John's deep-seated resentment towards the United States and its citizens is strongly reflected in this passage; his character and point of view are powerfully illustrated by his tone and choice of words. Moreover, the reader is able to probe deeper into John's character and learn a little more about him through his words.
             John is deeply split on his feelings for his native country; he treats America with contempt, stating its "arrogance" and ignorance repeatedly, but also is unwillingly drawn to it. His tone is critical, and vehement, showing the reader that John must care somewhat about what he so violently opposes. His word choice of "ridiculous" also helps to further exemplify John's strong feelings on America.
             Through this discrepancy of John's feelings and actions, we are able to see that John is both extremely unhappy and extremely confused. He voices his dissatisfaction with United States, stating, "Americans should be forced to see how ridiculous they appear to the rest of the world!" Yet, ironically, it is to The New York Times that John runs when he feels nostalgia for the United States – except he voices this nostalgia in the form of violent criticism. John desperately wants to be Canadian, and to be viewed as Canadian by other Canadians however, as Canon Mackie astutely states,
             "But don't you see how your...opinions can be disturbing? It's very American – to have opinions as...strong as your opinions. It's very Canadian to distrust strong opinions...You're a Canadian citizen, but what are you always talking about? You talk about American more than any American I know! And you're more anti-American than any Canadian I know..." (p. 224)
             The irony is apparent, although John states that Americans should "listen to someone else's version of themselves – to anyone else's version," he is unwilling t...