Essay Questions

Illustrate the economic activities undertaken by various characters in the novel.

In the novel The Tale Teller, there are various economic activities that are undertaken by the characters. These economic activities are carried out in order for the characters to earn money, to advance their talents and passions and to avoid boredom. Some of the economic activities include : trade, sailing, hunting and housework.

Trade was an important economic activity. This was because the novel is set at a time when Quebec was a French Colony. Therefore trade was essential for the economy of Quebec. Merchants traded guns, gunpowder, liquor, blankets and cloth.

Sailing was both an adventure and an economic activity. The sailors were employees of a certain ship. They attended to the merchants, government officials and adventurers on board.These activities built the economy of Quebec for it was a young French colony. The immigrants from France to Quebec needed trade to avail goods that were not available in Quebec.

Explain the class system illustrated in the novel

In Quebec, the class system was divided among the poor and the rich. The rich had royal titles from France and therefore they attributed their wealth and social status to their royal blood. The poor were those who did not have any royal titles and had gone to try their luck in Quebec.

The rich, including senior officials in Quebec lived in palaces, threw lavish parties and had numerous servants and slaves. The poor on the other hand worked for the rich in order to get money to fulfill their basic needs.The narrator further tells us that the country people in France hardly had enough to eat whereas the rich there had luxury and a lot of food to spare.

Explain the role of women as illustrated in the novel The Tale Teller.

In The Tale Teller, women are teachers, caregivers, companions and missionaries. They have roles that are inferior to those of men. Men are leaders and have careers whereas women in the novel cannot have a career.

Women such as Marie Therese are caregivers. Marie Therese works as a house servant in the house of Hocquart. Later in the novel, she got married to a widower in order to help him raise his children.Catholic nuns are missionaries in Quebec. They sailed from France to provide spiritual guidance to the catholics in Quebec. They also provided medical care to the locals