Jonathan Vance's "Death So Noble"

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how Canadian author Jonathan F. Vance's 1997 award-winning novel, "Death So Noble", is an example of an essential work in Canadian literature, one that is paramount in explaining Canada's involvement in the Great War of 1914-1918. In titling his work "Death So Noble", Vance suggests to his readers that dying in defense of one's nation is of the greatest nobility. It explains that, through examination of historical reviews regarding Canadian participation in the Great War, Jonathan Vance is able to derive a convincing argument pertaining to Canada's role through the eyes of its contemporaries.

From the Paper:

"Throughout the novel, Vance is successful in presenting various techniques employed by the Canadian government, soldiers who fought in the war, and war-time contemporaries who remained in Canada during the war to create this "mythical" viewpoint of the Great War. Vance organizes the individual chapters in his book so that each chapter is used to discuss how different methods(ie. propaganda) that are used in painting the picture of progress, glory, and nationalism that hangs over the Canadian war effort. Vance cites examples of propaganda(21, 40, 118, 145, 177, and many others ) distributed by the government and the military to provide all Canadian citizens with the positive reinforcement the nation needs to come together in this time of crisis. All of this war-time propaganda does its part in conveying glory and enjoyment to the Canadian public."

More papers on Jonathan Vance's "Death So Noble":

• Essay # 41987 : "The Black Death and Consequences"
• Essay # 2430 : "Jonathan Larson"
• Analytical Essay # 123771 : "Jonathan Edwards and His Legacy"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: