Les Oreilles

Abstract

This Creative Writing and Literature thesis presents Part I (100 pages) of my literary novel Les Oreilles, a work of Canadian Québécois historical fiction. In 1940s rural Quebec, the Eastern townships are divided as the Francophone vs. Anglophone conflict churns, and World War II calls for the deployment of Canadian sons. Poverty further escalates tension in the home of a struggling farming family. For Lillian Collins, the farm has been her entire world, and her eleven siblings are her only companions. Maman is French, Papa is English, and Lily understands neither. Severely hearing impaired, Lily has never enrolled in school, worn a new dress, or attended church. Lily's hearing loss involves the cochlea and sensory organs of the inner ear, which also impacts mobility and balance. Lily's frequent injuries have long been dismissed as the plight of a simpleton not able to judge her footing. We enter the story in 1942 at a time when the family dynamic is volatile; brother Jimmy revels in twisted cruelties, and Lily has become his preferred target for mistreatment. The older girls are ready to leave the farm and start their own families but fear for Lily's safety. The girls have secured an opportunity for Lily but will need to act quickly. The story narrows in on the critical twenty-four hours before Lily's departure. Unable to read or write and poorly equipped to speak, Lily may not have the skills to navigate the world beyond the farm.