Van Gogh Alienation

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Recommended: Alienation as a Literary Theme Analysis

In the four shorts stories Mr. Van Gogh, Prince Valiant, Requiem in a Townhouse and The Spend Thrift, by Owen Marshall, the idea of alienation appears across all four texts. In this report I will outline the techniques such as symbolism, characterization and setting used by Marshall to show alienation and connections across the four texts.
Owen Marshall was born in Te Kuiti, and spent most of his life in rural Timaru. This is reflected in many of his stories, which show his love for and appreciation of the countryside and rural life. Many of his stories are based in small town, which he would have grown up in. His use of the theme of alienation may show what he experienced while growing up in small-town New Zealand. The theme portrays many New Zealander’s attitudes to ‘different’ people within our societies, which we experience as Plymouth Brethren. In the short story Mr. Van Gogh, the protagonist is alienated by most of the townspeople due to his obsession with the artist Vincent Van Gogh. The short story Prince Valiant focuses on an outcast shearer, who prefers his own company to that of the other shearers. Requiem in a Townhouse is about a retired farmer who feels enclosed in the small spaces of town and alienated by his surroundings, preferring the wide open spaces of his farm. The Spendthrift tells of the alienation of a 24 year old man who appears as a miser to achieve his dream.
Marshall uses symbolism skillfully to develop the theme of alienation throughout the texts. Symbolism is important in developing themes in short stories, as the theme needs to be developed quickly. In the short story Mr. Van Gogh, Marshall uses symbolism when he describes the house as ‘the original colours of the house had given up their difference...

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...ny, but then ugly country breeds ugly people, I suppose.’ Marshall has used this quote to show the setting as ugly in the story, backing up one of the opening sentence ‘There’s some ugly country in New Zealand…’ The ugly setting is like the ugly theme in the story, alienation. Marshall refers to New Zealand’s society being ugly, as he obviously saw a lot of alienation within the communities he lived in.
Alienation was a theme focused on by Owen Marshall in many of his stories, and is portrayed effectively through his techniques and the way his stories are written. Symbolism, characterization and setting work together to connect the main idea of alienation across all four of Marshall’s texts, Mr. Van Gogh, Prince Valiant, Requiem in a Townhouse and The Spend Thrift. We can all be guilty of alienation, but Marshall’s stories open our eyes to see everyone as unique.

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