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About Margaret

Qualified English Teacher, BA/BT UNE, Registered with VIT, located in Berwick Victoria 3806. Contact 0418 440 277, email contact@englishtutorlessons.com.au

The Hate Race and Charlie’s Country Comparative Texts

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This Resource is for Year 12 English students studying Unit 4 AOS:1 Reading & Comparing Texts in the Victorian VCE Curriculum for 2023.  Racism is an important theme comparison between the memoir ‘The Hate Race’ by Maxine Beneba Clarke and the film ‘Charlie’s Country’ by Rolf de Heer.

Why Compare ‘The Hate Race’ and ‘Charlie’s Country’?

Introduction

Maxine Beneba Clarke’s memoir ‘The Hate Race’ and Rolf de Heer’s film ‘Charlie’s Country’ explore the shifting experiences of racism in Australia. The texts foreground the complex and traumatic impact of racism on individuals, as well as the broader social ramifications of institutionalised racism. Beneba Clarke and de Heer shine a light on the corrosive and unexpected impacts of racism, and the way that this can shape an individual’s experience of the world around them. The texts reveal fundamental truths about the role of racism in contemporary Australia.

A comparison of ‘The Hate Race’ and ‘Charlie’s Country’ offers insight into the common experiences of people of colour, whilst also highlighting the unique experiences of First Nations people. The texts focus on modern day events, dispelling any notions of the elimination of racism in modern Australia. They share a grounding in the historical evolution of racism on both national and global scales. They offer insight into two very distinct geographical locations, again revealing the varied manifestations of both institutional and interpersonal racism.

The pain that is central to the experience of the protagonists in both texts is reflected through the prisms of the memoir and film respectively. Beneba Clarke’s work chronicles the experience of a child through the reflective lens of an adult. Conversely, de Heer’s film showcases the cumulative impact of racism on an adult.

‘The Hate Race’ Memoir is an Autobiographical Work

‘The Hate Race’ is an autobiographical work, a factual yet subjective narrative of events, experiences and emotions from the author’s own life. Specifically, the book is a memoir, since it does not reflect on Clarke’s whole life but on a particular and significant period of it – her childhood. The narrative illuminates how this period would inform the rest of her life (as suggested by the Prologue and Epilogue) when the adult Maxine undergoes experiences intertwined with the discrimination she faced for years as a young person. The book can also be considered a form of bildungsroman or ‘coming of age’ narrative that charts the social, emotional, and psychological growth and development of its protagonist.

‘The Hate Race’ situates the experience of an individual childhood within a broader social landscape. Beneba Clarke’s use of the memoir form allows her to paint a vivid picture of the social and historical forces that shaped the experiences of the author and her family. ‘The Hate Race’ offers an account of an Australian childhood that is distinctly recognisable—a fact that makes the characters’ experiences of racism all the more uncomfortable and undeniable.

The Title ‘The Hate Race’

The title signifies for minorities in Australia, life is constantly akin to a race. There is no rest, no comfort, and no sense of home when your mind is preoccupied with all the ways you don’t belong. Being denied a firm sense of self, and constantly being forced to justify one’s own existence is not easy, and becomes a ‘race against time’ to see who can cope and rise above, and who will be swept away along with the tide. If people of colour stop running, they run the risk of being consumed by the hatred themselves and become so cynical and disillusioned that they forget their culture and accede to the Anglocentric, white majority.

Structure of ‘The Hate Race’

The text follows a largely chronological structure, which has the effect of simulating the cumulative nature of Maxine’s experience of racism. There is an acute sense of the role that racism plays in ensuring childhood and adolescence are experienced differently by children of colour. The carefully placed layers of trauma may not have been fully comprehended by the author as a child, but the adult Beneba Clarke reflects the depth and extent of her wounds through a story told ‘just so’ (p. 3). The chapters of the memoir offer vignettes; seminal moments from Beneba Clarke’s childhood to reflect unflinchingly the toll on a life lived as a person of colour in Australia. Again, as Beneba Clarke notes in the text’s acknowledgements, these memories are about a ‘very specific’ (p. 257) aspect of her life. Racism alone is not her life story, but equally her life story cannot be told without understanding racism.

‘Charlie’s Country’ Film is a Fictional Drama

In contrast to ‘The Hate Race’ which is a factual memoir, ‘Charlie’s Country’ is a fictional drama that incorporates some details from life and some elements of the story that comes from the life of the main actor protagonist Charlie played by David Gulpilil. However, de Heer did not want the film to be interpreted as ‘being about one particular (real) individual’ but rather as ‘being about issues much more widespread, much more representative of many individuals’ (de Heer 2014). In this way, ‘The Hate Race’ and ‘Charlie’s Country’ approach some of their common themes from different directions. While the autobiographical genre of ‘The Hate Race’ concentrates on ideas central to the protagonists’ life, ‘Charlie’s Country’ is more interested in the impact of broad issues on an individual.

Rolf de Heer’s ‘Charlie’s Country’ is a stark, fictional film that adopts many of the hallmarks of documentary filmmaking; this is a film that aims to heighten consciousness about the plight of Aborigines impacted by the Australian Government’s intervention, in 2007, in the Northern Territory. The injustice of institutionalised racism is at the heart of this collaboration between Rolf de Heer and David Gulpilil. Their film focuses on the life of one Aboriginal man, Charlie, whose struggles to find a way to live in the modern world whilst staying true to his cultural identity are constantly thwarted by local, white authority figures.

The Title ‘Charlie’s Country’

The title of the film reflects a simple reality – this is Charlie’s country. Rather than a ‘country’ de Heer speaks of the Indigenous notion of connection to and respect for one’s traditional lands and country. Nurturing this connection is a sacred responsibility and the film reminds us that, despite Charlie’s many trials and tribulations, the land on which he lives is truly his own.

Structure of ‘Charlie’s Country’

The film adopts a chronological structure, tracking Charlie’s decision-making in regards to his attempts to regain meaning and purpose in his life as he tries to return to a more traditional way of relating to his environment. The structure of the film is also circular, Charlie ends up back in the place where he began, and seems in a similar state of something like static, confined despair. There is little sense that his journey has been moving forward, rather the places he finds himself (bush, hospital, prison) seem a series of sideways stumbles with no plan or intention. This echoes Maxine’s journey in ‘The Hate Race’, which begins and ends in the adult Clarke’s life, with matching scenes of discrimination, suggesting that her experiences repeat themselves over and over.

Charlie’s Country can be divided into 3 parts:

  • Part 1 – Intervention
  • Part 2 – Bush
  • Part 3 – Jail
Common Themes in ‘The Hate Race’ and ‘Charlie’s Country’
Racism & bullyingDiscrimination– institutional versus interpersonalIdentity – personal and national
PrejudiceGrowing up black in a white countryIntergenerational disadvantage
BelongingResilience & resourcefulnessHopelessness & lack of agency
RepressionGap between generationsPower of language & culture
Struggle of being an outsiderFriendshipTrauma & hate

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‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by Erich Maria Remarque: The Basics

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This Resource is for Year 11 English students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

The Author Erich Maria Remarque

Erich Maria Remarque was born in Osnabruck, Germany in 1898. He joined the German Army in 1916 to fight in World War 1, and was wounded. After the War ended in 1918, Remarque published his novel ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ – ten years later in 1928.

The novel is very realistic about the harsh realities of being an ordinary soldier in war, including none of the usual glory propaganda. It was a firmly anti-war novel and became an instant international success. In 1930 a film based on the novel was released. As the German Nazi party rose to power and prominence, the novel was being attacked as being anti-German or unpatriotic in 1931, and the film was banned. In 1932 Remarque and his wife fled to Switzerland for protection and by 1933 the Nazi Party banned Remarque’s books and burned them on bonfires.

The fact that ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is based on the German soldiers’ experiences during War highlights the universal suffering and futility that War brings.

The Novel in Context of World War I – 1914 – 1918 (Estimated 9.7 million military soldiers died)

The First World War was one of the biggest wars that had ever been fought and saw the introduction of weapons of mass destruction such as gas, as well as other new war technology. There are many reasons for the outbreak of World War I, however the trigger was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian student. Other factors included diplomatic fall-outs, irrational nationalism, and a build-up of military might.

Europe was split into two opposing camps. France, Russia and Great Britain were in the Triple Entente and Germany, Italy and Austria/Hungary were part of the Triple Alliance. On July 28, 1914 Austria/Hungary declared war on Serbia, so Russia began to get ready for war, and then Germany declared war on Russia and (later) France. However, when Germany invaded Belgium – a neutral country, Britain joined the war for fear of follow-up attacks. Later the United States joined the Allies.

After Germany moved into France, the trench warfare began. This was a new method of warfare that had never been tried before and had been a military officer’s brainchild. It meant that both sides had dug trenches underground, and the middle became known as “no-man’s land”. The conditions in the trenches were horrific, especially as they were always wet and muddy and filled with rats, lice and disease. There was shelling and firing by guns all day and night, and no protection from the heat or winter cold. Many soldiers not only died from being hit by guns and grenades, but also from the diseases that were rampant in those conditions or deadly poison gas. The War also caused much mental anguish and suffering for the soldiers.

Propaganda in WWI Why Men Enlisted to Fight – Both British & German

If we look back to the time of the break out of World War 1 – 1914 and before this, the world was a much different and slower place. Mass communication, electronic media and global travel were barely available and this may explain the success of war campaigns to lure young men, some still in school, to sign up and fight for their country.

The values of the time were that:

  • It was an honour to fight for one’s country in a war
  • Those who did not fight were cowards and should be punished
  • People who went to war were heroes
  • There was much glory and pride in being a soldier

At the time, there were people who were ‘conscientious objectors’, who did not believe in war, but standing out for this cause was seen as a betrayal. Thus, we see that in ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, all of Paul’s class signed up to fight in the war, even though they were so young. The older men in the community were at first seen as too old to fight, so the first soldiers chosen were teenagers and those in their early twenties. The love of country and patriotism was valued highly, even though no one really knew about the horrors of war, back at home. Whilst there were official war photographers, artists, and reporters, most of what they were allowed to report back and produce would have been censored by their governments. All countries used propaganda to create fear amidst their citizens about the enemies, and to reinforce the need for men to sign up as soldiers.

The Truth about the Horrors of War

The truth about the horrors of World War I began to unfold as the soldiers realized they were just fodder for a huge killing machine that was war. Trench warfare was a new ‘idea’ that was being tested, and it allowed for massive amounts of death and disease. Paul and his friends realise when it is too late that there is no glory in this killing machine; they are just here to die. The fact that ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is written by a German soldier reflects the universality of the horrors of war.

Poetry about War – Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Owen

The same sentiments and experiences are also found in Allied writing, art-works and poetry written by those who were there – for example poems by Wilfred Owen such as ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ about the horrors and pity of war. Owen’s poetry presents the utter brutality of trench warfare truthfully. The experience for the soldiers was a shocking one especially as many of the soldiers were just young teenagers who had been fed propaganda about how noble it would be to fight for one’s country in the War. In fact, the common saying was “How sweet and noble it is to die for one’s country”, but the soldiers quickly realised they had just been sent to killing fields.

Plot Summary of the Novel

Paul Baumer, 19 joins the German Army to fight in World War 1. Several of his friends from his class were inspired to join the War by their patriotic school master, Kantorek. They feel they have been tricked after a few weeks at war, as the soldiers are subject to cruelty, brutality, and suffering, often leading to death. In fact, after just two weeks, Paul’s company of soldiers’ experiences losses of over 50% of the men. One of Paul’s friends Kemmerich, also a classmate is in hospital with gangrene and dying. Another friend Muller becomes pragmatic and hopes for Kemmerich’s boots when he dies.

Life is made very unbearable by the cruel and sadistic Corporal Himmelstross. Life in the trenches is disgusting and many men are struck down by disease or death. Soon there are only 32 of Paul’s company remaining alive. Not only is war hell but Paul realises that when he has leave, he feels nothing and is just numb. When he has time to go home on leave for a few weeks, Paul finds he cannot relate to others. However, he goes to visit Kemmerich’s mother and tells her that her son’s death was painless. This lie makes her happy.

Back at war, Paul is forced to stab a French soldier to death and he is filled with remorse and guilt. He realises that the enemy is just another victim of war like all soldiers. Looking through his identification, he learns the man’s name was Gerard and he has a wife and two children, which upsets him even more. By 1918 just before the War ends, Paul is the only original member of his company left. Paul is killed in October 1918. The novel ends with a statement from the Army report for this day as ‘All quiet on the Western Front’.

The Narrator of the Novel

Who is telling this story? The novel is written mostly in the First person from the perspective of Paul Baumer until the end of the book, where it changes briefly to Third person – as a report excerpt. As such the reader follows the rise and fall of Paul’s sense of life and enthusiasm. We feel his betrayal and despair, his inability to feel pain as it may overwhelm him.

Structure of the Novel

It is divided into twelve chapters, where there is some overlap, reflecting the confusion and loss of time. The reader goes on Paul’s incredible journey from innocent adolescent to jaded and despairing ‘hollow man’ who has lost everything. The last few chapters especially reflect the desperate chaos that ensued once America joined the war and Germany was clearly losing the war. Due to the lack of resources and younger men, the dying soldiers were now being replaced by older men, and the pace became even more frantic and destructive. When Paul dies, and his death is objectively reported in the third person of a military report – “All quiet on the Western Front.”

Themes of the Novel

The Horror of War – The novel presents the horror and brutality of war, which was a sharp contrast to War literature before this novel. Traditionally war books, poems, songs etc. glorified war as a patriotic honour and duty. The novel presents war from the point of view of the ordinary soldier so it cannot hide the truth and the horror of the immense suffering. World War I was a complete shock and introduced a ‘new’ method of French warfare – long, drawn out battles, new technology/weapons, which increased the death toll. The novel ends with all the major characters dead – including the protagonist and narrator, Paul.

Nationalism – The novel depicts the lies behind nationalism, exposing it as a powerful tool. Paul discovers that war has nothing to do with ideals, but rather it becomes a fight to stay alive. Moreover, there is no real sense of fighting an enemy. The enemy becomes the government and authority figures that sent them to the War.

The Effects of War on Soldiers – Clearly millions of soldiers died or were seriously injured by the War. Those that did not die and managed to return home would never be the same again. Months or years of constant exposure to physical danger constant attacks and living with fear had severe consequences on their nerves and emotional well-being. To add to this burden, the trenches were filthy, rat-infested and damp/water logged habitats. The soldiers were also dealing with lice infestations and diseased/decaying corpses all around them. Sleep was disrupted; food was lacking or of poor quality and medical care was very limited and poor. This is a toxic burden that made life for the soldiers unbearable. To survive, many of the soldiers had to disconnect from their feelings. As Paul discovers, although this leads to a general numbness that becomes all pervading, it protected the soldiers from mental anguish to some extent. The men became somewhat desensitized to the suffering and deaths all around them.

Friendship Bonds – The bonds between friends and sticking together seemed to be the only thing that kept the men alive and sane, and sometimes even this was not enough. It is especially touching to see how the more experienced soldiers looked after the new recruits who had never seen so much death and suffering. In Chapter 4, a shell-shocked young recruit seeks comfort from Paul and begins to cry as he is supported and told he will soon get used to it. Throughout the novel, Paul and Kat are very close and have a rare moment of intimacy and celebration of friendship as they eat the goose. (Chapter 5) Paul is constantly watching others die, but at this moment with Kat he acknowledges the humanizing power of friendship and relationships.

Betrayal and the Loss of Innocence – These two themes belong together because when the young men, filled with life and hopes for the future entered the war, they had been encouraged to do so by the very people who had guided them their whole lives – parents, teachers, and other authority figures. As soon as they arrived at the war, they were shocked into the reality of what the war was and the first thing they lost was their innocence, and it would have been impossible to feel betrayed by those they had trusted. In fact, Paul and the others see right through the lies and become quickly aware of the reality, and that they are just part of a giant killing machine, and need to be sacrificed to make the governments ‘plans’ a reality. The horror of war is never-ending and the recruits just keep on coming and being sacrificed for some lofty ideals.

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Analysis of ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ by Ursula K. Le Guin

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This Resource is for Year 11 English students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

Did you Love The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin or Hate it?

Science Fiction as a Genre is sometimes defined as being an analytical and foretelling narrative at which a type of prediction is made.  Quite often Science Fiction is so bizarre that you read it and become so confused you put it down and never pick it up again.

For those students who have read The Left Hand of Darkness did you get the story the first time?  Or did it take you repeated readings to understand it?  Once you read the novel a couple of times so many layers become obvious that you can understand why Le Guin won many prestigious literary awards for her writing.

I must admit the first time I started to read The Left Hand of Darkness I had to ‘get my head around’ the structure of the narrative, the names of the characters, the countries, the Hainnish calendar and Ursula K. Le Guin’s terminology for her fictional Hainnish Universe all set in the year 4870.  While The Left Hand of Darkness is definitely part of the Science Fiction Genre, the narrative does also cover other Genres such as Fantasy, Mythology, Legend, Folklore and Feminism.

This Analysis Uses Shortened Versions of the Names of Characters

In this analysis of The Left Hand of Darkness, I have used a shortened version of the names of the two main characters rather than use their much longer versions that Le Guin has in the novel.  So Therem Harth rem ir Estraven is just ‘Estraven’ and Genly Ai is just ‘Genly’.  All my page number references are for the 1992 Orbit Edition of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (as pictured above).

Le Guin’s Purpose of Meaning

Le Guin’s purpose in this novel was not, in her own words, “[to predict] that in a millennium or so we will all be androgynous, or [to announce] that… we damned well ought to be androgynous.”  Rather, she is observing that, in some ways, “we already are.”  Le Guin’s purpose is not to convince us to move in a certain direction towards the future; rather, she is enabling us to examine ourselves from a different perspective and embrace alternate forms of identity and reality.

Two Halves of the Whole – Yin and Yang

Once I began to understand that The Left Hand of Darkness is not simply a science fiction novel; I could see how Le Guin’s described the novel in her own words as ‘a thought-experiment’.  It forces us to examine ourselves and the nature of our existence.  It provides a deep, scholarly, metaphorical analysis on gender, patriotism, and the concept of opposites.

The more I delved into the story I began to appreciate the characters of Genly and Estraven and how Le Guin developed the concept of “self and other”.  Then I discovered the clever contrasts Le Guin explored of the binaries and the juxtapositions that exist on almost every level of the novel.

What fascinated me the most was the Daoist philosophy of yin and yang, opposites and reversals, which is shaped so beautifully by Le Guin.  In true Daoist fashion, The Left Hand of Darkness not only highlights opposites for the sake of contrast, but stresses the necessity of accepting both extremes to realise the whole.  The entire story is one of integration, on the personal, international and cosmic level, from existing divisions towards reconciliation and balance.

Le Guin asks us to question the very nature of binaries [dualism] themselves as Estraven said in the lines of the Handdara to Genly (p.190):

Light is the left hand of darkness
and darkness the right hand of light
Two are one, life and death
together like lovers in kemmer,
like hands joined together,
like the end and the way.

The Bond between Genly and Estraven

The central bond between Genly and Estraven is explored by Le Guin with immense subtlety.  Le Guin cleverly describes the changes in a relationship that almost founders on misapprehensions and mistakes.  Estraven is Genly’s surest and most selfless ally, and yet is the person Genly most distrusts.  In his innocence and ignorance it seems that Genly will not survive the power struggles of which he has become the living symbol.

As Genly comes to accept Estraven as he is, he becomes less absorbed, more aware of his actions on his companion and in the end a wiser and more appreciative person.  Genly’s companionship (is it really love?) with Estraven profoundly changes him and how he perceives the alien world that is now his home.  Genly’s growth highlights the notion that one’s own wholeness of being can arise from a relationship in which both parties strive to accept one another.  Estraven admits to Genly that they were “… equals at last, equal, alien, alone” on the Gobrin Ice (p.189).

However, in a heart-breaking reversal of expectation it is Estraven who finally pays the price in chapter 19 ‘The Homecoming’.

The Inhospitable Landscape of Gethen

What I did love was Le Guin’s wonderful creation of the inhospitable landscape of Gethen. The journey that Estraven and Genly make together on foot across the Gobrin Ice is described in all its frozen spendour.  I was awestruck by the bleak beauty of this fictional planet and the prose and imagery of Le Guin as Estraven and Genly trekked through a “deep cold porridge of rain-sodden snow” (p.176), past a volcano with “worms of fire crawl down its black sides” (p.184).  Le Guin took not only Genly and Estraven on a bitter winter journey, but us as readers, as we too saw the raw fury of nature on display in Gethen.

What is the Significance of the Title?

The title comes from the Handdara religion recited in a poem by Estraven on page 190 (shown in detail above).  It refers to dualism and the importance of unity of opposites.

Le Guin’s Style of Writing

Le Guin’s writing style is descriptive with finer details of life on Gethen from architecture to weather patterns, diets to travelling habits.  The novel is a blend of nature writing with anthropology and an understanding of a people’s connection to that place.  Her treatment of Gethen as both a setting and a character infuses her world with vivid descriptions of landscape, character stories, adventures and traditional mythology.

Le Guin’s Narrative and Tone

Some stories are in 1st person narrative when Genly is reporting or from Estraven’s journal but when myths, legends or tales are told the narrative is in 3rd person omniscient.  The myths form a backdrop for the story and explain specific features about Gethenian culture as well as larger philosophical aspects of society.

Le Guin presents the novel as Genly’s field report to the Ekumen so his tone is exact.  As Genly develops understanding of the Gethenians he evolves with more awareness and he becomes descriptive.

Estraven’s chapters take on a journalistic tone since they are journal entries.  The mythological stories have a folk tale tone.

The narrative can also be seen as a Bildungsroman or coming of age story of Genly as his journey of transformation.

The Plot in a Nutshell

The plot consists of 3 major sections and a brief conclusion.  The first section is set in Karhide, the second in Orgoreyn, the third on the Gobrin Ice and the conclusion is set in Karhide.

In a nutshell it is the story of an icy snowbound planet called Gethen (Winter) where a solitary envoy from the Ekumen, Genly Ai is sent to try and persuade the inhabitants of Gethen to join a federation of nations for the purpose of expanding trade and an interplanetary alliance.  Gethen is an isolated and harsh world of ice and snow whose inhabitants are unique in their physiology as they are androgynous beings; neither male nor female.  Unfortunately Genly discovers two hostile nations, Karhide and Orgoreyn gearing up for war and his arrival feeds the rivalries between the two states.

In Karhide, King Argaven is reluctant to accept Genly’s diplomatic mission.  In Orgoreyn, Genly is seemingly accepted more easily by the political leaders, yet he is arrested, stripped of his clothes, drugged, and sent to a work camp.

Rescued by Estraven, the deposed Prime Minister of Karhide, Genly realizes that cultural differences, specifically shifgrethor, gender roles and Gethenian sexuality, had kept him from understanding their relationship previously.

During their 80-day journey across the frozen land of the Gobrin Ice to return to Karhide, Genly learns to understand and love Estraven and is able to fulfill his mission to join Karhide and Orgoreyn within the federation of the Ekumen.

 Major Themes/Issues/Ideas

Language / communication / storytelling / gender / politics/ religion / fear of difference & fear of change / the ‘other’ / acceptance / duty / man & the natural world / warfare / love / human relationships / dualism / yin & yang / unity / loyalty / betrayal / honour / ethnic differences /respecting differences / sexuality/ androgyny

 Symbols and Motifs

Shadows / light / darkness / the ansible [communication device] / religious teachings / keystone / yin & yang / shifgrethor [equality or honour]

Characters – Major

Genly Ai = the first Envoy of the Ekumen on Gethen.  He is the protagonist of the novel, a native of Terra (Earth).

Estraven, Therem Harth rem ir = is a Gethenian from the Domain of Estre in Kerm Land in the southern part of the Kardish continent.  He is Prime Minister of Karhide at the beginning of the novel.

Argaven, Harge XV = is the King of Karhide during the events of the novel.

Tibe, Pemmer Harge rem ir = is Argaven’s cousin and later becomes Prime Minister of Karhide when Estraven is exiled.

Obsle, Yegey, Shusgis = are Commensals that rule Orgoreyn.

Faxe, The Weaver = is a Foreteller of Otherhord

Ashe = is Estraven’s former kemmering

Characters – Minor

Goss = helps Genly find his way to the Fastnesses

Mavriva = is a fur trader who helps Estraven

Thessicher = is a old friend of Estraven but later betrays him

Arek = is Estraven’s dead brother

Sorth = is Estraven’s son

Esvans = is Estraven’s father

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Genly and Estraven Characters from ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ by Ursula K. Le Guin

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This Resource is for Year 11 English students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

Image result for left hand of darkness imagesLook carefully at the similarities and differences between the two main characters Genly Ai and Therem Harth Rem Ir Estraven in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.  The list of differences and similarities between the two characters is from my interpretation only and therefore could be added to by students who develop their own interpretation of Genly and Estraven.

For ease of writing I call Genly Ai (Genly) and Therem Harth Rem Ir Estraven (Estraven) in the notes below.

Estraven and Genly Ai

Genly Ai

Genly’s Differences from Estraven

  • Genly Ai is from Terra (Earth), almost 30 years old
  • 1st Envoy from the Ekumen to recruit the planet Gethen to the Ekumen to become part of a universal and mystical trade venture of planets
  • Different physical characteristics – tall, black skin, strong, less hair, large hands, not built for cold
  • Stereotypical male – heterosexual, sexually active all the time considered a ‘pervert’ by Gethenians
  • Has been in Karhide for 2 years in an attempt to gain favour with King Argaven and convince him and Karhide to join the Ekumen
  • Inability to trust and uncertainty factors influence his decisions & fear of the unknown
  • Gender fear of difference especially the feminine traits of Gethenians which he sees as negative traits
  • Non believer in androgynous Gethenians, can’t comprehend their reactions or faces that he sees as not human but like animals – cat, seal, an otter
  • Often is impatient, quick to despair and then to rejoice
  • Lacks insight to understand and seen as an alien in Gethen is not to be trusted
  • Has trouble communicating and understanding the intricate subtleties of ‘shifgrethor’
  • Unaware of other people’s motives especially Estraven
  • Does not have the qualities of the Handdara in regards to intuition or ‘nusuth’
  • Struggles with too much yang in order to create harmony at the beginning of the novel
  • Effectively in terms of dualism, Genly is the ‘right hand’ of Estraven (Le Guin stresses that each yang contains it’s yin, each yin contains it’s yang)

Genly’s Similarities with Estraven

  • Believes in the mission to persuade the inhabitants of Gethen to join the Ekumen for the purpose of expanding trade and interplanetary alliance
  • Even though Genly has been on Gethen for 2 years he does not give up trying to carry out his mission
  • This is similar to Estraven in his continued mission to join Gethen with the Ekumen as he believes in the benefits of uniting his planet with other worlds even if it means exile
  • Genly is loyal, honourable and idealistic like Estraven
  • They both have sacrificed a lot for their ambitions but see the big picture of helping humanity
  • Both are in exile, Genly from his planet and Estraven from his home of Estre
  • On the Gobrin Ice they both pull together for survival
  • On the Gobrin Ice Genly transforms and understands the significance of the yin and yang in Estraven and the importance of harmony as a whole person
  • Therefore Genly finally accepts Estraven as an androgynous person not as male/female but as one
  • The relationship of Genly with Estraven is described by Le Guin as ‘profound love’ and one that changes Genly

Therem Harth Rem Ir Estraven

Estraven’s Differences from Genly

  • Estraven is from the Domain of Estre in Kerm land, a southern end of Karhide on the planet Gethen (age not sure)
  • Prime Minister of Karhide at the start of the novel
  • Different physical characteristics – stocky, dark, with a layer of fat to protect against the cold, black eyes and sleek hair
  • He is an androgyne, neither male nor female but both, as are all Gethenians
  • Typical androgyne goes into kemmer
  • Had a son Sorve to his brother Arek and swore a ‘vow of faithfulness’ to Arek
  • He had a kemmering with Ashe and they had 2 sons
  • His personal life has been steeped in profound and tumultuous human emotions, involving love and death, which feed his soul
  • He is honest, quick minded, wise, versatile and adaptable, courageous, creative in responding to new situations, a shrewd politician, powerful, aggressive when needed & constantly pushing forward
  • He has a strength of character and diplomacy by preventing Karhide and Orgoreyn from going to war over the Sinnoth Valley dispute
  • Has highly trained skills of the Handdara which makes him respond intuitively doing no more or no less than what is required
  • His spiritualism is an important part of his character
  • He praises ‘darkness’ when it comes and it’s counterpart ‘light’
  • He is not moved by personal desire, interest or advantage and acts spontaneously in accordance with his true nature as the quality of the Handdara teaches
  • He uses his feminine intuition as a good quality and has perfected the balance of yin and yang in his harmonious actions which demonstrates that both male and female characteristics are necessary for survival
  • Effectively Estraven is the ‘left hand’ of Genly and without Estraven, Genly would not have been able to undertake his transformation of character that leads him to a deeper understanding of Gethenians and himself
  • Estraven is willing to sacrifice his life to achieve the success of the mission and the good of the whole world

Estraven’s Similarities with Genly

  • Believes in Genly’s mission to persuade the inhabitants of Gethen to join the Ekumen for the purpose of expanding trade and interplanetary alliance
  • Estraven continues his belief in the mission to join Gethen with the Ekumen as he believes in the benefits of uniting his planet with other worlds even if it means his exile
  • Both are in exile, Genly from his planet and Estraven from his home of Estre
  • Estraven is loyal, honourable and idealistic like Genly
  • They both have sacrificed a lot for their ambitions but see the big picture of helping humanity
  • On the Gobrin Ice they both pull together for survival
  • Accepts Genly as different, but it is the likeness, the wholeness that he understands and the importance of harmony
  • The relationship of Estraven with Genly is described by Le Guin as ‘profound love’ and one that embodies Genly’s physical as well as spiritual journey to greater self knowledge and understanding

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How to Analyse a Cartoon for Language Analysis

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This Resource is for Years 10/11/12 Mainstream English students studying Analysing and Exploring Argument in the Victorian Curriculum.

Just as writers and speakers use techniques such as exaggeration, tone and emotive language to manipulate and position readers, so too can cartoonists use many highly persuasive techniques. 

Use the same questioning techniques for analysing cartoons as you do for analysing articles. Ask What / How / Why the author uses his/her language with the intention to persuade the audience to Think (Logos) / Feel (Pathos) / Do something (Ethos).

Snoopy loves very much reading books by BradSnoopy97 on DeviantArt

When analysing a cartoon, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What is the main point of the cartoon?  Does the cartoon align with the author’s point of view on the issue in the article you are also analysing? Be mindful, if the cartoon is a stand-alone, it may have its own point of view that is either the same or different to the article.
  • What is the issue being represented?  What is the context of this issue?
  • Who is the target audience the cartoon creator is aiming for?  What is the intended impact/effect of the cartoon on the reader/audience?
  • Who are the central figures/characters?  What are they doing or saying?  How are they represented?  For example, a cartoonist may represent members of a group as similar to make a point about their powerlessness, their loss of identity, their mindlessness and so on.  Sometimes animals are used to represent humans in order to critique behaviour or an individual’s point of view.
  • What visual strategies are used to persuade the audience to agree with the point of view presented?  Look at:
  • Composition of cartoon – number of items/subjects and their position within the text and in relation to one another
  • Size of cartoon and characters in connection with composition – are the characters exaggerated
  • Layout of fonts used in text – can often use small text but big heads on characters to exaggerate the sarcastic tone
  • Colours and shade – what do the colours symbolise
    • Black = evil/power/death
    • White = purity/simplicity/cleanliness
    • Red = warmth/comfort/anger/embarrassment
    • Yellow = cheeriness/frustration/attention seeking
    • Blue = calmness/tranquillity/sadness/misery
    • Purple = royalty/wealth/wisdom
    • Green = calm/tranquillity/nature/envy
    • Brown = earth/nature/strength/security
    • Red+blue+white = flags symbolise patriotism
  • The focus and emphasis – where is the reader’s attention drawn to first
  • Labelling and stereotypes – often characters are stereotypical ie. blond, blue eyed, suntanned, muscular lifesaver is supposed to be typical Australian male but it is not accurate representation
  • Speech bubbles, dialogue, body text can often state contention or reinforce issue
  • Loaded language – language that has a deeper meaning than is shown on the surface
  • Captions – words outside frame of text can state contention, what do they add and how do they persuade
  • Symbols, motifs, icons – images that represent the ideas or concepts, can appeal to the audience
  • Angles used and white space ie. blank space left – can draw audience away towards some text to make a further impact on the issue or detract from it
  • Obvious tone ie political cartoons are often humorous and sarcastic (use verbal irony)
  • Facial expressions – how do the characters expressions compare to one another, are they expressions we would expect
  • Context to main issue – does the cartoon support or oppose the main issue
  • What is significant about the background and foreground of the cartoon?
  • When writing your analysis discuss how the visual language comments on the issue and how the cartoon creator positions the audience by using the visual techniques.  Keeping in mind what the creator’s purpose is and how the cartoonist wants to position the reader – to think (logos) / feel (pathos) / do something (ethos)

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‘The Penelopiad’ by Margaret Atwood: A Brief Synopsis Only

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This Resource is ‘A Brief Synopsis’ only for Mainstream English Year 11 Students studying ‘The Penelopiad’ by Margaret Atwood: AOS1 Reading & Exploring Texts and AOS2 Crafting Texts Year 11 in the 2023 VCE Curriculum

The Penelopiad : The Myth of Penelope & Odysseus: Text Myth Series - Margaret Atwood

Historical Context

While ‘The Penelopiad’ is a postmodern, feminist short novel (novella) it is a work of narrative fiction with a story and plot, characters and settings and offers insight into human relationships as well as exploring moral, social and political issues.  The most significant element in Atwood’s narrative is that she retells Homer’s myth of the Odyssey enabling various interpretations and questions to what led to the hanging of the Maids and what was Penelope really up to?  By leaving Homer’s myth of Greece in 700 BCE open to reinterpretation, Atwood suggests that there is not one single undisputed truth in the interpretation.  Atwood addresses social and cultural issues of Ancient Greece within the framework of Homer’s myth but she assigns new emphasis to female protagonists like Penelope who have to fight for self and survival in a society ruled by men. 

Style

‘The Penelopiad’ is told by Penelope adopting 1st person narrative, from the Underworld, called Hades in Ancient Greek mythology, where she has been for several thousand years.  Shown through Penelope’s eyes, Atwood creates a form of conversational dramatic monologue during which Penelope tells her side of the story as she waits the 20 years for Odysseus to return from the Trojan Wars.  She presents a kind of tell-all tale of her recount of events that she will “spin a thread of my own” (p.4) addressing 21st century readers in a more modern narrative style that is often colloquial.  Penelope uses blunt and straightforward language reclaiming her humanity and rejecting Homer’s account of her.  The tone is often ironic and humorous and is at odds with the patriarchal epic poems of Ancient Greek mythology.  She urges women “Don’t follow my example, I want to scream in your ears” (p.2).  At times Penelope uses quite extreme slang when describing Helen of Troy calling her a “septic bitch” (p.131) in order to reinforce the view of Helen as the main cause of all Penelope’s problems.  Through the use of everyday vernacular, Atwood mocks the lofty language of the Odyssey and claims the right for alternative voices to be heard.

Feminist Literature

‘The Penelopiad’ can be considered feminist literature of the 21st century as Atwood takes women from the Odyssey and puts them into a new framework where the narrator Penelope and other female voices, once suppressed by Homer, become the voices heard.  Penelope is a capable modern woman, simultaneously trying to cover all roles while Odysseus is away.  She clearly does more than weeping and weaving.  She raises Telemachus as a single mother, manages Odysseus’ estates and negotiates the politics of the household and the onslaught from the Suitors.  Atwood shows Penelope resisting patriarchal dominance and oppression starting from when her father tries to drown her, until we meet her looking back on her life from the Underworld.  We see the focus on the way Penelope creates and extends her role of patient wife and mother to the other roles she defines.  The text addresses the feminist ideology which asks that “women be free to define themselves, instead of having their identity defined for them”.

Message of Author – Why did Margaret Atwood write The Penelopiad?

As Atwood admits, Penelope has been “in general somewhat neglected for the very simple reason that in the Odyssey she does weaving, waiting, sleeping and crying to show how much she cares that Odysseus isn’t there, how beleaguered she feels, and how lost and alone and unhappy she is.”  Certainly, Atwood could have written about murderous Clytemnestra or scandalous Helen, but she decided to take Penelope, a mythical, dutiful doormat and make her fly.  But Atwood conceded that there was much more to Penelope and she wanted to question Homer’s version of her.  For Atwood, such ancient myths can still tell us living truths. 

Atwood said that Penelope “Had a whole lifetime of keeping her mouth shut.  Now that she’s dead, she doesn’t have to do that anymore, because nothing is at stake.  It’s like those tell-all’s that people do at the end of their lives.”  Atwood also makes her put-upon heroine a shrewd estate manager and stand-in ruler, running the dirt-poor “goat-strewn rock” of Ithaca while the big boys play away from home.  “If you come to think of it, she must have been doing a lot more than she’s shown as doing in the Odyssey, because there’s nobody else in charge of the outfit.  She must have been a much more active, practical person than she’s shown as being.”  Nobody’s fool, Atwood’s Penelope sees through the returning Odysseus’s disguises and shares a flair for fibs and ruses with her errant husband. “There are two ways of fending things off if you don’t want them to happen,” Atwood explains. “One is by force – which is not available to her. The other is by guile.  So, she has to use guile.  And that is also Odysseus’s big stock-in-trade. When in doubt, lie – but lie well.”

Interview of Margaret Atwood by Boyd Tonkin “Margaret Atwood: A personal odyssey and how she rewrote Homer”. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/margaret-atwood-a-personal-odyssey-and-how-she-rewrote-homer-322675.html

The 12 Maids Perspective & Importance

Atwood intersperses Penelope’s narrative with performances from the 12 hanged maids, in 11 of the 24 chapters, who together form ‘The Chorus Line’ to comment on the action and give background from their perspective.  The maids perform in a variety of genres such as songs, recitations, dance, an idyll, a sea shanty, ballad, love story, mock heroic drama, an envoi, an anthropological lecture and a farce of a trial of Odysseus.  The narratives of the maids are also accompanied by stage directions to increase the sense of dramatic performance.  The maids lament the double standards throughout their chorus breaks, constantly reminding the reader or audience of the tragedy that happened.

The importance of the maid’s narrative is to address the treatment of marginalised women in a patriarchal society and Atwood’s need to give powerless women a voice not heard in the history of society or Greek mythology.  The maids continue to demand answers ‘Why did you murder us?’ (p. 193) and Atwood gives them the final word in the novella with a short poem, ‘Envoi’, where they again state ‘it was not fair’ (p. 195).  Atwood emphasises the injustice of silencing and marginalising women and suggests that women will keep on calling out about it.

Themes & Key Concepts – Consider these Ideas for Connections with your Personal Response or Crafting Texts Response

  • Truth and Lies

Penelope’s story uncovers lies and innuendos as she takes the unchallenged position of narrator to tell the “plain truth” (p.139) so that deception is attributed by her only from Odysseus.  She says she knew Odysseus was “tricky” (p.2) but it seems that both Penelope and Odysseus use lies and deception to cleverly achieve their aims.  Penelope’s revelation of herself as an equal liar to Odysseus casts into doubt her insistence that she has nothing to do with the hanging of the Maids and does not know about it until it is too late.  It brings into question other matters like her true relationship with the Suitors and her activities when Odysseus is away.  Also, as the Maids call out insults to Odysseus concerning their treatment and their pledge to follow him wherever he goes, they taunt him about their murder, clearly referring to him as a careful, clever liar.  They make reference to Odysseus being a “grandson of thieves and liars” (p.191) because of the story involving the boar hunting with his grandfather, Autolycus.  The questions posed by this probable deceit are suggested by Penelope in the chapter of “The Scar” (p.47).  It appears that the clever lies told by both Penelope and Odysseus are used to manipulate others, to get what they want or just simply to survive.

  • Personal Challenge

Penelope starts her tale by retelling a story from her childhood.  She is thrown into the sea by her father, but is saved by a flock of purple-striped ducks.  Clearly this episode and its retelling has a profound impact on Penelope and leaves her with the personal challenge of dealing with her reserved personality and learning to manage her innate mistrust of others.  So, unlike her cousin Helen of Troy, who is confident and superficial, Penelope’s personality is more inward-focused.  This could also account for why she has to much trouble fitting in to palace life in Ithaca and resorts to her own abilities to “learn from scratch” (p.87).  Even though Penelope is only 15 when she is married to Odysseus, she is willing to start a new life with Odysseus so she can put her past life as princess of Sparta and her dysfunctional family life behind her.  Yet her personal challenges are broad and wide-reaching in Ithaca when Odysseus is away for so many years, she must rely on her own determination to succeed against the odds.  Despite much weeping and weaving she finds the strength to handle court politics and running the estates belonging to Odysseus.  In her personal challenges she applies her mother’s advice “If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it” (p.43).

  • Power

Penelope struggles with a lack of power, firstly as a child in Sparta, then when she is won in a marriage contest by Odysseus and later in Ithaca with Eurycleia and Anticlea.  There are fatal consequences when the powerful exert their power and we see two sides to Penelope, the powerful and the powerless.  The Maid’s lack of power is evident in the novella and they express this in “Kiddie Mourn, A Lament by the Maids” (pp.13-15).  Later they seek justice for the injustices they have faced, including their early and unnatural death by putting their case before a modern court.  However, even in that setting they lack the power for a resolution that will see Odysseus face his crimes. 

In ‘The Penelopiad’, physical power is embodied in Odysseus who is the self-proclaimed superhuman who had defeated the Trojans and established his political power in battle.  More importantly is that power is explicitly in the hands of men in Greece who consolidate and legitimise power physically, politically and economically over women.  Odysseus is free to kill Penelope for infidelity and to slaughter the Suitors and the Maids.  Likewise, Icarius is at liberty to drown his infant daughter or act in a drunken and insulting manner at Penelope’s wedding because “He was king” (p.41). 

‘The Penelopiad’ explores ways in which male power affects different groups of women as a result of class discrimination.  For instance, although Penelope is traded “like a package of meat” (p.39) between her father and her husband, as a noblewoman she still has far more power than her Maids.  The Maids are Odysseus’ property to the point that he is considered to have acted “within his rights” in hanging them.  In fact, their rape is judged as a crime against them as they had sex without his permission (p.151). 

Penelope’s “tale-telling” (p.4) is an attempt to seize some power by contradicting the traditional myth that depicts her as the stereotypical faithful wife.  Similarly, the Maids demand the right to tell their own version of events and thus achieve a measure of the power that was denied to their sex and class.

  • Responsibility

A key theme is responsibility; especially how Odysseus sees his responsibility in the tale, as Penelope does not give him the right of reply to accusations made against him.  Although Atwood indirectly refers to the puzzle concerning what leads to the hanging of the Maids in The Odyssey, in her retelling of the tale she states clearly that the story “doesn’t hold water” (p.xv).  She suggests that whoever is directly responsible might be important in her story with its new emphases.  Atwood indicates that Penelope is “haunted” (p.xv) by the death of the hanged Maids and we are told of her great affection for them.  On the surface it appears that the responsibility lies with Odysseus however, it is clearly much more complicated.  Atwood leaves doubt in the mind of the reader despite the fact that the Maids hold fast in their accusation against Odysseus for their murder.  Perhaps Penelope’s responsibility is to put a stop to being “A stick used to beat other women with” (p.2) as she wanted to set the record straight.  Yet Penelope pleads ignorance about the killing of the Maids.  Nevertheless, responsibility weighs on Penelope in outward statements and inner thoughts, which allows readers to raise questions of who is really responsible for the Maids killings.

  • Identity

‘The Penelopiad’ explores notions of identity and the ways in which it is tied to physical appearance, self-perception and the expectations of others.  Physical appearance with Helen’s beauty sets the standard of physical perfection by which other women (such as Penelope) judge themselves (p.35).  The text suggests that beauty can grant women power; in Helen’s case, agelessness as well, invests her with enormous power over men.  Beauty is also linked with youth and the capacity to bear children (especially sons) to ensure the continuation of patriarchal power. 

A sense of self can also be shaped by other’s perceptions and expectations leading people to question who they are.  This is clear as Penelope fails to meet her mother in law’s expectations of a suitable wife for Odysseus (p.62) and the idea he might be “thinking about Helen” (p.64) increases her insecurity.  Odysseus cheats if the odds are against him in order to substantiate his heroic status (p.31), he exaggerates stories of his heroism, yet his public identity as a hero is consolidated by his plausible stories that inevitably become “true” (p.2).

  • Gender Roles

The text explores ideas about being a woman with socially constructed notions of femininity and gender and also highlights the complexities of womanhood in a 21st century post-feminist context.  The good mother characteristics of a nurturing, gentle and protective quality with feminine sensibility is shown in Penelope when she gives birth to Telemachus as she is “glad” to have produced a son, gratified that Odysseus is “pleased” with her (p.64) and feels fulfilled by her maternal role.  Penelope’s observation that “a mother’s life is sacred” (p.111) reveals the high value society places on nurturing motherhood and the high expectations placed upon mothers. 

Yet toxic mothers in law with their reputed hostility to daughters in law is shown by Anticleia who Penelope described as a “prune-mouthed” woman (p.60) who wrinkles up “like drying mud” (p.85).  Atwood exploits these stereotypes for the comic or dramatic purpose in the text but Penelope challenges her role by showing the importance of spinning a threat of one’s own (p.4). 

Being a wife in Ancient Greece in a patriarchal society meant being a possession like Penelope being handed over like “a package of meat” (p.39) in a bargain struck between powerful men.  Penelope is the essence of submissiveness and obedience and only after her death she warns other women that following her example will subjugate and silence them.

  • Storytelling & the Power of Narrative

‘The Penelopiad’ demonstrates the power of storytelling and the liberating power of taking ownership of one’s own story.  Penelope’s spinning of her own “thread” (p.4) disputes Homer’s idealised version of her in the Odyssey so that she is able to complicate the accepted one-dimensional image of her as a dutiful wife and emphasise to the reader her considerable intelligence and resilience.  Rewriting of the Odyssey is empowering for Penelope as she can finally negate the many stories about her that she would “prefer not to hear” (p.3).  Her authorial control frees her from the burden of being a legend (pp.143-5) and allows her to warn other women not to follow the example she set of keeping her “mouth shut” (p.3).

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Photograph 51 and My Brilliant Career The Basics

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This Resource is for Year 12 English students studying Unit 4 AOS:1 Reading & Comparing Texts in the Victorian VCE Curriculum for 2023.  While Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler was compared in 2022 to The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, the play has a new comparative text in 2023, the novel My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin.

Introduction

Anna Ziegler’s play ‘Photograph 51’ and Miles Franklin’s novel ‘My Brilliant Career’ explore concepts with very different women protagonists.  Both protagonists have their own individual personalities, dispositions, ages and external contexts.  As such it is important to understand the cultural and social surroundings of each character as well as how they are affected by other people and their settings.  In ‘My Brilliant Career’ the characters are all seen in relation to Sybylla Melvyn because it is her ‘yarn’ and so the story unfolds based on her whims and experiences.  Within ‘Photograph 51’, Rosalind Franklin is stripped of participation in the narrative and seems completely unaware of her significance or importance to her society or its later historical record of her achievements.

The Historical and Cultural Context of Both Texts is Important in Comparing Them

‘Photograph 51’ is based on the modern viewpoint of Anna Ziegler and her interest in feminist and historical ideas that reconceptualise key events in history.  The play’s historical context is based around the results of post WWII and movements in the 1950’s scientific world.  ‘Photograph 51’ is a single act play with its action occurring between 1951 and 1953 at a time in Britain when there was a pervasive attitude that a woman’s place was better served in the home than having a career, along with an entrenched gender bias which had tragic consequences for Rosalind Franklin.

‘My Brilliant Career’ was written by Stella Maria Miles Franklin an Australian writer who wrote her novel in 1899 and it was not published until 1901 the year of the Australian Federation.  The novel’s historical context of Australia’s Federation plays a huge role in the narrative that describes a masculine society with aspects of Australian rural life that that held women in a constricting place.  While Ziegler’s play is feminist in its nature, Franklin’s novel is proto-feminist because it comes before the first feminist movements began.  Franklin’s novel was written 7 years before women had the right to vote and they still lacked social and economic prospects.  Franklin has Sybylla reflect that “… it was only men who could take the world by its ears and conquer their fate …” (p.61). 

Both Texts Explore Ideas About

  1. Power in its various forms, including patriarchal power within society of financial, political and legal power; physical and intellectual power.
  2. Identity and its connections with physical appearance, self-perception and the expectations of others.
  3. Women’s roles/gender are shown in differing representations of the feminine in various types of characters but because both Sybylla and Rosalind were independent and intelligent, neither one conformed to social expectations about gender and destiny.
  4. Storytelling and the power of narrative is demonstrated in the power of taking control of one’s own story.  In My Brilliant Career it is Sybylla’s own voice that exposes gender inequality in 19th century Australia and her simple ‘yarn’ becomes other Australian women’s stories of restrictive conformation to society’s standards.  However, Rosalind in Photograph 51 who is isolated and vilified, is unable to take control of her narrative.
  5. Truth and Lies is shown in Zeigler’s play suggests that it does matter who found the answer to DNA with Wilkin’s tacit approval of Crick and Watson’s use of Rosalind’s research data is shown in his comment that it doesn’t matter who found the answer.  Sybylla narrates her own story that seeks her own personal truth as to how she wants to live her life, knowing that because she is a girl, and ugly at that, her ambitions are continually thwarted.
  6. Ambition for Sybylla is boundless and no matter how hard she tries to fit in to her socially acceptable female role she always longs for the “mystical better things” (p.65) in her wish to achieve something.  Rosalind’s ambition is equally intense and her determination and desire to do her scientific work with her personal challenge to be “always right” (p.46), drove her to become a scientist who paid meticulous attention to detail.
  7. Respect for Rosalind is being treated with a level of importance by her male colleagues for the significant work she did for discovery of DNA and being worthy of respect.  Unfortunately only Gosling and Caspar truly respect Rosalind but she is disrespected throughout the narrative by the other hypocritical male scientists.  With Sybylla’s story a coming of age narrative, respect for and of others is part of her development as she is coming to terms with her true values.  Aunt Helen is the only person Sybylla respects; in contrast she loses respect for her father when he drinks and destroys the family’s financial security.
  8. Expectations fall into 3 categories for Sybylla – first, societal expectations of Australia in the 1890’s, second her personal desires balanced against what is expected of her in terms of propriety and correct moral and social behaviour and third a feminist concern of hope for women in a world made for men.  While Rosalind looks back reflects on her desires to live with decisions she has made otherwise she dies in “regret” (p.83) but Sybylla looks forward with expectation, tempered with uncertainty, still seeking independence in an unknown future.

Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler

Structure & Style

As a single act play, it includes six characters each of whom presents their perspective on events unfolding between 1951 and 1953 at King’s College, London.  There is a juxtaposition of the past and present which interrupts the linear structure of the narrative.  The action of Ziegler’s play mainly focuses upon Dr Rosalind Franklin, a real-life scientist who is arguably the person who discovered the molecular structure of DNA.  Her research was crucial to the three men who would ultimately be awarded the coveted Nobel Prize in 1962.  Ziegler’s characters are therefore all real people; however, she freely admits to altering the time structure of events, re-arranging facts and creating interactions between characters that allow her to creatively explore the main themes of the play.

‘Photograph 51’ is structured as a circular narrative, not quite from the start but as Franklin and Wilkins return to Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale at the play’s conclusion, our minds are taken back to their discussion of the play that first occurs.  This doubling effect, or repetition, brings to mind one of the key symbols of the play, the double helix.  Ziegler, as she wants her audience to view events from different perspectives, also ‘relies on characters stepping forward occasionally as a sort of Greek chorus to fill in the background details’.  This is often found in the voice of Caspar who questions the behaviour of Wilkins, Watson and Crick about what really happened.  There are no traditional scene changes but the play looks to alterations in lighting and character groupings to suggest structural shifts.  The action of the play is fluid moving with characters all having equal speaking parts like an ensemble piece. 

Ziegler’s stage directions also indicate to the audience when she is instructing one of her characters to break the fourth wall (talk directly to the audience).  An example is Rosalind’s line: ‘(To the audience.)  I have two tumours.’  With the spotlight on her as she says these words, only the audience is meant to hear.

Feminist Literature & Challenging the Historical Invisibility of Women

The idea of challenging the historical invisibility of women is implicit in the play where the work of an extraordinary woman Rosalind Franklin is made visible.  Ziegler’s play highlights the ways in which stories told by men have worked to minimise or downplay the roles played by women.  According to Watson Rosalind “misunderstood the terms of her contract” (p.13) when in fact crucial details are “changed” after her arrival.  As readers we hope that had Rosalind Franklin lived long enough the Nobel Prize Committee would have surely awarded her a Nobel prize for her conceptual understanding of the structure of the DNA molecule.  However, Ziegler’s play recognises Franklin’s contribution even if the sexist attitudes ingrained in science at the time did not.

When asked about Rosalind Franklin as a feminist, Ziegler argued that was not her intention but audiences may interpret the character differently: ‘But more importantly, I agree that Rosalind wouldn’t want to be considered a feminist icon and I didn’t set out to make her into one.  All I can say is that, if the play has contributed to that sense of her, I hope it’s not because it paints her as a victim, but because it shows that she persevered in the name of the work and the work alone at a time when she had to ignore that it was difficult for her to do so.’

My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

My Brilliant Career: Text Classics by Miles Franklin at Abbey's Bookshop,

Structure & Style

The novel ‘My Brilliant Career’ has a conventional linear structure with Sybylla’s voice telling her own personal growth story during 19th century rural Australia.  Using a male pseudonym Franklin wrote her story of a young woman who was held back socially by a strict patriarchal society.  The novel includes an Introduction by Jennifer Byrne (vii-xiv) followed by a Preface by Henry Lawson and a further Introduction by Sybylla (pp.1-3) then the novel extends across 38 chapters.  Each voice is of Sybylla’s own perspective of the contrasts between the settings from Bruggabrong, Possum Gully, Caddagat, Five Bob Downs and Barney’s Gap. 

The diametrically opposed physical spaces of Caddagat and Barney’s Gap echo the oppositional forces in Sybylla herself (the feminine and the tomboy), and parallel opposing genres of romanticism and realism in the novel.  What is important to note is the Federation Drought of the 1890’s that caused enormous stock losses and many landowners became bankrupt.  The economic depression was a tumultuous time for the young states of Australia with banks failing and unemployment soaring. Sybylla’s novel provides a palpable insight into the terrible conditions of the time along with her descriptions of the harsh weather of “scorching furnace-breath winds [that] shrivelled every blade of grass, dust and the moan of starving stock filled the air” (p.33).

Proto-feminist Novel Challenges Gender Expectations in 19th Century Australia

At a time when it was considered that the only suitable ambition for young women was to marry and raise a family, Franklin has Sybylla set out of the norm and desire to have a career and wish to live an independent life.  In effect, Franklin gives her main protagonist a voice equal to her own abilities.  In Sybylla’s own Introduction (p.1-3) she describes her manuscript as a “real yarn” (p.1) addressing her readers as ‘My Dear Fellow Australians’ (p.1) grouping women and men together under one banner and wanting to be heard.

From a young age Sybylla has a desire to write and throughout her narrative she expresses her opinion of marriage, redefines class boundaries and her completely different views of what was expected of ladies of her time.  Describing herself as “unorthodox” (p.215) Sybylla is seen as different from the norm and at times does perform many “self-analysis” sessions on herself with one of her biggest regrets is that she is ugly.  Forced to acknowledge she is not like the beautiful girls who choose the acceptable pathway of marriage, Sybylla knows she is in a different “sphere” (p.61) intellectually, because her desire is to have a career.  Yet she is also egalitarian seeing herself as an “Australian peasant, cheerful, honest and brave” (p.391).

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The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman A Brief Synopsis

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The Complete MAUS by Art Spiegelman, Paperback, 9780141014081 | Buy ...

What Genre is Maus?

  1. It is a graphic novel or actually a graphic memoir since it is a true story. It is a complex story told in pictures and handwritten captions, as opposed to only typeset print. Therefore, it is a piece of visual as well as literary art. By using imagery and limited words, Art Spiegelman has used the art form of cartoons to portray the horrors faced by the Jews as prisoners of the Nazi Regime during World War II.
  2. It is an oral history and a memoir. An oral history is an extended interview where a witness to historical events is asked to recall what he experienced. Someone else writes it down. A memoir is the story of a life written by the participant or another person. Art Spiegelman interviews his father Vladek between 1972 and 1982 to relate stories of Vladek’s horrific experiences in Nazi Germany during which he survived 10 months in Auschwitz death camp. The stories of the past and present clash and collide so readers also become aware of the difficult relationship between Art and his father.
  3. It is the story of one concentration camp survivor; a Jewish Polish refugee and his family: Vladek and Anja, and their son Art Spiegelman. Another son Richieu died in the war; so did the other members of Anja’s and Vladek’s families. After Anja’s death Vladek married Mala also a survivor. It addresses the guilt and fear of survivors from the death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the subsequent impact on their children.
  4. It is the story of a historical genocide known as the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the name for the systematic persecution and murder of 6 million Jews from 1933 to 1944 by the Nazi regime in Germany. In particular the story focus is on Polish Jews.

What is Maus About?

In Maus, Vladek Spiegelman’s story of surviving the Holocaust is told in tandem with the story of his post-war relationship with the author of the book, his son Artie. Although Artie Spiegelman emphasises the resourcefulness of Vladek to survive and his capacity to overcome the dreadful feeling that he was abandoned by God during the Holocaust “But here God didn’t come. We were all on our own” (p.189). Maus is just as much about surviving life after the Holocaust as it is about experiencing the Holocaust itself. Artie says to his wife Francoise towards the end of the book, “But in some ways he didn’t survive” (p.250). Certainly for Vladek the Holocaust was an emotionally crippling experience, reducing him to what Artie says is a “caricature of the miserly old Jew” (p.133) who is concerned more with “things than people” as Mala said. The need to constantly be resourceful and pragmatic had for Vladek overwhelmed other less material approaches to life.

The cartoon graphically relates the Holocaust story and Vladek’s experiences of horror but it is also Artie’s story as a child of a survivor which is at times humorously and poignantly interwoven in with Vladek and Anja’s story. As these stories of the past and present clash and collide, so readers become aware of the pain of broken, disrupted relationships. The second part of the story ‘And Here my Troubles Began’ from pages 169-296 continues the story of Artie’s parents’ incarceration in Auschwitz but also includes more of Artie’s own personal story as he seeks to understand the delayed trauma of an Auschwitz-related son. One of his most pressing points is that the scars are generational ie. the psychological scars of the parents continue to haunt subsequent generations.

An important part of Artie’s story is relaying a snapshot of his father’s post-traumatic stress that suffocates him as he tries to deal with the enormity of his loss. A touch of black humour conveys this depiction, which is both poignant and mocking. Artie ridicules his father’s neurotic obsession with pills and death and his traumatic relationship with his second wife Mala who Vladek imagines her constantly stealing his money.

What is safe to say about Maus is that the graphic images belie the complexity of the psychological pathology that was a result of the Holocaust both for the survivors and the generation that the survivors gave birth to. What is also true in Maus is that the characters, mostly Vladek and Artie, are burdened with feelings that they don’t always understand are often in conflict with each other. If there is a message in Maus it is this: people are complex and nothing is simple.

The Distinctiveness / Techniques /Symbols of Graphic Novels like The Complete Maus

Pages in graphic novels and graphic narratives are made up of words, images and panels. To read them effectively, and to understand their complex and subtle meanings, requires attention to the ways in which both images and words work independently and together. Each has its own logic and way of organising meaning.

One of the things that is important in writing about Maus, is to write about it as a graphic novel. In other words, how does Art use the elements of the graphic novel to tell the story of Maus in a way that is distinctive from the medium of the novel or film?

The Basic Techniques and Symbols Art uses to tell the story are:

  1. The Panel = Just as the paragraph and sentences within the paragraph are the basic way of dividing up parts of the narrative in a novel, so too is the panel and the speech bubbles the basic way of organising the story in a graphic novel. In Maus Art uses the panels in different ways – with boxed black borders designed to be read from left to right, top to bottom which is a standard way to develop a narrative. The panel boxed within a border conveys the sense that these words, or actions or feelings are happening at this exact point and no other. When there is no border a sense of space or freedom is created – that the words, actions or feelings might link to more than just this point in time. Art also changes the size of panels in order to emphasise the significance or impact of the feelings, words or events within the panel. He does this often at crisis points in the novel such as the arrival of Vladek at Auschwitz. Panels also overlap with other panels to show how words, feelings or events in that panel overlap, impact on or link to the surrounding panels.
  2. Gutters = The space in between panels – known as the gutter is important – we almost need to ‘read between the lines’ or infer what has happened. In many cases, this doesn’t require much effort, because what is depicted in one panel can come almost directly after what was in the previous panel. Sometimes there is a space between panels in terms of place or time which makes us as readers wonder what happened in between In the scene (p.111) the Gestapo have orders to evacuate Zawiercie where Tosha and the children Bibi, Lonia and Richieu are living but Tosha says “I won’t go to their gas chambers. And my children won’t go to their gas chambers” (p.111). In the scene we do not see Tosha administering the poison to the children but we are left to fill that blank in ourselves based on the image of the small, innocent children looking up.
  3. Animal Characterisation = Perhaps the most basic and effective technique Spiegelman uses to tell the story of Maus, is the characterisation of Jews as mice, Nazis (and Germans as a whole) as cats, Poles as pigs and Americans as dogs. In this comic story Art utilises this anthropomorphic imagery of the cat and mouse to depict his parent’s experiences in Nazi Germany which also relates the story of the Holocaust. There are a number of layers to this imagery. The first layer is the idea we immediately associate with mice as innocent and small and cats as big, predators of mice. In terms of characters, the Jews were innocent victims; the Nazis were the sinister predatory killers. The second layer involves a subversion of ideas.
  4. The Language = The story recounted in Vladek’s voice is related in broken English, awkward grammar but giving the impression of spontaneity and authenticity. At times it is extremely sincere but other times it is dramatic but uncaring. Through the language Spiegelman gives his reader a number of cues that can assist in understanding the plot, voice and levels of narrative. It is through the language we are able to comprehend aspects of the characters’ motivations, their relationships with one another and their place in the narrative.
  5. Eyes = Are a fundamental point of characterisation to humanise or dehumanise characters in graphic texts. The eyes of the Jewish mice are nearly always visible throughout the text and convey the feelings of anger, sadness, frustration or determination. However, the eyes of the Nazis are often not visible; they are shaded by their helmets or caps, signifying how their humanity has been shaded by the role they fulfil. When their eyes are seen they are as sinister looking slits of light.
  6. Holocaust dominated by Nazi Swastika = Spiegelman represents how over-whelming the Holocaust was in the lives of the Jews who lived through it and survived by his visual representations of Nazi symbols dominating the landscape within panels or being the dominant background behind panels. The panels of pages 34-35 show the swastika prominent in towns even in 1938 in conjunction with texts “This town is Jew Free” (p.35). The panel on page 127 shows Vladek and Anja walking in the direction of Sosnowiec with the path imagery as a swastika. The imagery indicates Vladek and Anja’s predicament of having nowhere to go because in Poland at that time (1944) all paths for Jews led to the Nazis and ultimately to Auschwitz and death.
  7. Masks = Characters wear masks at two different points in the story. Before Vladek and Anja were captured and sent to Auschwitz, they were able to avoid being caught in Srodula by disguising themselves as Poles (pig masks). Masks at this point are a functional way to avoid detection by pretending to be someone else. In Book II Spiegelman draws himself as a human character wearing a mouse mask which represents his confusion about the suicide of his mother in 1968. He asks questions about why his mother committed suicide. Was it his fault? Why did he feel guilty? How can he move on? Who in fact was he?
  8. Dying faces, dead faces, hanging and dead bodies = The horror of the Holocaust is reinforced throughout Maus by the graphic representations of the dead and dying. Hanging bodies are used at a number of points with a particular haunting effect. They evoke feelings about the dehumanisation of Jews who were left to hang like carcasses and their powerlessness. Often the dead or dying are portrayed with their mouths wide open, screaming in agony, fear and desperation. The images evoke within the reader a picture of true horror of what the Jews suffered during the Holocaust.

Guilt as a Major Theme in Maus

Guilt swirls in the comic strip. The relationship between Vladek and his son is important in the narrative because it deals extensively with feelings of guilt. Of particular relevance is guilt with members of the Spiegelman family. Artie mocks the fact that Maus should have a message and that everyone should feel ‘forever’ guilty. “My father’s ghost still hangs over me” (p.203). The primary types of familial guilt can be divided into three categories:

  1. Artie’s feelings of guilt over not being a good son
  2. Artie’s feelings of guilt over the death of his mother
  3. Artie’s feelings of guilt regarding the publication of Maus

The second major form of guilt found in Maus is thematically complex. This guilt is ‘survivor’s guilt’ which is found in both Vladek and Artie’s relationships with the Holocaust. Much of Maus revolves around this relationship between past and present and the effects of past events on the lives of those who did not experience them which manifests itself as guilt. While Artie was born in Sweden after the end of World War II both of his parents were survivors of the Holocaust and the event has affected him deeply. Artie reveals his guilt to his wife Francoise “Somehow, I wish I had been in Auschwitz with my parents so I could really know what they lived through! I guess it’s some form of guilt about having an easier life than they did” (p.176).

Vladek too appears to feel a deep sense of guilt about having survived the Holocaust while his family and friends did not. Pavel (Artie’s psychiatrist) thinks that Vladek took his guilt out on Artie the “real survivor”. So Vladek’s guilt was passed down to his son establishing the foundation for the guilt that Artie now feels towards his family and its history.

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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: The Basics

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This Resource is ‘A Brief Synopsis’ only for Mainstream English Year 12 Students studying Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel in AOS1, Unit 3: Analytical Study in the VCE Victorian Curriculum.

Introduction

Instead of Covid-19, Station Eleven’s world is devastated by the ‘Georgia Flu’.  The fictional plague is more deadly and contagious than Covid-19; this flu virus kills 99% of the earth’s population in a matter of weeks.  We, as readers, can see certain parallels with the pandemic that engulfs the world today, such as hoarding of groceries in the early days of Covid-19, overrun hospital emergency departments, face masks and the idea of some similarity to Station Eleven.  Life imitating art.

Yet Station Eleven’s world is a story of complete collapse of civilisation and a rebirth in a world of survivors who are devoid of doctors, countries, communities, no technology and where luck or fate picks who lives or dies.  Children learn to kill or be killed within an ever-thrumming baseline of danger.

However, Emily St. John Mandel’s novel Station Eleven is ‘speculative fiction’ that if there were a doomsday event, there may initially be a period of chaotic social collapse, but gradually the surviving people would organise themselves into communities akin to our contemporary civil society.  Mandel worries that the civilisation we take for granted is fragile and vulnerable, and ‘could fail quite easily’, but she harbours ‘a possibly naïve but stubborn notion that the overwhelming majority of people on earth really just want to live peacefully and raise their kids and go about their business with a minimum of fear and insecurity.’

Emily St. John Mandel

Civilisation in a Post-pandemic World

While Mandel’s central thematic ideas are of truth, hope, love and moral courage, she leaves readers with something positive rather than negative.  The characters are more often inspired by art, knowledge and concern for others than by fear, superficial ideas, authoritarianism or self-interest.  The novel values: trusting rather than controlling others; connecting with and paying attention to each other rather than pursuing the illusory thrills of self-promotion and fame; and above all, creating rather than destroying.  We see how interconnectivity both creates and dismantles civilisation.

Pivotal in the novel’s network of characters is the celebrity actor Arthur Leander, while the ‘Georgia Flu’ provides the pivotal moment of world-wide ‘collapse’ in a narrative timeline which, although presented non-chronologically, spans five decades.  Arthur is performing as King Lear in Toronto’s Elgin Theatre when he, and within days the whole society, collapses.  After this apocalypse, we follow Kirsten and her companions in the Travelling Symphony, Clark who becomes a museum curator in the airport lounge, and Jeevan the paramedic who eventually lives with his family in a community in Virginia.  Readers gradually build a picture of the three decades preceding the apocalypse, as well as the two decades after it, piecing together as the narrative takes us back and forward in time the network of relationships among Arthur, his first wife Miranda, his other wives, his friend Clark, his putative rescuer and erstwhile paparazzo Jeevan, and his son Tyler’s future nemesis, Kirsten.

Perspective on the Text

Emily St. John Mandel’s novel invites readers, not so much to fear doomsday and its dystopian aftermath, as to think about what we truly value in the society we currently inhabit.  Each of Mandel’s main characters represents the good in humanity; each of them is engaged in work that either cares for others and builds community or creates art that shows ‘the best of the world’.  Kirsten, Clark, Miranda, Jeevan, even Arthur, each is honest, creative, and selfless yet strong, even though they are also being human but flawed in some way.

Structure of the Text

Mandel’s non-chronological narrative pivots around the moment of Arthur’s (and the world’s) collapse.  Whilst the narrative point of view is generally omniscient, or third person, readers frequently have access to the thoughts of a character, Miranda, Clark, Jeevan or Kirsten.  The reader becomes aware, after a while, that the non-linear recursive structure reflects the nature of memory.  The plot unfurls across not only timelines but characters and Miranda’s comic book ‘Dr Eleven’ is the portkey that reveals the tangled web we weave of life.

The Importance of the Arts and Sciences

With Miranda’s art (Dr Eleven Comics) as its central motif, the novel highlights the importance in society of both the humanities and the sciences.  We see Mandel’s characters devoting themselves to visual and performing arts because these show the best of a society, and to writing, history and the media because by keeping records of the past, humans have a hope of understanding the present and doing better in the future.  We see the characters remembering electricity and aeroplanes, and hoping for the resurgence of these lost wonders of the world since they represent high points in humankind’s scientific knowledge.

Issues and Themes
Survival is insufficient / survival is arbitrary / human instinctContagion & disasters / death/ violence & abuse in a tarnished new world / fearSociety & the individual / communitarianism versus individualism
Isolation and loneliness versus community connectednessMemory / the self & society/ loss / nostalgia / history / regret / remembering the old world / transience of memoryCreativity / arts / sciences / enduring nature of arts and power to reflect reality
BelongingHope / optimism / luck in a crisisTruth
LoveMoral courageCreating order from chaos
Trust & communityBeauty of life in the old worldReligion
Symbols
Station ElevenThe paperweightShakespeare
The Letters to VictoriaLuli the dog’s nameFlight/aeroplanes
Water imageryDeath imageryVirus as an avenging angel

Analytical Text Response Topics

  1. “Survival is insufficient.” How does Mandel show that there is more to life than mere survival?
  2. “I see you, I see you, I see you.” ‘Miranda, more than other characters in the novel, makes the best of life despite feeling lonely and disconnected.’ Discuss.
  3. To what extent does Station Eleven suggest that a crisis brings out the best in people?
  4. ‘Arthur may be the central character in Mandel’s novel, but he is not the main character.’ Discuss.
  5. ‘Station Eleven suggests that it is better to be inspired by truth and beauty than by success.’ Discuss.
  6. Discuss the roles played by Dr. Eleven and the Museum of Civilisation in Mandel’s novel.
  7. ‘The characters in Station Eleven are sustained by their memories.’ Do you agree?
  8. ‘Station Eleven is more about creativity in the arts and sciences than about a post-pandemic dystopia.’ Do you agree?
  9. ‘Despite the extreme difficulty of their situation, none of the characters succumbs to fear or pessimism.’ Discuss.
  10. ‘The characters in Station Eleven are motivated more by love than fear.’ Discuss.

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Nine Days by Toni Jordan: The Basics

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This Resource is for students in Year 12 studying ‘Nine Days’ in AOS1: Unit 3, Reading & Creating Texts, Analytical Text Response, in the Victorian VCE 2023 Mainstream English Curriculum

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Introduction

Written by a contemporary Australian female writer, Toni Jordan’s 2012 novel Nine Days is a celebration of family life in inner city Richmond in Melbourne from 1938 to 2006.  There are nine different narrators who give their insights into nine days over a time span of more than sixty years that includes stories about four generations of one major family (the Westaways).

Topics raised by the novel, include the impact in Australia of the Second World War; suburban life of the time; housing in Richmond during the mid-twentieth century; aspects of social class, religious sectarianism (Catholic–Protestant) antagonism; social customs, norms and attitudes, particularly as these affect women; views about unmarried mothers and babies born out of wedlock; and the industrial nature of Richmond.

At the heart of the narrative is the love story between Jack Husting and Connie Westaway, some details of which are kept secret until the last chapter.  This non-chronological structure of the narrative drives readers to keep going, mimicking life in that it does not always make sense until we look back over it and get the full picture.  Like life too, there is both joy and grief and the ways that characters learn to cope and adapt to changed circumstances.

Structure of the Text

The structure of the novel is not in chronological order, so readers must use the details to piece together the connections.  The novel focuses on nine particular days, mainly around World War II, and has nine different narrators.  The dates of the chapters and narrators are as follows:

Chapter One: Monday 7th August, 1939 = Kip Westaway

Chapter Two: Tuesday 25th September, 2001 = Stanzi Westaway

Chapter Three: Sunday 25th February, 1940 = Jack Husting

Chapter Four: Wednesday 1st August, 1990 = Charlotte Westaway

Chapter Five: Monday 2nd May, 1938 = Francis Westaway

Chapter Six: Saturday 9th November, 1946 = Annabel Crouch

Chapter Seven: Tuesday 14th January, 1941 = Jean Westaway

Chapter Eight: Thursday 27th April, 2006 = Alec Westaway

Chapter Nine: Wednesday 14th August, 1940 = Connie Westaway

Perspective of the Text from the Characters

The novel certainly values the strength of character shown in each generation as characters face the challenges of their time and place, and as they strive to improve their circumstances, and it does this with a light humour.  Familial love is explicitly valued, as is romantic love, although both are represented in different ways by the very different characters involved.  Jean, the mother of Connie, Francis and Kip, shows her love in ways that may be seen as bitter and harsh by the modern reader, but she is fiercely devoted to her aspirations for her family.  Kip represents an ideal form of domestic masculinity, romantically devoted to his wife Annabel for over fifty years, and a loving father to their twin daughters, Charlotte and Stanzi.  The two women of the third generation, idiosyncratic in their differences, ultimately form a very contemporary family, with two mothers (albeit non-gay) for Alec and Libby, who have two different fathers.  Thus, Jordan implicitly values contemporary attitudes about family, sexuality and gender.

Romantic Love

Romantic love is perhaps most poignantly portrayed in the story of Connie and Jack, but with a shocking end.  When Connie is left, after Jack’s departure, with an unplanned pregnancy, no opportunity to get married, and a mother who herself is already familiar with the (illegal) process of procuring an abortion, the novel’s values seem clear.  Its portrayal of Connie bleeding to death on a pavement, and of her brother Kip’s opinions about the importance of contraception, leave us in little doubt that the author values reproductive choice for women, whereas the Catholic Church frowns on contraception, and the State criminalises abortion, both with serious consequences for women.  On the other hand, Charlotte, in the next generation, is free to make the decision not to have an abortion.

Themes

Family and Belonging = Nine Days explores the connections within families, changes over time in what constitutes a family, and our ties to each other.  Through the focus on four different generations of the Westaway family, readers are shown connections over time.  Families are celebrated and valued.

Relationships = The novel highlights family loyalty and obligation, and also shows readers the impact of love, celebrating both young romantic love and the deep attachment of life-long love.  This is particularly seen through the characters of Kip and Annabel, as well as Connie and Jack Husting.

Dealing with Adversity = The novel explores how different characters in different decades struggle with adversity, and how they cope with loss, grief, poverty or loneliness.

Life during WW11 = The novel gives readers insight into the impact of the Second World War on the Melbourne population.

Social Attitudes & Norms Affecting Women = The novel follows the lives of female characters in different eras, and in doing so explores social attitudes and norms affecting women.  Women’s work in both the domestic and public spheres is shown.  Perhaps the most confronting issues the novel explores are about birth control and abortion.  Other challenges faced by the women in the novel include the weight and self-image issues that Stanzi has.

Social Class, Religious Sectarianism & Status = Ada Husting, Jack’s mother, views their family as further up the social ladder than their neighbours, the Westaways.  The Hustings are Protestant business owners, whereas the Westaways are Roman Catholic wage-earners.  The sectarian divisions of the time are also reflected in Jean’s narrative.

Living For the Day = The novel celebrates the notion of living for the day and fully engaging with the people around you.  Because of Kip’s early losses, he develops a kind of life philosophy which he attempts to instil in his daughters.  He immerses himself fully in everyone and everything around him.

Language and Style

Narrative Voice = Because each chapter is narrated by a different character, each has an individual narrative voice that both reflects the character and includes references to the time in which they live. This kind of interior monologue allows us to see the world through the eyes of the narrator, while the dialogue gives us insight into other characters as well.

Humour = A distinctive feature throughout the text, humour is conveyed in both the dialogue and the interior voice of some characters.  The narrative voices of Kip, Alec, Charlotte and Stanzi are particularly light-hearted and humorous.

Symbols

The structure of the novel is held together by several symbols which run through the episodes.  These act as integrating devices and help the reader to recognise family connections, as well as each having an underlying significance.

The Photograph of Connie & Jack = The existence of the photograph is not known till late in the novel that provides a climax to Kip’s narration.  The photo shows the passion between Connie & Jack that never had a chance to flourish but also represents other sweethearts who were separated by war.  It adds to Connie’s sad story that ends in her death through an illegal abortion.

The Shilling = The lucky shilling connects the novel’s different episodes. It is given initially to Kip by Mr Husting, who likes and feels sorry for the cheeky young boy who tends his horse.  He swears Kip to secrecy, knowing his wife would not approve.  From Stanzi in the next chapter, we learn that it is one of her father’s ‘most prized possessions’.

The Amethyst Necklace = Another integrating device is the necklace, which is introduced to readers as a positive symbol in Charlotte’s chapter.  She describes it as ‘my mother’s pendant’ and recounts how she received it for her eighteenth birthday.  In this chapter she uses it for the so-called pendant test, which, according to superstition, indicates a baby’s gender.  But for Charlotte it has a wider significance: she views the pendant as a link to the life of her family and their love.

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian Curriculum