Pieces of string too short to save : discovering ourselves through our stories

Abstract

This writing is about the impacts of widely divergent worlds on the cultural and emotional development of a girl born in a rural, Southern Alberta setting. Its purpose is to identify and sort out the effects imposed by the conflicting values of Russian-born maternal forces and American-born paternal forces on a post-World War Two child. The author's thesis is that an individual's voice, or capacity for independence, can be greatly influenced by the people and places of his or her formative years. The scope of this paper extends from an eighteenth century Russian village to twentieth century Southern Alberta, with the major emphasis on the time-frame 1949 to 1977. Most of the writing is based on the recollections and observations of the author. The quoted published source is from writings by Sam Keene and Anne V alley-F ox concerning creating our own mythic journey. This writing concludes that it is useful for individuals to examine closely the influences that formed them, with special implications for the conflicting forces experienced by many first-generations Canadians.