Margaret Laurence: To Set Our House in Order from A Bird in the House 1970

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Margaret Laurence To Set Our House in Order
from A Bird in the House (1970)

• Oral Presentation by Lina Herber, Álvaro Garrote
  and Cornelia Schad

Literatura Canadiense en Lengua Inglesa
Profesora Ana Maria Fraile Marcos 29.10.2008
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Outline

• Biography of the author Margaret Laurence
• Main features of a Short Story
• Analysis of To Set Our House in Order
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

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MARGARET LAURENCEFIRST LADY OF CANADIAN
LITERATURE
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BIOGRAPHY(July 18, 1926-January 5, 1987)

• Grown up in Neepawa
• Her parents died when she was a child
• Bachelor of arts degree at United College
• 1947, married Jack Laurence
• 1949-1957, she left Canada and lived in England,
  Somalia and Ghana.
• In 1952 and 1954 had her children.
• 1957, moved to Vancouver.
• 1962, she moved with her children to Penn
  (England)
• 1969, got divorced
• 1974,went back to Canada-Lakefield, Ontario

1. Biography of the author Margaret Laurence
page 2 of 15
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WORKS

• THE MANAWAKA CYCLE
• 1964- The Stone Angel Hagar Shipley
• 1966-A Jest of God Rachel Cameron
• 1969- The Fire-Dwellers - Stacey MacAindra
• 1970- A Bird in the House Vanessa MacLeod
• 1974- The Diviners Morag Gunn
• COMMON FEATURES
• Set in Manawaka (Neepawa)
• Feminism - Main characters are women- four
  different generations.
• Gods presence

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageHamiltonst.jpg
1. Biography of the author Margaret Laurence
page 3 of 15
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SHORT STORY

• The story has not many places of action
• The action has already begun when the story
  starts
• Normally the ending is not closed
• All types of narrators

2. Main features of a Short Story
page 4 of 15
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3. Analysis of To Set Our House in Order

• Relation to other stories in the collection A
  Bird in the House
• Summary
• Characterization of the main characters
• Typical and special aspects of a short story in
  To Set Our House in Order
• Relation to the title
• Autobiographical aspects

3. Analysis of To Set Our House in Order
page 5 of 15
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A BIRD IN THE HOUSE1970

• Collection of interrelated short stories
• Autobiographic
• Main character and narrator - Vanessa MacLeod
• The story opens on Remembrance Day
• To set our house in order

http//www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c2/c12611
.jpg

• Relation to other stories in the collection A
  Bird in the House page 6 of 15

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Vanessa

• The narrator of the story
• 10 years old
• Has no close relationship to her grandmother
• Likes her aunt Edna (p. 429)
• Is unable to comprehend certain things according
  to her young age (p.431)
• Is about to discover how reality looks like in
  her family
• Does not know if she feels happy or sad about her
  new brother (p.432)
• Questions the rules and orders of her grandmother
  (p. 435)

c) Characterization of the main characters
page 7 of 15
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Mom Beth

• Has already lost a child before
• Cant assert herself towards grandmother MacLeod
• ? is in an inferior position to her

Dad Ewen

• Doctor in Manawaka
• Highly influenced by his mother
• He feels guilty that his brother has died bad
  conscience
• He is afraid of disappointing his mother
• He still wants to treat her like a lady

c) Characterization of the main characters
page 8 of 15
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Grandmother MacLeod

• She thinks of herself as a lady (p.432)
• Likes and lives the British lifestyle
• Wealth and prestige matter to her the most
• Vanessa claims that grandmother MacLeod does not
  believe in the existence of fear (p.426)
• She has a lack of sense of reality
• Is not aware of the change that has taken place
  in the last couple of years sticks to the old
  times
• Contradictory character (p. 428)
• Her rules and orders on Vanessa are based on the
  Bible (p. 427)

c) Characterization of the main characters
page 9 of 15
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Aunt Edna

• Makes fun of the Royal Highness(p.429)
• Reveals certain parts of the truth to Vanessa
• Helps Vanessa to bare her anxieties
• Down-to-earth
• Friendly character - the reader sympathizes with
  her

c) Characterization of the main characters
page 10 of 15
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Typical and special aspects of a short story in
To Set Our House in Order

• Single main character
• Vanessa
• Predominant element
• Vanessas feelings during the days when her
  little brother is born
• Narrator
• Vanessa (first person)
• Initial incident
• the moment when her mother has to be brought to
  the hospital
• Primary action takes place in Grandmother
  MacLeods house (p. 426 / 427)
• Time period 2 nights and 2 days

d) Typcial and special aspects of a short story
in To Set Our House in Order page 11
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Relation to the title

• Quotation from the Bible
• P. 428 Grandmother he wants each one of us to
  set our house in order
• P. 429 (she had) never lived in a messy house
• P. 435 Vanessa I felt that whatever God might
  love in this world, it was certainly not order

e) Relation to the title page 12 of 15
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Autobiographical aspects

• The Vanessa MacLeod stories of the collection A
  Bird in the House are known for the highly
  autobiographical content
• Removal to grandparents house
• Aunt Edna is similar to Laurences aunt who
  encouraged and guided her in writing

The Margaret Laurence House (house of her
grandfather John Simpson)
http//www.margaretlaurence.net/about.html
f) Autobiographical aspects
page 13 of 15
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4. Conclusion

• Is there a morale of the short story?
• What is Laurences purpose in writing the Vanessa
  MacLeods stories?
• Can you identify with Vanessa?
• Do you think religion plays an important role in
  the short story? Do you think Laurence wants to
  criticize the church?
• How do the accidents influence Vanessas
  thoughts?

4. Conclusion page 14 of 15
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5. Bibliography

• To Set Our House in Order from A Bird in the
  House (1970)
• Short Story analysis http//www.newi.ac.uk/englis
  hresources/workunits/ks3/genre/shortstory.html
  (22.10.08 1951)
• http//www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?P
  gNmTCEParamsA1ARTA0004552
• http//www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/lau
  rence.html
• http//www.bookrags.com/biography/margaret-laurenc
  e/
• http//www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/margaret-laure
  nce/bird-in-house.htm

5. Bibliography page 15 of 15
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