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In society, both loyalty and fidelity are crucial ways of life. The importance of loyalty is evident when examining the essence of family. A theory that is made through MacLeods writing is that to understand Scottish-Canadian heritage in the novel, the importance of loyalty, family, and clan ties must first be examined. In Alistair MacLeods novel No Great Mischief, the predominant themes are the importance of family and loyalty. The subject of family and loyalty creates the entire plot and characterization of the novel. Loyalty is demonstrated through the loyalty to blood ties and to the clan that the MacDonald family is a part of. In the novel, there are many other smaller themes evident which connect to the predominant themes of family and loyalty. The additional themes of the novel are perseverance and the ability to accept change as a part of life. All of these themes tie into one another and play an integral role in developing the plot and characters. In the novel, the importance of loyalty, family, and clan ties are emphasized. The themes and importance of loyalty, family, clan ties, perseverance, and the ability to accept change compose the entire novel and must be analyzed thoroughly before discussing the Scottish-Canadian culture.
The theme of accepting change is evident throughout the novel and is frequently shown among many characters. The main idea revolving around change in the novel is that change is certain to happen in life and you must persevere and adapt to it or else you will not be able to live free. One of the many characters who contribute to the theme of change is the protagonist, Alexander MacDonald. Alexander shares his opinion on change and declares change without sound, yet change nonetheless, and change that was important, sometimes invisible as well as silent (MacLeod 72). In this quote, Alexander is saying that change can happen in silence without anybody noticing at the time but will still have importance and effect on those around it. Alexander does not speak of change glowingly and sees it as a challenge to overcome. In the novel, the ability to accept and overcome change is very vital in the development of the story and Alexanders character. For Alexander, change is very difficult to go through and he has to overcome this challenge. The change that Alexander must go through is life without his parents or brother Colin who drowned. Alexander also has to deal with his other brother Calum who is a convicted murderer and alcoholic who hides from his problems and is unable to accept change. Calum has had to deal with a lot in life such as being a clan chief of the MacDonalds and having to defend the lost cause of Gaelic culture. Calum defends clan values and principles throughout the novel even though there are many personal consequences. Calum’s defense leads him to not be able to accept change, become a murderer, and have a hard time in life. Calum becomes an alcoholic because of his strong support of the old clan values and principles that have been dematerialized. Calum allows the change in his life to dictate his fate, block him from persevering, and creating his plans in life. Alexander on the other hand can recognize change, adapt to it, and push through it. In terms of contributing to the idea of family and loyalty is that Alexander realizes that he still has a love for Calum even though there have been many changes in their lives from childhood to adulthood. Alexander shows his love and forgiveness towards Calum when he proclaims Ferry the dead. Fois do tandem. Peace to his soul. All of us are better when were loved(MacLeod 283). The significance of this quote is that before this Alexander was reminiscing about heartwarming memories between him and Calum. Also, when he says Peace to his soul (MacLeod 283) he demonstrates how he would like for there to be tranquility for Calum. The quote stating that All of us are better when were loved(MacLeod 283) is significant because it shows that when his bond with Calum is strong, both he and Calum are stronger individuals. Many changes have occured between Calum and Alexander from when their youth to adulthood but Alexander shows that loyalty, love family, and perseverance can be used to deal with the many changes there are in life. Initially, Alexander feels as though he is unloyal to the clan and his family because he separated himself and had a successful career being an orthodontist. A commonly used saying by the MacDonald family is blood is thicker than water (MacLeod 110). This phrase is significant because it is what the MacDonalds live by and is used as inspiration to stick together when times are tough and have changed. This saying is at the back of Alexanders mind and eventually becomes the reason why he visits his brother and sister. This saying ties into the importance of family and loyalty which is essential in the novel.
The novel revolves around the importance of family and loyalty which are both primary themes. Loyalty is shown within the MacDonald family and clan. There are very strong blood and clan ties presented throughout the novel. Family is proven to be key because without family there can be a loss of identity which Alexanders twin sister experiences. About this, Alexander says ‘One seems a predisposition to have twins, which are more fraternal rather than identical. And one of which is sometimes called coloring.’ Most of the people are fair-skinned, but within families, some of the individuals have bright red hair while that of their brothers and sisters is a deep, intense shining black’ (MacLeod 29). The significance of this quote is that Alexanders sister has gone through a loss of self. She tries to separate herself from her family and clan roots but is unable to. Alexander explains how she has tried to change her appearance to be unlike their family by dying a streak of her hair blonde. Within the MacDonald family, there is a use of similar names, specifically the name Alexander. The use of similar names connects the importance of family and the clan. With a similar use of names within the family they can stay true to their Scottish roots. Alexanders grandma says There are enough problems in the world without fighting with your blood ‘(MacLeod 70).
The significance of this quote is that Alexanders grandma explains how in life there will be many conflicts in life and it is important to stay true to blood ties. In the novel, many conflicts are overcome because loyalty to family and clan is produced. Alexander associates himself with his family tree and is taught by his grandma Gaelic songs and clan stories. Alexander initially feels as though he betrayed his clan and family roots but later on, his loyalty and love towards the two are evident. The clann Chalum Ruaidh has an impact on Alexanders life once he returns to his roots. Alexander states ‘My hope is constant in thee, Clan Donald’ (MacLeod 95). The significance of this quote is that Alexander is explaining how his desires in life revolve around the Clann. Alexander says that he immediately regrets saying this because his sister would take it as a mockery of the clan. Alexanders sister took this as a mockery because of how Alexander separated himself from the clan, so she is not convinced. The importance of loyalty to both family and clan ties is crucial in the plot development and characterization and must be comprehended in order to understand Scottish-Canadian culture in the novel.
Loyalty to the Chalum Ruaidh clan and MacDonald family is evident throughout the novel and gives a greater understanding of the Scottish-Canadian heritage. In the early seventeenth century People began immigrating to Canada from Scotland. One of the primary destinations for these immigrants was Nova Scotia. In 1779 the legendary patriarch left Scotland and settled in the land of the trees . The clan which consisted of Alexanders descendants was formed with brothers and cousins in the MacDonald family. This shows the importance of loyalty and family in terms of Scottish-Canadian history because the entire Chalum Ruaidh clan consists of members of the MacDonald family who are loyal both to their blood ties and clan. Cape Breton Island had a significant Scottish population and is where Alexander and his twin sister left and prospered. In Cape Breton, Gaelic is the only language spoken there and is the language spoken by Alexanders grandparents and other clan members. Alexander separates himself from the clan and is haunted by his past and roots throughout the novel. This is ultimately the reason why Alexander returns to his clan roots and shows his loyalty towards his family and clan by returning to his brother and sister and strengthening their bonds again. At the beginning of the novel Calum addresses Alexander saying Ah ‘ille bhig ruaidh you’ve come at last'(MacLeod 8). Calum uses his family name and Gaelic language when greeting Alexander. This quote is significant because the novel begins with Calum demonstrating his loyalty to his family and clan through his use of the Gaelic language. The Gaelic language and culture are a part of Alexander that he cannot escape even though he separated himself from the clan and prospered. The importance of the clan is evident throughout and is visible when Alexander is in the homes of hosts and is asked questions such as What’s your name? ” What’s your father’s name? ‘What’s your mother’s father’s name?’ And almost without fail, in the case of myself and my cousins , there would be a knowing look across the face of our questionnaires and they would say, in response to our answer, ‘Ah, you are the clann Chalum Ruaidh,’ as if that somehow explained everything'(MacLeod 28). Through this quote the significance of the clan name is evident and the identity of Alexander portrayed by the questioners is dependant on the clan name. It is crucial to first understand loyalty, clan ties, and blood ties before examining Scottish-Canadian heritage because the heritage has a basis of all three of these themes which are evident throughout the novel. To fully understand the history of Scottish migration to Canada close detail about the clan priorities, loyalty to one another, and blood ties must be thoroughly examined. It is impossible to get a sense of the realities that the Scottish people were dealing with without studying the prime concerns within families and clans.
In conclusion, the theory that to understand Scottish-Canadian heritage in the novel, the importance of loyalty, family, and clan ties must first be examined. The themes that relate to this are the importance of family and loyalty to blood and clan ties. Family and loyalty create the entire plot and characterization in the novel. Loyalty is demonstrated through loyalty to blood ties and to the clan that the MacDonald family is a part of. Additional themes in the novel are perseverance and the ability to accept change as a part of life. All of these themes tie into one another and play an integral role in developing the plot and characters. In the novel, the importance of loyalty, family, and clan ties are emphasized. The themes and importance of loyalty, family, clan ties, perseverance and the ability to accept change compose the entire novel and must be analyzed thoroughly before discussing the Scottish-Canadian culture. In the novel, several characters show their loyalty towards their family and the clan of which their family is a part. The use of Gaelic language are reminiscing about old stories is evident throughout the novel and gives a great understanding of the Scottish-Canadian culture from a deeper perspective. An argument can be made that it is possible to understand Scottish-Canadian heritage by just looking at the facts and history and not studying the specifics of the clan’s priorities of loyalty to blood and clan ties. But to get the greatest understanding of Scottish-Canadian heritage specific details must be examined first.
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