In Opposition to E. Annie Proulx
My Opinion of The Shipping News
Reading The Shipping News for Education 4142
was my first experience with this work. Because I love to read, particularly
about my province, I was very positive and enthusiastic as I began the
novel. This faded about halfway through, however, and I decided at that
point that I disliked it. I see The Shipping News as a biased perspective
on somewhat false stereotypes. It is simply far removed from the reality
of Newfoundland as I know it.
One of the major themes in this novel is abuse. I
do not deny that sexual, physical, and emotional abuse has, and continues
to occur in Newfoundland. However, incest, for example, is not a common
and widely experienced problem. I see Proulx's overt exaggeration as taking
away from the personal magnitude this horrible crime has on individual
victims. While I will admit that I was mildly amused when the abused aunt
urinated on her brother's ashes, Proulx could have made a more significant
revelation here. In the newspaper, Proulx creates weekly lists of abuse
cases, which are ironically researched by a former victim of similar abuse.
This character states at one point that he relives the abuse he suffered
with each story he reports. I do not see the empathy which I think should
exist in dealing with this sensitive issue.
I find that, as a rule, Proulx tends to overdo
things. Quoyle is a loser who marries a shameless adultress. His wife leaves
him, sells their children, and dies in a car crash with her lover. Both
Quoyle's parents committ suicide. He retrieves his kids, and comes to Newfoundland
to live with his closet- lesbian aunt, who has a dog named after her dead
lover. This is beyond the my scope of a realistic plot. In Newfoundland,
Quoyle works for a small town newspaper. He reports on the shipping news,
and ironically, automobile accidents. This poor schmuck fits right in in
Proulx's version of Newfoundland. He even finds love with a somewhat unstable
woman. I think a Harlequin Romance novel (which I also dislike) would be
more believable than this!
Proulx's agenda, in my opinion, is not to relate
an accurate image of Newfoundland society and culture. As a Newfoundlander,
I am insulted and concerned by her portrait of my province. Her distortion
of our lifestyle leads the reader toward the negative stereotypes which
I believe we should be attempting to quash. I would not recommend this
novel to anyone, and I hope that I never have to teach it to my students.
I think the nature of the subject, and her tactless handling of it, makes
The
Shipping News an inappropriate read for secondary school students.
For a different perspective on The Shipping News,
click here. This site
offers a detailed plot summary from a fan of the novel.
If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free
to drop me a line at u19pjb@morgan.ucs.mun.ca