Analysis of Holling C. Holling's Paddle to the Sea Using Northrop Frye's Theory of Garrison Mentality
Analysis of Holling C. Holling’s Paddle to the Sea Using Northrup Frye’s Theory of Garrision Mentality
Holling C. Holling’s Paddle to the Sea is a novel about the adventures of a small wooden canoe carving named Paddle-to-the-Sea. This novel is also presented as a short movie produced by Canadian filmmaker Bill Mason under the National Film Board of Canada. The story begins with a young boy living in an isolated cabin in Nipigon Country. Carving a piece of pine wood, the boy creates Paddle who is a small wooden carving of a Native Canadian sitting in a canoe. The bottom of the canoe has instructions carved into it asking anyone who finds Paddle to put him back in the water. The rest of the novel describes Paddles adventure as he makes his way through the Great Lakes all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Distinctive themes often appear in Canadian literature but it is also quite difficult to pinpoint these themes. In this case, Northrop Frye’s essay “Conclusion to a Literary History of Canada” will be used to help analyze the material presented in Paddle to the Sea. The purpose of this analysis is to demonstrate how Holling’s novel supports Frye’s theory of garrison mentality. The garrison mentality explains how fear of the vast Canadian landscape and the intimidating presence of the United States are included in the Canadian identity. This theory is supported by the topics of nature, the frontier life, formative shared experiences, stereotypes, and regionalism, all of which are evident in Paddle to the Sea. To begin with, the battering weather and the many creatures that Paddle has to face is evidence of Holling’s use of nature. In the NFB film, Paddle is observed by a chipmunk and a small bird. He is harassed by seagulls, a frog, and a garter snake. Later in the movie he even encounters larger woodland creatures such as a deer and a beaver. Paddle is also thrown around in the rivers which he travels on and at one point has a close encounter with a whirlpool.
Holling C. Holling’s Paddle to the Sea is a novel about the adventures of a small wooden canoe carving named Paddle-to-the-Sea. This novel is also presented as a short movie produced by Canadian filmmaker Bill Mason under the National Film Board of Canada. The story begins with a young boy living in an isolated cabin in Nipigon Country. Carving a piece of pine wood, the boy creates Paddle who is a small wooden carving of a Native Canadian sitting in a canoe. The bottom of the canoe has instructions carved into it asking anyone who finds Paddle to put him back in the water. The rest of the novel describes Paddles adventure as he makes his way through the Great Lakes all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Distinctive themes often appear in Canadian literature but it is also quite difficult to pinpoint these themes. In this case, Northrop Frye’s essay “Conclusion to a Literary History of Canada” will be used to help analyze the material presented in Paddle to the Sea. The purpose of this analysis is to demonstrate how Holling’s novel supports Frye’s theory of garrison mentality. The garrison mentality explains how fear of the vast Canadian landscape and the intimidating presence of the United States are included in the Canadian identity. This theory is supported by the topics of nature, the frontier life, formative shared experiences, stereotypes, and regionalism, all of which are evident in Paddle to the Sea. To begin with, the battering weather and the many creatures that Paddle has to face is evidence of Holling’s use of nature. In the NFB film, Paddle is observed by a chipmunk and a small bird. He is harassed by seagulls, a frog, and a garter snake. Later in the movie he even encounters larger woodland creatures such as a deer and a beaver. Paddle is also thrown around in the rivers which he travels on and at one point has a close encounter with a whirlpool.
Bibliography: "Paddle to the Sea by Bill Mason - NFB." Watch Documentaries and Animated Films Online - NFB.ca. 24 Apr. 2008. Web. 30 Nov,2010.<http://www.nfb.ca/film/paddle_to_the_sea/>. Holling, Holling Clancy. Paddle to the Sea. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Frye, Northrop. From "Conclusion to a Literary History of Canada”. Unhomely States: Theorizing English-Canadian Postcolonialism. ed. Sugars, Cynthia Conchita. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2004. 9-19.