A comparative study of narrative accounts of visits home drawn from the immigrant ethnic community in St. John's, Newfoundland

Dunsiger, Jane Catherine (1982) A comparative study of narrative accounts of visits home drawn from the immigrant ethnic community in St. John's, Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (29MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

The scope for immigrant ethnic studies in Canadian folklore is vast, offering many possibilities to the researcher interested in specific ethnic or cultural groups. To date, however, there has been little work in comparative studies which seek to go beyond the bounds of one group. Differing emphases on aspects of culture such as language, religion, dress and material culture are not easily resolved. -- Using an established folkore form, the personal experience narrative, this study seeks to set up a basis for comparison by examining the personal experience narratives of eight informants drawn from the immigrant ethnic complex in St. John's, Newfoundland. It contrasts and compares their comments on the experience of visiting home as a means of exploring one facet of the immigrant experience. -- It suggests that the experience of returning home can cause considerable problems for the visitor because it sets two different value systems in apposition. Changed cultural perceptions for both visitor and host have to be accommodated. It is argued that the visit home presents some features of a rite of passage, but that if seen in terms of the individual's overall experience, the visit is a re-affirmation of his original decision to leave. It forms part of the larger rite of passage involved in settling in the New World.

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