Author: | Troy Parfitt | ISBN: | 9780986803536 |
Publisher: | Western Hemisphere Press | Publication: | August 15, 2015 |
Imprint: | Language: | English |
Author: | Troy Parfitt |
ISBN: | 9780986803536 |
Publisher: | Western Hemisphere Press |
Publication: | August 15, 2015 |
Imprint: | |
Language: | English |
War Torn: Adventures in the Brave New Canada is about one man’s struggle to identify with his homeland. After 12 years in East Asia, English teacher Troy Parfitt returns to Canada and embarks on a cross-country journey that covers each province and territory. The reader is treated to poetic geographical-descriptions, historical overviews, ethnographic encounters, and lively and insightful commentary on Canadian culture and society. Numerous themes emerge, but the tie that binds is Canada’s involvement in The War in Afghanistan. The author questions the war’s merits, the views of its supporters, the aims of its orchestrators, and the culture of silence surrounding the conflict. He juxtaposes quiet approval for state violence with widespread apathy for social, political, and educational reform, and shows how peace-loving Canadians now valourize war through sport, family values, Christianity, and capitalism. Framed as a travel narrative, Parfitt subverts the genre to challenge assumptions about Canadians being Americans’ friendly and progressive northern neighbours. Criticizing Canada’s swing to the right, he leaves the country again citing that it’s too insular and conservative.
War Torn: Adventures in the Brave New Canada is about one man’s struggle to identify with his homeland. After 12 years in East Asia, English teacher Troy Parfitt returns to Canada and embarks on a cross-country journey that covers each province and territory. The reader is treated to poetic geographical-descriptions, historical overviews, ethnographic encounters, and lively and insightful commentary on Canadian culture and society. Numerous themes emerge, but the tie that binds is Canada’s involvement in The War in Afghanistan. The author questions the war’s merits, the views of its supporters, the aims of its orchestrators, and the culture of silence surrounding the conflict. He juxtaposes quiet approval for state violence with widespread apathy for social, political, and educational reform, and shows how peace-loving Canadians now valourize war through sport, family values, Christianity, and capitalism. Framed as a travel narrative, Parfitt subverts the genre to challenge assumptions about Canadians being Americans’ friendly and progressive northern neighbours. Criticizing Canada’s swing to the right, he leaves the country again citing that it’s too insular and conservative.