Some Great Thing, by Lawrence Hill

Some Great Thing by Lawrence Hill, describes the story of a young black Canadian man, named Mahatma, pursuing a career as a reporter in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the 1980. Born to a black father and white mother, Hill moved to Canada in 1953 and I believe the ideas and experiences portrayed in his novel Some Great Thing stem from his own personal experiences. The main focus of Some Great Thing is the constant battle between the English and French populations living in Winnipeg in the 1980. During this time period, Winnipeg was on the cusp of being proclaimed a bilingual province and the English populations were fighting at all cost to prevent this transformation. There are so many parallels that can be made between this reading and those we have been doing in class such as the fight for equal rights amongst two different social groups. Despite the fact that the main battle being fought in this novel is over linguistic power, racial conflicts are an underlying issue that inevitably get addressed. I found it very interesting that throughout his novel, Hill addresses the issue of a black man not being able to ever fully rise to the same social standing as a white man. The former is very evident in the following passage, where a poor Indian boy asks a wealthy black judge for money:

“Hey, mister, I just lost my job, can you spare some change? […] ”
“I’ll have you know that I don’t give money in the streets. I am a judge!”
“You’re no judge.”
“Yes I am. I’m one of the highest people in this province, and I don’t hand out money in the streets. But I will buy you a sandwich if you wish.”
“[…] No fucking way! You’re no judge. You’re a cheap old nigger.”
“How can you say that? Don’t ever call people hurtful name, son.”
“Gimme a break.” The kid spat and turned away. “Judge or no judge, you’re a fucking nigger just the same.” (Hill, p.38-39)

This is one of many disrespectful conversations between different groups that clearly depicts an inferior victim and a superior oppressor. I felt that the tensions between the French and English added an interesting and refreshing aspect to the story. It made me realize that there are all different types of oppression occurring in the world. Furthermore, despite the fact that this novel is situated in a different time period than the literature we have read thus far, brutal and horrifying acts continue to be ever-present. For example, during a hockey game between two rival teams, a young French boy gets killed by a boy on the English team. Similarly, the Francophone Association of Manitoba gets bombed and an outrageous fire claim the life of many. These vicious acts, although different than those we’ve previously discussed, succeed in painting a picture of the injustices occurring amongst different groups.


In terms of his writing style, Hill uses a very simple vocabulary, thus making Some Great Thing easy to read and interpret. I feel as though this was done deliberately in order to reach and sensitize a wider range of audience to the subject of oppression and the constant fight for equal rights. Furthermore, as described by The Globe and Mail, Hill attracts his audience with sheer “naturalness of the hilarious script, while sneaking in telling stories about the sad state of race relations in this country." Over all, I really enjoyed reading this novel, and as anticipated, became more aware of the battles and obstacles those before us had to overcome in order to attain the world we live in today. If you’re looking for a fun, interesting and informative novel to read this summer, Some Great Thing is a good choice.:)