In Maraget Atwood’s, Progressive Insanities of a Pioneer, and Oliver Goldsmith’s The Lonely Settler, the imagery of Canada’s first pioneer and first encounters of Aboriginal people of Canada is shown. The depiction of the pioneer is someone tough, hard working, determined, and passionate; all of which are characteristics people would determine as positive to have. The pioneer is inspired to create a better life for himself and for his family, and to find freedom. They come to Canada with the expectations that the land is empty and free to be conquered. However, once they get to Canada, the reality of the climate and land becomes present, and the pioneer is now faced with the threat of the unknown. The First Nation’s is portrayed as a threat …show more content…
Both Atwood and Goldsmith show that the pioneer is determined to finding freedom and creating a better life for themselves and their families in Canada. They come with the idea that the land is empty, and ready to be developed, which the reality of the situation quickly makes itself apparent. The pioneer is motivated to make the land his own, and create a home in Canada that is better than his in Europe. The Pioneer is attempts to dominate the land and manipulate it to benefit his way of life: by removing trees and clearing land to make room for agriculture. In Atwood’s poem, the pioneer refuses to learn about the unknown plants around him, and he is determined to prepare the land for the agriculture that was available to him in Europe. The land becomes a threat to Atwood’s pioneer as it is unwilling to conform to the pioneer’s wishes, “This is not order but the absence of order./He was wrong, the unanswering forest implied: It was an ordered absence” (Atwood 37-43). Both pioneers are portrayed as arrogant and filled with a feeling of entitlement. They come to Canada, believing that the land is empty and ready for them to take over. They feel entitled to conquer the land and make it their own. They claim the land around them as their own and feel as though they need to defend and protect their newly claimed land: a fence is built around their home to mark their territory …show more content…
The First Nation’s is revealed as unruly, motivated to kill, and animalistic. Goldsmith clearly illustrations this through the harsh imagery of the First Nations, “savage tribes in wildest strain,/ Approach with death and terror in their train” (Goldsmith 35-36). First Nations are portrayed under the same light as animals, and as a threat to the pioneer’s way of life. In The Lonely Settler, any threat to the Pioneer becomes present at night, which is where the First Nations and animals make their first appearance. The First Nation and animals are compared to each other, both determined to harm and kill the settler, a thirst for blood, much like a hungry animal. The previously brave pioneer is now scared and threatened by what he believes to be haunting howls of the unknown species around him and rushes into his home where he believes he will be protected, as the animals will not cross into his