캐나다의 문학적·문화적 유산과 얀 마텔

Canada's Literary and Cultural Heritage and Yann Martel: Reading Canadian Identity in 101 Letters to a Prime Minister

This paper explores Canada’s literary and cultural heritage in Yann Matel’s 101 Letters to a Prime Minister, which has been largely ignored so far. Martel seems far removed from Canadianness, considering the diverse cultural backgrounds of his major works. However, he had an in-depth understanding of the intellectual traditions of Canada and its identity, along with a belief that Canada’s cultural heritage should be preserved and developed. This belief is condensed and well expressed in 101 Letters. This book demonstrates a wide spectrum of Canadianness. It covers the traditional conception of Northrop Frye’s educated imagination and the typical Canadian people’s voices, including Milton Acorn and Al Purdy. Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood depend less on regional characteristics, while John Steffler and Paul Quarrington are deeply involved in these features. Aboriginal and Quebecois writers such as Tomson Highway, Wajdi Mouawad, and Gabriel Roy complicate the conception of Canadianness, thus challenging a monotypical understanding of Canadian literary and cultural legacy. 101 Letters investigates a wide spectrum of Canadian cultural layers and discovers the chasms among them.