Canadian Identity in “The Best Laid Plans” by Terry Fallis

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Table of Contents

Introduction
What Ridings are Mentioned in the Novel?
Which Book was Muriel Parkinson Reading?
Which Prime Minister Did Muriel Parkinson Work for?
Can You Remember a Few of the Demands Angus Makes to Daniel Before the Campaign?
What Kind of Job Does Daniel Choose After Deciding to Retire from Politics?
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

The book by Terry Fallis is filled with satire on Canada’s political system, particularly the ever-ruling conservatives and the always-losing liberals. It is worth noting that, in many ways, the author has invested himself in the protagonist. Although Fallis is cool enough to criticize Canada’s political processes, he emphasizes humor, which gives the narrative a satirical flavor. But what features of Canadian identity can we find in the novel? Let’s explore them through answers to questions about the plot details of the book.

What Ridings are Mentioned in the Novel?

The ridings of Cumberland-Prescott and Ottawa are mentioned. In my opinion, this is a critical detail showing both the current state of Canadian politics and the attitude of Canadian people. Daniel says that “in most ridings in the country, canvassers would encounter a supportive Liberal voter every few houses. In Cumberland-Prescott, it was more like every few days” (Fallis, 2010, p. 101). Thus, the characters are trying with all their might to draw the attention of the constituency voters to the liberal party. Here, we can see how different the residents’ attitudes of the capital and the periphery to political processes are. The villagers represent a distinct political culture. While all political campaign decisions are made in Ottawa, residents outside of it are puppets of politicians.

Which Book was Muriel Parkinson Reading?

She was reading the book Home Economics and Free Labour by Marin Lee (Fallis, 2010). This book examines the economic contribution of women housewives, whose services people use every day. Muriel Parkinson also points out that reading this book is not light but liberating. It is important to note that the author of this book, Muriel Parkinson, “actually uses humour to make her point even more profound” (Fallis, 2010, p. 25). This remark seems interesting to me since Terry Fallis himself uses humor and satire to describe Canada’s political situation. I think this is how he emphasizes that changes can happen only when politicians’ stiffness, their fussiness, is replaced by a lighter attitude. So Fallis draws attention to a feature of the Canadian political tradition – conservatism.

Which Prime Minister Did Muriel Parkinson Work for?

Muriel Parkinson worked for Mackenzie King. She pays special attention to his statement that “if you’ve really done absolutely everything you can and you still come up short, fate will smile on good people” (Fallis, 2010, p. 26). Parkinson also emphasizes that this axiom helped him remain serene in the face of serious problems. Perhaps this detail is insignificant, but, in my opinion, it sets the theme of the work – a sense of fate. We can see more than once in the book that Fallis is hoping for changes that must come inevitably. Daniel mentions that Parkinson is the example of devotion to politics because “for five consecutive campaigns, with no hope of winning, she’d stood as the lone Liberal in the safest Tory riding in the land” (Fallis, 2010, p. 22). The whole episode with her in the first chapter makes us understand that Fallis sincerely believes that traditionally in Canada, the Liberal Party serves only as an imaginary opposition. Such a view will explain the choice of the most “incredible” candidate for promotion in the elections.

Can You Remember a Few of the Demands Angus Makes to Daniel Before the Campaign?

The requirements are described on page 39, and they are all unconventional in contemporary Canadian politics and the modern world in general. According to the requirements, Daniel notes that Angus had to do “absolutely nothing” (Fallis, 2010, p. 40). Further, the campaign’s visibility is mentioned, which, in my opinion, makes it clear how skeptical Fallis is in general about the modern Canadian elections. Canadians have so much confidence in pompous campaigning that they do not reflect on the real goals of the candidates for many years.

What Kind of Job Does Daniel Choose After Deciding to Retire from Politics?

He decided to teach English at the University of Ottawa. He speaks of his qualifications for this job as “After all, I knew my ABCs and had never been in prison” (Fallis, 2010, p. 12). Here, we see Fallis’s attitude to Canada’s modern academic education. Angus asks Daniel to teach English to engineers instead of him, saying that this is like “force-feeding ballroom dancing to sumo wrestlers” (Fallis, 2010, p. 93). In my opinion, this again reflects the reluctance of the system to form attention to essential things; everything is quite formal. Thus, Fallis is also critical of the Canadian educational system. The curmudgeon professor has grown to a politician of national importance only through loyalty to national interests.

Conclusion

We have looked at exciting and seemingly insignificant details of the novel that Fallis thinks about Canadian identity. First of all, this book is a political satire, and the author illustrates several aspects through it. He shows how apathetic Canada’s population is to elections and politics in general, how prim and fixated politicians are on their interests. However, through the introduction of the hero Angus, a candidate who cannot win but does, Fallis claims to believe in change’s irreversibility. He harmlessly exposes Canada’s democracy through farce and humor.

Reference

Fallis, T. (2010). The best laid plans. McClelland & Stewart.

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