Summary of Margaret Atwood's "Survival"

Survival

Margaret Atwood

The essay title “Survival” is significant to its content as it bothers more about the survival of Canadian literature among the other English literatures. This extract is taken from Margaret Atwood’s introduction to the work titled Survival. It calls for the notice of the Canadians to look at the presence of nativity in the Canadian literature, which enables them to feel associated with it. Atwood, writer of this piece, believes that though works from the other country literatures provide pleasure and knowledge, it always leaves the readers in distance by allowing them to imagine the natural scenery or the specific cultural aspects instead of associating them with that.

          Atwood begins the essay by recollecting her choice of reading during her childhood days. At that time Atwood was ignorant about a distinctive literature called Canadian literature. In schools they read English books from the British and the American literature by Walter Scott, Edger Allen Poe, Donald Duck and also Marvel Comics. Once she received Charles G. D. Roberts’ (The father of Canadian Literature) Kings in Exile as a Christmas present. This book fascinated as well as upset her since the stories are about animals that are caged, trapped and tormented. Later she read Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton which had great impact upon her. The story was with real animals in forest and about their deaths in ordinary way that is not always because of tigers but at times even due to rabbits. Along such realistic works, she enjoyed reading sacks of comics on Captain Marvel, Plastic Man (who can reshape his body as he wants), and Batman. She feels such reading is more delightful as it was done with the disapproval of the elders. Reading such work without the knowledge of the elders excited her.

Atwood believes that literature has to be read primarily for entertainment as it provides the delight of excitement and enjoyment. One should experience the pleasure of reading a story. But when one tries to find a message or meaning out of a text, it will be a work but not an entertainment. According to Atwood books provide different levels of entertainment. She considers reading Walter Scott and Marvel Comics as a source of fantasy as they talk more about imaginary places and things. She has never seen such castles and Kryptonite (a place of superheroes) in Canada which distanced the stories from her real life. Though the above mentioned works are more fascinating, she felt Seton and Roberts works as closer to life. The reason for it is her experience of encountering such animals.

   Atwood states that those works were close to her not only because of the content but also due to their pattern. She believes that certain characterisations especially books about animals are more real to her than the books with superhuman. It neither gives confidence in blindfolded way nor has happy ending. Such works exposed one to the struggle for survival like danger of getting lost, eating poisonous food by mistake, and angering some animals. Moreover these works are filled with helpful hints to survive out of unexpected struggles. It gives confidence to face any kind of unexpected problems or huddles in life as no superhero will save the needy in reality.

          Reading moulded Atwood to develop a right kind of expectations from books. Comics and a book like Alice in the Wonderland or Canon Doyle’s The Lost World leaves one with an expectation to be rescued by someone or to return from the world of danger to a safer place. While in Seton and Roberts works the real world and their depiction are one and the same.

          During her high school Atwood received a book as a Christmas present. It was Robert Weaver and Helen James anthology titled Canadian Short Stories. She could find similarities between this anthology and her favourite animal stories. Like those animals, in these stories too she could find humans running, facing or bringing accidents, disasters, experiencing menace not only from a villain character but from anybody. The stories in this collection elated her more as she could connect everything with her location. Hence those stories felt real to her than Charles Dickens works. Charles Dickens is a famous British novelist who presented industrial revolution effectively. Atwood enjoyed reading Dickens works but at the same time she felt that those stories were not realistic as she could not connect it with her locale. 

          Atwood bothers that the present generation Canadian kids read very less Canadian literature than her own generation. She believes that her reading of Canadian literature enabled her to feel the difference between the Canadian literature and the other literatures. As she reads more number works from her native literature, she is very clear about the shapes and the terms of her country literature. This essay aims to advise people to read their native literature as it enables them to experience such specific things from their locale.