Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)

STUDIES - Judit Molnár: Search for Identity in the English-language Writing of Allophone Quebecers

JUDIT MOLNÁR SEARCH FOR IDENTITY IN THE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE WRITING OF ALLOPHONE QUEBECERS Ethnic writing has by now become into the focus of scholarly interest in Canada yet the literature produced in English by Allophones, i.e. authors of neither British nor French origin in Québec has still remained largely unknown. Hie society of Québec has changed tremendously during the past three decades which resulted in producing a culturally diversified population. In like manner, the literature of Québec has gained new dimensions, too. I have singled out two intercultural writers, who are Québecers by choice in order to compare the literary expression of their being marginalized in the culturally plural society of Québec. Their ethnic backgrounds are different; Raymond Filip comes from Germany of Lithuanian parentage, Mary Melfi is of Italian origin. What connects these writers is the fact that they write in one of the official languages of Canada, however, not in the official language of Québec and that they both belong to ethnic minorities, which installs cultural distinctiveness into their works. My specific interest lies in contrasting the literary representation of their individualized responses to the ethnocultural composition of the society surrounding them. Raymond Filip's After the Fireworks (1989) and Mary Melfi's Infertility Rites (1991) have elements in common but distinctive features as well. 97