Summary Of The Lost Salt Gift Of Blood
Comparison of “The Boat” and “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood”
“The Lost Salt Gift of Blood” and “The Boat” are both compelling stories that illustrate the dilemmas associated with familial obligations, living with choices, as well as the conflict between traditional values and a modern; however, overall “The Boat” presents them in a more honest and effective manner. “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood” focuses on a grown man who is returning to a small fishing village in which his son lives, as he attempts to come to terms with the way his life has turned out and the responsibilities he holds, whereas in “The Boat”, a grown man is reflecting upon his life where he grew up in a household with constant tension as to the way one should live their life …show more content…
In “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood”, the conflict presented is very much internal and centralized within the narrator. This provides readers with very little chance to understand the family aspect of the narrator’s life; although he is traveling to see his son and his sons’ grandparents, the sense of family is lost within the plot. In lieu of direct familial obligations, Macleod provides a very much internalized desire for familial contact:
The salesman’s wife stands waiting along with two small children who are the first to see him. They race toward him with their arms outstretched. “Daddy, Daddy,” they cry, “What did you bring me? What did you bring me?” (Macleod, …show more content…
In “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood”, the idea of modern society is clearly shown from the point of view of the narrator whom has returned to a small fishing town in Newfoundland to see his son, whereas in “The Boat” the conflict is presented through the narrator’s honest reflections on growing up in a very traditional home in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. The narrator in “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood”, is shown as a young man returning to a seemingly homey small fishing town, and presented with the conflict of whether or not to return to the city with his illegitimate son or leave him with his loving grandparents. When he first returns the small village, he seems to be no more than an outsider, intruding on the village and it is not until midway through that Macleod shows to readers that there is some type of connection. The atmosphere that is presented through the fishing village is overall, very traditional in that Macleod focuses on the tight knit community aspect: “The calls float down from the women standing in the doorways of the multi-coloured houses and obediently the small fishermen gather up their equipment and their catches to ascend the narrow upward-winding paths.” (56) This gives the readers a sense of community, that all is well and everyone knows everyone.
“The Lost Salt Gift of Blood” and “The Boat” are both compelling stories that illustrate the dilemmas associated with familial obligations, living with choices, as well as the conflict between traditional values and a modern; however, overall “The Boat” presents them in a more honest and effective manner. “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood” focuses on a grown man who is returning to a small fishing village in which his son lives, as he attempts to come to terms with the way his life has turned out and the responsibilities he holds, whereas in “The Boat”, a grown man is reflecting upon his life where he grew up in a household with constant tension as to the way one should live their life …show more content…
In “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood”, the conflict presented is very much internal and centralized within the narrator. This provides readers with very little chance to understand the family aspect of the narrator’s life; although he is traveling to see his son and his sons’ grandparents, the sense of family is lost within the plot. In lieu of direct familial obligations, Macleod provides a very much internalized desire for familial contact:
The salesman’s wife stands waiting along with two small children who are the first to see him. They race toward him with their arms outstretched. “Daddy, Daddy,” they cry, “What did you bring me? What did you bring me?” (Macleod, …show more content…
In “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood”, the idea of modern society is clearly shown from the point of view of the narrator whom has returned to a small fishing town in Newfoundland to see his son, whereas in “The Boat” the conflict is presented through the narrator’s honest reflections on growing up in a very traditional home in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. The narrator in “The Lost Salt Gift of Blood”, is shown as a young man returning to a seemingly homey small fishing town, and presented with the conflict of whether or not to return to the city with his illegitimate son or leave him with his loving grandparents. When he first returns the small village, he seems to be no more than an outsider, intruding on the village and it is not until midway through that Macleod shows to readers that there is some type of connection. The atmosphere that is presented through the fishing village is overall, very traditional in that Macleod focuses on the tight knit community aspect: “The calls float down from the women standing in the doorways of the multi-coloured houses and obediently the small fishermen gather up their equipment and their catches to ascend the narrow upward-winding paths.” (56) This gives the readers a sense of community, that all is well and everyone knows everyone.