Martha Ostenso’s Wild Geese
- Ostenso's Wild Geese is set in the Canadian prairies, a landscape that has played a significant role in shaping Canadian identity. How does the author use the natural setting in the novel to comment on the relationship between people and the land, and to explore broader themes of identity, belonging, and/or nationhood?
- Wild Geese is often considered a landmark in Canadian literature for its depiction of the struggles of the settlers in the Canadian West. Analyze the ways in which Wild Geese reflects the experience of the pioneers and the challenges they faced in their new homeland.
- How does the novel comment on the societal expectations of men and women in early 20th-century Canada and how do the characters rebel against or conform to these expectations? In what ways does the novel critique the treatment of marginalized groups, such as women and the poor, in early 20th-century Canada?
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Suggested Search Terms
The search terms below may not apply to all essay topics. Use your judgement to select the strategies and sources that will fit with your specific topic. Make sure to retain the details in the suggested search terms below, which may include the term su: and some unusual punctuation like quotation marks.
- "Wild Geese" AND Ostenso
- "Canadian Prairies" OR prairies OR landscape OR setting OR regionalism
- identity
- nationhood OR nationalism OR "national identity" OR patriot*
- belonging OR connectedness (these terms are most useful in JSTOR)
- "settler colonialism" OR settler OR pioneer OR colonization OR colonialism
- "societal expectations" OR "societal roles" OR roles OR "gender roles" OR "gender expectations"
- conformity OR conform OR rebel* (these terms are most useful in JSTOR)
- marginal* (this term is most useful in JSTOR)
Links to helpful sources:
JSTOR: Book chapter on landscape and identity in the prairies. There is one mention of Wild Geese but the chapter gives information about these subjects that could support your analysis.
Francis, R. Douglas. "Regionalism, landscape and identity in the prairie west." Challenging Frontiers: The Canadian West, edited by Lorry
Rasporich, University of Calgary Press, 2004, pp. 29–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv6gqsjb.7.
Gendered expectations:
Raub, Patricia. “A New Woman or an Old-Fashioned Girl? The Portrayal of the Heroine in Popular Women’s Novels of the Twenties.”
American Studies, vol. 35, no. 1, 1994, 109–30. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40642587.
