‘Into the World’ is defined as aspects of growing up and transitions into new phases of an individuals life. The two texts I will be referring to are a free verse novel called ‘The Simple Gift’ composed by Steven Herrick in 2000 and a film named ‘Catch Me If You Can’ directed by Steven Spielberg in 2002.
‘The Simple Gift’ is about a 16 year old boy, Billy, who was abused from childhood, and has run-away from his abusive father at home, only to live in an abandoned train carriage taking the plunge into the world, all alone.
Concepts and themes of ‘The Simple Gift’ which relate to Into the World
‘The Simple Gift’ illustrates concepts and themes of Into the World by many effective techniques. Such as:
Imagery- as illustrated in Chapter 5. ‘The deep radiant colour burning gold, the bubbles dancing ballet-perfect to the rim, the sweet-bitter smell of malt and barley.’ This technique is effective as it engages the imagination of the responder and enables the audience to obtain a clear and obvious image of Old Bill as he sits and drinks alone with his memories in the Railway Hotel pub. This imagery of Old Bill re-enforces the theme of homelessness faced by this vulnerable character.
Repetition of “men like” and “men who” as highlighted in Chapter 1, ‘There are men like Ernie. Men who don’t boss you around. Men who share a drink and food and a warm cabin. Men who know the value of things and there are other men, men like my dad.’ The words ‘men like’ are repeated three times and ‘men who’ are repeated four times. The repetition is used to emphasise the contrast between men like Ernie and men like Billy’s dad. We have a picture created in our minds of Billy’s dad, described not in words, but by implication; he is the opposite of men like Ernie. This helps us to understand the reasons for Billy leaving home better. This technique re-enforces the theme friendship/companionship.
Question: 2004 HSC
In what ways do composers use narrative to portray people, places and ideas in your texts?
In your response, refer to your prescribed text, and at least ONE other text of your own choice.
Composers use many ways to portray people, places and ideas in my three texts. ‘Telling Stories’ is defined as the process of sequencing people and events in time and space in order to capture or engage an audience. The three texts I will be referring to are two short stories called ‘The Drover’s Wife’ and ‘The loaded Dog’ both composed by Henry Lawson in the late 1800’s and a poem called ‘The Shearer’s Wife’ by Louis Esson in 1899.
‘The Drover’s Wife’ is about an incident in the life of a drover’s wife who with her four young children, lives deep in the bush, “nineteen miles to the nearest sign of civilisation”. When a snake disappears under the floor of her house, she and her dog Alligator keep an all night vigil, waiting for it to emerge so they can kill it.
Composers use narrative in many ways to portray people, places and ideas. One example is through the use of many effective techniques, for example, flashbacks. This is used throughout the short story. In the long and intervening hours, the drover’s wife reviews her lonely life with its many hardships and few joys. Flashbacks allow Lawson to convey a sense of entire life in a few pages. Lawson has used this to fill in detail, or to make an event seem more immediate and interesting to the responder.
Another technique used is Alliteration. Lawson’s outburst, “Heaven Help Her!” early on in the story expresses his feelings of amazement that a woman leading such an existence should find some solace in the fashion plates of the young ladies journal. This is an effective technique that portrays people, places and ideas in this text. This is because it is used to produce a sound that adds to the atmosphere or mood of the words, or perhaps even echoes their meaning.
Imagery is also used to portray people, places and ideas in this text. As shown early on in the story, “At every flash of lightning, the cracks between the slabs gleam like polished silver.” This imagery evokes the strange light of a thunderstorm. It also serves as a bridge between the present and recollections of the woman’s past which come to her as she and Alligator sit and wait for the snake to emerge from under the house. This is an effective technique as it allows the audience to picture/visualise the drover’s wife sitting alone waiting for the snake to appear. It also evokes mental images and builds sensation and emotion.
The Loaded Dog’ is about three main characters Dave, Jim and Andy who create a cartridge to blow a hole in the rock-an “ugly pot hole in the bottom of the shaft” to catch fish. This dangerous cartridge is grabbed by their dog Tommy, who runs after the three protagonist characters believing it is a game with the cartridge in his mouth.
Again, Lawson uses language techniques to portray people, places and ideas. Humour is used throughout this short story. An example of this technique is when the, “spidery, thievish, cold blooded kangaroo dogs” and the “vicious, nasty, yellow cattle dog” steals the cartridge which he is sniffing as it explodes. This technique is effective as it invites the readers to share in the emotions of the characters, it also provokes laughter and amusement for the readers. Hence, uses narrative to allow the audience to understand people, places and ideas within the text.
Australian colloquial language is also used, as shown early on in the story, I’ll lam the life out of ye.” This technique is used to effectively engage the reader in the world of these three characters by establishing a sense of the Australian character for the readers. It is used successfully to engage the readers in the world of the, “Australian bush people.” It also gives the audience the effect of immediacy and allows the character to be believable and likeable.
‘The Shearer’s Wife’ uses narrative to tell the story of a lonely and vulnerable woman’s life in the outback Australian bush. The Shearer’s Wife is forced to do laborious duties while her husband is off, “shearing from shed to shed”.
Esson uses many language techniques that convey people, places and ideas with the text. For example, rhyme is used throughout the poem in two different forms. The first and third lines of each stanza rhyme as do the second and fourth. As shown in stanza one,
“Before the glare o dawn I rise,
To milk the sleepy cows an shake
The droving dust from tired eyes.”
This is an effective technique used by the composer to make the poem more vibrant and rhythmical and to accentuate the monotone.
Another effective technique is personification as shown in stanza 2, “The moon is lonely in the sky.” This is an efficient technique that allows the composer to use narrative to portray people, places and ideas in this text. The composer has used this to emphasise the woman’s feelings and to compare the single figure of the moon in space with the single figure of the woman on the farm.
Repetition is also used of the word, “tired” as demonstrated in stanza 2.
“An tired I am with labour sore,
Tired o the bush, the cows, the gums,
Tired, but must dree for long months more.
This is an effective technique as it provides emphasis on the ideas expressed by raising their importance. It ensures that the message gets through to the audience by building up meaning in a text.
These three texts are related as both composers use narrative to portray people, places and ideas within these texts. They all tell stories of the outback Australian bush. All three texts are written in third person narration. this is effective as there is an omniscient narrator. It tends to be more “trustworthy” than first person narration as the readers can assume that the omniscient narrator is not lying or attempting to deceive the reader. In ‘The Drover’s Wife’ and ‘The Shearer’s Wife’ the deliberate avoidance of their names allows Lawson to make a universal representation of al woman living in the Australian bush, and allows the audience to connect with these characters as there is a greater understanding of their hardships faces.
Therefore, with the above in mind, it is possible to conclude that composer use a variety language techniques in their narratives to portray people, places and ideas in their texts. Narratives are used by cultures for maintaining a sense of identity and history and of behavioural patterns that are valued within them.
‘The Simple Gift’ is about a 16 year old boy, Billy, who was abused from childhood, and has run-away from his abusive father at home, only to live in an abandoned train carriage taking the plunge into the world, all alone.
Concepts and themes of ‘The Simple Gift’ which relate to Into the World
‘The Simple Gift’ illustrates concepts and themes of Into the World by many effective techniques. Such as:
Imagery- as illustrated in Chapter 5. ‘The deep radiant colour burning gold, the bubbles dancing ballet-perfect to the rim, the sweet-bitter smell of malt and barley.’ This technique is effective as it engages the imagination of the responder and enables the audience to obtain a clear and obvious image of Old Bill as he sits and drinks alone with his memories in the Railway Hotel pub. This imagery of Old Bill re-enforces the theme of homelessness faced by this vulnerable character.
Repetition of “men like” and “men who” as highlighted in Chapter 1, ‘There are men like Ernie. Men who don’t boss you around. Men who share a drink and food and a warm cabin. Men who know the value of things and there are other men, men like my dad.’ The words ‘men like’ are repeated three times and ‘men who’ are repeated four times. The repetition is used to emphasise the contrast between men like Ernie and men like Billy’s dad. We have a picture created in our minds of Billy’s dad, described not in words, but by implication; he is the opposite of men like Ernie. This helps us to understand the reasons for Billy leaving home better. This technique re-enforces the theme friendship/companionship.
Question: 2004 HSC
In what ways do composers use narrative to portray people, places and ideas in your texts?
In your response, refer to your prescribed text, and at least ONE other text of your own choice.
Composers use many ways to portray people, places and ideas in my three texts. ‘Telling Stories’ is defined as the process of sequencing people and events in time and space in order to capture or engage an audience. The three texts I will be referring to are two short stories called ‘The Drover’s Wife’ and ‘The loaded Dog’ both composed by Henry Lawson in the late 1800’s and a poem called ‘The Shearer’s Wife’ by Louis Esson in 1899.
‘The Drover’s Wife’ is about an incident in the life of a drover’s wife who with her four young children, lives deep in the bush, “nineteen miles to the nearest sign of civilisation”. When a snake disappears under the floor of her house, she and her dog Alligator keep an all night vigil, waiting for it to emerge so they can kill it.
Composers use narrative in many ways to portray people, places and ideas. One example is through the use of many effective techniques, for example, flashbacks. This is used throughout the short story. In the long and intervening hours, the drover’s wife reviews her lonely life with its many hardships and few joys. Flashbacks allow Lawson to convey a sense of entire life in a few pages. Lawson has used this to fill in detail, or to make an event seem more immediate and interesting to the responder.
Another technique used is Alliteration. Lawson’s outburst, “Heaven Help Her!” early on in the story expresses his feelings of amazement that a woman leading such an existence should find some solace in the fashion plates of the young ladies journal. This is an effective technique that portrays people, places and ideas in this text. This is because it is used to produce a sound that adds to the atmosphere or mood of the words, or perhaps even echoes their meaning.
Imagery is also used to portray people, places and ideas in this text. As shown early on in the story, “At every flash of lightning, the cracks between the slabs gleam like polished silver.” This imagery evokes the strange light of a thunderstorm. It also serves as a bridge between the present and recollections of the woman’s past which come to her as she and Alligator sit and wait for the snake to emerge from under the house. This is an effective technique as it allows the audience to picture/visualise the drover’s wife sitting alone waiting for the snake to appear. It also evokes mental images and builds sensation and emotion.
The Loaded Dog’ is about three main characters Dave, Jim and Andy who create a cartridge to blow a hole in the rock-an “ugly pot hole in the bottom of the shaft” to catch fish. This dangerous cartridge is grabbed by their dog Tommy, who runs after the three protagonist characters believing it is a game with the cartridge in his mouth.
Again, Lawson uses language techniques to portray people, places and ideas. Humour is used throughout this short story. An example of this technique is when the, “spidery, thievish, cold blooded kangaroo dogs” and the “vicious, nasty, yellow cattle dog” steals the cartridge which he is sniffing as it explodes. This technique is effective as it invites the readers to share in the emotions of the characters, it also provokes laughter and amusement for the readers. Hence, uses narrative to allow the audience to understand people, places and ideas within the text.
Australian colloquial language is also used, as shown early on in the story, I’ll lam the life out of ye.” This technique is used to effectively engage the reader in the world of these three characters by establishing a sense of the Australian character for the readers. It is used successfully to engage the readers in the world of the, “Australian bush people.” It also gives the audience the effect of immediacy and allows the character to be believable and likeable.
‘The Shearer’s Wife’ uses narrative to tell the story of a lonely and vulnerable woman’s life in the outback Australian bush. The Shearer’s Wife is forced to do laborious duties while her husband is off, “shearing from shed to shed”.
Esson uses many language techniques that convey people, places and ideas with the text. For example, rhyme is used throughout the poem in two different forms. The first and third lines of each stanza rhyme as do the second and fourth. As shown in stanza one,
“Before the glare o dawn I rise,
To milk the sleepy cows an shake
The droving dust from tired eyes.”
This is an effective technique used by the composer to make the poem more vibrant and rhythmical and to accentuate the monotone.
Another effective technique is personification as shown in stanza 2, “The moon is lonely in the sky.” This is an efficient technique that allows the composer to use narrative to portray people, places and ideas in this text. The composer has used this to emphasise the woman’s feelings and to compare the single figure of the moon in space with the single figure of the woman on the farm.
Repetition is also used of the word, “tired” as demonstrated in stanza 2.
“An tired I am with labour sore,
Tired o the bush, the cows, the gums,
Tired, but must dree for long months more.
This is an effective technique as it provides emphasis on the ideas expressed by raising their importance. It ensures that the message gets through to the audience by building up meaning in a text.
These three texts are related as both composers use narrative to portray people, places and ideas within these texts. They all tell stories of the outback Australian bush. All three texts are written in third person narration. this is effective as there is an omniscient narrator. It tends to be more “trustworthy” than first person narration as the readers can assume that the omniscient narrator is not lying or attempting to deceive the reader. In ‘The Drover’s Wife’ and ‘The Shearer’s Wife’ the deliberate avoidance of their names allows Lawson to make a universal representation of al woman living in the Australian bush, and allows the audience to connect with these characters as there is a greater understanding of their hardships faces.
Therefore, with the above in mind, it is possible to conclude that composer use a variety language techniques in their narratives to portray people, places and ideas in their texts. Narratives are used by cultures for maintaining a sense of identity and history and of behavioural patterns that are valued within them.
good luck