Canadian Identity and its Representation in Fiction for Children and Young Adults by Tim Wynne-Jones and James Houston

Examination Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject American Studies - Literature grade: 20 Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (Englisches Seminar) language: English abstract: Since Canada's literary tradition is fairly new it is only natural that there should exist a genuine concern for identity.1 Consequently numerous works have addressed the question: What is Canadian about Canadian literature? A general answer is hard to find among other reasons because the concept of Canadian identity as such is anything but trivial. The connections between national literature and national identity are generally acknowledged and have been thoroughly analysed. As Miriam Richter points out [i]t is only very recently though that the role of Canadian children's literature in the process of defining national identity has come to be examined. Therefore publications dealing exclusively with this topic exist to a comparatively small extent as yet.2 Despite the ongoing public and scholarly discussion of Canadian identity it is important to ask whether the question of national identity is still a meaningful one when globalisation is changing the world and rendering national borders increasingly permeable. Economic alliances such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which facilitates trade between Canada The United States and Mexico could work towards a relaxation not only of legal but also of cultural borders. There are economists who claim that national boundaries are no longer meaningful concepts but even though the role of the nation-state has certainly changed in the process of globalisation the state remains a meaningful force in the modern world.3 Anderson argues that: the 'end of the era of nationalism' so long prophesied is not remotely in sight. Indeed nation-ness is the most universally legitimate value in the political life of our time.4 Besides the fact that there has been very little research done on the topic of identity in Canadi