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Alistair MacLeod describes in detail a day in the life of a young man, who just turned eighteen, and explores the protagonist’s memories connected to a place of his birth, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The province is well-known for its long-lasting history of coal mining, which started developing there over 250 years ago. The resource extracted by several local mining corporations provided “the driving power for the industries of Quebec and Ontario” for generations (Cape Breton Miners Museum, n.d., para. 4). It is possible to say that, in his story, the author managed to present the reality of Canadian mining with superb authenticity as it matches well the historical facts.
Both the father and the grandfather of the main character in MacLeod’s writing worked as miners for their whole lives. The family tradition had commenced as early as 1837, and the young man himself started to go into the mines when being just an adolescent. However, he did not tend to romanticize this hard work as his grandfather and did not express a desire to follow in the footsteps of his father as well. It is possible to say that the character’s aspiration for escaping Cape Breton and pursuing another path in life could symbolize a reduced significance of the mining industry at the national and the global scale, as well as a growing number of opportunities for professional realization for younger people.
The protagonist’s unwillingness to continue the family tradition is well understood, considering the harsh work conditions associated with mining. Even today, miners working in Nova Scotia often report multiple safety hazards and the lack of protective equipment in mining galleries (Serret & Willick, 2018). Earlier, the situation could be yet more dangerous. In the story, when describing the character’s first working experiences, MacLeod (2010) writes that “the mine paid very low wages and was poorly equipped and ventilated and since it was itself illegal there were no safety regulations” (p. 41). It is worth noticing that the salaries of boy miners were much lower than the wages of adult workers. For instance, in the second half of the 19th century, “the miners were paid from 80 cents to a $1.50 per day and boys were paid 65 cents” (Cape Breton Miners Museum, n.d., para. 3). Child labor as such was a common practice in the industry during the earlier stages of its development, and there were no significant restrictions. In Nova Scotia, for example, it was forbidden to hire children younger than ten years old in 1873 and younger than twelve in 1891, while boys under sixteen were prohibited from work only in 1923 (McIntosh, 2017). Nevertheless, there were no regulations concerning the work hours and types. Moreover, due to the lack of inspectors, the rules were often neglected.
MacLeod also notes in his fiction that many children had to work long hours to support their families and, as a result, many of them did not have a good education, unlike the main character. In fact, the graduation from high school could serve for him as the primary source of confidence in an opportunity for success of the island, and he was grateful to his father, who worked hard to provide it for him. The lack of education could become a problem in the context where most of the mines started to shut down. Nevertheless, even with this possibility at hand, the young man was at a loss after leaving Cape Breton. While the car moved forward in the night, the vast darkness of the night reminds about the gloom of shafts. No matter how far the young man would go, it seems he would be forever connected in his heart to the coal mines of Cape Breton.
References
Cape Breton Miners Museum. (n.d.). Mining in the region. Web.
MacLeod, A. (2010). Island: The collected stories of Alistair MacLeod. Toronto, Canada: McClelland & Steward.
McIntosh, R. (2017). Canada’s boy miners. Web.
Serret, E., & Willick, F. (2018).‘Playing with fire’: Former Donkin mine workers describe ‘scary’ safety practices. Web.
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