Final Essay

        In much of the Canadian literature we’ve read this semester, themes of wealth and treasure have been explored, whether indirectly or directly. In scripture, Jesus mentions wealth as the place that one's heart resides, and warns against keeping wealth in earthly places. (http://bible.org/seriespage/wealth-and-kingdom-heaven-matthew-1916-30) Each novel shows how characters respond to what they believe wealth is and what they do with wealth or treasure. To Mennonites, wealth is not always a good thing. Tangible wealth (possessions or money) are beneficial in small amounts for necessities, but traditionally, wealth is something of the world, and should not have the same amount of value that the world places on it. However, when defined as something that gives life value, wealth takes on interesting meanings in Mennonite literature.

       In Rudy Wiebe's novel Peace Shall Destroy Many, tangible wealth is something that is quite rare. The community focuses on farming, and doesn't have much extra money for luxuries. Instead of wealth being something monetary, the term takes on a different meaning. Wealth and treasure in this Mennonite community are found through "peaceful" relationships and other aspects of community life. Retaining the Mennonite culture, languages, and traditions are all what are viewed as giving one's life value. An important value that would be perceived to give one wealth is if one had peace. Through his letters to Thom, Joseph describes the community's version of peace by stating "As long as everything goes smoothly and they themselves cannot be blamed, 'peace' is being maintained." (194) This shows how an absence of conflict, whether healthy or unhealthy, adds to the "wealth" in the Canadian Mennonite community in Peace Shall Destroy Many.

     To Nomi Nickel, the main character of Miriam Toew's novel A Complicated Kindness, wealth is something monetary and useful. However, this belief doesn't line up with the rest of the members in her community. In the novel, she does recognize what is important to the Mennonites in her community. Instead of wealth coming in the form of money for food or cigarettes, wealth comes from the ability to fit into the community and live the life that fits into the strict Mennonite traditions. Similar to the community in Peace Shall Destroy Many, keeping peaceful and silent are virtues that add to the wealth in one's life. Nomi rejects this idea, claiming that her "...town is so severe. And silent. It makes me crazy, the silence. I wonder if a person can die from it." (4) Through her rejection of this, we see how wealth takes on two meanings for Mennonites -- one of consistency and stillness, and one of more earthly  and tangible terms.

     In Sandra Birdsell's novel Katya, wealth takes on a very different meaning to the Russian Mennonite community than it did in the aforementioned novels. The Mennonites in this community are very wealthy, owning much land, art, and other items not necessary to life, but appreciated nonetheless. This gets the Abram Sudermann estate in trouble, however, when the Russian revolution comes knocking (or in this case, obliterating). As the soldiers ransack the apartment and destroy precious items such as the feather mattresses and grand piano, Katya, the main character, looks on and reflects on the destroyed wealth. The novel states that "Kayta thought of the Scripture warning against putting too much store in earthly treasures when she saw the feathers swirling in the air." (238) This scene of destruction in the novel shows the reader how important the earthly treasures were to Kayta's friends and family, and shows how they may not have realized this until these things were being destroyed. Instead of placing value on intangible things or holy things, they have given worth to physical beauty that is now being destroyed. 

     I found it interesting how, although the three communities we read about differed greatly, they all considered wealth to be things that didn't end up helping them. Whether it be faux peace, extreme silence, or feather mattresses, the Mennonite communities all fell short of the ideal placement of wealth mentioned in the Bible. Even so, it was very interesting to see how each of the main character's related to or rejected the social and biblical views of wealth.