The Halifax Explosion 1917 Maclennan Summary

Narrative Authority Creating New Perspectives

In the opening passage of “The Halifax Explosion 1917” MacLennan established his narrative authority by writing from the point of view of the people of Halifax. MacLennan used purposeful degradation in his descriptions of the Mont Blanc to make it abundantly clear that this vessel was so unassuming that going unnoticed was not out of the ordinary in this situation. This bias altered the portrayal of the event and leaned away from a traditional, purely historic rendition, to more of a storied, pleading approach. The use of narrative authority to change the perspective here is critical because it allows the reader to become engrossed in the perspective of the people of Halifax, creating a vantage point not usually seen in most historical depictions.

In almost every description of the Mont Blanc, MacLennan painted a distasteful picture of the vessel “An ugly little craft of little more
In a way MacLennan was asking how could this boat have been seen as a floating bomb if no one in the water or immediately near the vessel, took any notice when she passed by. This view came to fruition when MacLennan directly indicated the perspective that a captain of a vessel immediately near Halifax had, “He was about the only person in the vicinity of Halifax to take any overt notice of her passage up the harbor.” (MacLennan 74). Therefore, by specifically saying “overt notice” MacLennan made it clear that this singular captain was the only person who observed the unconcealed entrance of the Mont Blanc into the harbor in Halifax. A town, a mess of ships in open water and only one captain noticed the floating