Comparisons
When comparing works of the same author, especially in the same media, you can learn much about that author's style, characterization, bias and even background. Alistair MacLeod presents many similarities in his short stories, including a love for Eastern Canada, which can be based on his background of living in Cape Breton on a family farm. It is easier to give a more informed critical assessment of an author's work if you have numerous works by the same author that you can compare it to. From reading "The Return" and "The Golden Gift of Grey" we can analyze "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood" more fairly and critically than without prior knowledge of Alistair MacLeod's other accomplishments. "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood", "The Return" and "The Golden Gift of Grey" have many similarities concerning their themes and story structures. The most noticeable similarity between the three is their element of family and sacrifices made by those families. In "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood" the protagonist sacrifices his chance to have a relationship with his son so the boy can stay with his grandparents who have been the only family he has known. Instead of pulling him out of his life in St. Johns to move to a large city, the narrator doesn't di
Come all ye fair and tender ladies "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood", "The Golden Gift of Grey" and "The Return" are narrated by the first person, allowing MacLeod to display his brilliant talent of portraying the inner voices of children/ adolescents in "The Return" and "The Golden Gift of Grey". MacLeod gets into a younger mind state and is very convincing playing the role of a younger person. He realizes elements only children can have and sclose his paternity to his son so that he may live a happy life with his grandparents. "'Thank you,' says the woman. 'I don't know if you
Some common words found in the essay are:
Gift Blood, Gift Grey, Alistair MacLeod, St Johns, Grey MacLeod, Return Alex, Breton Montreal, Cape Breton, Eastern Canada, Return MacLeod, salt gift, gift blood, lost salt gift, salt gift blood, lost salt, golden gift grey, golden gift, gift grey, eastern canada, return golden gift, return golden, grey macleod, gift grey macleod, cape breton, return 86,
Approximate Word count = 1364
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
