Literature Comparison

Across Canada, there are many great writers from different eras and provinces. Some of these writers such as Lucy Maud Montgomery are well known all over the world for their books, while others seem to be Canada's best hidden secrets. In my opinion, William Ormond Mitchell is one of Canada's best-hidden secrets. W. O. Mitchell wrote stories about the life and times of Canadians living in Western Canada. These stories, which take place on the Canadian prairie, are based upon his childhood memories of growing up in Saskatchewan. Who Has Seen the Wind, is Mitchell's first book and is considered to be his classic, while Jake and the Kid was written about Mitchell's years on the prairie. Mitchell's books have many similarities including the setting as well as the places in his books. Who Has Seen the Wind and Jake and the Kid have many similarities.

In both of Mitchell's novels, the tales and adventures of prairie life are told t us through the eyes of two young boys; Kid and Brian. There are many similarities between both Kid and Brian. In Mitchell's book Jake and the Kid, we meet a young boy named Kid, who lives on a prairie farm. Like most young farm boys, he has a dog. This dog, "Mr. Churchill" as he calls it, is a red and while fox terrier pup, who was given to him by Jake. Jake is the hired farm hand that, like Kid, loves the prairie life. In the beginning of the book, we learn that Kid's beloved Mr. Churchill is missing, and that Kid has searched every inch of the farm for him and still has not found him. Before moving his search to the area surrounding the farm, Kid decides to take a break and wait for the mailman. When he arrives, he tells both Kid and Jake about a dog he was dead on the side of the road, a few miles away from the farm. Kid is devastated when he hears this, and cannot bear to think of Mr. Churchill "wandering alone out on an empty prairie he'd