Studying Canadian Literature In Ontario

626 Words3 Pages
Canadian Literature: important content for students in Ontario. William Shakespeare, Harper Lee, George Orwell. Do these names ring a bell? Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm. What about now? For many years, we have been studying literature written by people outside of Canada, yet have not focused on the literature written by our very own. In Ontario, students should be specifically studying Canadian literature instead of literature from other cultures. They should be focusing their studies on Canadian literature from many different eras- not just the old ones. Students should also be encouraged to not only focus on white, English Canadians, but also Canadians who come from different backgrounds. This will help us become more familiar with our own literature and culture, and allow us to see the many values our authors have to offer.…show more content…
By being a branch plant of such powerful foreign countries such as England and France, our own culture has never had the chance to develop and grow. “Canada is an attic in which we have stored American and British literature without considering our own,” (Davies, 426). In Letters in Canada, Robertson Davies compares Canada to an attic implying we have been studying all this American and British literature, assuming it is best, without even considering studying our own. Not to mention, when we are studying literature, we are often studying old content, content from many decades and years ago. Although teachers may encourage a student to focus on modern books, the classroom experience is most often limited to the old books. By teaching students about our Canadian writers and literature, both timeworn and modern, we will be able to give them an good understanding of our countries history and culture, as well as educate them on the values Canadian writers
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