The Englishmans Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe Free Essay Example, 1500 words

The Englishmans Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe (01.08.11) Introduction The Englishman’s Boy is a historical novel by Guy Vanderhaeghe, which depicts the 1873 Cypress Hills Massacre whereby a band of American wolfers assaulted a group of Assiniboine. The book deals with philosophical and moral issues that arise from the manner in which these historical events were recorded almost fifty years later by those who benefited in the massacre. The author has used the technique of interconnecting time lines and story narratives in adopting a post-modern approach to portray details of the Cypress Hills Massacre, which is characteristic of demonstrating the relationship between conflicting historical versions. This paper will focus on the power commanded by Rachel Gold, the main female character and on how other women in the novel are oppressed, which will be substantiated with reference to the histories of women’s roles in early Hollywood. Main Body The story is narrated by Harry Vincent whose dream woman is Rachel Gold. Rachel is a Jewish vampy screen writer who helps Harry Vincent get a job as a writer of film plots with Best Chance Pictures after he arrives in Hollywood from Saskatchewan. We will write a custom essay sample on The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Rachel is depicted as a powerful lady of very strong character as she maneuvers her life through a male dominated environment. She s able to create a place for herself and is recognized for her ability to write screenplays in surroundings where people hated women. She is portrayed as being extremely beautiful and catches the eyes of several men in Hollywood. But she was outnumbered in terms of her sex as well as religion. Rachel managed to gain immense recognition and clout in Hollywood because of her pulpy screen plays, which made her a force to reckon with whereby no one could take her lightly. She is depicted as being very considerate towards Harry and his un-well mother. Because of Rachel’s strong influence over film makers, she develops her own style of portraying the presence of anti-Semitic feelings in Hollywood as more and more Jews start entering the film making business in terms of starting production houses and directing films. It is perhaps in this context that Rachel enjoyed saying that â€Å"The true test of any scenario is to read it to a cameraman. Cameramen are invariably Irish and invariably drunk. If they can grasp the plot, the moral, the theme of your simple tale through an alchoholic haze, you can be assured you have struck the proper intellectual level† (36).