This novel is about two girls: Lois (who represents Canada) and Lucy(who
represents United States) , these girls got to know each other in a summer camp and
they became best friends. Both of them were going to this summer camp for several
years, but their last year in this camp something terrible happened to Lucy, she
disappeared during a conoe trip. Lois spent her life collecting painting of landscapes
and when she looked at them, she thought that Lucy was somewhere between these
paintings due to her body had to be over there.
Do we know how powerful the nature can be? What is the motive of Lois
isolation and fears of the world in which she is surrounded by ? What is the conflict that
Lois faces? In how many worlds does Lois live? Nature is a word which has a lot of
power in this story because in the whole novel the term nature appears. We can say that
Lucy represents United States due to she was not accustomed to nature and this fact we
can see it when she was bitten by lots of mosquito and also when she got
burned .Moreover, in comparison with Lois ,Lucy did not care about the things that she
did not know that is due to in the United States memory is something that it has any
need to be preserved. Therefore, Lucy’s death was because nature was making her
realize her fixed identity and that is why she is not able to overcome this identity and
that is the main reason why at the end of the story she dies.
On the other hand, Lois isolation and fears came once Lucy was died and also
through her husband’s death, it is as if the losses in her life were the real blames of her
isolation. Furthermore, she in her house has many paintings and she does not like these
paintings because it reflects nature and she can not find it peaceful due to she is not able
to control it ( nature is uncontrable, it englobes Lucy). Therefore, the conflict that Lois
face is that she has to overcome Lucy and her husband’s death, and she needs also to
find herself.
One of the most streaking features of this story, it is when Lois mentioned some
artists which were from the Group of Seven, the paintings of these artist are
particularly landscapes, which are related to the Canadian identity. It is said that the
painting of these artists represents the Canadian nature and they reject everything that
is related to the United States, Britain and Europe. Moreover, it is also said that in
Canada the people who can survive there are their own citizens, due to Canada is
surrounded by nature, and this fact it is true because in this story Lucy who is from the
United States, she is a “victim”, who dies at the end. Therefore, that is why nature is
perceived as an “innoble savage” and “evil betrayer”, due to although if you are an
innocent person , nature can play with you and you can suffer the consequences of her
power. On page 108, it is mentioned the war, which is a key moment in Canadian
history.
As readers of the novel, we can say that Lois lives in two worlds, one of them
was the events which occurred to her when she was in her childhood; and the other one
is her life as an adult and also having to leave without her husband.
Group: C
Atwood, Margaret . Death by Landscape .
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