Away Essay

The famous Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu once stated “A journey of a thousand miles must start with a single step”. This idea suggests that all journeys need a starting point and many events involved on the journey will hold great significance. This is one of the many ideas I have learnt from my study of “Journeys” during my area of study analysis. To journey is to move from one point to another, not just in a physical sense but in imaginative ways as well. As we journey we learn new things about ourselves, the world around us and life in general. This is particularly evident in the prescribed text “Away” by Micheal Gow in which the characters go through much pain and suffering to ultimately be cleansed by the natural world surrounding them. Characters such as Coral, Gwen and Tom find themselves taking journeys “away” from their usual existence and learn much from this. Micheal Gow is well able to express these journeys through his elaborate use of technique in representing the ideas of his play. This essay will explain a multitude of ideas I have learnt about journeys with reference to “away” and its technical representation. I have also learnt much about the concept of journeys through the related text of “An Occurrence at owl Creek Bridge”. Therefore this essay will also explain ideas that I have learnt about the concept of journeys through this short story and I will relate these ideas back to my prescribed text of “Away”.
The act of going “Away” is of obvious importance in Micheal Gow’s 1986 play. The play is set in the Sydney suburbs in 1968 during the time of the Vietnam War and Cold War. The play is dealing with 1960’s issues like the struggle between the older and younger generations and Teenage Sex. Tom, Vic and Harry are a positive family who are going on an open-ended journey. Gwen, Jim and Meg are travelling to a North Coast Caravan Park. Coral and Roy are fling to the Gold Coast to try to move on and accept the death of their son in the Vietnam War.