Exploring Societal Power Structures Through History and Art in 'Surviving the Fire'

Surviving the Fire: An Exploration of History in And the Birds Rained Down

A century later, the so-called Great Matheson Fire of 1916 remains the deadliest in Canadian history (CBC). The Great Matheson Fire

Photo of the remains of Matheson taken after the Great Fire of 1916 (CBC).

With 223 dead, burying all the victims of the Great Fire of 1916 was a big job for the survivors (CBC).

Thesis Statement This paper will analyze the author s narrative and structural choices and its inclusion of visual works of both photography and painting to prove that And the Birds Rained Down explores how societal power structures such as class and region influence historiography.

Historiography: The study of the writing of history, the way style, narrative, metaphors, and so on affect how the historical record is received and understood ( Historiography ). Key Terms Collective Memory: The memory of a group of people, passed from one generation to the next ( Collective Memory ).

Form of the Novel Effects of first- and third-person narration: 1. Multiple points of view 2. Fragmentary style 3. Self-consciousness Which all challenge totalizing historical narratives

Content of Novel Different means to share stories: 1. Oral Tradition 2. Photographs 3. Paintings Methods mirror the novel s narrative form

Influence of Power Structures on Art Class Language Region

The Style of the Novel An alternative account of history Role of multiple perspectives Mixing non-fiction and fiction

Essentially, through the redemptive quality of art, Saucier s novel And the Birds Rained Down reveals historical events about, as the narrator describes it, when life scrapes the depths before ascending to the light; and as a result, she allows these marginalized stories of The Great Matheson Fires to arise from the ashes of history and live in brightness (Saucier 148). Conclusion