Important Exam Review Material

Novel Review- Important Review for Mid Term Exam


Minor themes:
• Love- developing love story between Panee and Jon
• Comparison of cultural differences between Inuit and white culture
• Overcoming loss- Jon dealing with the death of their father
• Dealing with loneliness and alienation
• Overcoming adversity-Jon dealing with a new life


Main theme:
Journey to Maturity - The novel Whiteout allows the reader to see the impact that the main character Jon has had on the people around him and how Jon’s attitude had an adverse affect on his relationships. Throughout the novel we see Jon changing from a self-destructing selfish young adult to a kind, compassionate man who begins to make mature decisions. He soon learns through the help of his uncle, the Inuit people, and through his own personal assessment that his choices in life can have a tremendous impact on his personal relationships and his own welfare.


Turning point:
What is a turning point?
The turning point is the point where the story begins to change. It can also be called a Climax. In the novel the turning point is when Jon, Panee and Pudlo get stuck in a snow storm.


Symbols and their importance:
The scar faced man/ the shaman-
The scar faced man is Jon’s guide through his northern experience. He is a helper giving him visions to shape his decisions so he can become a better person. He can also be interpreted as Jon’s conscience.
• Jon first meets the scar faced man in Chapter 2; he shows Jon the shadow of the airplane that moves independently from the plane. Suggesting that Jon’s life is going in a different direction.
• The scar faced man shows up at the hanger before Jon heads to Nanuvik- suggesting change.
• The scar faced man appears again at the windows tent where his shadow stays outside. The abandoned tent relates to the Whaler’s house which was also abandoned; the shadow shows a separation between Jon and Panee. Panee is the widow inside and the shadow represents Jon on the outside. Jon is never truly allowed inside, to be a real part of her life.
• Jon meets the man again at the fishing camp. He tells the story of Sedna and gives Panee the broken sculpture of Sedna.
• He is seen again during the snow storm when he helps Jon save Panee’s life. He gives Jon the courage to jump the gap in the ice.
• He then mimics the motions of a plane while Jon is offering Sedna the carving suggesting that Jon future is in the south and that he must get on the airplane leaving Nanuvik.


Telulijuk/ Sedna/ the carved green goddess-
• Is first seen in Jon’s Toronto apartment, he writes music for her
• Jon finds several carving of her in his uncle chest
• When Jon falls through the ice and is rescued by Shoona and Pudlo, Panee and her grandmother credit Telulijuk with his survival.
• When at the fishing camp the scar faced man gives Panee a broken carving of Telulijuk. Panee gives Jon this sculpture when she is rescued after the snow storm.
• Telulijuk is symbolic of Panee; without Panee Jon would have never changed his life for the better – she saved him -and the carving is broken like Jon and Panee’s relationship
• Jon offers the carving to the goddess for his survival in the snow storm and falling through the ice.
• Jon then gives up his relationship with Panee and gives her back to her people; Panee is the offering or sacrifice for his future.



Main Characters:
• Calvin
• Panee
• Jon
• Pudlo
• Noddy


Protagonist: is the leading character of a drama or novel. A protagonist is not always the hero, but is always the principal and central character whose rival is the antagonist.
Protagonist
• Jon Arid



Antagonist: is the character or forces in a fiction that opposes the protagonist and causes the conflict in the story.
Antagonists
• Calvin Arid – In part one
• Walski- In part one
• Edlout
• His mother- In part one
• The ice when he almost drowns (force)
• The whiteout (force)
• The snow storm (force)


Literary devices


Foreshadowing: When the author provides clues or hints as to what is going to happen later in the story.
• The broken carving of Sedna/ Telulijuk foretells the ending of Jon and Panee’s relationship
• The Whaler’s house destroyed by winter storms and snow foretells the ending of Jon’s and Panee’s relationship.


Tone: Tone expresses the author's attitude toward his or her subject.
• James Houston describes Jon in a positive way despite the character’s past.


Atmosphere: The feeling surrounding the literary work
• In the novel the atmosphere was cold and sparse during the first half of the novel. The author uses imagery of ice, snow, blue colours and emptiness to show this and gradually uses colour and weather to show warmth.


Setting: The time and place when a story takes place.
• The story takes place on West Baffin Island in an Inuit town called Nanuvik.