Fly Away Peter

960 Words2 Pages

Malouf in his novel uses war as a symbol to expose the dual nature of things in life as well as to probe fundamental questions concerning what life is. He does so by positioning the reader to contend that war accentuates classism despite its precarious nature, that significant changes in life include process of both development and destruction, in addition to existential questions regarding the meaning and purpose of life.
Malouf uses World War One to position the reader to contend that the expectations of class are precarious. Settings throughout ‘Fly Away Peter’ challenge the social status of Malouf’s characters’ by bringing out the strength of one’s character as opposed to the expectations imposed by class. Ashley Crowther owner of The Sanctuary, …show more content…

Malouf uses an example of a youthful officer placed in a position of power based solely on his social status, who ends up dying before Jim’s eyes. This officer’s characterisation portrays him as a mere boy incapable of supervising troops. The officer was described as looking no more than ‘twelve years old’ and as someone with ‘boyish nobility.’ Malouf’s portrayal of the officer allows the reader to observe his unfitness for the role which in turn emphasises the accentuation of classism by war consequently demonstrating the dangers in determining one’s outcome from one’s birth.
Malouf uses war to position the reader to contend that significant changes in life include processes of both development and destruction. Malouf does so by exploring the positive and negative aspects emerging from the war. The war itself becomes a …show more content…

Existential questions such as ‘what am I doing here?’ and ‘why must I go on?’ are raised in the reader’s mind. In the conclusive mind of Imogen, ‘life wasn’t for anything. It simply was.’ Malouf explores this through the employment of the literary technique of symbolism. The importance of individuality is represented through the cataloguing of people and birds. In the case of Imogen the importance of individuality is represented through her desire to photograph waves ‘at their one moment.’ The symbolism of lists emphasises the importance in appreciating life and all that comes with it. Through the question of ‘why must I go on?’ Malouf contends that in order to develop perception one must persist through difficulties. Throughout ‘Fly Away Peter’ Jim was placed in horrific, life threatening scenarios resulting in him questioning the worth of fighting for life. The first major moment Jim questions the worth of his life is when he falls into a shell hole with Wizzer. The sense of defeat he feels causes him shame and leads him to question whether he should persist or just give in to the pain. This moment shook Jim, but not enough to allow him to give up for he was ‘scared but not sullied.’ Jim’s determination is once again explored when he bravely runs on to No Man’s Land consequently ending his life. In the climax of the novel Jim fights himself to endure the pain and horrors of the war, however this time

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