Ethel Wilson and Leo McKay an Example by

Ethel Wilson and Leo McKay: Do Their Roads Meet or Cross Anywhere? Introduction The fire of a period prepares the person by planting perennial pangs in him/her, which, could be the potential tool of a writer. It brings out the best of the reflections of whatever essence s/he has gathered. That essence is sometimes called as the authorial voice, or sometimes as vision. Vision, coupled with execution, could make time overlapping itself or creating a new time for its observers. It is in this enigma, lies the beauty of fiction or novel, where the writers weave their way towards a resolution or mellow in the horizon after leaving a question or two in the readers' minds; all the while evoking the curiosity among the readers to draw references from another writer's work, or to ponder over the similarity or contrast between the works of two writers. Need essay sample on "Ethel Wilson and Leo McKay: Do Their Roads Meet or Cross Anywhere?" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed That kind of literary curiosity is the genesis of this essay, where two Canadian novelists of two different period have been chosen to track down any similarity or discord between them, after listening to their authorial voices. Ethel Wilson (1888-1980) She published her first novel (Hetty Dorval, 1947) while she was at the doorstep of her sixties, after having what can be called as 'self-imposed internship' in writing, with occasional spurts of publication. Her childhood contained melancholy, and thus the germs of a writer, which might took a longer time to flourish, but, once it bloomed, it settled nothing less than featuring in the mirrors of the readers' mind; much like her own described mountain in her first novel. Swamp of Angel was published in 1954, almost seven years later, and is marked by the explicitness of her quest more than ever. Swamp of Angel, in comparison to Wilson's earlier works, hints on a philosophical shift from one of classical reference-frame to Christian mythology, which the readers come across in patches, or for that matter when the details of Maggie's journey after oppression brings in the scope to remember Christ's painful ordeal, or when the name Three Loon Lake suggests about Trinity. However, this bend could also be described as a personalized approach to a 'coming of age' novel with its mythical frame. The young McKay arrived at the scene in 1995 with his collection of short stories, which made is way up to the Giller Prize shortlist, but thereafter it took a seven-year silence before his debut novel The Twenty-six hit the stands. McKay's life is also marred by constant struggle and uncertainty and contains somewhat a shadow of his predecessor in the preference of working in isolation or gestating away from public eye. These ideas are drawn from the observation of the biographers of Wilson, or from the open confession of McKay himself. Apart from this similarity of seven-year silence between the making of Swamp of Angel and The Twenty-six, there are some other common traits in them, however long-drawn they seem to be; such thought is natural, because there is a lot of difference in their periods or in their genesis, plot, structure, theme and presentation. Wilson harped on a totemic account of her quest by making a small revolver as the central image, thereby earmarking her philosophical shift towards salvation. On the other side McKay dealt practicality with a tragic mine disaster that took away the lives of 26 miners, which pointed towards how the human-made crisis can juxtapose the cherished goal of civilization, alongside the story of its survival. More so, The Twenty-six was driven by a stray event, when McKay was shaken to his roots after hearing the tragedy at Stellarton, a small town in Neva Scotia over the radio while in his sojourn in Japan (Taylor, 2003). That event primarily brought Westray mine under the notice of the world, and secondarily under the disguise of Eastyard in Twenty-six. On the other hand, his predecessor, Wilson was driven by the locomotion of the society, as she observed through the kaleidoscope of her belief, desire and quest. However, in the process, both the Canadians tried to embalm their hearts by giving vent to their pent-up feelings; like when Maggie thinks "He is he and I am I" (Wilson), or when Ziv pants out, I hope the bastards dead(Mackay, 2003). One can argue that the visions aimed at truth are supposed to meet one another on their way. But even if one doesn't delve that deep in this limited discussion, one would agree on the resemblance in these two writers' penchant for details and knack to foreshadow either the event or the theme by using natural allegories. Like in the opening of Twenty-six, where the dry, leafless trees resemble the state of affairs that McKay would portray later, or in Swamps, when Maggie says after meeting the Gunnarsens at Three Loon Lake: "Meeting partakes in its very essence not only of the persons but of the place of meeting. And that essence of place remains, and colours, faintly, the association, perhaps for ever [sic]" (p. 75). On the other side, it can also be said that however skillful both may seem to be in portraying the nature, both in fact look more at ease when talking about humans, where their touches of nuances speak of a natural flow and show the capability to leave a mark in the readers' memory. Like when Arvel shakes salt in beer, of which Ziv follows suit later in Twenty-six , or when Edward Vardoe finds himself a perfect husband material or Halder Gunnarsen counts on his strength after his terrible accident in Swamp Angel. Similarly, on the flip side, both could have done well if they were not wholly bent down to dig their own works through years of editing; that fastidious trait in them perhaps deprived the readers from savoring spontaneity at places. However, these are merely readers' point of view; the writer knows the best about her/his baby. Conclusion The works of Ethel Wilson starts with the immorality of Hetty Dorval and comes to full circle with Ellen's compassion (Love and Salt Water, 1956), via Swamp Angel. The whole pack could be seen as if a personal journey bearing a 'coming of age' tag. On the other hand, readers would have to wait to draw any such conclusion about McKay, as he is young and is poised for a long, enchanting literary journey. Thus, so far the resemblance between them could be drawn from their perseverance to endure the lengthy process that requires to write a good novel on a difficult subject. Indeed, McKay holds the promise to be called someday as a successful inheritor of Canada's tradition of storytelling and successor of one of its revered storyteller, Ethel Wilson. Rest will be determined by the history. Ends References Stouck, D. Ethel Wilson's Novels, Canadian Literature, #74 (Autumn, 1977) Wilson, E. Swamp Angel. Toronto: Macmillan, 1954; rpt. New Canadian Library. Taylor, C. Twenty-Six. May, 2003. retrieved on March 24, 2007. McKay, L. The Twenty-six : McClelland & Stewart, April 15, 2003

Explain why Hindus might feel that many different gods and goddesses E

Explain why Hindus might feel that many different gods and goddesses E Explain why Hindus might feel that many different gods and goddesses Leana Parham Module 6 writing #3 Andre Key Question: Explain why Hindus might feel that many different gods and goddesses are necessary to provide different symbolic lenses for them to think about ultimate reality. "There can be as many Hindu Gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees." So in some ways Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. There is an exceedingly wide variety of gods to choose from to worship with statues and symbols to pay homage before. If one wants to pray for acquiring knowledge and understanding, he would pray to the god, Sarasati, for example. One might pray to the god, Moksha, to obtain God's grace. Many Hindus worship their own village god or goddess. However, to say that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion with an unknown and unnamed number of Gods would be incorrect. Many Hindus view the religion as a monotheistic religion with only one Supreme Being who is formless and impersonal. All other gods and goddesses are simply facets of this one God. This Supreme Being is viewed as the god of all other religions and equal to all existence or the ultimate reality. In the Hindu faith, there is a trinity as in the Christian faith, where God is in three persons: Brahma: is the creator of all reality, Vishnu or Krishna is the preserver of all of the creations, and Shiva is the destroyer. There are some major divisions in the Hindu faith. Many see Brahman as the ultimate deity. Others see Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Being and another sect see Shiva as their ultimate reality. Hinduism is a religion which does recognize a single supreme deity but is tolerant of all other religions and gods or goddesses as forms or manifestations of this one single deity or Supreme Being. Their philosophy is that, although they believe there is but one truth, there are different "Sages" or spiritual leaders who call the truth by different names. Besides these Gods and Goddesses there are a number of other Gods and Goddesses. To name a few of them, there is Ganesh; who has an elephant's head and he is also a son of Shiva and Parvati, Hanuman; who is an ape, Surya; Lord of sun, Ganga Ma; Goddess of river Ganges; Samundra; Lord of the sea, Indra; king of the Gods (but he isn't an important God), Prithvi; Goddess of earth, Shakti; Goddess of strength. The Hindus call their Goddesses 'Ma' meaning mother. Not all of these Gods are worshiped by all Hindus. Some Hindus worship only Vishnu. Others worship only Shiva. Others worship only the Goddesses and call these Goddesses collectively as Shakti meaning strength. Many of these Goddess worshipers worship Parvati in her images as Kali or Durga. People who worship Shiva or Vishnu also worship characters and images connected with these Gods. Vishnu worshipers (Vaishnaites) also worship his appearances. Shiva's worshipers (Shaivites) also worship images of bull called Nandi, who was Shiva's carrier and a unique stone design connected to Shiva. There are also Hindus who worship all the Gods. There are some Gods who are worshiped all over India like Rama and Krishna and other Gods who are worshiped more in one region than the other like Ganesh who is worshiped mainly in west India. Hindus also worship Gods according to their personal needs. People who engage in wrestling, body building and other physical sports worship Hanuman, who in Hindu legends was an ape with lot of physical strength. Businessmen worship Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth. Though these Hindus worship different idols, there are many Hindus who believe in one God and perceive in these different Gods and Goddesses as different images of the same one God. According to their beliefs idolatry is the wrong interpretation of Hinduism. Hindus believe in reincarnation. The basic belief is that a person's fate is determined according to his deeds. These deeds in Hinduism are called 'Karma'. A soul who does good Karma in this life will be awarded with a better life in the next incarnation. Souls who do bad Karma will be punished for their sins, if not