Fly Away Peter Character Analysis

INTRO

The novel’s Fly Away Peter (1982) by David Malouf and Requiem for A Beast (2007) by Matt Ottley have both established voluminous narratives that have evoked audiences globally. The protagonist of Fly Away Peter, Jim’s personality is outlined not just by his own contemplative nature but by the setting he is in and the individuals that he meets influence his life. Jim may seem to be innocent throughout the beginning of the novel but we learn as the plot advances that he has experienced the sudden death of his older brother in the blades of the harvester. While on the other hand within Requiem for a Beast there are two narratives involved. The first story being of a young stockman as he pursues and captures a wild bull. The other is the

recounting of the childhood experiences of an Aboriginal Elder who was taken from her family during a past Australian state government’s assimilation policy. HYPOTHESIS - Malouf and Ottley have both offered a broad range of clear cut representations of innocence and experience throughout both of their written novels, which encourages the audience to understand within the fact that once one’s innocence is lost it’s difficult to get back.

Paragraph 1 FLY AWAY PETER – Loss of innocence

Fly Away Peter touches on a range of themes which are common in explorations of Australian identity.

Jim’s character is defined not just by his own introspective nature but the setting he is in and the individuals that he meets influence his life. The journey that he undertakes from innocence to experience is influenced by all these factors. We first see Jim as an innocent and quiet young man who spends much of his time watching the migratory and native birds on the coast of QLD. David Malouf foregrounds these themes of innocence and experience by portraying Jim the protagonist as an unknown threat as the reader slowly has to develop a back story about the main character as the novel progresses forward. Clearly, without the searing experiences of war, Jim would definitely not have grown up the way he did. It’s not just the violence and brutalities of war that transformed his own innocence to experience but some of the mental and physical barriers he’s faced throughout his journey. “He weaved about, but very light. He might have been executing a graceful dance, all on his own there, till another figure, hurling itself from the shadows, brought him down. There were thumps. A woman’s raucous laughter. ‘Abos,’ the girl said again with cool disgust, as the rituals being enacted, however violent, and in whatever degenerate form, were ordinary and not to be taken note of”. (PG

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Paragraph 2 REQUIEM FOR A BEAST Stolen generation

‘Requiem for a Beast’ is an awarded picture book that contains three interlacing stories. One is about a young man who follows in his father’s footsteps as a stockman and his attempt to capture a wild bull, but instead ends up on a journey of self-discovery while battling with his own dreams and childhood memories. The section about the half man, half beast arises as a sub text to the young man’s chase of the bull and to the sense of disquiet and growing need he feels for the reconciliation of both his own family, and individuals from his father’s past.
Matt Ottley’s work incorporates and portrays themes of racism, the transition from childhood to adulthood, the masculine culture within Australia, the relationships between father and son, morality, fear and cultural heritage. A bull and a metaphorical creature are introduced throughout