Canada: Case History Metaphor Angela Ho, 1 1 The poem “Canada: Case History’ by Earle Birney is about a teenage boy and troubles, but when the whole poem is seen as a metaphor, it is about Canada. Canada might be seen as the perfect country, but it still has its problems. “Schizophrenia not excluded” (Line 23) This explains that Canada, like teenage boys, have their own personal pro blems on the inside, whether it be mental or physical problems. However, physical problem s still occur with teenagers, most Often concerning their looks, or how they are seen.
Canada d oes not want to e seen like its parents. “You’ll note hes some of his French mothers looks / though he’s not so witty and no more stable / He’s really much more like his father and yet / ifyou say so he’ll pull a great face” (Line 1418) Even though Canada is the “offspring’ of England and France, Canadians tend to “pull a great face” if you say they are British or French, and Canadians often do not want to be seen that way. Most of them want Canada to be seen as the independent country it is, much like a teenager would see himself as an indivi dual, rather than the offspring of his parents.
Therefore, Canada wants to be seen as unique. A nother way of being unique is being different. Canada, like the average teen boy, is different from the other countries. “He wants to be different from everyone else / and day dreams of winning the global race” (Line 1920) This line explains that Canada is not only different bec ause Canada is culturally diverse and more peaceful than most, but it also explains the hop es that boys have when they are younger; Much like how Canada has high hopes for world peace. All the points above prove the poem is a metaphor comparing Canada to a teenage boy.
