Wing's Chips Review

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Review of the Story Wing's Chips The story “Wing’s Chips” by Marvis Gallant is a great example of the hostility between the two ethnic denominations in our country. The French and the English have always tried to undermine each other in different aspects like culture, religion, language and politics. The theme of this story is that even though these two groups have different views, they both want to be respected for who they are. The story takes place in a French Canadian town divided by a river, with the English community living on the opposite side. The father in the story is an English painter, who lives on the French side and as a result loses his social standing. The daughter is the narrator of this story. She is embarrassed of her father because he doesn’t earn his living like the other Englishmen. She emphasizes how all the fathers go to respected jobs each morning while her father wakes up and paints without leaving or even getting dressed. The conflict in the story is created by the racism and strong dislike of one another. The French are referred to as “frogs” while the English are called “cabbages”, at least that’s what the French maid of the painter calls them. Conflict between the father and daughter also adds to the story. They seem to have different ideas about how she should be brought up. When they come over to play, it is evident that the daughter wishes she had a stricter upbringing like her English friends. The narration throughout the story is melodic, though dull. However, when the Wing’s children bring their older siblings to collaborate with the painter, the story becomes interesting. The siblings own the local chips shop, on the English side of course, and want a new sign for their shop. The painter agrees to help them, free of charge. He paints such a beautiful sign that the whole town stops by just to look at it. Now the
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