The Hockey Sweater is both a short story and animated film written by Roch Carrier. Over the years, the story has only risen in popularity and has engrained itself in Canadian culture and history. The story is about a young boy who is growing up in Quebec and is a huge fan of Maurice Richard and the Montreal Canadiens. One winter, his coveted Canadians sweater is too small and his mother orders him a new one. However, when the new jersey arrives it is that of a rival team: the Toronto Maple Leaves. The young boy is mortified and suffers punishment from his coaches and disgust from his peers and friends. The story overall illustrates how grave a mistake in the fandom of hockey, within Canada, can be. The Hockey Sweater is taught in elementary …show more content…
For example, rivalry in sport, the balance of education, church, and sport, and language differences. To elaborate further, the story makes note of the tensions between English and French speakers in parts of the nation. This is explicitly seen in the mom ordering the wrong jersey, simply because she could not fully comprehend the English catalogue. To many, this may seem like an innocent mistake, but readers quickly learn how catastrophic it was for the young boy. I believe this aspect illustrates the tensions and difficulties of having multiple cultures in one country. Personally, I believe this is overall a good thing, but it is important to recognize that it does not exist without hardship and differences. In summation of all the concepts previously discussed, the first paragraph of the story appears on the Canadian 5-dollar bill. I believe this is done to emphasize just how important hockey is to Canadian culture. Moreover, its importance is not limited to star athletes on the ice; but rather, hockey is a sign of escape from mundane work or school days. Hockey is also a unifier and a representation of Canadian climate. In Canada, hockey is perseverance, entertainment, and a way of