hydrological.net

By examing how water is portrayed in media such as books, movies, and songs, we can discover some biases and assumptions we as a society have about water. I examined a novel set against a backdrop of water issues and considered how such portrayals might colour our perceptions of the resource.

The Wheel Keeper by Robert Pepper-Smith

“In the village, the house my family shared with nostre nonna was called ‘the castle’ because it was built out of Italian stone to last. Now its hallways are currents, with the fish we call redfish in them.”

Set in the interior of British Columbia in the 1960s, The Wheel Keeper depicts a town of Italian immigrants who are being displaced by the Hydro company, which is building a dam in their place. The book focuses on immigrant culture, with the impending inundation of their town as the backdrop.

Built on the shores of a river, water is vital to the town. The region is arid and subject to severe forest fires. The orchards that initially drew people to the area and that bring in an influx of migrant workers, or golondrinas, each year for the harvest, are likely only possible due to irrigation from the river. The narrator’s father operates the ferry, the only connection between the two shores of the river in a town too small to merit a bridge. Thus water is portrayed as allowing people to earn their livelihood.

But what it can give, it can take away. Perhaps overwhelmed by the water, or perhaps intimidated by the government of their new country, the residents of the town do not resist as Hydro buys their land, burns their houses, then bulldozes the remnants to the ground. Only the alcoholic uncle suggests that they put “a little grape syrup in their tanks” to slow down the Hydro authorities.

Sustainability and water pollution are not discussed at all in the book, as they are not concerns of the town’s residents. This reflects the time period and circumstances in which the story takes place – in the 1960s, environmentalism was not very influential, and a town of poor Italian immigrants had more pressing concerns.

The most striking portrayal of water in this book is what it represents. The transformation of the town into a “grey mass” of reservoir is an allegory for how vibrant immigrant culture is eventually assimilated in to the dominant society. As Canadians, we pride ourselves on multiculturalism, claiming that the United States is the realm of assimilation and the ‘melting pot’ mentality, but it is undeniable that to some extent the same process occurs in this country. Just as the water washed away their houses, Canadian society washes away their culture.

The fragility of water is not portrayed in this book. Instead, water is described as strong and powerful. Books like this allow people to see water as something that does not require stewardship. Sustainability is never an issue in the book, even though the region in which it takes place is arid. Water in this book represents a negative thing – assimilation. The book does not show water in the form of lakes or rivers to be beautiful, just threatening.