Experiences influence our values and attitudes, enabling us to discover not only hidden ideas and objects, but also re-evaluate our pasts and what we know of ourselves and the world around us. Michael Gow’s play Away juxtaposes the experiences of Australian families on holiday as the characters achieve a fresh new perspective through their interactions with others, discovering the value of family. The characters’ experience of grief and loss allows them to re-examine their past-life, the person they were presenting themselves as and their attitudes. Similarly, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s monologue poem, Ulysses allows the audience to a develop deep understanding of the poet’s thirst and emphasis for new adventures and their power in shaping our …show more content…
hearts and minds. Ultimately, these texts demonstrate that discovery in life is an ongoing journey which both unfolds what is hidden and re-characterizes what is known – an essential part of the human condition. Holidays enable individuals to free themselves from the constraints of their usual environment, thus creating an atmosphere rich with potential for self-discovery. Through presenting the responder with parallel narratives of family vacations, Gow is able to examine and contrast situations where the characters explore and reflect on their lives. Initially, presented to the responders are unhappy characters who must all ‘try and look like you’re having a ball’. The holiday environment initially duplicates the social divisions and tensions of the 1960s. ‘Campers’ that are stereotyped are represented on stage discussing ‘the way proper Australian families run a holiday’, with Harry’s tent and Jim’s caravan functioning as metaphors for their situation in life and social status. However, the dialogue between the characters predominates the class divide and ultimately confronts Jim with a situation where he ‘can’t think of anything to say’ as he is moved by the plight of a working class family his wife initially dismisses as ‘dirty’ and ‘foulmouthed’. The deeply distressed mother, Coral, recognises that her holiday is ‘a bit forced’, and the ‘twelve-inch fake Christmas tree’ carried by Gwen manifests a symbol of the artifice of a season where unhappy families must have ‘what’s left of Christmas.’ As the play draws towards its climax, the epiphany of Tom’s terminal illness and the pathos created by Meg’s rejection of his need to ‘just lie down’ with her illustrates the sad reality that Tom will be unable to experience the pleasures of life that other individuals his age will eventually get to experience sooner or later. A theme that Gow closely examines throughout the play in Away is grief.
Individuals struggle to understand their own reactions to the loss and suffering they have experienced. Roy’s demand that has his wife Coral ‘take stock, come back to reality’ exemplifies his initial lack of understanding of her grief at the death of their son. His longing for her to ‘be like you were’ is tragically undermined as Coral’s consuming emotional devastation leads her to indiscriminately seek out and cling to the other characters as she gradually yearns to make sense of her loss. At the beginning of the play, Gow includes a lengthy search for a set of keys between Gwen and her husband, symbolising their ignorance and their need to gain a sense of control and security over their lives. Tom plays both the comic sprite Puck and the tragic Lear, and the theme of healing through insight and death is perturbing, given his own approaching death. His father Harry discovers the ability to accept Tom’s inevitable demise, stating that ‘in a funny kind of way we’re happy. Even when we’re very, very sad.’ The responders are not presented with a linear set of discoveries and positive transformations in Away; rather, they are strongly forced to acknowledge the complex, comic and tragic elements in the characters’ lives. Gow’s inclusion of intertextual references is consciously metatheatrical as the play is framed by other plays, beginning with a Shakespearean comedy and ending with a speech from the tragedy …show more content…
of King Lear. This inclusion of comic and tragic speeches enables the text to present characters who emerge with the ability to cling to, appreciate and discover moments of happiness despite grief. Ultimately, our encounters with others and the society have a transformative effect on our attitudes and values. Towards the end of the play, Gwen discovers ‘all these questions I want to ask’ and wants to be forgiven for her judgemental attitudes as she becomes more open-minded and reconsiders her perspective. Initially, classifying the working class through the image of ‘ants, swarming everywhere, no direction’, Gwen’s attitudes are challenged by her interactions with Tom’s mother Vic, who she exits the stage with to walk along the beach in a gesture of equality and companionship. Gwen’s anxieties and neuroses stem from her experiences during the Great Depression, as she ‘can hardly see’ at the beginning of the play and constantly sedates herself. When Gwen is unable to swallow her medication after growing to understand Vic more, she is symbolically no longer able to avoid the truth and must distinguish the erroneousness in her discriminatory class attitudes. The constant inclusion of rhetorical questions as Gwen wonders ‘What am I trying to say?’ is indicative of the discoveries she has made and her need to question her previous perspective. By discovering what is hidden, a deeper understanding of the unknown in the wider world is gained, as well as in ourselves.
The poem Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson explores this concept. The dramatic monologue is told from the perspective of Ulysses, the king of Ithaca. Ulysses travelled and explored the unknown world, and has now “known and seen many cities of men, councils, climates, governments” and so on. The alliteration “councils” and “climates” as well as the listing style Tennyson employs conveys the deep understanding of the world Ulysses has developed as a result of uncovering what was previously hidden. However, his most major discovery in his own life’s purpose; “to chase knowledge like a shooting star”. The simile further supports Ulysses longing to uncover more of the hidden world, as well as the limited time he has to do so. Ulysses’ imminent death is referenced repeatedly throughout the poem, such as the symbolic “long day wanes, the slow moon climbs”. The effect of it is it builds a sense of urgency and a need to seek out discoveries before the characters run out of time. Ulysses accepts that death ends everything, but he is also determined to “drink life to the lees”. The alliteration of “life” and “lees” emphasises on the important of living life to the fullest throughout the discovery. In the fine line, Ulysses explains that he is willing “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” and that that motto in life sustains him to move on and continuously
face new challenges with bravery. The use of iambic pentameter to accentuate the verbs “strive”, “seek”, “find” and “not yield”, reinforces the need to actively seek discoveries and uncover what is hidden. Ultimately, Tennyson conveys the value of uncovering what is hidden and how the need to be open-minded and proactive is essential in successively making new discoveries in this day and age as they are the factors that lead to a greater understanding of the world and mostly importantly, ourselves. Life is imbued with both happiness and tragedy, an individuals are required to examine their own beliefs and values when making discoveries about their place in the world. In Away, responders are presented with narratives that depict individuals who are able to reflect on their experiences and discover a new sense of perspective concerning their own place in the world. Similarly, Ulysses spills the truth about discovery and how it is an essential part of the human experience, as it shapes our thoughts, beliefs, values and attitudes, and ultimately shapes who we are as an individual. Throughout the texts of Tennyson and Gow, readers eventually realize that the ramification of discoveries can be both positive and negative, depending on what the discovery is based upon. This is conveyed through the use of powerful literary techniques which especially include alliteration, metaphor and rhetorical questions.
Poetry and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 9nd ed. New York: Longman, 2005. Pgs 389-392
Discoveries can be confronting when individuals leave their familiar worlds. However, venturing into the unknown can result in growth and transformation. The consequences of a discovery can lead an individual into discovering themselves and have a change of perspective of the world and society. Through Michael Gow’s play, Away, and Shaun Tan’s picture book, The Red Tree, both composers shape the meaning of discovery through characters’ isolation, as the manifestation of self-discovery is powerfully communicated through the utilisation of dramatic and visual techniques.
Both awe-inspiring and indescribable is life, the defined “state of being” that historians and scholars alike have been trying to put into words ever since written language was first created. And in the words of one such intellectual, Joshua J. Marine, “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”. Essentially, he is comparing life to a bowl of soup. Without challenges or hardships into which we can put forth effort and show our potential, it becomes a dull and flavorless broth. But for characters in novels like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
Therefore, analysis of ‘The Simple Gift’ and ‘The River that wasn’t ours’ reveals belonging as an essential aspect to the human condition. One can feel connections to people and place through the varied nature of belonging. However, the consequences of not belonging can be detrimental to the individual or group and can result in feelings of displacement and distress.
strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield” (Tennyson 1172). Ulysses filled his head with foolish fantasies, abandoned responsibility, and selfishly left his kingdom and family to have an
Joyce Carol Oates' message of life and transitions is best understood when the reader brings his or her interpretation to meet with the author's intention at a middle ground. This type of literary analysis is known as Reader Response. In Reader-Response, the emphasis is placed on "the idea that various readers respond in various ways, and therefore [the] readers as well as authors 'create' meaning" (Barnet, et. al. 1997). In this story of life passages and crucial events, it is imperative that the reader has a solid response to Oates' efforts in order to fully comprehend the message. Literature is a combined meeting between the intentions of the author and the reaction of the reader.
stories holds a large impact on how they later develop as individuals. While Baldwin’s piece demonstrates the ignorance from society which is projected onto him from Swiss villagers, it shares both similarities and differences to the attitudes demonstrated in Hurston’s piece influenced by her surroundings. Being that it is difficult to escape the past and the events that have brought strength through triumph, it is important to focus one’s attention on the present and into the future. Although the past determines who an individual is, the future determines who an individual will become.
Part of the genius of this piece is that it is like an onion, with many layers, and can be interpreted on many different levels. At first, I despised the character of Troy Maxson. I could not feel sympathy for a man who had achieved a certain level of satisfaction and stability in a life of struggle, and then threw it all away.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Weir and Kesey explore the struggle for independence through how the setting changes as the plots of the two texts progress. In Dead Poet Society
“Our life’s journey of self-discovery is not a straight-line rise from one level of consciousness to another. Instead, it is a series of steep climbs, and flat plateaus, then further climbs. Even though we all approach the journey from different directions, certain of the journey’s characteristics are common for all of us.” Author Stuart Wilde’s impression of journeys and their shared commonalities supports the claim that all journeys have a motive and an outcome. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus sets off to defeat Troy, leaving his wife and child behind. After accomplishing his goal, Odysseus faces many problems while trying to return him and his crew back home to Ithaca. Similar to Odysseus’s physical journey, the goal in
Discoveries can be emotionally meaningful and confronting, and can lead individuals to new values and changes. This is evident in the play ‘Away’ by Michael Gow which explores the self-discovery and transformations of differing characters. Through the constant problems and events of an iconic Australian trip to the coast, the character Tom realises the severity of his sickness and that there will be certain aspects of life he will never experience. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Castle on the Hill’ further emphasises the idea of experiencing new aspects of life and the importance of these. Both texts, ‘Away’ and ‘Castle on the Hill’, reflect on the transformations of an individual after the discovery of the significance of life, ultimately leading to new values.
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
Our entire life is an ongoing journey, but we are not on our own. We have family and friends with us guiding us no matter how far the destination or no matter how difficult the situation, we are never alone. This situation is the same for everyone, even those who live in the pages of a book, such as Homer’s epic tale, The Odyssey, and from John Kuol’s story, “Escaping Death”. The Odyssey and “Escaping Death” are similar, but yet different because of the time period, perspectives, and lifestyles of their characters. For example, “Escaping Death” has a more realistic occasion where Kuol struggles for survival to be reunited with his family while The Odyssey is more historical with Odysseus confronting greek mythological creatures. Both
...old age or barriers, he will always strive to fulfill his goals. The experiences of Odysseus and Ulysses are tributes to the power of the human spirit; one can achieve much if they are determined.
The two texts that this essay will compare and contrast are the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald and the play Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller. Both works are based around the central topic of ‘the American Dream’ and the unceremonious death of it. However, the journeys that the protagonists take to meet their tragic ends are very different though the motives involved are accused murder and adultery. This essay’s aim is to determine whether the novel or the play best is more successful in engaging and provoking the reader. This will be done by analysing characters, plot lines and the main/recurring themes throughout.