The Influence of the Past in Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy and Stick Figures by Tan Shaun

The past dictates who we are in a current moment, and affects who we might become in the future. Every decision people make in lives has an influence on future, regardless of how minimal or large it is. Some decisions people decide to make can have dire consequences that will follow them for the rest of the life. Moreover, even though if someone would want to leave any memories from past behind, however it will always be by his side. Specific memories will urge emotional responses that bring mind back to the past and person have no choose but to relieve those emotions and memories again. Nonetheless, certain events change people and make them who they are, but at the same time, some wrong choices made past haunts us. This essay will discuss the role of the past in novel Maestro, that was written by Australian author Peter Goldsworthy in 1989 and also in Tan Shaun's story Stick Figures which was included in book called "Tales from outer suburbia" and published in 2008.

Idea that no one can get rid of past is clearly seen in Stick Figures. This story describes certain figures which can be interpreted as a recollection of what had happened in particular suburb area. In fact, these memories do not affect on lives of local people, however they simply exist just like "another part of the suburban landscape" (Tan Shaun, 65). In addiction in Stick Figures author writes that "Adults pay them little attention. Young children sometimes dress them in old clothes as they were dolls or scarecrows, and are always scolded by parents...", what can be described, that children, who had heard about an interesting incident would embellish it and add some new facts that was invented by themselves. As a result, their parents do not like this disparaging...

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... of the fact that he he finally expressed his emotions in class, his pupil Paul will show emotions during playing the piano, thus instead of being just a "good pianist" he would become a "great pianist". To sum up, Peter Goldsworthy in his novel Maestro demonstrates that how the past cannot be left behind, mainly because as nearly every events that have happened before affects on human's life either in a small or large way.

Ultimately, it goes without saying that the past is a place we cannot revisit and because of this every event, that have happened in life before, will make an influence on it. Moreover, some things might change person's life in drastically way. However, people should understand that everything what happened in the past - stays in the past, and there is no reason to worry about bad occasion that already gone and relieve all negative emotions again.