In The Englishman's Boy, there is a section in which Grace talks about being "betwixt and between." He calls it a "tough place." I think that this is very Canadian. It would be easy for Canadians to assert their identity as American, and in this book, Harry is often called English by Rachel, but the truth is he is not English or American, despite the fact that he has chosen to be in the states. An underlying theme that I notice in all we have read is a kind of quest for identity, people looking for a way of defining themselves as somehow different than what they are. People reject and turn from family and poverty in the Tin Flute and even resort to participation in the war. In the Diviners, Pique travels in search of herself trying to understand the part of her that is Metis, even though that often takes her away from Morag, the woman who raised her and helped her become who she is. Morag, by the same note, turns away from Christie and Manawaka to become a writer and a mother. In Ana Historic, Annie creates an identity for Ana and in many ways for Ina too not realizing that she is somehow avoiding creating an identity for herself. And Rachel at one point in The Englishman's Boy yells at Harry for a "blank-filler." He prefers to take on no responsibility and make no artistic choices and that in some ways keeps him from being human.
All of these characters are caught between where they came from and where it is they are trying to go, and it would seem that the middle is a kind of void, a limbo of sorts, but I think that that limbo is an identity all its own. It is a place, though challenging, allows people to collect all the pieces of the past and where they come from together with the unknown future. Being without a definite or clear identity is, in the end, being with a unique and variable kind of identity.

I'm afriad that I would have to go back to pick up the subtle hints concerning the differences between Cananda and America. I do remember a few instances -page 180- when Chance is describing the American spirit as expansive. He describes this spirit as positive energy and later identifies it with what it means to be American. Chance continues that this engergy is why many successful Canadians choose to live in America, more specifically Hollywood - for America offers what Canada can not. What it interesting, is that Canada is described as geography, not even a defined country. This might be Vanderhaeghe's way of explaining why Canada isn't keeping its acclaimed stars, successful scholars, or developing a strong sense of national identity. He is very critical of Canadian passivity. I was thrown when Harry's mother wants to go home. I'm unsure how to interpret her yearning for Canada. I guess it might be Vanderheaghe's way of saying that despite the lack of forward momentum there is still hope for Canada because of what it potentially could create/offer.

For the most part, the characters were aware of differences between Canadians/Canada and Americans/America. It was not very prominent throughout the novel (compared to other novels we've read) but when there was evidence of it, it jumped out. On page 110, Harry says, "I feel some guilt that I have not confessed to Chance that he is seeking help for making the great American film from a Canadian. But there is the question of money. And I have found that Americans, by and large recognize no distinction between us." I think this is profound because as a reader, you too do not see a distinction between Canada and America. ALthough people may be wanting to reach Canada, I feel that is the only thing that separates the two. There certainly is no strict barrier between the two citizens and I think this is relieving.

Throughout the entire novel (pg 254 specifically), Chance speaks to only America. It's all about the people of America and teaching them an American history lesson. This is clearly excluding of Canada, rightfully so I suppose.

I think America was certainly paid more attention to, with talks of the great American movie and Birth of a Nation, etc. America was put in a light that Canada was not, but this is not necessarily a bad thing.

On page 208, Canada is represented as almost a place of escape for Shorty and Wylie. It makes you think of Canada (at least in this novel) as a sanctuary where one can escape everything going on in the US. What you then think about is why do these characters want to escape whatever is going on in the US (socially or politically conerned)? Canada is portraye as a quiet, serene place..

As we can still see today when we watch Hollywood blockbusters that depict a historic era such as the tales of the Trojan warriors, or the explorers who discovered America, the real and true story gets lost within the hands of Hollywood. Just as Vanderhaege depicts in "The Englishman's Boy", he points out that the main priority has become the money making aspect of the business. We see this through the Chance's charecter. He is not focused on making a quality movie, or making sure that Shorty's true store is portrayed through the film. The thing that Chance cares about is if it is going to be a success in Hollywood and if the American people are going to like the film. The sense of identity gets lost in this novel. Harry questions not only his own views, but the views of Hollywood and the identity in which the film orginially sent out to depict and what it has turned into due to Chance and the mayhem of Hollywood.

I've always known that America was seen as the "film" industry pretty much of the entire world. Not only do we make great films, but it seems as though life of every American is reflected through film. Im not sure how factual this whole novel is reguarding what happened out west, and how it affected most people. Canadians i can see getting upset with the fact that American can take stories from anywhere and make them however they want, to portray them in any way, such as the movie Hotel Rwanda. America does voice its opinion very clearly, adn having such a close neighbor as Canada, i can see it effecting them in one way or another

As sad as it might seem, America is about making money. That is the American dream, to be able to come to this country and make a living, and be successful; it's the land of opportunity. But sometimes to get to that point, there might have to be some alterations. The difference shown in this novel is the fact that American (specifically Hollywood) is fake and Canada is real. It is the whole notion of history vs. story, that we encounter in Ana Historic. That question of authenticity is a major difference between Canada and America, in the way that Shorty wants to tell his true story, but he is reluctant to tell it because he knows that America (Hollywood) is fake and will probably change it, which takes away the authenticity of the story.
On page 106 and 107, the whole idea of film being the new language really struck me. It made me think about film and how it can affect our view of history, which leads us to believe that Hollywood is less authentic, meaning America is less authentic. This section really got me thinking about specific movies and their history. I have not seen Passion of the Christ, and I am taking a Bible class, and I have a feeling that the movie does not portray the history in the Bible exactly as it is written. This is true of all movies, there is going to be some other source deciding what is going to sell the movie and what is not, and in this case, the authentic story from Shorty is not going to sell. In America, the movie theater has a major impact on people, it can change history. Shorty does not want Chance to change the history that he is going to tell, but he knows its probably going to happen.
It almost frusterates me the fact that some authenticity is removed from making movies, I want to know the true history, even if it is not what I want to hear. It is making me question Hollywood and everything in America and what we are based on. Another example of this would be television. On the Canadian news channels there is no filters concerning the news, but in the United States, the new channels filter it so much (which is why I try to watch BBC news). We are losing our authenticity with the news, and everything about our country, which is scary. Maybe we should all just move to Canada and become authentic.

I agree with Dede with the fact that America is all about making money and canada is more authentic. Within the novel, The Englishman's Boy. We see that Chance would give into Hollywood ideals and sell Shorty's story to the American public. Whereas, Shorty is very reluctant to reveal his story to Chance because he knows by doing this he is selling himself and his people to the "fake" un-authentic Hollywood movie business. Shorty knows that by telling this story about true events, his story will get told in a different light if given to any Hollywood-types. America is more fake per-say than Canada-by saying this, I mean that America sugar-coats everything that we see from news, magazines, movies, etc. Everything is much more real in Canada and Canadians are more apt to voice their ideas more so than Americans. Like Dede said, the BBC news is a more more realistic news source where things are not just sugar-coated to please the American public. But to really state the news and tell things in a more authentic way.

Hey guys, I was wondering if you could help me out. As I was reading the novel I was trying to distinguish the main themes throughout the novel, but i was unable to find evidence of these themes. Do you guys knwo any themes and examples of popular themes from the novel?

Thanks Guys

Hello. I am currently in the process of writing an englsih paper that requires me to gather 12 symbols found throughout the novel, The Englishman's Boy. Would anyone mind helping me out with some symbols, all 12 would be helpful. Thank you very much

Amid the current attempts to 'right' history, Vanderhaeghe reverses the trend, oh, by about 130 years with this piece of literary crap. In the fashion of Wallace Stegner, Vanderhaeghe relies completely on secondary sources to legitimate his fiction. His references to the events surrounding the Cypress Hills Massacre are completely incorrect. Instead of trying to establish a semblance of truth, he relies on gratuitous violence and the rape of a young girl to sell his story, a story, by the way, that the Assiniboine people of Saskatchewan would not buy.

The descendents of the massacre would not agree to filming the movie on their land because of these inaccuracies. The producer's obviously did not care; they filmed it in Alberta.

Boo to this trend. Vanderhaege should have his governor general's award rescinded.

I'm currently writing a college paper on this novel. I am exploring the loyalty of the characters throughout the novel, and how everyone ends up a failure. Harryis a loser because he never gets married and has a low paying job, while Chance is the opposite only he lacks the common sense to eliminate his enemys.Chance is too generous with Harry, and so people take advantage of this, which lead to his ultimate fate. McAdoo is just a retard for caring if somebody wants to retell and modify his storey. If he didn't want Harry to know he's a anti-native girl burner, he should have made up a storey that was more convincing. And then people wonder why he has no friends except a child like whilie.