Understanding the French/ English Conflict through Hockey Literature

Read Roch Carrier's "The Hockey Sweater,"Hugh MacLennan's "Two Solitudes" and the excerpt from Wayne Johnston's The Divine Ryans.

Questions for discussion or personal reflection:

• Why are the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs such intense rivals?
• Why did Carrier's narrator say that "The Maple Leaf's sweater weighed on my shoulders like a mountain"?
• Why does Johnston use the words "holy war" to describe the hockey game?
• *According to Carrier's narrator and Johnston's narrators, are the Leafs and Canadiens just hockey teams or do they signify something larger?
• Research these two teams: do they still have the same rivalry?
• Look for coverage and articles about Maurice Richard's death. Why was he such an important player? Why did all the boys in Carrier's team wear his number?
• What role do women play in these stories?