Summary Of 'Cornet At Night And The Boat'

Ryan Kent
Ms. Chiasson
ENG3U
02/03/2015
“Cornet at Night” and “The Boat” The literary works of two Canadian authors can often be place under a microscope where the similarities of their works become very apparent. The writing styles tend to have many aspects in common. The short story “Cornet at Night” by Sinclair Ross is very similar to “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod. They are similar in not just one but in many ways. The two literary works share many aspects between them. These aspects extend over a wide variety of topics. These aspects are used by the authors in both short stories to help develop the plot and deepen the story. The most comparable of these aspects are the theme, setting and the diction that is used. “You must be in tune
The time between the two stories is very close. The number years that separate each story is approximately between 10 and 20. The time the stories take place play a large role on the plot development because of the values associated with those times. Certain values have higher priorities than others. “Cornet at Night” takes place in the 1930s in the midst of the great depression. Certain conflicts like the decision between the farm and school are greatly impacted because of the time. The father makes a point of how he did not get to school when he was Tom’s age. It shows what he prioritizes when it comes to education and work on the farm. The story taking place during the great depression had the largest impact on the decisions made. People during the great depression were never thinking about the future they were always thinking of the present. Just like Tom’s dad is when he wants him to skip school to work on the farm. This conflict is what advances the plot which is all a result of the time it takes place. Similarly to “Cornet at Night”, in “The Boat” the family’s decisions were based on the time period and society’s expectations. “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod is set in the 1940s where there are certain expectations and a general life that would be followed. The son was expected to become a fisherman just like his father and the majority of others in the
Both authors use figurative language to do so. Most specifically they use symbolism. In the two literary works there are objects that have a literal meanings on the surface but when opened up and discovered they have much deeper and profound meanings. In both short stories the physical object is a person or people who when examined closely offer as an escape from duties that were forced upon them. It showed them the world beyond their work. In “Cornet at night this escape was the cornet player, Philip, who Tom brought back from town. Philip has no business being on a farm but for some reason Tom had chosen him. Philip was a way for Tom to open his mind to things outside of the farm. The music gave him a glimpse of the world beyond farming and offered as a temporary escape from duty and imprisonment. Tom did not know much about the world, “Somehow I didn’t feel ashamed because I had lived all my eleven years on a prairie farm, and knew nothing more that Miss Wiggins and my Aunt Louise’s gramophone.” (Ross 228). Philip provided him with means of excitement, intrigue and imagination that could not be fulfilled by farming. Likewise the tourists in “The Boat” are a metaphor to the father just like Philip is to Tom. The tourists give the father something that fishing can not. Just like his books, the tourists we his escape from the duty and imprisonment of fishing. He appears to come out his shell with