INTRODUCTION Within my chosen two prescribed short stories of Henry Lawson and comparing it to my related text; American Sniper, the theme of creating distinctively visual images in an audience’s head is clear with the continued themes of: Dangers of the bush, isolation, male dominated society (except B.U.), stereotypes, dog (except D.S.), symbol/ motif/ snake/ goannas, harsh environment/ landscape. These themes are evident in the wording of Henry Lawson, and film techniques of American Sniper, PARAGRAPH 1: IN A DRY SEASON In a Dry Season effectively portrays the distinctively visual of what is it to live in the bush, “Draw a wire fence and a few ragged gums … you’ll have the bush all along the New South Wales Western line from Bathurst on.” In this quote we can see the isolation of a stereotyped man in the harsh environment of the Australian bush traveling hours just to get to work. When the narrator says “Yer wanter go out back, young man, if yer wanter see the country. Yer wanter get away from the line. I don’t wanter; I’ve been there.” He implies that the country is harsh, desolate and not welcoming. PARAGRAPH 2: THE BUSH UNDERTAKER …show more content…
The Bush Undertaker visualises the rough and easy-going nature of an isolated man away from society, this is shown in his language habits.
“I cud do a bit of doughboy, an’ that theer boggabri’ll eat like tater-marrer along of the salt meat.” He talks to himself expressing to the audience of a man broken and sadly alone in the desolate bush. The humour of the bush undertaker breaks the realistic side of living in the bush, ““I’ll take a pick an’ shovel with me an’ root up that old blackfellow,” mused the shepherd.” However, this statement does show how he lived in the bush, but it also shows the rough harsh inhumane treatment of the indigenous being dug up after death and
burial. PARAGRAPH 3: AMERICAN SNIPER American Sniper contrasts in isolation when comparing to the other texts, this movie depicts mateship and brotherhood among soldier in a dangerous war as one of the characters, Chris Kyle, says “The thing that haunts me the most are all the guys I couldn't save.” This quote places an image of true brotherhood in a platoon of men who considered each other family. Whereas the Henry Lawson short stories show the opposite. However horrible war was visualised the thing which made the character Chris seem heroic was when he spoke “I'm willing to meet my creator, and answer for every shot that I took.” Showing he would do anything for his fellow soldier, this ‘saviour’ complex can be linked to early in the film where his father states “There are 3 types of people in this world. Sheep, wolf and sheepdog.” It also expresses the American patriotism stereotype i.e. protecting your sheep from the wolves. CONCLUSION With both Henry Lawson texts showing isolation we can gather a visual of both stories In a Dry Season being of a man on a train and its runs alongside a barren and desolate landscape. Whereas The Bush Undertaker expresses a man stereotyped to not be bothered, walking with a shovel and his dog again in a dirty brown landscape of Australia. However, American Sniper shows amalgamation of the SEAL forces rather than the isolation of them, nevertheless still in a dangerous and inhospitable environment.
‘The Drover’s Wife’ opens with a vivid visual image of the house which becomes a character in itself, the lexical word chain “round timber, slabs, and stringy bark, and floored with split slabs” shows us the poor, rough materials used to build only what is necessary to survive. Thus, we can visualise the simplistic nature of the lives the drover’s wife and her children live in their environment. Strong visual imagery is employed to depict the landscape; “Bush all round – bush with no horizon, for the country is flat. No ranges in the distance… No undergrowth”. The repetition of “no” emphasises the lack of distinguishing features, the land is monotonous and contains “nothing to relieve the eye”. The environment is isolated; they are alone “There is nothing to see, however, and not a soul to meet”. This helps the audience to develop an understanding of the isolation and loneliness of Australians living in the bush during the Colonial
Both men lived through an era where Welsh mining was booming because of the need for coal. This brought great commercial success for the mining companies. Blinded by this new found wealth and fortune, communities toiled away unaware of the effect it would have on the workers and their families in the years to come. Duncan Bush talks about how the mine is killing him ‘But it’s had forty years in me now’. Duncan Bush spent thirty years in the mines and now the mine had spent forty years in him.
Olds’ use of nature-related similes allows the reader a greater understanding of man’s worst invention—war. In describing the unburied bodies of the dead, Olds writes “they lay on the soil / some of them wrapped in dark cloth / bound with rope like the tree’s ball of roots / when it waits to be planted.” Uprooted from life but not yet planted in the ground for their eternal rest, the bodies resemble the gnarled nest of exposed tree roots. Tied up and brought under the dominion of man, the otherwise sprawling roots form a crown of thorns, just as the men die in a conflict
The bush and its unique landscape was something that distinguished Australia from the European sceneries familiar to many new immigrants. Australians romanticized the bush in their attempt to establish self – identity.
The repetition of the word, 'bush' in, " Bush all round - bush with no horizon.." creates a vivid visual image of the bush setting and emphasises the loneliness experienced by the drover's wife and her family. The family's loneliness is reinforced in, "...The everlasting, maddening sameness ...longs a man to break away and travel as far a way as trains can go...". This juxtaposes the traditional perception of the bush,which is that of beauty and pleasure, and depicts a tedious environment incapable of nurturing curious thought,an another hardship on the family. This is ironic as this iconic story symbolises Australia, it does this by portraying the country side in a negative light. Therefore, the harsh environment highlights the determination of Australians in the face of
They complained that there will not be enough meat to go around, men will fight over the food, and the celebration will be a disaster. Together, they planted enough fear in the mind of the anthropologist, that even though once he was convinced and proud of his pick, he started to worry that the ox was not good enough, and the celebration will be ruined. In the end, after the ox was slaughtered, it proved to be indeed a very meaty animal, with plenty of white layers of fat. The anthropologist discovered that Bushmen collectively played a joke on him. They all knew what a beautiful animal they were receiving, yet they all complained about it, calling it a "bag of bones". Only later did the anthropologist learned that it was the Bushmen's tradition to criticize, and they routinely did it to themselves. They did it to keep their arrogance in check, and their humility
The Farming of Bones is not only an amazing work of literature, but a wonderful example of post-colonial literature. It has all the classic experiential images; dualism, confrontation, liberation, and identity.
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” Robert Ray explains how there are two vastly different heroes: the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero has common values and traditional beliefs. The outlaw hero has a clear view of right and wrong but unlike the official hero, works above the law. Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. The morals of these heroes can be compared clearly. Films that contain official heroes and outlaw heroes are effective because they promise viewer’s strength, power, intelligence, and authority whether you are above the law or below it.
The strength of the old moose is impressive. On his death march, he nonetheless comes "lurching" and "stumbling" in ponderous and powerful strides to "the pole-fenced pasture''- the edge of civilization. A crowd quickly gathers, a crowd of men and women, old and young - all notable for their insensitivity and lack of respect. They confuse the moose with one of their own domesticated animals, like the cattle or collie or gelded moose or ox, failing to see the nobility and ancient wisdom of this moose from "the purple mist of trees." The scene becomes obscene as men "pry open his jaws with bottles" and "pour beer down his throat." The symbolic crown of thistles hammers home the innocent suffering perpetrated by these giggling and snickering buffoons.
The novel “Through Black Spruce”, written by Joseph Boyden, details life of Native Culture and the corruption within its society. Will Bird and his niece Annie Bird alter narrations every chapter telling their individual stories of their struggles to remain pure in Native culture. Both characters experience a detachment from their roots and must learn to rely on each other for the livelihood of their culture. All characters in the novel show negative effects of being impacted by the white culture, seen through the use of drugs and alcohol leading to isolation from the community. Through detailed analysis of both Will and Annie’s narrative, their connections to their Native roots seem to be vanishing and the need to integrate the traditional
Somewhere out in the Old West wind kicks up dust off a lone road through a lawless town, a road once dominated by men with gun belts attached at the hip, boots upon their feet and spurs that clanged as they traversed the dusty road. The gunslinger hero, a man with a violent past and present, a man who eventually would succumb to the progress of the frontier, he is the embodiment of the values of freedom and the land the he defends with his gun. Inseparable is the iconography of the West in the imagination of Americans, the figure of the gunslinger is part of this iconography, his law was through the gun and his boots with spurs signaled his arrival, commanding order by way of violent intentions. The Western also had other iconic figures that populated the Old West, the lawman, in contrast to the gunslinger, had a different weapon to yield, the law. In the frontier, his belief in law and order as well as knowledge and education, brought civility to the untamed frontier. The Western was and still is the “essential American film genre, the cornerstone of American identity.” (Holtz p. 111) There is a strong link between America’s past and the Western film genre, documenting and reflecting the nations changes through conflict in the construction of an expanding nation. Taking the genres classical conventions, such as the gunslinger, and interpret them into the ideology of America. Thus The Western’s classical gunslinger, the personification of America’s violent past to protect the freedoms of a nation, the Modernist takes the familiar convention and buries him to signify that societies attitude has change towards the use of diplomacy, by way of outmoding the gunslinger in favor of the lawman, taming the frontier with civility.
Both authors use sensory imagery to create vivid images in the reader's mind with ease. In Harrison “In the trenches,” he uses descriptive similes and personifications to show the reader the disturbing reality of war effectively. After being viscously bombed, Harrison beautifully describes the “S.O.S” flare that is sent up shortly after being attacked, saying that “the sky is lit by hundreds of fancy fireworks like a night carnival.” This descriptive simile creates a visual image of a sky so bright that it resembles a carnival at night. As incoming bombs were dropping Harrison describes them by using the simile “the air screams and howls like an insane woman,” from this line any reader can imagine what it would sound like if artillery was dropping and exploding near you. Similarly, in twains “two ways of seeing a river,” he uses similes to create vivid images of the “majestic river.” Right from the beginning twain states that “I [have] mastered the language of this water and…every trifling feature…as familiarly as I [know] the letters of the alphabet.” This simile compares his vast knowledge of all the features of the river to his familiarity to the alphabets. The reader can visualize the importance and beauty of the river. Also, both authors similarly utilize sensory
Short stories are a form of literature works that authors use to communicate various themes and issues to the reader. As such, it is common for different short stories authored by different people to have a central meaning or theme that differs from each other. In addition, the way the author portrays his/her central theme or meaning would differ from the way other authors would craft their short stories to best portray their central meaning. While some would use characterization as a means of portraying the theme of their story, other authors employ the use of symbols to better communicate their theme. However, some slight similarities can always be drawn between short stories. ‘Hills like White
Theme is a literary element used in literature and has inspired many poets, playwrights, and authors. The themes of love and war are featured in literature, and inspire authors to write wartime romances that highlight these two themes. Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms deals with the collective themes in the human experience such as love and the reality of war. A Farewell to Arms is narrated from the perspective of Fredric Henry, an ambulance driver in the Italian army, and pertains to his experiences in the war.
The structure of this essay can be a role model for a perfect narrative descriptive essay. The trick in creating such effective narrative descriptive essay is to provide enough concrete detail to show readers what happened. The reader should feel what it means to be there in their experience. He almost shows the graphical representation of that event. As a very minor example, that Orwell does not say, "I took my gun"; instead,...