...es in North America once and for all.Although the majority of the population as clearly French, Canada fell to Britain. The Quebec Act of 1774 merely guaranteed the French cultural autonomy under British sovereignty. The English-speaking Canadians ere joined by more fello countrymen folloing the American ar of Independence, hen many Britons loyal to the mother country left the nely-formed United States of America. The old French Province of Quebec divided into the Anglophile Upper Canada and the Francophile Loer Canada the modern-day Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.In the last ar on Canadian soil, the British-American ar of 1812 - 1814, a number of skirmishes took place on different fronts. The ensuing peace treaty fixed the actual border beteen the to provinces at the 49th Parallel. Toards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, explorers like Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser and David Thompson, in the employ of fur trading companies, opened the gateay to the est, up distant rivers and unknon paths. By the first half of the 19th century the fur trade had reached its apex and as a lucrative business for the hite, for hom the Indians acted as suppliers and merchants in the ilderness.The Dominion of Canada as founded in 1867, ith the Provinces of Nova Scotia, Ne Brunsick, Quebec and Ontario. Politically, the ne country enjoyed internal self-government, but it as firmly tied to its distant but immensely poerful motherland insofar as trade as concerned. To years later, Canada acquired the landholdings of the Hudsons Bay Company, the so-called Ruperts Land. This area became the estern provinces of Manitoba 1870, Alberta and Saskatchean 1905 as e kno them today.In 1885 the Canadian Pacific Railay achieved the first transcontinental railay link beteen the east and est coasts of this vast country and triggered off the rush to settle the Pacific Province of British Columbia. The Statute of estminster in 1931 conferred on Canada complete autonomy from the motherland of Great Britain. Nefoundland joined the Dominion of Canada in 1949 as the tenth and last province, hilst the huge area of the northern territories the Yukon Territory and the Northest Territories, hich are largely inhabited by Inuit and Indians, also came under the rule of Ottaa, the federal capital.In the 1960s Canada sa a resurgence of conflict beteen its French- and English-speaking people. The Separatist Movement of Quebec as rekindled after a visit to Montreal by the French President Charles de Gaulle, ho supported a free Quebec. As a result, countless businesses moved their headquarters from French-speaking Montreal to English-speaking Toronto, hich rapidly became the largest Canadian city. The election of Pierre Trudeau in 1968 brought bilingualism to Canada and greater autonomy to the provinces. Calls for independence for Quebec gradually aned.In 1982 the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, signed the Constitution Act, thus severing the last legal tie beteen Canada and Great Britain. Since 1968 every change to the Constitution had required British consent. Canada, hoever, remains a member of the Commonealth and Elizabeth II remains the sovereign.The 1990s have brought enormous political changes to Canada. The US-Canadian Free Trade Agreement allos the unimpeded trade of goods and services beteen the to countries. The Inuit and Indians as native Canadians are demanding greater political rights.And the Quebec Separatist Movement is again raising its head in strident tone. The French province is insisting on constitutional recognition as a distinct society ith overriding political rights, but it has so far failed to carry it through.General Features of Short StoriesA short story contains some of these elements. It need not to contain all.limited number of characters short time span one main action limited places of action characters are not fully developed open ending no exposition - text starts ith the action itself special event in the life of the charactersSelected Short StoriesMargaret ATOOD Scarlet IbisMargaret ATOOD Significant Moments in the Life of My MotherMargaret ATOOD The Little Red Hen Tells AllAlistair MACLEOD The ReturnJoyce MARSHALL Old omanScarlet Ibis Margaret AtoodSummaryChristine, Don and their youngest four-year-aged daughter Lilian spend their vacation in Trinidad. Don is exhausted and irritable because of his ork. But the holidays are not that relaxing for him. His ife feels a pressure he is under. And she thinks she the pressure. Christine tries to plan activities for the three of them. One day she suggested to go to a place here red birds called Ibises can be atched. They take a taxi to the samp here the birds live. There the meet other people ho ant to atch the Ibises. Together ith all kinds of tourists they make a boat trip in the samp in order to get to the roosting area of the birds. Suddenly the boat crashes against the root of a mangrove and the boat springs a leak. But the Indian ho is steering goes on as if nothing has happened. The passengers try to put the ater aay using beer cans ithout success. So a oman sits don on the hole to prevent the ater from coming in. hen they reach their destination they atch the Ibises flying. Don is very impressed, he even takes his ifes hand.Every time Christine tells this adventure to somebody she presented it as a form of entertainment.InterpretationMargaret Atood shos the crisis of a couple. The ife tries to help her exhausted husband to relax. But she does not have much success. Her husband, her daughter and she herself do not enjoy their vacation. hen she plans the boat trip to the Ibises she hopes to get some relaxation. But the tour seems to become a horror trip. The boat leaks, it starts to rain and the steering Indian does not ant to return. But for a moment she has reached hat she ant Her husband takes her hand for no reason. Only because he is so impressed. But the end of the story shos the family acting as before The ife tells their adventure as a normal entertainment trip.Form and StyleThe story is told by a third-person narrator. He portrays hat the family do and hat they think. He focuses on Christine. He shos her feelings and motivations.The story is ritten in formal English. The author rote a short exposition He introduces the family and describes here they are.Significant Moments in the Life of My MotherMargaret AtoodSummaryA daughter tells some details about her mothers life, especially about her childhood. So I ill give some examplesFor example hen the mother is only a fe years old she is given a basket full of baby chicks for Easter. She loves them to dead because she does not kno ho the raise and look after them.The mothers father is a country doctor. His office is in their house. So the mother often sees people ith cut off fingers, hands, toes and so on. Because of this experiences ith illnesses she advises her children never getting ill. And she also hardly becomes ill. But once she almost dies becau...
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