Examples Of John Wilson Being Alienated

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Protagonist within literature were once the rebels; however, in modern narratives, heroes are more like strangers, the outsiders and the individuals who are alienated and disaffected. In Lois Simmie’s novel, The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson, the story centers on this new type of hero: the stranger. As a stranger, the title character, John Wilson, engages the reader in a different way. For the reader, it means to go beyond just seeing the qualities of a stranger to the more challenging task of understanding this mysterious character completely. John Wilson is an outsider and also a stranger who comes to the new world, Canada, and struggles to integrate the local community. When Wilson arrives in Canada, he is luckily and easily to find a job because of a sign advertising jobs in which “English Need not Apply” (p.12) and he is Scottish. The work he could acquire is manual labour such as construction worker and gardener with low wages. His surplus of income can …show more content…
He is a thief. When he is in Scotland, he “stole money outright from his brother-in-law” (p.9), which makes “[his] good reputation lay in ruin” (p.9). To avoid the scandal and social judgement, he moves to Canada and conceal the truth from his wife. He is a rule breaker. As a Mountie, he cannot discipline himself. He “[drinks] in uniform” (p.66), which makes a bad image to the Mountie. He also is a liar. He uses lies to cover up the previous lies. To persuade his lover to date with him, Jessie Patterson, who meets him in Canada, he lies to her. He says that “[his] wife passed away before he left the old country [Scotland]” (p.31). In order to hide his secret love to his wife, he decides to shoot her even though she is pregnant - “a boy child inside her” (p.79). John Wilson is disaffected, because his action of steal, broken rule, lies and