Assignment 1

● Please choose ​one​ of the two fictional works provided in this module. Read the work carefully, and make notes in answer to the questions posed in the Works: Introduction. Then, conduct some research in connection to some of the themes and subjects explored in the story; i.e. you might look at migratory labor (that of Western Europeans to East Coast Canada or the migratory patterns of laborers within Canada for instance), the real Springhill mining disaster, or actual strikes that might relate to the fictional strike discussed in ‘Praxis’. Then present a brief of exposition of your research and how it related to the story you have chosen. Be sure to carefully indicate your chosen story, the theme, or subject you have chosen to research and to cite all of your sources.

● Read ​both​ stories making notes in answer to the questions posed in the Works: Introduction section. Then provide a post in which you compare and contrast the two works. Try to think about the ways the stories are similar, and the ways they are different. For instance, how is the division of labor presented in the two stories: that is, what sort of work are women depicted doing, and what sort of work are men depicted doing? What is the significance of this division in the stories? How do the different work roles play into the stories? How do the characters from the two stories relate to their work? How does work impact the lives of the story’s characters? How is work shown to influence the migratory patterns of the working people in the stories? How does location or the region the story takes place in effect the narrative? In general, try in your post to address the similarities and differences of the stories overall?

● Choose a short work of fiction related to labor that you might have encountered elsewhere. The narrative does not need to connect to labor trends in mid-century Maritime Canada, nor mining work, nor necessarily migratory labor. You might for instance look at other stories in Crummey’s short story collection, or at Fred Wah’s Diamond Grill​, or at Michael Ondaatje’s ​In the Skin of a Lion​. A brief internet search will provide you with other fictional accounts of how work is done in Canada. You may also ask a librarian for assistance in this. If you are not sure if your story qualifies, please email your professor for clarification. In your posting talk about how work is presented in the narrative you’ve selected: how does work affect the lives of the characters in the story? Is the account sympathetic? Why or why not? How do race and gender play in the work explored? In both ‘The Vastness of the Dark’ and ‘Praxis’ class plays a central role in the lives of the characters of the respective stories, how does it play into the lives of the characters the work you have chosen?