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“The Black Joke” by Farley Mowat
false accusation in a city he knows nothing about- not even the fact that it is all a preplanned jurisdiction set against him. His fate takes a sudden twist when his ship is put at stake of being auctioned, leaving him penniless with two families to support (his and his late brother’s family). This sudden strain leaves Jonathan ‘out in the cold’, for “the good capitain will not find anyone in St Pierre to help him cope with the corrupted officials- unless he pays; and pay he cannot...” (77). Out of desperation, Jonathan- a very stubborn and egotistic man- actually begs Sam Barnes- a cold-hearted, rich merchant of the chartered Black Joke- the only person Jonathan knows who is capable of supporting him financially. Even so, Jonathan’s hopes are crushed and the corrupted, ‘land sharks snare his ship’; which was the obvious response because the main villain behind the entire plot was Sam Barnes himself.
Likewise, Smitty was this tiny man in the Two Fishermen, who was in a different mannered, unknown town, with unknown townspeople full of rage over the act of hanging. When Smitty meets Michael, a journalist triggered by his career, over an apparent fishing trip, they both interchange happiness that creates a strong friendship that seems to have lasted forever. However, the interception between the friendships was Smitty’s job, his crime of pursuing a job that gave him no judgment over his victim- he would just be told to hang. Smitty was called into the small community jail, to perform the hanging of young Thomas Delaney whom the townspeople liked and were raged by the unjust hanging. When the hanging was performed, the guiltless tiny man was approached by a fiery mob of Delaney’s supporter, who stone him. This was the climax when Michael undergoes a dramatic emotional change from a good friend to a lying, deceiving syndicate of the mob. Michael although guilty and ashamed, remorselessly backs into the mob, and eventually helps the mob by means of showing support. The expression can be inferred from the following line stated by Michael to a fiery attacker, “He just doesn’t mean anything to me at all!”(97). The final plot occurs when Michael even throws the fish- a gift from Smitty over their fishing trip- at Smitty, hoping to hurt him. Both characters lose their innocence in the unjust and deceiving world- another example of the unifying symbol of Canadian literature.
Now proceeding on to the third comparative criteria, the aspects of an uncertain mood also provides much in depth to the unifying value. The Black Joke- ‘the fastest fishing vessel in the world’- is perhaps the strongest form of the symbolism of uncertainty depicted in the novel. As with any Canadian literature, the boat tried to depict the sense to venture and riskiness, perhaps the struggle for survival. The journey of the Black Joke through the scourging seas is very descriptive in the following passage: “The ocean surge, bursting on to the myriad reefs, sent great towers of spray [next page]