History Literature / TheHockeySweater

A short story written by Canadian author Roch Carrier (originally titled 'Le chandail de hockey' in Canadian French) published in 1979, [[WriteWhatYouKnow based on his own personal experience]]. Set before Quebec's Quiet Revolution, it tells the story about how, as a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, Carrier used to wear a sweater bearing the hockey team's symbol and color scheme along with his friends. When it worn out, his mother orders a new one, but to his horror, there was a mix-up with his order and he received the sweater of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens' biggest rival, instead.

A short story written by Canadian author Roch Carrier (originally titled 'Le chandail de hockey' in Canadian French) published in 1979, [[WriteWhatYouKnow based on his own personal experience]]. Set before Quebec's Quiet Revolution, it tells the story about how, as a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, used to wear a sweater bearing the hockey team's symbol and color scheme along with his friends. When it worn out, his mother orders a new one, but to his horror, there was a mix-up with his order and he received the sweater of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens' biggest rival, instead.

* RuleOfSymbolism: The story is seen as symbolic of Anglophone Canada's ignorance and mistreatment of Francophone Canada. At the time the story is set, The Montreal Canadiens were a team that represented French Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs represented English Canada. For a young fan of the Canadiens to receive a Maple Leafs sweater from an English retailer via a catalogue that wasn't published in French, is insulting not just to the child and his favourite team, but insulting to the entire province of Quebec.

* AdaptationalExpansion: Kind of; while the book ends with Roch's prayer for his sweater to be eaten by moths, the animated adaptation actually shows the moths devouring the sweater before Maurice "Rocket" Richard appears in the church and shakes Roch's hand. This still falls under NoEnding since there's still no resolution to the story.

** Most egregious is his mother who insists that the wrong sweater was sent on purpose because "Monsieur Eaton" is a Leafs fan. In actuality, it was a shipping error and Eaton's policy was "Goods Satisfactory or Money Refunded" so an exchange for the proper sweater would have been done with no questions asked. There's also the fact that "Monsieur Eaton" had already passed away in 1907.

* AdaptationalExpansion: Kind of; while the book ends with Roch's prayer for his sweater to be eaten by moths, the animated adaptation actually shows the moths devouring the sweater before Maurice "Rocket" Richard appears in the church and Shakes Roch's hand. This still falls under NoEnding since there's still no resolution to the

* AdultsAreUseless: At least from Roch's perspective, all of the adults are completely out of touch with him and make no effort to understand why he's upset about having the wrong hockey jersey.

* RuleOfSymbolism: The story is seen as symbolic of Anglophone Canada's ignorance and mistreatment of Francophone Canada. At the time the story is set, The Montreal Canadiens were a team that represented French Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs represented English Canada. For a young fan of the Canadiens to receive a Maple Leafs sweater from an English retailer via a catalogue that wasn't published in French, is insulting not just the child and his favourite team, but insulting to the entire province of Quebec.

This short story was well received thanks to how it gave a great insight on the culture of hockey and how Canadians took it VERY seriously, and even got an animated film adaptation which won several awards.

* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Roch's mother claims that he should at least try it, and has no idea how important having the right jersey is for his peers.
* NoEnding: [[spoiler:Roch is sent to the church by the pastor for his attitude where he prays to God to send "a hundred million moths" to eat his Toronto Maple Leafs sweater. What happens to him from then on out is anyone's guess, since the story ends]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Roch is sent to the church by the pastor for his attitude where he prays to God to send "a hundred million moths" to eat his Toronto Maple Leafs sweater, and presumably remains a shut-out and never allowed to play hockey again.]]

* RuleofSymbolism: The story is seen as symbolic of Anglophone Canada's ignorance and mistreatment of Francophone Canada. At the time the story is set, The Montreal Canadiens were a team that represented French Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs represented English Canada. For a young fan of the Canadiens to receive a Maple Leafs sweater from an English retailer via a catalogue that wasn't published in French, is insulting not just the child and his favourite team, but insulting to the entire province of Quebec.

A short story written by Canadian author Roch Carrier (originally titled 'Le chandail de hockey' in Canadian French) published in 1979, [[WriteWhatYouKnow based on his own personal experience]]. Set after Quebec's Quiet Revolution, it tells the story about how, as a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, used to wear a sweater bearing the hockey team's symbol and color scheme along with his friends. When it worn out, his mother orders a new one, but to his horror, there was a mix-up with his order and he received the sweater of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens' biggest rival, instead.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: The protagonist is the story is the author himself and the entire story is based on his own personal experience. Nothing in it is exaggerated or fabricated.