Critiquing “Modern Cannibals of the Wild” by Basil Johnston Indigenous struggles have been ignored throughout Canadian history for centuries. They have lost their sacred land, human rights, and communities. Johnston effectively portrays these struggles by putting us in the shoes of Indigenous peoples and reflecting on the damage we have caused to them, whereas Rice directly conveys his message without the same vibrance. Due to the above, Johnston effectively uses stylistic elements to address the negative impact of human greed and environmental exploitation, surpassing the limited impact of similar stylistic elements of Rice’s essay which primarily focuses on personal experiences and lacks the exploration of broader societal issues. These …show more content…
Johnston showcases diction to create exaggeration and emphasis which calls back on the theme of the essay. These diverse choices of words include: “giant cannibals who fed upon human flesh to allay their perpetual hunger… The more he ate, the larger he grew, and the larger he grew, the greater his hunger. The weendigo’s hunger always remained in proportion to his size” (Johnston 212-213). The use of these words shows the exaggeration the author intends to deliver to emphasize the theme of the essay. By using such extreme language, Johnston draws attention to such words and promotes a call of urgency to act on the issue the theme talks about. On the contrary, Rice showcases a limited use of diction that does not create exaggeration and emphasis on the theme of the essay. This is shown in the following passage: “ I feel confident and enfranchised to uphold the spirit of the language itself in a literary way” (Rice 1). In this example, he talks about his hopes for incorporating and seeing more Indigenous languages in English literature. This is his own personal opinion and is based on his own personal experiences, therefore, it is not considered as exaggerated and urgent like Johnston was able to deliver with his complex use of words. Moving on, Johnston showcases diction in his essay to create complexity and prevent it from being dry by using words that are rich and descriptive. For example, “Mantled”, “Kin”, “Cupidity”, “Kindred”, “Desolated”, “Injudicious”, “Opulence”, “Ostracized”, and “Carnage” are some examples of the use of complex words in the essay (Johnston 212-214). The choice of these complex words adds depth and richness to the essay, creating precision and clarity in their meanings. It also adds credibility and authority because it shows that the author knows what he is
At the start of the book, Starblanket and Hunt provide vast amounts of historical context to ensure that audiences understand how white settlers in the Prairies, such as Gerald Stanley, felt they had large amounts of power. For example, they take note of the immigration campaigns advocated by Canadian government officials which instilled ideas of masculine pride and superiority in white settlers. Similarly, the two authors also provide extensive explanations of contested land in the Prairie regions of Canada, such as the dissolution of treaties and the growth of property laws, which created the racist environment that ultimately led to Stanley feeling he could shoot at Indigenous people on his farm. Overall, Starblanket and Hunt’s book, Storying Violence, did not just summarize a singular case of an unjust crime against an innocent Indigenous young man.
From the earliest encounters, explorers or colonists performed yet described the appearance, traits, or approaches concerning lifestyles about indigenous Americans. Rather than monsters at the facet of the recognized world, Christopher Columbus discovered “handsome” people, whose skin resembled to that amount on the “Canadians, neither black nor white.” The Tainos (Arawaks) were naked,” informed neither cities nor steel weapons nor idols. While it humans have been “timid,” the Caribs, a more “audacious race,” resembled the Tainos within appearance yet material culture, but blind a extraordinary language, performed fighting on theirs neighbors, and “eat the humans it do capture.” Columbus’s descriptions regarding faint innocents or fierce cannibals
The significance of Indigenous Themes in Indian Horse, Dead White Writer on the Floor, and The Inconvenient Indian. Indigenous literatures address ongoing struggles faced by Indigenous Communities in Canada. The Indigenous theme of Decolonization is explored in Thomas King’s The Inconvenient Indian and Drew Hayden Taylor’s Dead White Writer on the Floor (DWWOTF). The theme of racism in Indigenous communities is evident in Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse and The Inconvenient Indian.
Michel de Montaigne focus on the importance of human nature and society. “On the Cannibals” he talks about how humans, in general, have moral and turbulent characteristics. He compares the tribes and Europeans to have unequal treatments for each other. Montaigne notes that the tribes have a better culture than the Western Europe and that he disapproves cannibalism and killing of prisoners of war. He then claims that because Europeans practice cruelty and murder by wanting to experience a superior culture rather than the tribes.
Kelley’s diction adds a tone to the piece and allows her to get her message across with helping the reader understand more deeply . Kelley’s use of imagery, appeal to logic,
In the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Pollan claims we should be more knowledgeable about what we consume as omnivores. As omnivores we have a variety of food, we can choose from, however, we don’t regularly make the best decisions for ourselves. Pollan argues this by showing us where our food really comes from and how we can find many unwanted extras. Pollan shows us that we’ve evolved as humans from how we used to eat to how we eat now. Pollan argues this by introducing us to all the food chains we value today, some much more than others.
The indigenous people are literally crashing into the buildings produced by the colonizing culture, “Look out! Bob shouts. There are Indians flying into the skyscrapers and falling on the sidewalk.” (King 63) and it adequately represents the lack of adaptability of the Native Canadians. Thomas King taps again into the effects of colonialism and notions the indigenous people as uneducated and an untamed species.
The diction used throughout Bradford’s writing gives a well-defined account for the younger generations, so they are able to fully understand the event and people included. Imagery and diction help educate the future generations on a topic by constructing a mental picture of the setting and an understanding of the