past only after death, which depicts that death is her only
healer.
Passage 2:
“I think it wanted to be Native. And it didn’t like how the story ended.’ King was a man
of calculation and mathematics. Tragic social and historical phenomena were difficult
for him to process. ‘Native people… like Indians?’ ‘For God’s sake, Mark, join the
twenty-first century. Our friend in there seems to be having trouble processing the by-
products of contact and colonization.”
“Take us to Your Chief: and Other Stories” by Drew Hayden Taylor

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
This passage is extracted from the piece of study by Drew Hayden Taiyor's “Take us
to Your Chief: and Other Stories”. This text is a collection of different stories, however this
particular passage is solely revolves around the character and the protagonist named
Professor Mark King, who works for a research firm named Futurevision, and also has a
plethora of degrees (Taylor).
This explains the situation when Professor Mark King along with Dr. Chambers went
forward in order to feed the AI information, where Chamber has served as a lead
communicator. Having more information it becomes increasingly concerned having its self
existence and the notion of fact that whether it has a soul. After having conversation of a few
days with the Chambers and AI, kings started to realise some unpleasantness regarding the AI
responses, which indicates towards the signs of neuroses. Even after having this behavioural
issue Chamber decided to feed the AI information regarding the history and the culture of the
human race.
The Al became obsessed once he received the information, with the native and
indigenous spiritual beliefs prior to the America’s colonization alongside its intention of
returning. This resulted in finding out information regarding the colonisation and genocide of
native or indigenous people. Upon her arrival, it has been totally removed from the hard drive
and one message has been kept on the screen, which signifies the Al’s suicide.
Passage 3:
“The men and boys were in the water, while the women, with their scanty garments
tucked above their knees, were trampling their bedding in tubs, or in holes in the rocks,
which the retiring tide had left half full of water. Those who did not possess washing
tubs, pails, or iron pots, or could not obtain access to a hole in the rocks, were running
to and fro, screaming and scolding in no measured terms. The confusion of Babel was

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
among them. All talkers and no hearers–each shouting and yelling in his or her uncouth
dialect, and all accompanying their vociferations with violent and extraordinary
gestures, quite incomprehensible to the uninitiated. We were literally stunned by the
strife of tongues.”
“Roughing It in the Bush” by Susanna Moodie
This passage is extracted from the piece of work of Susanna Moodie, named
“Roughing It in the Bush”. She spent her life as a Canadian settler, moved towards upper
Canada, which is Peter Peterborough, Ontario in the year 1830s. This piece of work has been
done by her by the suggestion of her editor to write a guide to settler living for British
subjects supposedly moving to Canada. This particular work was published in the year 1852,
and was one of Moodie's successful literary work, as it is partially memoir, partly
novelization of experience and it has been structured as a proper chronological series based
on sketches (Moodie).
Focusing on interpreting the passage, going through lines it can be noticed that the scenario
which is shown here is of a water side scenario, where boys and men are inside the water, but
on the hand women were washing clothes and bedding in the tubs and rock holes which are
often getting filled with water with the tide coming, and those who are not doing this are
running and shouting without any measured terms. There is a confusion going on as nobody
is hearing anyone rather just screaming by themselves, as everyone was shouting using their
own dialect and this altogether as the accompaniment of all of their vociferousness was
causing and unique, violent and extraordinary gesture which is indecipherable to the
commenced.
Passage 4:

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
“there it is again orbiting, lunar, hoops encompassing your thoughts and canonizing
mine, there it is again, circle the wagons. . . .”
“Circle the Wagon” by Marilyn Dumont
This particular passage is an extracted piece from a classic conversation. The notion
of the passage is indicating towards the circle of wagon which is towards the culture of India
and the role of colonization over it, where the statement giver who is neither Indian nor white
is covering out various topics regarding the cross cultural workshop, the condition of native
people under the white people, and the colonization effects and the wrong and barbarous
deeds of colonial white people over Indian people. It also talks about the negative role that
has been played by the government instead of solving things. In addition, it also mentioned
some attributes of the Indian culture which is all about sharing, harmony and circular
thinking which is a great ideology, as they do not think linearly (Hulan).
Essay 1.
An apologue is something which is a philosophical fable that includes talking animals
and notions of morality. Out of five of such philosophical series of tales by Andre Alexis in
this genre, “Fifteen Dogs”, comes in the row of second. This tale is also winner of the Giller
Prize 2015 and was worthy to the tribute. Apart from that this is an allegorical novel. This
piece of study revolves around the notion of faith, power, place, hatred and love (Alexis).
Andre is giving messages in almost throughout his work, as he explained about
diverse reaction of dogs in terms of gaining human intelligence. Fifteen dog is a mere
apologue, a Greek ancient type of moral fable positioning animals as such kind of characters
that can stand in for human experience, also the form pointed on details which are
exaggerated also sometimes cartoonish, which is the intended moral of the novel story. In this
piece of study Alexis has simplified the consciousness experience along with accessing the

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
problem of the mind through the way of immense dog loving heart. Each of the dog present
in the novel became a sort of figure or model of imagining, thinking and at the same time
experiencing the world, all the aspects are solely depicted in the form of mere art. Andre's
perfect ability of delivering tenderness and supreme rigour in terms of the notion is
simultaneously amazing capacity of showcasing, which reflect from his objectives in this
piece work. This novel charms much more than it actually challenges, and when Andre is
grasping the ideological concept and big ideas along with cognitive and metaphysical
concerns, the strength of his moral message transform into a form of art.
Hence, in conclusion it can be considered that Andre is all about delivering the
message of morality, love, kindness through the notion of dog loving and presenting them in
the form of human experience and character.
Essay 2.
This piece of work will be focusing on the context of inclusion of Indigenous
perspective in the Canadian canon and analyse the reasons which has altered the Canadian
narrative from its prior form of colonial text to the modern type text (Lane).
New resources, curricula and textbooks have imagined a much inclusive narrative arc.
However, a more complex and critical representation of Indigenous perspective has taken
place which remained complex for various reasons, along with several ongoing failures and
misinterpretations based on addressing the concept of Indigenous resurgence and sovereignty
which are not linked with the nation state. The research of historical education has
demonstrated that aboriginal people’s representation in the field of Canadian textbook,
resources and curriculum depiction have been presented historically in problematic and
limited paths. In the year 2007,Clarks has depicted categories of native people with time
involving, savage, spectator, problem, exotic, protestor, invisible, and uniquely spiritual. This

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
othering is the Indigenous people’s outer spectrum challenge of dominant national narrative.
In addition, Levesque in the year 2016, has argued regarding the integration of Indigenous
perspective within the narrative of Canada is more than only a concern of inclusion and
implementation as it presents a unique challenge. In other sense, the resurging level of
historical content similar to native peoples in the recommended curriculum does not consider
implementing such content in narrative structures, as history in the field of schools has
undergone long criticism and scrutiny in its portrayal of various communities, identities,
nations.
Hence, in conclusion it can be considered that the term historical narratives are
reified, constructed, and openly challenged in the field of inclusion in any area. The inclusion
of prior ignored ethnic, racialized, cultural, and gendered cluster within the grand narrative of
Canadian curriculum has undergone a long debate in the wars of history, however, they have
entered the textbook and curriculum throughout the nation with generous amount of support
and acceptance.

NATIVE AND NEWCOMER LITERATURE
References:
Alexis, André. Fifteen dogs. Coach House Books, 2015.
Hulan, Renee. "Cultural Contexts for the Reception of Marilyn Dumont's A Really Good
Brown Girl." Journal of Canadian studies 35.3 (2000): 73-96.
Lane, Richard J. The Routledge concise history of Canadian literature. Routledge, 2011.
Moodie, Susanna. Roughing it in the Bush. Good Press, 2019.
Scott, Duncan Campbell. "The Half-Breed Girl.”." 55-56.
Taylor, Drew Hayden. Take Us to Your Chief: And Other Stories: Classic Science-Fiction
with a Contemporary First Nations Outlook. D & M Publishers, 2016.