Case Study: The Simple Gift By Herrick

AREA OF STUDY

BELONGING

FOCUS TEXT: THE SIMPLE GIFT
What you must do in this Area of Study: • Develop a personalised detailed appreciation of the concept of belonging. • Closely analyse HOW your set text, Herrick’s The Simple Gift, SHAPES your understanding of belonging. • Select and study at least three other texts (broaden your search beyond poetry) which further your perception of the WHAT (ideas) and the HOW (techniques including form, language and structure) of belonging. • Be prepared to compare and contrast both the WHAT and HOW of your set texts and texts of your own choosing. The following aspects of the text must therefore be considered throughout your study of belonging.

Context

Find out all
you can about the poet Steven Herrick. Every piece of information shapes your understanding of Herrick’s perception of belonging, through the text and within the text. For example, many of Herrick’s personal experiences as a youth are inspiration for events in The Simple Gift. In his biography he ‘remembers staying in a disused railway carriage in Ballarat, Victoria’, was helped out by a friendly train guard in Queensland and actually travelled in a speed boat on top of a train. He also worked as a fruit picker. Because Herrick draws on actual life events, his portrayal of belonging, its loss and reaffirmation, are powerfully tangible and authentic.
Form
Explaining his reason for writing verse-novels in addition to ‘straight’ poetry, Herrick noted that a free-verse text ‘allows me into the personality of each character - his or her thoughts, emotions, insecurities, and ambitions. The verse-novel form lets me tell the story from a number of perspectives, and, hopefully, with an economy of words. In short, it allows each character to tell the story in his or her own language, from his or her own angle.
Structure
Herrick’s verse-novel is organised into eleven chapters. Each chapter is prefaced by a brief extract from one of the poems within the chapter and a black and white image. The quotation which accompanies the image captures the essence of the intent of each section while the images portray a physical and contextual aspect of the chapter. How do the choice of chapter titles, extracts and photos impact on your interpretation of belonging?
Style
The free verse poems are told from the perspectives of the three main characters: Billy, the sixteen-year-old runaway; Caitlin, a girl from a wealthy family who forms a genuine relationship with Billy; and Old Bill, a homeless alcoholic. How does this mix of gender, social status and age, affect your appreciation of belonging? The first person narrative recount allows the responder to directly engage with each of these characters. There is no intermediary in the form of a narrator to direct interpretation. Yet, there is a variety of modes of delivery within the poems delivered by each character to enhance the responder’s awareness of the impact of events on a character’s sense of belonging. Flashbacks, such as those used by Billy to highlight a ten year old’s sense of isolation which was prompted by an abusive father. The memories shared by Old Bill to capture his utter desolation at the loss of firstly his only daughter and then his wife. Subtext, where so much more is implied than the words spoken, creates a parallel narrative, by giving ‘voice’ to a character’s unspoken reactions. Billy’s sense of alienation is so entrenched by his father’s repeated mistreatment, that he misreads the attempts by the librarian, Irene’s, attempts to provide him with physical security within the sanctuary of the library. Notes, such as the farewell note to Billy’s father on the opening page, which powerfully summarises Billy’s disconnection from his father. The note itemising the etymology of Caitlin’s name and Billy’s ‘business card’, evocatively portray Billy’s tentative overtures to establish a connection with Caitlin. The note form allows him to express his innermost cravings to belong in a relationship, which he would have found difficult to verbalise at that point. Direct speech/conversation such as Old Bill’s regrets, which powerfully capture the frantic speed of life, which steals adults from the valuable family moments that foster belonging. Once you have read the text a second time you will be ready to construct grids which will help you in your assessment preparation. The grids below will help you closely analyse HOW your set text, Herrick’s The Simple Gift SHAPES your ideas of belonging.

Thesis statements

▪ An individual’s upbringing creates a powerful formative influence over the creation of a sense of belonging. (Consider Billy’s physical and emotional bullying at the hands of a dysfunctional parent. Contrast this with Caitlin’s ironic emptiness in the midst of the material wealth promoted by her father.)

▪ Physical security nurtures notions of belonging. (Reflect on Carriage 1864, Billy’s safe cave. In contrast, Caitlin can’t wait to escape her wealthy home and hence the controlling influence of her father, while Old Bill was afraid to face the ghosts of his home, preferring to be homeless.)

▪ Genuine relationships anchor individuals in identity, worth and connection. (Examine the growing recognition between Billy and Old Billy, and Billy and Caitlin. How does the growth in understanding and concern affect each character’s sense of worth and belonging?)

▪ The rules of society have bearing on an individual’s potential to belong. (Think over the social judgements made of Billy by the students on the yellow bus; Caitlin’s disgust at her socialised reaction to dismissively run when she watches Billy ‘sharing breakfast’ with an ‘old hobo’; and Old Bill’s faltering return to social acceptance as he walks the streets and makes small talk with locals about the weather, as he attempts to busy himself with normal behaviours, in order to withstand the allure of alcohol and pubs.)
Introduction
The simple gift is a novel written in verse. It tells the story of a teenage boy, Billy Luckett, who is the victim of an abusive father; there is no mention of the mother. The abuse drives him out of home and onto the road. He jumps a train and ends up in another town, Bendarat, where he lives in an old train carriage, meets Caitlin while scrounging food in McDonald’s, and Old Bill on the rail track. Gradually he rebuilds his life and finds a place to belong and loving relationships with both Caitlin and Old Bill. The story shows how belonging to a family is essential to Billy for developing a positive social identity. The novel explores many ideas about belonging and not belonging including: ▪ alienation ▪ exclusion ▪ outsiders ▪ longing for social acceptance and identity ▪ searching for a place to belong ▪ searching for someone/human relationships ▪ the safety (and danger) of human relationships ▪ the destructive results of rejection ▪ the constructive results of acceptance.

Free Verse Novels Free verse novels are also known as verse libre and contain narrative poems that are separated into verse chapters called cantos. Free verse is not controlled by rhyming patterns and meaning is shaped by using the intonation (rises and falls in pitch) of everyday speech. Free verse novels use a variety of poetic techniques to create an image, atmosphere or mood. Using a colloquial register, a free verse novel is often told with multiple narrators from a variety of perspectives. This provides an opportunity for the responder to engage with the text and to gain an intimate knowledge of each character’s observations, thoughts and feelings. Free verse novels often explore contemporary issues and for this reason offer a sense of realism. In The Simple Gift Herrick reveals the personalities of the characters by using first person narrative for the three main characters, Billy, old Bill and Caitlin. Responders share the thoughts and feelings of the characters as they give their perspective on the events in the story. Herrick explores the social issues surrounding the homeless and offers a comparative study of ‘those who have’ and ‘those who have not’.
THE CONTEXT OF THE SETTING

▪ This verse novel is set in the fictional town of Bendarat, which Herrick uses to represent a regional town probably somewhere in the east of Australia. The name Bendarat seems to be a combination of Bendigo and Ballarat, which are real towns in the state of Victoria. Herrick also makes reference to the real Great Western Highway, which runs from Sydney to Bathurst in the central west of New South Wales. Other places of reference that provide some clues to the setting are the Megalong Bookshop, which Billy refers to in the verse ‘Westfield Creek’, and Wentworth High School. Megalong Valley is in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales and Wentworth Shire is located on the border of New South Wales and Victoria at the junction of the Murray and Darling River systems. All of these references seem to ensure that readers recognise the places as being within the states of New South Wales and Victoria. ▪ When Billy arrives in Bendarat he says he is happy that the train he rode in ‘dumps’ him in ‘another state/miles from home ...’, so we can speculate that he has probably travelled from the western suburbs of Sydney to a regional town in south-western Victoria. Old Bill tells Billy that it was once a ‘rich town’ and ‘the railway hub of the south west’, which also reinforces the idea that Bendarat is a regional town like many throughout New South Wales and Victoria that were once highly populated during the late 19th and early 20th centuries but fell into decline as the cities grew and agricultural economies changed. The Cannery that Billy and Old Bill work at also suggests a place that has a fruit-growing district and seasonal employment prospects that keep the town still viable and stable. The distance that Billy travels to arrive in Bendarat is significant in being far enough away from his father to ensure that he can truly make a fresh start and begin to feel a sense of belonging away from the negative influence of his father and the past.

The Impact Of The Context On The Content And Setting ▪ By setting his verse novel in contemporary times and in recognisably regional Australian settings, Herrrick is able to examine issues such as grief, loss, homelessness and young love in an appealing and engaging way for Australian readers. However, he does not make the context too specific or restrictive and thereby allows a broader audience to engage with his universal themes. There is an ‘everyman’ generality about the setting and period so that readers can find ready ways to belong to the text and the experiences it represents.

The Audience For The Verse Novel ▪ The Simple Gift was published for young adults. As the protagonist is an adolescent, his experiences and voice are appealing to a younger reader and to adults who can also empathise with the feelings and confusion that are experienced by a young person on the cusp of adulthood and adult responsibilities.

The Purpose Of The Verse Novel ▪ The purpose of this text is to narrate the story of Billy and to reflect upon his complex feelings as he experiences challenging and difficult circumstances in his life.
LITERARY DEFINITIONS

Alliteration - the repetition of consonant sounds in a line of verse or within a stanza. Depending on the consonant repeated, alliteration can affect the tone and mood of the verse. For example, ‘The swallows swoop along/the grass and weeds/and arc in to the nest ...’ uses sibilance to represent the peace that Old Bill has found in his heart again when he decides to give the house on Wellington Road to Billy.

Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds in a line of verse or within a stanza. Depending on the vowel sounds being repeated, assonance can affect the tone and mood of the verse. For example, after he moves into the house on Wellington Road, Billy vows to return to the carriage once a week, to sit and read, alone, on the leather seat, with the sounds and smells of the hobo life close by, to never forget this home by the railroad tracks. The assonance of the long ‘o’ sounds in this extract evokes a contemplative mood.

Bucolic - a term used to refer to rural or natural beauty. Nature is used symbolically to represent optimism and hope: ‘We sat by the bank/watching the sun sparkle/on the water,/with the ducks gliding by/and an ibis on the opposite bank/near a log ...’ The bucolic description of the setting suggests that this is a place where Old Bill feels comfortable and at peace after years of suffering.

Connotations - the ideas or feelings that are associated with a word or phrase. An example of this device occurs in the description of the freight carriage that Old Bill and Billy live in as the ‘Bendarat Hilton’. The phrase is ironic because the connotation of the brand ‘Hilton’ is one of luxury and extravagance.

Contrast - the effect achieved when two things that have very different qualities or associations are described together. The lines ‘a kid like that/with nothing/giving stuff away.’ uses the contrast between ‘nothing’ and ‘stuff’ to emphasise the generosity of spirit that Billy has demonstrated towards Old Bill when they first meet.

Direct Speech - dialogue or extracts of conversation that are placed within a prose text. The direct speech ‘I hate mopping’, as said by Caitlin to Billy, gives us immediate insight into her character as being not what we or Billy expect.

Ellipsis - a punctuation device that uses three full stops (...) at the end of a line to suggest a continuation of a thought or idea or to create ambiguity. Herrick uses the device in ‘the thought of a family/within those walls,/people I don’t know/within those walls ...’ to show there is uncertainty in Old Bill’s decision not to sell, a link he can’t bring himself to completely sever.

Emotive Language - the use of words and phrases that arouse a particular feeling in the reader. We see this device in: ‘but my Jessie,/my sweet lovely Jessie,/fell/and I fell with her/and I’ve been falling/ever since.’ The powerful emotion in this extract makes us feel sad for Old Bill.

Enjambment - the continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break in poetry so as to continue meaning and sense from one line to the next without pause.
The enjambment in the verse ‘and we slept together/only/we really did just/sleep together/content/to waste the hours/close.’ places emphasis on the feelings of comfort and closeness that each person provides for the other.

Euphemism - the use of a word ‘or phrase to replace another word or phrase that may be considered inappropriate or over-explicit in a particular context. In ‘Happen’ Caitlin ‘thought of what could happen I and what/I could want to happen.’ The euphemism used in the term ‘happen’ reflects Caitlin’s growing desire for Billy but also her fear at naming it for what it really is.

Foreshadowing - the arrangement of events in a narrative so that a particular event or description prepares the reader for something significant to come. An example of this is the description of the physical attraction Caitlin feels in an early encounter with Billy: ‘I read this and felt/something in my stomach ... hunger/but not a hunger for food.’ These feelings of sexual arousal foreshadow the sexual relationship that Billy and Caitlin eventually have in a later
chapter.

High Modality - the use of language to suggest a high degree of certainty in the opinion stated.
For example, ‘I know what I really need/and it’s not in my bedroom.’ uses high modality in the emphatic ‘really’ to highlight Caitlin’s very definite view about her values in comparison to those of her parents.

Hyperbole - extreme exaggeration for effect or emphasis. An example of hyperbole occurs in the lines ‘I am listening to/the saddest man in the world,’ which shows that from the very essence of his being Old Bill is affected by his sadness and grief.

Irony - occurs when someone says or does something that has the opposite meaning to the intention. We see irony in the fact that Billy views his carriage as a place where he can feel good about himself and his circumstances, despite the irony of its being a place symbolic of his homelessness.

Juxtaposition - is created when two words or phrases with opposing meanings are placed in close proximity within a text. The effect of such contrast can help to emphasise a particular idea. For example, ‘a warm, safe little cave/for children to hide in/when/they’re scared and lonely/and need somewhere safe to go./Billy’s cave.’ uses the juxtaposition between the words ‘safe’ and ‘scared’ to reinforce the idea that Billy feels a sense of belonging to the carriage because it is a refuge from his terrible
past.

Linear And Non-Linear Structure - the arrangement of events in chronological and non-chronological order in a narrative. Flashback or cyclical structures are types of non-linear narratives. An example of non-linear structure occurs in the poem ‘Old Bill’s fall’, in which he recounts events from earlier years to explain why he is the way he is in the present.

Metaphor - a comparison between two things to the extent that one thing becomes the other. The first thing takes on the qualities of the thing it is being compared with and it is referred to in words that are normally associated with the other thing. Herrick uses a metaphor in these lines: ‘on the banks of Westfield Creek,/my favourite classroom. He compares the creek to a place of learning. Billy feels he gained more educationally from that place than he did from school itself.

Motif - a recurring idea, object, theme, word or element that is used in a text to reinforce or represent a broader thematic concern. For example, Herrick uses the motif of keys throughout the verse novel to represent a connection between Old Bill and his past and between Old Bill and Billy.

Onomatopoeia - the use of a word that echoes or mirrors the actual sound it represents. In ‘the rocks bounce and clatter’ the words echo the noise of rocks as they land on the roofs of houses.

Oxymoron - a device that places two words of contrasting meaning in close proximity in a sentence to highlight a contrast in ideas. Les Murray uses an oxymoron in his poem Immigrant Voyage in the phrase ‘beloved meaningless’ to underline the fact that the things that meant something to the migrants in their home countries will be of no use to them if they seek new connections in Australia.

Pathetic Fallacy - a device that projects human emotions onto aspects of nature to reflect the actual emotion felt by the character. Herrick uses this device in ‘Longlands Road’ to suggest a place of alienation: ‘The wind howls and rain sheets in’. It also highlights the emotional pain that Billy is suffering from before he leaves for Bendarat.

Pathos - the way an author uses events or descriptions to arouse emotions, particularly emotions of sympathy, in the readers. Feelings of sympathy for Billy are aroused in the following lines from the verse ‘Need’, after he explains that a neighbour once left food for him after he had been beaten and chased out of the house by his father: ‘that neighbour moved away/and I never thanked her,/and that’s why I help Old Bill,/for no reason/other than he needs it.’ The pathos in this recollection reinforces our feelings towards Billy as we realise he has suffered and, despite that, finds a way to be kind to others.

Personification - a type of metaphor in which an inanimate object or concept is given human qualities. Herrick uses the device of personification to forge an alignment between
Billy and the town of Bendarat: ‘I realise Bendarat is not the only desperate one.’

Repetition - is the use of a word, sound or phrase more than once in close proximity for effect or emphasis. The description of Westfield Creek uses repetition to show how Billy feels a sense of belonging to this place: ‘I love this place./I love the flow of cold clear water’.

Rhetorical Questions - are questions posed to a person, oneself or the audience without the expectation of a response. They are used when someone is thinking or wondering about a problem without really knowing what the answer may be. Billy’s rhetorical questions ‘What to do?/Go home?’ show his confusion about what he should do when he doesn’t get a lift out of town when he first runs away.

Sibilance - a type of alliteration in which certain consonant sounds, such as s, ch, sh, z and j, are repeated to create a soft, hushed sound. In ‘The swallows swoop along / the grass and weeds / and arc in to the nest ...’ the sibilance suggests the peace that Old Bill has found in his heart and in this place.

Simile - a comparison between two things using as, like or than. The use of a simile in the description of Billy’s carriage, ‘It was like a little cave’, creates an image of rugged comfort.

Symbolism - the use of an object (inanimate or animate) to represent something else. Often it is a tangible object that stands for an intangible idea. For example, when Caitlin decides to return to the Freight Yard after being frightened away, her choice is represented as a positive one by the use of the sun as a symbol: ‘he smiled, and said welcome, / welcome to my sunshine ...’ The sun connotes a bright future for the two of them and the sense of belonging they share.

Tone And Mood - the feeling of the author or persona towards his or her subject matter (tone) and the feeling aroused in the reader by the description of a particular thing, place, person or event (mood). The sarcastic tone of ‘Too rich’ implies that Caitlin does not wish to be defined by her parents’ wealth. She says her father is ‘too rich for his own good’.
THE SIMPLE GIFT

Overview This text is presented episodically as a novel and is told in verse form from the varied perspectives of three narrators. Issues of social acceptance and rejection are fore grounded by these different voices whose personal experiences show both positive and negative aspects of social belonging. Their respective experiences are skilfully and credibly interwoven, highlighting their individuality and inter-relationship. We readily identify with each narrator because their dreams and experiences are revealed without sentimentality or unnecessary description. The characterisation is evocative and we become attached to the three very different individuals; separated by experience and yet connected by similar needs and desires. Drawn together in different ways, they undertake a mutual journey of healing, growth and enlightenment. Each seeks something that is missing in their lives and each benefits from the bonds that form between them. Their stories of marginalisation and disconnection from family and friends are easy to identify with and we become involved in the ways they deal with issues of personal and social belonging. While their backgrounds are markedly different, they each experience problems of fitting in, of coping with abuse, grief or the pressures to socially conform. First person narrative voice brings each of them to life as each entry expresses their actions and reactions in their own words. Events in the eleven chapters of the verse novel are chronicled in a linear structure. No voice is superior to the others and the recurring symbol of ‘gift’, signifying both giving and receiving, provides a linking motif that unites the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of these three diverse voices into one integrated oratory of salvation. The concept of a simple gift is given many connotations throughout the tale, at times the gift is a warm place to bunk down provided by a train driver, or a bottle of champagne, a cigarette, a breakfast, a ring or finally a key. Gifts that are freely exchanged in the true spirit of generosity become synonymous with what is really important for social companionship and well-being. Each learns what is needed to forge a strong sense of belonging, enabling them to move on with their lives and develop identities that are no longer scarred by doubts, fears or resentment. The key to a house symbolises a key to freedom, new life and opportunity. Through this symbol, Herrick denounces the superficiality often found in contemporary society by applauding the fundamental values of respect, friendship and love. The text challenges and questions the material importance of wealth and status. Materialism and the typical trappings that mark social success and acceptance are re-evaluated and found wanting, seen as limitations on the real enjoyment of life. Herrick deals with the essential elements of human connectedness, exploring what it is that gives us a real sense of who and what we are. He examines what constitutes identity and mutual belonging. Herrick uses his characters to examine the limitations and superficiality of society and its ideologies which tend to box people either in or out.
SETTINGS

Throughout the novel, Herrick utilises sensory imagery to create realistic settings that act as mirrors to his characters; ‘cast-iron street lamps, like crazy ghosts lurking on the footpath’. Some of the physical environments that he creates for his characters are ugly and stark such as ‘Nowheresville’ while others are beautiful and evocative such as the river were Billy and Old Bill swim. Social context and environment have shaped the characters. ‘Nowheresville’ is the bleak and depressing world of Champagne Billy from Chapter One. It is representative of many socially depressed areas and readers can readily identify the consequences of existing in such a negative place. Billy flees from this place of anger, frustration and pain which is epitomised by shattered windows and broken letter boxes. It denotes a poor suburb, a dysfunctional place of broken families, domestic violence and delinquency. In contrast to this man-made hellish place is the natural beauty and refuge of Westfield Creek, a place he loves. This is a haven for Billy, a place of birds, flowing water and seclusion. He describes it metaphorically as a ‘Favourite classroom’ where he can escape to and feel some semblance of security and control. Here, he is not a victim of abuse or a classroom captive in a school that does not address his needs or abilities. The Bendarat river is ‘cold, clear,/and deep’ and Billy goes there’ to wash the world away.’ This is a place where he can exist on his own terms and in this way it becomes equated with ideas of freedom and enjoyment. The freight train takes him west to the Motel Bendarat which is where he establishes his home; ‘in carriage 1864’. He takes pride in his new abode, keeping it clean and collecting items that others have cast aside. It becomes a place of security; ‘a warm, safe little cave’ a place of privacy and healing. It also offers physical evidence of his growing maturity and resourcefulness. He creates this home, shaping it to suit his needs. It has not been provided for him, ready-made and therefore unappreciated. The town of Bendarat offers other places of sanctuary for Billy, including the library and the local McDonald’s. The librarian becomes his first friend and confidant, inviting him to take comfort in a world of books. He takes his own education into hand and as ‘lord of the Lounge’ he reads books that he chooses in order to learn about the world. McDonald’s becomes another key location for Billy. Readers are familiar with this place, can picture the scene and the meals. It is an effective location for it builds rapport between the reader and the characters. It feeds Billy and becomes a meeting place for Billy and Caitlin. He sarcastically refers to this icon of consumerist ‘fast food’ as a place where he ‘eats out’, which is an interesting way of challenging readers’ perceptions. Rather than depict him as a homeless scrounger, his behaviour bestows a sort of dignity to a boy who is not belittled by eating left-over food. Patient and polite, he uses it to get daily sustenance but at minimal cost to himself. The setting also acts as a link to the real world for Caitlin who, although wealthy, must use the mop if she is to gain economic independence from her parents. It also becomes a point of assignation which allows the developing attachment between Caitlin and Billy to take place in a credible way. Perhaps the most important setting in the verse novel however is Old Bill’s house which symbolises the ultimate ‘simple gift’ to the young lovers. It is not described in any great detail but it does not need to be. It has representational significance for it signifies Old Bill’s generosity and kindness. It indicates his social renewal and rebirth as well as providing an opportunity for a new beginning for them; ‘Don’t worry about the house/and its ghosts/I’m taking then with me...’ His house provides shelter for a new relationship and it being bestowed by friendship, is the most healing gift of all. The setting is background to the characters. We get little explicit character or setting description, unless it is important to the story or the character. We gain knowledge of each character through their own story telling. The descriptions of places show a contrast in Billy’s circumstances, from his home and street in his old town to his new town; from the changes he makes in his railway carriage to the home Old Bill gives him. Each chapter has a photo on the front page that gives a visual setting and a relevant quote from within that chapter. The main setting thus, is the suburbs and a country town in Australia. The events take place in the following locations.

Nowheresville: This is where Billy lived with his abusive father. He went to Wentworth High School in the suburbs, and enjoyed reading at Westfield Creek while playing truant from school.

Bendarat: The town is surrounded by apple and pear orchards, and was once the railway hub of the south-west. Billy calls it a ‘perfect town’. Old Bill describes the town when it was thriving: railway workers roamed the streets, and the town was rich, with pubs on every corner. The building of a factory for loading wheat outside town lead to the town’s demise. The Bendarat River is ‘cold, clear and deep’. There is a weir which causes the water to fall in whirlpools over the rocks, bubbling and making ‘more noise/than the cockatoos’. Billy calls the river the ‘Bendarat Laundry’ as it is where he swims and washes his clothes.

Wellington Road: Old Bill’s house on Wellington Road has been empty since Old Bill’s wife died, and he has not entered the house since. However, he does return there to sit in the backyard. He helps Billy by offering him the house as a place to stay, giving him a home. The house is white timber, with a shed and a veranda. Old Bill planted the fir trees along the back fence when he first moved into the house. Billy and Caitlin feel a sense of belonging in the house as they clean, cook and dance together.

THE SIMPLE GIFT

Chapter One: Champagne Billy In this chapter we are introduced to Billy Luckett, a sixteen year old who runs away from home because his father beats him and treats him with antipathy and animosity. We see the image of his school bag being emptied and symbolically the ‘pens, books and jumper’ are gone and in its place are ‘beer, leftovers, champagne and cigarettes’. He tires to hitch a ride but as he leaves town he makes his feelings clear - he throws rocks at houses, goes to school and graffiti’s the window with ‘may you all get/well and truly stuffed’ and signs it with his name and a four letter word represented by the ellipsis. As he goes we see a change in tone as he passes Westfield Creek, where he has fond memories reading and swimming. He hits the Great Western Highway but a ride does not come and he finds a freight train heading west so he climbs aboard. Reality hits quickly as he hitches a ride on the train in a speedboat which is being transported on the train, and in the wind and cold of the night ‘I’ll be frozen dead/before morning.’ He is found by the train driver but taken pity on and allowed to ride in the Guard’s van where he is warm and is given coffee and a sandwich. This is a recurring element of the path that Billy takes and the end result – he could not have done this alone, he gets by with the kindness of strangers. We also see Ernie, the train driver contrasted with Billy’s father who is depicted as being aggressive and seemingly uncaring. This is underscores in the literal and metaphoric ‘He walked back inside/and slammed the door/on my sporting childhood ...’ We also have Bill exposed as having compassion when he leaves the bottle of champagne he took as thanks for the kindness. Thus, our intrepid youth has courage, attitude and pure heart.

Chapter Two: Bendarat Ernie has told Billy he has to get out before they come into the next town, Bendarat, and he will toot the whistle three times on the outskirts of town which is the signal for Billy to get out. He disembarks metaphorically ‘with the sun finally/lifting the fog’ and begins his new life as a ‘bum’ in Bendarat which seems like the perfect place as ‘I realize Bendarat/is not the only desperate one.’ Literature becomes his refuge as the first place he finds in town (also one of the few where he could ‘hide’ without drawing too much attention). He alludes to reading William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. His view of the librarian indicates the simplicity of Billy in the sense that he judges her in a positive light when he has only seen her for a few moments and then compares her to the librarian where he left who he feels ‘hated kids’. He has little money but is realistic and eats tomato, cheese and bread rolls. He finds an empty train carriage and this becomes his new ‘home’, as he calls it ‘my Motel Bendarat.’ We fill out the episodic day in the life of Billy Luckett as we see him scrounging for food at the local fast food place eating the scraps others leave behind - an inauspicious change in his hostile and dislocated life and yet he seems happy. This serves as an indication of just how badly isolated and bitter he felt in the ‘home’ he left.

Chapter Three: Caitlin Structurally we bring in the second of the people who grow and make a transition to a new life within the confines of the text. We meet Caitlin who works at the fast food restaurant where Billy scrounges food. She is from a very well-to-do family - she has everything materially that she could want but there is something missing just as there was with Billy (and later the third of the trio, the Old Billy). She wants what Billy has done - ‘I can’t wait for university/so I can leave home’. Thus there is a connection a sense of camaraderie and accord between the two that we as responders are privy to before they are. Connections are made and the notion of belonging is further consolidated in Billy’s nightly habit of scrounging food which coincides with Caitlin’s work schedule after school. He leaves her a note and the experiences of the two begin to parallel until the end of the text. One of the experiences that becomes a part of their changing and movement is the relationship on a sexual level. Caitlin mentions the idea of sex and sexual attraction for the first time on pages 44-5.

Chapter Four: The Hobo Hour We are introduced to our third member who is ultimately transformed, though in a different manner as he is an adult much older than our two teens. Our first image of him is when Billy sees him staring at the ground where he has dropped his bottle of beer - a stereotypical hobo. Bill and Old Bill meet for the first time at sunrise which serves to symbolise new beginnings. The town is used by the composer as a metaphor for the people who are shells - ‘the few workers left,/he’s got nowhere else to go/and nothing else to do,/in Bendaret,/that once/was a rich town.’ The reality of hobos and this new life is shown to Billy when he tries to befriend Old Bill and he tells him to ‘Piss Off’. (Yet later on Old Bill does turn out to be the hobo with a heart (and wallet) of gold). Part of the new life for Billy is characterised by simple things, like taking a shower and washing his clothes. These simple things are a part of the transition and he uses the Bendarat River to wash both his clothes and himself. Old Bill’s point-of-view begins in this chapter and we can see the different point-of-view with words such as ‘dim’, ‘foul’, ‘died’, ‘cold’ and ‘stumbling’. On the other hand the two young people still have a romantic image of the life (this could be said throughout - the changes are very fairy tale like), as Caitlin calls Billy’s carriage a ‘cave’ for ‘children to hide in’ and ‘somewhere safe to go’. Even Billy continues this adolescent sense of youthful freedom, ‘and feel like two kids/on a picnic.’ The chapter ends with this idyllic youthful romantic sense of what the future holds. Typically these are two young people who see all the possibilities but few of the problems which is the way the relationship and their life is treated throughout the text.

Chapter Five: Work Our two intrepid hobos set out on a new phase - work. In this case it is at the Cannery on the assembly line which cuts the rotten pieces out of the tomatoes before they are made into whatever appears on the kitchen table. Old Bill has begun to change. Does he want to change? It is he who brings up the idea of the Cannery and work in the first place. He is ‘not drinking so much,/and I can’t smoke in the Cannery.’ One of the few slices of reality is shown when Billy begins to see the difference between the television version of fruit picking and the reality of the work and his hands ‘tomato red and raw.’ An aspect of the new job and the transformation it has wrought is evinced in Billy’s attitude towards money. The pay check of ‘$456 minus tax’ is ‘more money than I’ve ever had in my life.’ which brings him to a type of realisation that when you have nothing, there is a freedom and lack of worry, feelings of belonging and acceptance, and above all, no decisions to make. He even wants to go back to being ‘penniless again.’ The romantic edge to the text is continued when part of the money is used to buy a ring for Caitlin although he doesn’t give it to her until the end of the text. Moving between the various narrative voices we are able to picture an image of Caitlin’s ‘cave’ - which contains everything material she could want except ‘I know what I really need/and it’s not in my bedroom./And it’s not to be bought/in any damn store.’ The reason for Old Bill’s demise is encapsulated in the loss of his daughter through a fall and the subsequent death of his wife as well from a drink driving incident. The death of both his loved ones is a technique used by the composer to make us sympathise with Old Bill while exposing him as the ‘hobo with a heart - and later pocketbook of gold’.

Chapter Six: Friends The change in Billy is highlighted not only in his circumstance but in his attitude to people. He thinks back to his high school and the fact that he said little to girls there ‘and didn’t want any.’ The contrast is continued between Billy’s existence in the carriage with Caitlin’s in the ‘best part of town’, and yet both need something to feel better about themselves, to feel fulfilled and experience a sense of belonging. Old Bill continues to change his ways, to drink less and fit back into mainstream society to some extent. It is an interesting to note that Caitlin and Billy are both trying to remove themselves from mainstream antipathetic society while Old Bill is returning to it.
Chapter Seven: The Simple Gift Caitlin sees Billy and Old Bill at the carriage which this time seems to impact on her that they are hobos, both of them. But then true humanitarianism wins out and sees is ‘determined not to run away again.’ Billy’s favourite novel - John Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath serves as a contrast to The Simple Gift as it portrays ‘the honour of poverty’. All the main characters desperately want to find work but they cannot as it is set in the depression during what is referred to as the ‘dust bowl’ - there is simply no work and while they are honourable they provide a stark image of what life without work and money to sustain a family can bring. As Caitlin’s parents are away she is allowed to stay in the house alone. She decides to invite Old Bill and Billy to dinner. Responder’s need to be constantly aware that they are listening to/reading first hand/person narratives and each resonates with the age of the persona. One critical instance of this is Caitlin’s pronouncement on the day the two are coming over that ‘Billy was sixteen-years-old/and already a man’. The night ends with Old Bill leaving the love birds to themselves - note the description of the act and the title - ‘Making love’. Both give euphoric images of the experience of the two young lovers and the encounter with sex - constant references to ‘heaven’ contribute to this euphoric change/experience. The experience is mirrored by Old Bill who decides ‘I’ll work on less beer/for a while’. Isn’t love grand?

Chapter Eight: Closing In Old Bill continues his metamorphosis as he drinks less and as he walks through the town - people now ‘nod and say hello’ - he is more accepted though the past haunts him as he is still ‘thinking about the drink.’ Billy’s advice is simple homespun from the mouths of sixteen year olds - ‘Don’t walk near a pub then.’ Reality finally steps a little closer to Billy when he is questioned by two ‘police’ - Billy has to use the less respectful ‘cops’ because they were trying to look out for a sixteen year-old. They tell him to report to the Welfare Officer the next day. Billy seems to be forced into a change because if he is found out not to be at school or working he will be sent home. This is where the rehabilitation of Old Bill comes - he is their guardian angel and comes up with a plan to let Billy stay in the house. He mows the lawn, gets a suit and pretends to be a family friend convincing the welfare worker that Billy is fine - it also takes a lie that Billy is thinking of returning to school. This is one of the aspects that allow Billy to stay ‘free’. One incredibly bad pun should be mentioned given the anti-war slogan of the 1970’s ‘Make love not war’. Caitlin’s voice is heard contemplating during a history lesson on the Vietnam War. She comments ‘Billy and I can make love/not war’.

Chapter Nine: Locks And Keys The young lovers begin to clean the house and Old Bill decides to take a trip ‘up north’ to fulfil his dead daughter’s dream. The house is of course, in ‘the better part of town’ Billy does admit that this is temporary, ‘it’s only for a short time/ until the Welfare/are off my track/and I can decide/what I really want to do!’

Chapter Ten: Old Bill Old Bill speaks to us and he too is merely taking time in his trip north - ‘when I get back/from taking Jessie’s/trip to the ocean.’ Billy and Caitlin begin in the house and she plans to tell her parents about Billy. They eat ‘the best meal’ they’ve ever eaten probably due to the preparation of it by themselves - an initial sign of growing maturity or independence. This should not be blown out of proportion and romanticized as they are in someone else’s home that makes it all possible.

Chapter Eleven: The Hobo Sky Billy tries to remind himself of the life he has left by vowing to return each week ‘to never forget this home’. But he knows what he owes it to Old Bill ‘I know I’m only here/for a while/so I tread lightly/with respect/for this house/and for Old Bill.’ Old Bill, on the other hand, is finding it hard ‘... to get used to/the taste of being sober/ all day.’ Thus, we end with the sense that life has changed for the better for our intrepid band. Old Bill is making his way north to fulfil his daughters dream while the two young lovers have a great house and not a worry in the world. Be careful you don’t assume this is the end of their story, in reality it is only the beginning.

THE CHARACTERS

Billy ▪ Billy is sensitive and intelligent. From the very outset, Billy’s insights into others and into the situations he encounters reflect a very intuitive and intelligent character. He realises he needs to escape his violent and unloving father and is better off away from him, even if it means being alone. Billy is drawn to the library when he first arrives in Bendarat; this reveals to us that he enjoys the escapes and insights that books provide for him. The importance of books in Billy’s life is reflected in the extract from ‘Westfield Creek’, in which Herrick uses repetition and metaphor to explain that: I [Billy] can read I can dream. I know about the world I learnt all I need to know in books on the banks of Westfield Creek, my favourite classroom. ▪ The hyperbole in ‘all I need to know’ highlights the importance of reading for Billy. This poem reveals that Billy may not fit into the traditional classroom environment but he still knows how to learn independently and how to use his reading to expand his understanding of the world around him. ▪ Billy is kind and thoughtful. Billy has a number of encounters with others in the verse novel that reveal empathy and kindness in his character. When he leaves Ernie the train driver a bottle of champagne, he does so because he recognises that Ernie has helped him and is essentially a good man. More importantly, the kindness he himself shows to Old Bill is life-changing for both of them. When he offers him cigarettes the first time they meet and leaves breakfast for him the next morning, Billy shows through small gestures that he is caring and concerned. Old Bill also sees that these are important acts of kindness in the poem ‘Old Bill’. Herrick uses emotive language in the extract ‘And when he gave me/those smokes/I almost cried I a kid like that/with nothing/giving stuff away.’ The contrast between ‘nothing’ and ‘stuff’ highlights the generosity of spirit that Billy has demonstrated in such a seemingly small gesture. He continues to show such qualities in his relationship with Caitlin, particularly in the decision to spend his first pay packet on an emerald ring for her. In the poem that follows this moment, ‘Need’, Billy explains why he helps Old Bill, recalling the time a neighbour gave him some dinner when his father had locked him out of the house but ‘that neighbour moved away/and I never thanked her,/and that’s why I help Old Bill,/for no reason/other than he needs it.’ The pathos in this recollection underlines the way Billy values kindness in others; such kindness is an attribute he continues to value in his own interactions with those in need. ▪ Billy is independent and strong-willed. Billy’s decision to run away from home and to escape a very unloving (and often violent) home environment reflects maturity, independence and strength of character. The use of direct speech, rhetorical questions and truncated sentences in the poem ‘Please’ shows the strength Billy has to draw upon to stick to his plan despite difficulties: What to do? Go home? ‘Say Dad, I still want to leave but I couldn’t get a lift so one more night that’s OK with you isn’t it?’ No. I can’t go back. ▪ Such independence is further evident in the way in which Billy decides to work at the Cannery and to take Old Bill with him. In ‘My hands’ Billy describes his hands at the end of the working week: ‘the hands of a worker / tomato red and raw’. The metaphor emphasises his hardworking attitude and the desire he has to be independent no matter how difficult it is. ▪ Herrick uses Billy’s character to highlight social issues such as family breakdown, alienation and loneliness. His character has many of the noble hallmarks of literature’s stereotypical ‘hero’ but by representing him as a homeless, poor and haunted individual, he shows how society treats the marginalised. His matter-of-fact approach to life and sincerity in recording aspects of his daily life offer reader’s great insight into his personality. Billy tells us he is not proud and this lack of arrogance and conceit remains a predominant trait throughout the text. He is totally unpretentious and mature beyond his years. Although he has suffered, he has not been hardened by his experiences. He is polite and thankful to those who offer assistance such as Ernie and Irene the librarian and never promotes aggression in others. As the main protagonist, with six of the eleven chapters told from his perspective, it is quickly apparent that Billy is an atypical ‘hero’ whose intelligence and sensitivity is demonstrated through his simple but descriptive language. ▪ This sense of belonging to the natural world is shown through sensory description; ‘Dawn is fog-closed and cold.’ He is observant and alert to the interplay of senses such as sight, sound and touch within his environment. He is also pragmatic which is evident in his worldly outlook and resourcefulness. He copes where most would flounder but this is largely because he is able to see opportunity and freedom where others might see defeat and entrapment. His experience is coloured by his independence and strong sense of self. He is not a recluse by choice but he does not have a reliant relationship with the world around him. His philosophy is often expressed with a dry, laconic sort of humour; ‘I’m poor, homeless,/but I’m not stupid’ which enhances our perception of him as a realist. ▪ His abusive background (his father fittingly described as an ‘old bastard’) enables him to quickly discern suffering in others. What separates him from others his age, however, is that he is also intuitive enough to realise how those who are in need can be helped. He has been able to rise above the damaging experiences he has had and be strengthened by adversity. He remains human and flawed rather than sentimentalised. Herrick’s characterisation remains credible because there are moments of anger and bitter frustration. These insights help to emphasise his sensitivity and innate goodness. There are many small gestures of kindness; ‘that’s why I help Old Bill,/for no reason/other than he needs it.’ ▪ When asked about Billy’s narrative function, Steven Herrick observed; ‘I certainly meant for Billy to have a positive effect on Old Bill. His motives are simply to survive and so he washes in the river because it’s the only place to stay clean and do his laundry.’ Ironically, this abused boy is able to hold out the hand of friendship to others whom society has cast off, an attitude which fosters their potential to grow, heal and develop. Billy’s individuality allows him to function outside the normal parameters of society. His age seems to be no limitation because without having anyone else to rely on for support, protection or love, he had to learn self-reliance. He takes people as they are and partly because of this trait, he has a restorative effect on Old Billy, reawakening his self-respect and dignity as they swim in the river and wash themselves and their laundry, ‘I almost feel young again.’ ▪ Caitlin and Old Bill, in turn, draw Billy out of himself, giving his life greater purpose and structure. He blossoms from his connections with others, learning to trust and share himself emotionally: a circuit of plans with Caitlin at the centre, and me a badly-dressed satellite spinning crazily in her orbit. ▪ The partnership of Billy and Old Bill saves them both, as unlikely at first this friendship between a drunk and a homeless boy may seem. Work provides some structure to their lives and helps forge the strong connection between them. Their jobs on the conveyer belt at the factory require no prior skills or knowledge. As such, such manual labour is accessible to them both with few questions asked and no unnecessary paperwork needed. It reflects the cyclic demands of the real world but it also provides purpose and opportunity. Billy recognises his ‘need for money’ not from personal greed but from a logical recognition that it is needed for personal growth. As workers, expectations and responsibilities give shape to them as individuals. Humour is effectively embedded into the description of their daily routine of breakfast and work increasing the link with the reader and making us care about what happens to them.

Old Bill ▪ Old Bill is full of pain and grief. The loss of his wife and daughter has completely changed Old Bill from the man he once was. He has abandoned his home, his work and his original sense of self. He covers his pain up with alcohol and by avoiding anything that reminds him of his lost family. Billy sees that Old Bill’s grief has affected him both emotionally and physically during their first encounter. In the poem ‘Old Bill’ he describes him: His grey beard was stained with smoke, his hair long and swept back, his face lined but when you looked closer he wasn’t that old he got up to go to bed to sleep off his sorrow or so he said. ▪ The imagery in the final line reverses the reader’s expectation that he would be ‘sleeping off’ his hangover rather than his sorrow. Old Bill’s reliance on alcohol shows how desperate he is to cover up the terrible feelings he has about the deaths of his wife and child. In ‘Truth and beauty for Old Bill’ the vivid imagery used to describe the beer he drinks reveals how he sees alcohol as a ‘magic elixir’, something he can use to ensure that ‘all thoughts of/truth and beauty/washed from my mind.’ The enjambment in this extract emphasises the importance of ‘truth and beauty’ and also the grief that has ruined Old Bill’s outlook on life. These are normally qualities that people would love to experience, but instead the metaphor reminds us of how the alcohol numbs Old Bill to any good feelings, if there are any feelings at all. The highly emotive poem that follows, ‘Old Bill’s fall’, uses the extended metaphor of falling to show that the death of Jessie has left him completely incapable of going on with his previous life, ‘but my Jessie,/my sweet lovely Jessie,/fell/and I fell with her/and I’ve been falling/ever since.’ The motif of ‘the fall’ is highlighted particularly through Herrick’s use of repetition and the structural isolation of the word ‘fell’. Old Bill’s loss is one that has irreparably damaged his life. In the poem ‘Old Bill and the ghosts’, Billy also realises that Old Bill is completely numbed by his grief. The hyperbole in the line, ‘I am listening to/the saddest man in the world.’ shows that every essence of his being is affected by his sadness and grief. ▪ Old Bill shows the ability to grow and change. Billy has a profound effect on Old Bill. He has led a life of hopelessness and suffering before his encounter with Billy. The small gestures of kindness Billy makes and the love that Old Bill observes blossoming between Caitlin and Billy encourage him to feel a renewed sense of purpose in life. ‘Hobos like us’ describes some of the small changes that Old Bill begins to undergo. By making him have breakfast each morning and encouraging him to go to work at the Cannery and to have a bath in the river, Billy begins to make Old Bill re-engage with living. When he swims fully clothed in the river, ‘his laugh becomes real/and it’s a good laugh,/a deep belly roar./I laugh as well,/sure there’s hope in the world/even for hobos like us. The symbolism of their laughter is an important sign that Old Bill is capable of change and may begin to find some good in the world. The dinner that Old Bill shares with Caitlin and Billy is another sign of his ability to change. After he leaves Caitlin’s house he realises that ‘for a few hours/I hadn’t thought of anything/but how pleasant it was/to sit with these people/and to talk with them.’ Experiences with Caitlin and Billy bring Old Bill back to life and his decision to give Billy his house reflects his gratitude towards them for helping start such a change. He also decides to stop drinking as much, ‘For the kid’s sake’ None of these decisions comes easily to him, as the extract from ‘So obvious’ demonstrates: ‘and I know that what I must do is/so obvious/and simple/and so unbearably painful/ my whole body shakes/with the thought.’ The repetition of ‘so’ and the strong word choice in ‘unbearably’ emphasises that, while Old Bill shows he is capable of growth and change, it is not an easy transformation for him. The repeated use of verbs in the extract from ‘Near’, ‘mowing the grass/buying clothes, paying the electricity deposit’, accentuates the renewed sense of energy and action that Old Bill has. Finally, his desire to travel north at the end of the verse novel shows how he is beginning to see that he can redirect his grief into doing something positive for his late daughter - to fulfil a promise he made to her before she died. ▪ He is described early in the novel as ‘an old man/before his time’ and this is perhaps the reason he and Billy can share the bond that they do, for both have been aged by their experiences. He is a timely warning to Billy of what he himself might easily become. In this sense, Billy is not tempted by this hobo existence. The figure of Old Bill, both directly and indirectly becomes an important role model for the youngsters, in ways he often doesn’t even understand. He is the vision of what Billy could become if steps are not taken to actively prevent it. On another level, Old Billy the drunk is an example of what he has become rather than what he needs to be. Several times, Old Bill is referred to as the; ‘saddest man in the world’ and it is his deep and pervading personal grief that had metamorphosed his life and initiated his self-imposed exile from his fellow man. ▪ Initially, readers see him as the stereotypical face of a ‘bum’ but as the details of his life unfold, he is better recognised as a social victim. We learn that he has withdrawn into himself, shrunk from human contact in an effort to try and cope with his pain and loss. He has struggled to find some sort of explanation or meaning for his daughter Jessie’s accidental death. Grief has sent him into a psychological spiral of depression, taking him to a nightmarish, lonely place of despair where his only solace came to be the bottom of a glass and a hobo existence which makes few overt demands on him. He has changed identity, shrunk from his former existence, which has constant reminders of what he has lost. Billy meets him after his has retreated into ‘a bum’s/stumbling memory’ in order to forget and stop forever ‘thinking of my darling Jessie’. ▪ In other ways, Herrick represents Old Bill as a pragmatic realist who well understands the reasons for his present state. He makes no attempt to romanticise or sentimentalise his fall; ‘And this pub,/this beer, these clothes,/this is where I landed.’ He is obviously reflective and intuitive enough to be able to use the extended metaphor of ‘the fall’ to both qualify the randomness of life’s misfortunes as well as to give some shape to what it can signify. Old Bill has fallen hard; ‘I fell with her/and I’ve been falling/ever since’. His loss has resulted in an emotional shut-down, a withdrawal from work, home and normal social interaction. No longer able to communicate with his fellow man, he has become reclusive, alienated by a grief over which he has no control. He comprehends his dilemma but is powerless to deal with it alone. His disorientation helps to explain what makes readers fascinated by his story. His tragic downfall is recognisable as a problem of modern society, which often lacks the support mechanisms needed to treat severe depression. ▪ His swearing, coughing and rank breath are the outward rough qualities of a man who can also be loquacious and eloquent; ‘I thought/how beautiful is a drink/that hasn’t been touched,/the deep radiant colour/burning gold,/the bubbles dancing/ballet-perfect to the rim’. At first the ‘booze’ was an escape, allowing him a way of forgetting and withdrawing. Now however it has become a trap whose binds hold him fast; ‘I called for another/as all thoughts of/truth and beauty/washed from my mind.’ ▪ He was once a part of privileged society but having lost all that was dear to him, he withdrew. His ‘old’ life was shown to be shallow and too late he recognised what was really important and whom had really mattered. Social expectations and pressures had resulted in him losing touch with the meaningful relationships that give our lives meaning. He is drawn back into human contact by Billy, who renews him emotionally and helps to restore the personal qualities that had become submerged in alcoholic stupor and melancholy. Poor Old Bill is not always a willing penitent, complaining with invectives about the process Billy begins; ‘bloody kid’, ‘Bloody hell’. Such comments, however, don’t disguise the growing fondness between them. As Old Bill is dragged ‘along beside the kid’ who never shuts up, or leaves him alone, he realises that he is ‘not drinking so much’ and ‘can’t smoke in the Cannery’. There is wry amusement in the fact that, bizarre as it seems, he is being turned ‘into a health freak!’ Old Bill’s character emphasises the quest for answers about what is really valuable and important in life and he becomes a catalyst for taking stock and evaluating what life has to offer.

Caitlin ▪ Caitlin is strong-willed and an independent thinker. Caitlin’s attitude towards her family life and her social status reflects a young woman who does not like to conform or to be stereotyped. When she watches Billy claiming leftover food while she is mopping the floor in McDonald’s, she chooses not to call her Manager and ‘[feels] good’ that she hasn’t. The sarcastic tone of ‘Too rich’ indicates that Caitlin does not wish to be defined by her parents’ wealth. She says her father is ‘too rich for his own good’, which subverts a clichéd phrase. The tone used in the extract ‘all those other words / schools like to put on their Crest/so they can charge people like my dad/ $10 000 a year’ is cutting and reveals that Caitlin does not conform to the expectations of such institutions. Her desire to save enough money to go to university and leave home also highlights her very independent outlook. When she sees Billy with Old Bill in ‘The shadows’ her independent attitude is challenged. She runs away from the two men because it makes her think of Billy ‘as a hobo’. She realises that ‘maybe there was something/of my parents in me,/whether I liked it Or not.’ Yet her decision to go ‘back to the railway tracks/determined not to run away again.’ is symbolic of her trying to become more individual in her outlook and to find her own sense of self in the world. ▪ Caitlin is changing and uncertain at times. Despite her independent, non-conformist attitude, Caitlin is also a little fearful and uncertain about the person she is becoming. Her sexual awakening with Billy gives an example of how vulnerable and unsure she is at times. When Billy leaves a note for her after work, as recounted in ‘Hunger’, she reads it and ‘felt/something in my stomach,/a slight ache, a twinge,/and I knew it was hunger/but not a hunger for food.’ The metaphor shows that Caitlin knows the feelings she is having are new and sexual in nature, but she is tentative in the way she reacts to them. When she visits Billy in his carriage, she decides that she will visit him again ‘until something happens’ knowing that her attraction to him is something she wants to pursue. In ‘Happen’ she ‘thought of what could happen/and what/I could want to happen.’ The euphemism used in the term ‘happen’ reflects Caitlin’s growing desire for Billy but also her fear of naming it for what it really is. Her confusion about such changes in herself is aggravated by her discomfort during her friend Kate’s description of having sex in ‘Grateful’. The title of this verse seems at odds with its subject matter. The term refers to Caitlin’s gratitude that lunchtime finishes so she doesn’t have to spend any more time with Kate after she has described having sex for the first time. Caitlin says ‘I’m afraid to look at Kate. The contrast in the emotions of fear and gratitude shows that, when confronted with Kate’s unpleasant description, Caitlin still has a lot of uncertainty about her own sexual development. ▪ Caitlin values relationships more than material possessions. Many of Caitlin’s verses use a sarcastic tone to describe her family situation. Her attitude towards her parents’ wealth is negative yet resigned. When she describes her room, which is full of expensive possessions, she admits that ‘I am spoilt,/spoilt to boredom,/and I’m smart enough/to realise that none of this/means anything ...’ The enjambment in this extract places stress on the verb ‘means’, which emphasises what are really Caitlin’s true values. ‘I know what I really need and it’s not in my bedroom.’ uses high modality in the emphatic ‘really’ to accentuate this outlook. Her blunt description of her home in ‘The weekend off’ as ‘this big ugly five-bedroom/million dollar brick box/that we live in.’ uses the device of accumulation of negative connotative adjectives to ensure that her attitude is clearly conveyed. ▪ Caitlin offers a contrast of gender and outlook to the male protagonists in the text. She is not marginalised either by background or choice as they are, but she is representative of the ‘other’ society from which Billy and Old Bill are hiding. Herrick is able to write believably from a female perspective through her character, using it to juxtapose different social relationships and ways of coping. Her parents spoil her, buying her anything ‘I want’ but she is dismissive of their wealth and, at times, is almost accusatory; ‘Dad is too rich for his own good.’ She finds the superficiality about her life unsatisfying. It fails to offer her something that she needs. She seeks something but is unable to articulate what she wants. She functions as a contrasting character because of her wealthy background, even though the trappings of wealth, such as going to a private school, make her ‘feel like a real dork. ▪ She is first attracted to Billy by the calmness he exudes and the strange tranquillity and dignified restraint that makes him stand so much apart from his peers: ‘I realised/that Billy was sixteen years old/and already a man’. Ironically, this boy who has so little seems so much more than those with everything. There is a sense of completeness about him, a quiet acceptance that engenders him, despite his youth with unexpected dignity. Herrick again uses contrast as an effective characterisation method. They are drawn to each other by many factors that are sketched in for the reader and by the sincerity of their observations about each other. There is a reversal of social roles; she is the one who courts his companionship, who seeks him out, bringing a picnic unannounced and unexpectedly to Billy’s carriage. Her entry into his world makes him nervous, but we are told, ‘She’s cool./She didn’t sneer or/look uncomfortable.’ ▪ Although social opposites, they seem to relate in a natural, unreserved manner. This is brilliantly evoked through Herrick’s dialogue. They talk and listen to each other without judgement or prejudice. There is an unpretentious openness about them that defies social barriers. Both are matured by their relationships for, by comparing what she has to that of Old Bill and Billy, she recognises the empty excess of her materialistic lifestyle. She feels trapped by the confines of her surroundings; ‘this big ugly five-bedroom/million dollar brick box’ and instead craves Billy’s freedom. She learns through observation and interaction that love and friendship is ‘not able to be bought in any damn store’ and is in fact far more valuable than anything that can be purchased. She re-evaluates the social codes and strictures which commodify who and what she is. Conformity had made her restless and now, realising this, she is eager to escape into a simpler, less ostentatious existence. ▪ She undergoes a personal transformation as a result of her relationship to the other narrators. When she comes unannounced and unexpected upon Billy with Old Bill she is initially shocked by what she sees and runs away. He reaction is understandable given the circumstances but she quickly becomes ashamed of herself; ‘seeing Billy/with that old hobo/made me think of Billy/as a hobo’. Social expectations have served to confine rather than liberate her and it takes some time before she is able to see past the social differences that haunt her world, and find love and friendship in Billy; ‘It was like stepping/into heaven,/no less than perfect’. ▪ Her character encourages the reader to think that discrimination can be overcome if people are looked at for who they are. Superficial labels and simplistic categorisation frequently belies the truth. Once she dismisses the tags of hobo, drunk and homelessness, she sees these two people in an unblinkered way. Caitlin’s rebellion is not an act of delinquent behaviour, of siding with social rejects. Her choice is informed and productive for she does not denigrate her social class but merely rejects it as no longer being suitable for her. She now actively seeks a more meaningful relationship and lifestyle where she feels valued and seen as an equal.
THEMES

Personal Growth First impressions of Billy and Old Bill are that they inhabit the social fringes because of their poverty and individual backgrounds. Their worlds are marked by domestic violence, alienation, and homelessness. And yet Herrick reveals a hidden world behind the outward veneer of inferiority. The text challenges stereotypical perceptions of many social norms and largely reverses what is meant by the terms ‘privileged’ and ‘marginalised’. Both Old Bill and Billy have sought escape from their familiar worlds. Billy from deprivation and Old Bill from grief. They are representatives of different social classes and yet have both ended up in the same place. The time that Billy and Old Bill share becomes a time of healing. The alliterative ‘the hobo hour’ has negative connotations that are used for a positive outcome. For both, personal growth comes as a result of changing experience. When we first meet Billy his world is a mass of frustration and confusion. This is evident in the rhetorical questions he asks once he heads off along the road heading west: ‘what to do?’ Almost by chance he hitches a ride on a train rather than by car and nearly freezes in the process, thinking of himself as an ‘idiot’, alone and uncertain about what his life holds in store. Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs begin to alter as the railway carriage homes they make for themselves are isolated and private and provide an ideal place of refuge and reflection. While outwardly ‘living rough’, the reader recognises the unfettered freedom of their lifestyle as being part of a restorative pathway to self-knowledge. Friendship becomes one of the simple gifts they offer each other and Billy realises that home is in ‘the deep blue sky that Old Bill and I shared’. Their personal relationship demonstrates the superficiality of class and wealth by showing how with ‘nothing/you’re rich’. Companionship begins a new stage for them both, a transition back into the broader community through work and even conflict with the authorities. Old Bill feels a sense of belonging also through his association with the younger people around him. As their love grows, he is still in a nether region of pain and regret. Walking into the Railway Hotel he drowns his sorrows and in the process is conscious that it is a means of ensuring that ‘all thoughts of/truth and beauty/washed from my mind.’ He wants to remain in an alcoholic induced stupor which hides the memory of why he took to a tree with an axe, ‘mad with rage and pain’. Booze makes sure that he doesn’t dream and yet the tracks that have linked his life with that of a mere sixteen year old boy brings an alternative coping mechanism because ‘Sure there’s hope in the world even for hobos like us.’ Friendship brings respect, dignity and humanity and the fact that ‘Old Bill and me are friends’ becomes the greatest restorative possible for a man who is ‘afraid he’ll have nothing to live for.’ Interference from the ‘bloody cops’ and ‘welfare’ demand drastic measures and Old Bill is able to use his social background, experience and ‘white timber house’ to provide a solution that results in self actualisation for them all. Caitlin has not suffered in the way the other characters have, but can recognise their virtues and rejects the world of her parents as inferior. They have all entered new stages in their lives. For Old Bill, his lonely and drunken sojourn is over while Billy and Caitlin can face a secure future together. Significantly how ever, Billy vows to return to his carriage once a week to ensure that he ‘never forgets his home by the railroad tracks’.

Struggle Positive and negative experiences have an impact on Herrick’s characters and foster individual growth and enlightenment. There are no sentimentalised solutions and the narrative has a stark reality to it that maintains a sense of authenticity. Solace from personal difficulties has been found in simple pleasures and honest relationships. Each character has metaphorically ‘crossed the tracks’ and passed to the other side of understanding. Experience of polarised opposites such as good and evil, privilege and deprivation, pleasure and grief has led to maturation and wholesomeness, a progress of the psyche. Billy’s young life has been one of struggle and exclusion. There is no mention of his mother and from the age of ten, relations with his father have been emotionally and physically strained. At the beginning of Chapter 2 we are told that life had made him wary, a loner, distrustful of both those who broke the rules as well as those who made the rules. As a result he has chosen to ‘avoid the rules’, which takes him to Bendarat and his new life. This is another leg of his quest towards belonging, a transitional phase that takes him from the grief of childhood and adolescence to a place where he establishes his own set of rules to live by. Initially he is castigated as a ‘bum’ and admits that he realises the desperation of his plight. Once more books become a haven and he takes on a new identity as ‘Lord of the lounge’, a creative pun on the title of a book about adolescent survival he reads entitled ‘Lord of the Flies’. He comes to see Bendarat as ‘the perfect town’ because it fulfils his needs for sanctuary, food and a place to call home. Eating others’ left-overs in the local McDonald’s shows resourcefulness rather than a beggarly mentality or manner. Choice and common sense makes this ‘the only way to eat at McDonald’s’ even though the reader sympathises with him for being forced to do so. Billy rationalises his situation, remains ‘self-contained … slow and steady’ accepting that this was the best way for him to eat. As the attraction between Billy and Caitlin develops he recognises that while they are worlds apart her behaviour at McDonald’s shows a bond of sorts between them as he experiences a sense of belonging when he’s with her ‘we were both caught/doing something/we didn’t want to do/but had to.’ His maturity is also evident in his decision to put aside any thoughts of a possible relationship between them, deciding ‘I shouldn’t judge, I not yet anyway.’ Their attraction blossoms gradually after he sparks off a dialogue between them by leaving a note that gives the meaning of her name and speaking to her ‘as if we were friends’. He is unique, someone with ‘Such perfect manners,/eating scraps at McDonald’s.’ The inherent contradictions in his nature fascinate the reader. The business card he gives her shows his idiosyncrasy: ‘So well-mannered,/so unlike every boy’. He has a dignified air unusual in one so young but readers endorse Caitlin’s admiration for someone who was ‘Homeless, and proud of it.’ Growth and development does not come without struggle. When Billy and Old Bill get their first pay-packet, Old Bill observes that he will most likely ‘piss it all away’ (p.80) because to him, his hobo existence was an escape from the struggle of his previous life. Billy comes to comprehend through the old man with nothing you’re rich. You’ve got not decisions, no choice, and no worry.
While the book ends wholesomely with the key figures able to look forward with optimism, Herrick has not created an unbelievable fairytale conclusion. Old Bill’s craving for the drink still remains as his hand tremors signify. Billy and Caitlin will both need to carve out a future for themselves by continuing their educations. We accept that their relationship may or may not survive for as Old Bill rightly concludes: ‘We looked at each other/and I said,/’Nothing’s easy.’

Independence/Redemption As Billy starts to take control of his life, he is faced by moral choices. Options bring with them responsibilities that can seriously affect his future and he reflects on the paradoxical benefits of independence. Part of him wants the choice that money can buy but part of him also wants the carefree existence that lack of it dictates. He ponders the antithetic virtues of having and not having and highlights the attractions of the hobo way of life in the pull to ‘go back to nothing, go back to being rich/and penniless again.’ What shows the true transition into adulthood is his recognition that he helps Old Bill because of the ‘friendliness’ shown to him by Ernie and Irene. Kindness begets kindness and readers applaud the mind - set that helps others ‘for no reason/other than he needs it.’ Independence and solitude has been possible with his ‘Hilton’ existence and their assistance. He knows that at times Old Bill thinks of him as ‘a kid/who can’t leave well enough/alone’ but in finding his own independence of mind he is also helping to re-establish that of his companion. As the authorities close in on his freedom, Old Bill recognises ‘the first signs of defeat/in his young eyes’. The plan that the old hobo devises is so simple and yet so effective because it lets ‘Billy start his new life/in a house that needs a new life,/ happier than the old one.’ Caitlin also shows growing independence of mind and spirit. It is she who asks Billy for a date, having decided that he represents what she now considers important in life. She had a life where she was ‘spoilt to boredom’ and had become entrapped in a lifestyle that was hard to break free from. Ironically, she realises that her executive house is really a trap, a ‘brick box’ that she lives in. True independence will not be possible until she leaves it. Having met Billy and Old Bill, however, she is now able to clarify her feelings of frustration into the realisation that ‘none of this/means anything’ and that real affection and personal satisfaction cannot be bought. She comes to understand what Billy means by the phrase from his favourite novel: ‘the honour of poverty’. Sexual awakening brings another layer of independence for them both and marks another transition into adulthood. She admires the many qualities that Billy has but above all she recognises that he is someone ‘I could trust/and feel safe with.’ Home and school make her feel like ‘a prisoner of war’ whereas her love for Billy and the gift of Old Bill’s house gives her the independence to tell her parents the truth. Old Bill also regains his independence. Billy and Caitlin reignite some meaning in his life by restoring the desire to laugh, share the friendship they freely offer him and this inspires him to drink less ‘For the kid’s sake.’ as he comes to the realisation that a friendship and affiliation has developed between them. Other changes follow where he takes back control, wakes early, eats properly, walks the streets of his town and interacts with people who don’t look down on him as ‘an old drunk’. Sobriety and the simple gifts of friendship and belonging bestow him with his identity and with it a future that would otherwise have been denied to him. Walking home to ‘my house/Jessie’s house’ the solution to all their problems becomes so obviously simple as well as ‘so unbearably painful/my whole body shakes/with the thought.’ Giving and receiving releases him from the prison of the past and his act of empowerment is personally liberating as well. The house bestows independence on them all, restoring to Old Bill a powerful sense of purpose and pride. He is able to use his knowledge of the law, money, rules and regulations to help those who had helped him ‘so all that knowledge I was finally worth something.’ Independence, affiliation and camaraderie all prove beneficial factors for all the key characters because it fosters or restores human dignity and the redemptive qualities of friendship and giving.

Independence: The Simple Gift shows how new experiences and relationships lead to growth and change within the characters of Billy, Caitlin and Old Bill and, consequently, new directions in their lives. By running away from the oppression of his abusive home-life and High School failure, Billy initiates a series of new experiences in his life. Ultimately, he finds freedom and independence in Bendarat, becoming self-sufficient with his job at the cannery and creating a safe and comfortable home in the unused railway carriage: ‘So living in this carriage is special, it’s mine and I keep it clean and I read to give myself an education that Westfield High never could.’
However, most significantly, in Bendarat Billy begins meaningful relationships. The developing intimacy between Billy and Caitlin is unprecedented for him. Through the use of metaphor in the poem Going Nowhere Herrick reveals how Caitlin becomes the centre of Billy’s existence in Bendarat, as his life becomes: ‘a circuit of plans with Caitlin at the centre and me a badly dressed satellite spinning crazily in her orbit.’
The overwhelmingly positive change this constitutes for Billy is most evident in the poem Comfort in which he compares the loneliness and isolation of his old life with his new set of experiences. Similarly, Caitlin discovers more about herself and experiences change through her relationship with Billy. Through Billy’s circumstances, his friendship with Old Bill and his ‘hobo’ existence she is confronted by a world and experiences outside of her own privileged lifestyle. This is most evident from her first meeting with him, in McDonalds: ‘When I first saw what he did I wanted to go up and say, ‘put that food back’ But how stupid is that?’
Ultimately, Caitlin is challenged to re-evaluate her own system of beliefs and to eventually, to assert her independence from her parents. Her commitment to reveal the truth to them about her relationship with Billy is indicative of this. In addition, the friendship between Billy and Old Bill proves to be the catalyst for a new direction in both of their lives. It is evident that Old Bill benefits from the positive influence of Billy, whose persistence and encouragement enables him to gradually regain control of his life and overcome his alcoholism: ‘Nothing’s easy.’ That’s what Billy said When I told him about my walks and how I pass a pub and my hand starts shaking’
Simultaneously, through the companionship and advice Old Bill provides and the mutual respect and trust that they develop for one another Old Bill becomes a father-figure to Billy whose experience of family has only ever been dysfunctional. The extent to which his friendship with Old Bill changes Billy’s life is revealed through the climax of the story when Billy is confronted by the police and, feeling threatened by the Welfare department, becomes miserable and separate, convinced that his only alternative is to run: ‘it seemed that moving out west was the only answer. But how could I leave the only town I’ve wanted to call home, And Caitlin...’
However, with the help of Old Bill, Billy discovers that he no longer has to ‘avoid the rules’ in order to survive. Rather, he is able to begin his life in Bendarat legitimately, with the security of a real home. For Old Bill, this becomes an opportunity for him to regain some pride in himself, to acknowledge the good in his past and the possibilities in his future.

Relationships The Simple Gift challenges the reader to think about the importance and value of relationships. Throughout the narrative a number of significant relationships are developed and through each of these the composer explores particular ideas. Firstly, the dysfunctional and destructive relationship shared by Billy and his father and the failure of Caitlin’s parents to really understand her raises the question of what children really need from their parents. The juxtaposition of these relationships highlights that parents need to do more than just provide for their children: ‘And I know what I really need and it’s not in my bedroom. And it’s not able to be bought in any damn store.’
The growing intimacy between Caitlin and Billy draws our attention to the power of love to challenge and change our ideas about others and the world. Billy begins to relate to and think differently about others through his association with Caitlin: ‘All the students look clean and rich and smug and confident, and I thought of Caitlin and I decided I wouldn’t judge, not yet anyway.’ (Breakfast, p.30)
Similarly, in accepting Billy and his friend Old Bill into her life, Caitlin is forced to examine her own values and to assert her independence from her parents: ‘I love Billy and I’m sure of him, I want my parents to know.’
Perhaps most significant of all is the deep and touching friendship shared by Billy and Old Bill. Steven Herrick says: ‘I’m interested in showing how positive young people are. I want to show how young people influence older people as well as vice versa. I always like to show in my books that kind of play-off between who’s influencing who.’ Billy’s positive influence over Old Bill is considerable. It is with Billy’s help, support and encouragement that Old Bill begins to overcome his alcoholism and regain control of his life. His character development is particularly evident through a comparison of his reluctance and frustration in That Bloody Kid with his changed attitude in... ‘I’ll work on less beer for a while. For the kid’s sake.’
Significantly, the notion of reciprocity is explored through this relationship. It shows that the true essence and reward of friendship is in doing things for each other. Ultimately, it is by reciprocating Billy’s kindness - with a plan that allows Billy to avoid the authorities and begin life in a real home in Bendarat that Old Bill is able to regain the self-worth and sense of pride that he lost. On another level, the text also explores the importance of the kindness of strangers, and how the expression of good will from Ernie, Irene and Billy’s one-time neighbour in Longlands Road empower him. It is the capacity in these people for unconditional generosity that restore and maintain Billy’s faith in people, and so that despite his own hardships he continues to value others. In the poem Need he explains: ‘And that is why I help Old Bill, for no reason other than he needs it’

Belonging The theme or idea of belonging in The Simple Gift can be a focus for each of the characters in the text. Herrick’s characters don’t belong anywhere initially and each is unsettled and trying to fit in. in this work there is some resolution as Old Bill. Billy and Caitlin find reasons to belong to a place and each other. Billy when we first meet him has nothing to belong to in Longlands Road. He says, ‘I’m not proud I’m sixteen, and soon, To be homeless’. Even Bunkbrain the dog is left behind as he leaves his mean and bitter father saying ‘I can’t go back’. What he does enjoy near home is Westfield Creek where he can be at peace and read for he knows, ‘I can read I can dream’
So Billy leaves to find a more permanent place to belong and he shares his vision of what type of man he would aspire to be on page fourteen where he compares Ernie the friendly train driver to his violent father. When he gets to Bendarat he is still an outcast, he doesn’t belong here either as the kids are ‘shouting insults’ but he does belong in the library where he can escape reality. Choosing not to belong at his home in Longlands Road was hard but finding a place to belong will be as hard if not harder. Billy finds himself a ‘new home’ when he goes to the old railway yard, ‘I close the door: and make a home in Carriage 1864’ and he begins his new life here. But still he doesn’t belong because it is ephemeral and he could be made to move on at any time. Short of money he steals leftovers from McDonalds where he meets Caitlin, an upper middle-class local girl who is attracted to him but sees him as ‘self contained’. She too feels estranged at home and her parent’s expectations are not her own. Around the same time he meets Old Bill and they begin to become closer despite themselves. Billy has found two people he cares for and they in turn care for him. Caitlin feels his home on the carriage is like ‘a warm, safe little cave’ and he feels she gives him, ‘a circuit of plans with Caitlin at the centre, and me: a badly-dressed satellite spinning crazily in her orbit’
Billy makes an effort to belong here and these characters help him. We need to remember that there is tremendous pressure to conform in society, to belong. Look at Kate’s experience with sex and how she had tried to belong to someone. It was ‘too messy’ and ‘it hurt’ and ‘we both felt stupid’. It is not always easy to belong and this is an example of how trying to belong can result in problems, perhaps failure and even emotional and psychological problems. We learn later that Old Bill once belonged to a nice family and had a home but when his daughter Jessie died in an accident it all fell apart and his wife’s drinking lead to her death in a car accident. Old Bill, a once respected man who ‘understood the Law’ became a homeless alcoholic. He chooses not to belong to society but by the end of the novel he wants a place to go, ‘where I’ll go to stop thinking about the drink’ and he helps Billy stay in Bendarat, as Billy wants to stay. Old Bill gives him his old house where he knows he will never belong again due to the tragedy he associates with it. While Billy is uncertain about taking the keys he is grateful for the place and knows he will belong here. Note that he goes in together with Caitlin and it seems they too belong with each other. He treats the house with ‘respect’ and it gives him somewhere to belong.
‘But how could I leave the only town I’ve ever wanted to call home And Caitlin... In The Simple Gift we have three significant characters who don’t belong; Billy at home and with rules, Old Bill in the ‘real world’ and Caitlin at home. They find a future for themselves and a place to belong by the conclusion of the novel.

THE KEY RELATIONSHIPS IN THE VERSE NOVEL

Billy And Old Bill ▪ Billy and Old Bill slowly help each other change and grow. The relationship between Billy and Old Bill is an important one for both of them. Yet it is a relationship that does not begin easily. When he first encounters Old Bill, Billy looks at him as a symbol of what he could become, ‘getting old/long before my time’. The use of the poem cycle structure in ‘Old Bill’ and ‘Before my time’ uses the same phrase ‘before his/my time’ to show the uncertainty with which Billy begins his relationship with Old Bill. Old Bill’s grouchy, hung-over state parallels that of the violent and unloving figure of Billy’s own father. Yet in offering Old Bill cigarettes and Weetbix, Billy symbolically extends a gesture of tentative friendship. In the poem ‘Too early’, the ‘fragile morning’ becomes a metaphor for their early relationship. Billy is able to demonstrate compassion and kindness to Old Bill, qualities that he values in others he has encountered in the past. Old Bill’s decision to tell Billy about work at the Cannery is a turning point in the development of their friendship. His paternal concern about how Billy could survive without money and his guilt for swearing at him contrast with the complete lack of concern and guilt Billy’s father has demonstrated in the past. In feeling this way, Old Bill becomes more like a true father figure for Billy. ‘The bloody kid’ outlines how the relationship will offer Old Bill the potential for change. He complains about Billy taking him to the Cannery each day for work he doesn’t really want to do. His concession that ‘at least/I’m not drinking so much,/and I can’t smoke in the Cannery.’ and the hyperbole in the exclamatory statement of ‘this kid’s going to turn me/into a health freak!’ reinforce our observation that this relationship is beginning to benefit Old Bill. ▪ Billy benefits from the relationship as well, because in Old Bill he sees someone whose situation is worse than his own. In the poem ‘Old Bill and the ghosts’, the repeated use of the pronoun ‘he’ followed by a different verb ‘He asks’; ‘He gives’; ‘He encourages’; ‘He makes’ and ‘He tells’ - builds an impression that the relationship is forged on things that the two characters do to help support and grow each other. Their friendship develops through their mutual understanding of adversity, by their both being ‘hobos’ and the fact that they both have had difficult and tragic pasts. The contrast between the poems ‘The bloody kid’ and ‘The kid’ reveals the changes that the relationship has undergone from Old Bill’s perspective. The framing device of the phrase ‘I like the kid’, which begins and ends the poem ‘The kid’, emphasises how important Billy has become in Old Bill’s life. He decides that ‘Billy deserves more/than an old carriage/and spending his days/trying to keep an/old hobo from too much drink.’ His action in giving Billy his house at the end of the verse novel is the ultimate action of kindness that affirms that their relationship with each other has been about changes and growth for both of them. ▪ The relationship between Billy and Old Bill is non-judgmental. Both Billy and Old Bill accept each other for what he is. Old Bill ‘never asks’ Billy ‘about family’ and Billy only supports Old Bill in his attempts to give up drinking rather than judging him for it. The use of the term ‘hobos’ to describe the two characters reinforces the equality between them. The description of them as ‘two hobos laughing,/laughing the morning away.’ at the end of ‘Monday’ and the symbolism of the sky that is used throughout the verse novel are two devices Herrick uses to link his two characters and show how their relationship is based upon an even, non-judgmental basis. ▪ Billy and Old Bill’s relationship is one of mutual gratitude. Both men are grateful to each other for the way they interact. Old Bill likes Billy because he continually shows him kindness and compassion, even when he is in his worst state. When he is drinking heavily, Billy helps him out: ‘I try to wake him/and help him inside/into the warmth.’ Billy’s self-deprecation at the end of this poem in describing himself as ‘a kid/who can’t leave well enough/alone.’ also uses enjambment to lace emphasis on the word ‘alone’. This reminds us that both characters are brought together through loneliness and that ironically this brings togetherness. Old Bill realises that it is Billy’s consistent interest in him that begins to change him and reignite his interest in living. In ‘Old and young’, Old Bill ‘wanted to buy him a coffee I to pay him back,/you know,/for every morning coffee I and breakfast.’ because Billy has given him hope for the future and a sense that he can begin to live again. The use of the metaphor ‘I saw the first signs of defeat/in his young eyes.’ indicates Old Bill’s determination not to let Billy be stripped of his optimism in the same way as he had. He is grateful to Billy and his ‘simple gift’ reflects that gratitude. Billy’s fear that ‘Old Bill was giving me / more than these keys I held.’ uses another metaphor to represent just how important this gift is between the two.

Caitlin And Billy ▪ Caitlin and Billy are attracted to one another on a number of different levels. The first thing that attracts Caitlin to Billy is his calmness. In ‘Caitlin and mopping’ she describes his exit from McDonald’s as ‘so calm,/so calm.’ The repetition of this phrase emphasises that there is something more to Billy that draws Caitlin in. Billy’s initial impressions of Caitlin are her physical attributes, ‘She had clean hair. Bouncing, shiny, clean hair .../And her skin was pale and clear ...’, and also the fact that her eyes ‘seemed to be thinking’. After she visits him at the carriage, their connection to each other becomes more than just physical. Billy says in ‘Looking’: ‘I looked back/and I saw past/the shiny watch/and the clean hair/and the beautiful woollen overcoat/I saw Caitlin,/and I liked what I saw.’ The conjunctions serve to show the connections that Billy makes from being attracted to her external features to something beyond that, to an attraction to the whole person that she is. The intensity of their relationship is further represented in the use of the metaphor in the extract from ‘Going nowhere’, as Billy describes his existence is one ‘with Caitlin at the centre,/and me/a badly dressed satellite/spinning crazily in her orbit.’ By comparing himself to a satellite in Caitlin’s ‘orbit’ he expresses clearly the ‘pull’ of attraction and the idea of interdependence that exists between them early in their relationship. Another metaphor is used by Caitlin in ‘Lucky’ to describe Billy as ‘the diary entry/ of my days’. By making this comparison, Herrick emphasises the emotional bond between the pair, as a diary is normally something of a private record of the self. The use of eyes as a motif in their relationship is also an important device. Billy makes regular reference to Caitlin’s green eyes and the connection he makes with them. The motif of eyes is used in the aptly titled ‘Comfort’ when Billy ponders what ‘she sees in me./I hope it’s/someone to talk to/someone to look in the eye/knowing they’ll look back.’ All of these references ensure that the reader sees the development of Caitlin and Billy’s relationship as something full and intense, encompassing the spectrum of attractions. ▪ Caitlin and Billy help develop a clearer sense of identity and self esteem from each other. Caitlin, in particular, finds her relationship with Billy as seminal in changing the way she sees herself in relation to her family and society. Her parents’ wealth has shaped much of who she thinks she should be. Yet her early dismissals of this are further shaken by what Billy means to her. In the poem ‘Dinner’, where Caitlin ‘thinks about Billy/in the carriage waiting ... I forget all about/careers and education/ and the dreary school world.’ we see the juxtaposition between her thoughts and her parents’ expectations of her future career. She is ashamed of her adverse reaction to seeing Billy and Old Bill together, yet it is her relationship with Billy that shifts her way of thinking about others. When he tells her about Old Bill she is able to see that ‘Billy was sixteen years old/and already a man/and I was seventeen,/nearly eighteen, and still a schoolgirl.’. The juxtaposition used in this extract shows us how Billy becomes responsible for Caitlin’s growth as a young woman. Billy’s sense of self is also further defined by his relationship with Caitlin. He desires stability and responsibility because of his relationship with her. This is clearly evident in ‘Swallows’ after Old Bill gives him the keys to the house on Wellington Road. He decides he ‘wasn’t going inside/without Caitlin with me. I could wait.’ The punctuation between the final sentences shows that their relationship is not one to be rushed and he is sure about it. ▪ Billy and Caitlin’s relationship provides security and comfort to them both. There are many references throughout the verse novel of the secure bond that their relationship with each other provides. The sensory imagery evoked in ‘Making love’ emphasises this. Their love-making is compared to floating through a river: ‘it was like falling headlong/into the clear waters/of the Bendarat River ... in the new world of quiet and calm ...’ The image of their relationship as a safe and secure experience is shown in the extended metaphor where Billy wishes that he ‘could return to the hush/of that special world/and we could float/safe for a lifetime ...’. Caitlin describes her feelings afterwards in ‘Tell the world’. She realises that she has ‘met someone/I could trust/and feel safe with.’ This sense of surety in their relationship is confirmed in Caitlin’s declaration in ‘Saturday dinner’, in which she says, ‘I love Billy, and I’m sure of him.’ The motif of food that connects them along the way (the picnic, the dinner party at Caitlin’s and their first meal together at Wellington Road) further reveals the sense of comfort and need that their relationship represents.

PLACES AND THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Longlands Road ▪ The street where Billy grew up does not inspire a sense of belonging in him. His action of throwing rocks upon the roofs of the houses in Longlands Road shows the strong negative attitude he has towards his street and all that it represents. The accumulation of negative diction in the extract ‘I throw one rock on the roof/of each deadbeat no hoper/shithole lonely downtrodden house/in Longlands Road, Nowheresville’ highlights the feelings of alienation that such a place arouses for Billy. His house is further represented as a place of isolation when he describes his father’s violence in ‘Sport’. After he has accidentally broken a window with his soccer ball, his father kicks the ball away and hits him in the face. The terrible violence of this episode is emphasised in the break in the stanzas that highlights the fact that Billy was only ‘ten years old’. The physical separation of father and son described in ‘I didn’t go inside for hours./I looked through the back window/watching him! reading a paper ... as if nothing/had happened.’ becomes symbolic of a much greater emotional barrier between the two.

Wentworthville High School ▪ His high school is represented just as negatively. Herrick uses the device of pathetic fallacy to suggest a place of alienation: ‘The wind howls and rain sheets in’.

Westfield Creek ▪ In contrast, the description of Westfield Creek uses positive diction and repetition to show how Billy feels a sense of belonging to this place: I love this place. I love the flow of cold clear water over the rocks and the wattles on the bank and the lizards sunbaking, heads up, listening ... ▪ Herrick then uses the device of a metaphor to further emphasise Billy’s positive feelings towards the creek. He compares the place to a classroom: ‘I learnt all I need to know/in books on the banks/of Westfield Creek,/my favourite classroom. This metaphor combined with the strong alliterative ‘b’ sounds ensures that readers see the significance of Westfield Creek in developing Billy’s sense of identity and in his growth as a young man.

Bendarat ▪ The town of Bendarat represents a place of new beginnings and an escape for Billy. As Billy arrives in the town ‘with the sun finally/lifting the fog’ the sun symbolises the way in which Billy is leaving his dark past behind. This town will provide the potential for hope and positive experiences, a place to truly belong. Herrick also uses personification in the extract from ‘Tonight, and the night after’ to describe Bendarat as ‘not the only desperate one’. This image aligns Billy with .the town from the outset, showing that they both share something in common and that he is a natural ‘fit’ for this place.

The Library ▪ In a similar way, the Bendarat Library is shown as a place in which Billy naturally belongs. The imagery in the title of the poem ‘Lord of the lounge’ emphasises that this is a place that gives Billy a sense of power, something he never had at home with his father. The metaphor in ‘That’s me,/on the deserted island/of a soft lounge/in Bendarat Library.’ (p. 24) also suggests that Billy will have a fresh start in this place and that he is happy to have a chance to be free and alone for now.

Carriage 1864 ▪ The abandoned freight train carriage that Billy sets up home in becomes an important place of belonging throughout the verse novel. By labelling it ‘my Motel Bendarat’, Billy shows that he quickly feels a sense of place and comfort inside it. Billy further demonstrates a sense of belonging to the carriage when he gives Caitlin a ‘business card’ with the carriage as his address. This is a symbolic gesture, which shows Caitlin that he feels this is his home for now.

McDonald’s ▪ This venue represents contrasting feelings of belonging for both Caitlin and Billy. For both of them it is a place of opportunity. Billy is able to get free food to help sustain him and for Caitlin it is a place of employment that will give her freedom from her parents in the future. The hyperbole and the conjunction used in ‘I can’t wait for university/so I can leave home/and that’s why I work at McDonald’s’ clearly shows the connection of McDonald’s to Caitlin’s desire for freedom. ▪ McDonald’s also represents the place in which Caitlin and Billy come to belong together. Caitlin’s attitude towards it improves after Billy becomes a regular visitor: ‘since Billy arrived/it’s certainly more interesting’. Thus McDonald’s becomes a conduit for the development of this relationship, a significant one in both of their concepts of belonging.

The Bendarat Hilton ▪ The nickname that Old Bill gives the freight carriages that he and Billy live in shows that they are to feel a strong sense of belonging even in a place that is not really theirs. The connotation of the brand ‘Hilton’ is one of luxury and extravagance. Herrick is using this association with a well-known hotel chain to ensure that his readers recognise that Billy and Old Bill feel great comfort in this place. ▪ Caitlin’s description of the carriage in Billy’s cave’ uses the image of a cave to compare the carriage to a secluded sanctuary: ‘It was like a little cave,/a warm, safe little cave/for children to hide in/when/they’re scared and lonely/and need somewhere safe to go./Billy’s cave.’. The simile in this extract, along with the juxtaposition of ‘safe’ and ‘scared’ reinforces the idea that Billy feels a sense of belonging to this place because it is a refuge from his terrible past. It is also a similar place of refuge for Old Bill, who is using it to escape the loss of his wife and child. ▪ The ‘Bendarat Hilton’ is a place that gives Billy and Old Bill a sense that they will continue to belong together towards the end of the verse novel. After he moves into the house, Billy vows to return to the carriage once a week, to sit and read, alone, on the leather seat, with the sounds and smells of the hobo life close by, to never forget this home by the railroad tracks. ▪ The assonance of the long ‘o’ sounds in this extract creates a contemplative mood. Billy understands that he still belongs here, as it was the place in which he began to feel a true sense of self and comfort. It gave him freedom away from his violent father and depressing home town where he knew there was no future for him. It is also the place where he was able to show kindness and compassion to Old Bill and to prove to himself that he still could. ▪ For Old Bill, the freight carriage has also been a place of transition. At first it was clearly an escape from his past life; it represented the opposite of everything he had once been - lawyer, father, respected town resident. Then it became a place of forgetting, away from the terrible memories of Wellington Road, somewhere he could sleep off his hangover in peace. Then it became a place where he began to reconnect with life through his friendship with Billy. Simple actions like sharing Weetbix for breakfast gave him a chance to talk about his life slowly and carefully.

Caitlin’s Home ▪ The descriptions of Caitlin’s home and bedroom reveal that paradoxically they are not places where she feels she belongs. They represent a sense of alienation that she feels from her parents’ lifestyle and context. In ‘Caitlin’ she explains: ‘and I know what I really need/and it’s not in my bedroom’. The bluntness of this statement is juxtaposed with the listing device that Herrick uses in the previous lines to describe how many things Caitlin has in her bedroom. Yet, despite the quantity of possessions, not one of them satisfies her sense of belonging. In ‘The weekend off’, the house as a place of alienation for Caitlin is further emphasised by the use of a metaphor: ‘this big ugly five bedroom/million dollar brick box/that we live in’. The connotation of a box to describe her house is one of entrapment and confinement. The house only serves to make Caitlin feel oppressed.

Wellington Road ▪ This house represents the way in which a sense of belonging to a place can change through time and circumstance. It also reveals how the same place can mean different things to different people. As was revealed earlier in the poems ‘Old Bill’s fall’ and ‘The house’, the house on Wellington Road was once Old Bill’s place of residence. Yet is also the place where his young daughter Jessie fell out of a tree and died. Herrick changes the reference from ‘home’ to ‘house’ between these two poems to reflect the dramatic change in attitude Old Bill had towards the house after his wife and daughter passed away. The connotation of the word ‘home’ reinforces the fact that the place was more than just a physical residence. It was a true place of belonging for Old Bill and his family. Yet the deaths of his wife and daughter change the house to a place of alienation and tragedy, one he wishes to completely isolate himself from. His decision not to sell the house shows that it has a thread of connection left, one that keeps his memories of his family alive. When Billy’s future is thrown into doubt, Old Bill realises that Wellington Road is a place that can ensure that his sense of belonging in Bendarat is guaranteed. The highly emotive verse ‘So obvious’ makes clear the difficulty with which this decision is fraught for Old Bill. He once again refers to it as ‘my house’, which pre-empts the decision he is about to make. The sense of belonging to this house is re-ignited through his relationship with Billy. Watching the happiness that he and Caitlin share and wanting to repay his kindness, Old Bill realises that the house becomes ‘his simple gift’. When he has made his decision, the imagery used to describe the house in ‘Peace’ reflects the way in which Old Bill’s change of attitude also impacts upon his perspective of the house on Wellington Road: ‘I sit on the veranda/and admire the peace/that I’d never noticed here’. Nature is used symbolically to show the shift in Old Bill’s thinking. In ‘The swallows swoop along/the grass and weeds/and arc in to the nest ...’ sibilance represents the peace that Old Bill has found in his heart and in this place. ▪ Billy has mixed feelings about Wellington Road. He knows it represents enormous pain and suffering for Old Bill. Yet it also represents a chance for him to stay in ‘the only town/’ve ever wanted to call home ...’ The keys to the house are used symbolically to represent an opportunity for both men. ‘I wasn’t sure/whether taking them/meant Old Bill/had a new life too/or if taking them meant/he now had nothing ...’ The contrast and alliteration between ‘new’, ‘now’ and ‘nothing’ shows the uncertainty this gift represents for Billy. The gift is made more positive when Billy accompanies Old Bill to the house and they watch ‘the swallows/swoop and play’, which parallels the imagery in the earlier verse, ‘Peace’. This framing device suggests that the sense of belonging to Wellington Road is beginning to align for Billy and Old Bill. Both now find a chance for renewal and change in this house. ▪ The key that passes from Old Bill to Billy is again used as a symbol that brings Caitlin closer to a sense of belonging to the house on Wellington Road. Billy takes her to the house: ‘he hands me a key/and we stand, his hand on mine,/the key between us ...’ Yet she also has mixed feelings about taking such a gift ‘because of this house/and its past/and what it means to Old Bill.’. Yet her final action, ‘I insert the key I and turn it slowly/and push the door.’ makes her the final link between the past and present for this place. In going inside Wellington Road, Caitlin and Billy establish this house as their own and as a place in which they are free to be themselves and be independent from those people and things that have held them back in the past. Paradoxically, in entering this house they also free Old Bill from living under his repressive grief and give him a chance to live again. ▪ In the final chapters of the verse novel, the house on Wellington Road consolidates itself as a place to which Caitlin and Billy feel they fully belong to each other and their world. When they walk through the house together in ‘Measure’, they touch each thing in the house ‘gently/as though each object/was worth a fortune’. The simile shows the reverence with which they both view the house, knowing it will be their own sanctuary and place of complete belonging. The motif of the swallows continues in this verse as they hear them sing as ‘they stood there/measuring a life.’. The use of this motif further draws the connection between the three characters with Wellington Road at the centre. It is a place in which each of them is given a chance to start a new life. For Caitlin and Billy that will be a life of togetherness. Their cleaning of the house in ‘Cleaning’ forges their connection to the house and the way it offers a ‘clean start’. We see that Billy in particular knows the importance of the house in that process. His eyes are ‘turned/towards the white timber house’. The alliteration of the ‘t’ sounds places emphasis on his actions and the physicality of the place. It adds lightness to the connection that is shown in the poem ‘Respect’, in which Billy reveals how he continues to belong to the house in a complex way. On the one hand it is a safe haven, described through the simile portraying it as a place that ‘feels like home/where I can look out/and not be afraid of who sees me,/or who I see.’ Yet, ironically, Billy still knows ‘this house/is not mine./I know I’m only here/for a while/so I tread lightly/with respect ...’, the metaphor revealing that the house still belongs to Old Bill and he may be ready to return to it fully one day. ▪ Old Bill recognises Billy’s uncertainty in feeling that he fully belongs to the house. He tells him in ‘Holiday’: ‘Don’t worry about the house/and its ghosts,/I’m taking them with me,/they need a holiday and so do I.’ The personification and direct speech emphasise that, to fully belong to the house, Billy needs to feel that it no longer holds the terrible memories that were associated with it. Old Bill also sees how the house has come to represent his grief and the past. By moving completely away from it, he will give himself a chance to heal emotionally. It frees Billy enough to tell Old Bill: ‘I love the house’. The simplicity of this statement shows the significance the house has in allowing Billy to feel a true sense of belonging.

Bendarat River ▪ Like the ‘Bendarat Hilton’, this place ensures that Billy and Old Bill will feel a continuity in their belonging together. Herrick uses the symbolism of swimming and washing in the Bendarat River to show how Old Bill slowly purges himself of his demons. In the earlier verse of ‘Hobos like us’, the river is the place where Old Bill is able to laugh and where Billy senses that there’s ‘hope in the world/even for hobos like us.’ In ‘Drinking by the river’, Billy and Old Bill share their last meal together. Nature is again used symbolically to represent optimism and hope: ‘We sat by the bank/watching the sun sparkle/on the water,/with the ducks gliding by/and an ibis on the opposite bank/near a log ...’ The bucolic setting becomes a place where Old Bill feels comfortable enough in his friendship with Billy to be honest about his past and his future: ‘it’s taking a while/for him to get used to/the taste of being sober/all day.’.

The Night sky ▪ The night sky becomes the final connection between Billy and Old Bill. When Old Bill leaves to go north, Billy and he say farewell from the Freight Yard. Billy then watches ‘until he/was out of sight/and I looked up/into the sky,/the deep blue sky/that Old Bill and I shared.’ The sky is their link to each other, a place they can feel certain the other one sees at any time or place - an eternal place of belonging.
EVENTS AND THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Billy Leaves Home ▪ Billy’s decision to run away from home demonstrates that there is no sense of belonging between him and his father. The events outlined in a number of the verses in this chapter demonstrate that Billy’s father has not acted in a way that shows he loves and cares for his son. As a result Billy feels no connection to him. In running away from home, Billy reveals that the barrier between himself and his father seems impenetrable. The tone expressed in the exclamatory statement ‘The old bastard will have a fit!’ along with the harsh slang reinforces the fact that Billy cares little for his violent and unloving father. The repetition used in ‘Kiss the dog’ also shows that this decision to run away has not been an easy one for Billy. Herrick frames this verse with the phrase ‘I’m not proud’ to reveal that Billy’s action is one of desperation rather than pride. As he leaves, he throws rocks at all the houses on the street as a symbolic gesture of his anger at having to leave. The story that is recounted in ‘Sport’ is another event from this opening chapter used to show why Billy feels no sense of belonging to his father. The heartless and terrible violence of hitting a ten-year-old boy because he accidentally broke a window with his soccer ball shows that the barriers between Billy and his father have been building for years: ‘as Dad stood over me/and said/no more sport I no more forever.’ is juxtaposed with the innocence of his action, reflected by the repetition of ‘I was ten years old’. His father’s outburst seems completely out of balance with the accident. The contrast serves to show readers why Billy has been building towards his decision to run away for many years.

Billy Comes To Bendarat ▪ Billy’s decision to stay in Bendarat gives him an opportunity to start anew. When Billy decides to get off the freight train in Bendarat he is ensuring that he is far way enough from his father to find a sense of belonging to another place without the barriers erected by his father. The repetition of ‘miles from home/miles from school ...’ places emphasis on the importance of distance in being able to forge a new sense of belonging without the influence of his father’s violence and alcoholism. As Billy walks through the main street of Bendarat, Herrick uses the device of personification to forge an alignment between Billy and the town: ‘I realise Bendarat is not the only desperate one.’ His first night spent in the freight train carriage further emphasises that this decision is one that provides Billy with the chance of a fresh start. The positive description of the carriage as ‘surprisingly warm/and quiet, so quiet.’ is contrasted to the metaphor used to describe his father as ‘thundering’ in the earlier verse ‘Sport’.
Billy Meets Caitlin ▪ When he steals leftover food in McDonald’s, Billy opens up the opportunity to belong to Caitlin. When Caitlin observes Billy ‘stealing scraps’ she is drawn to the way Billy looks ‘self contained’. His demeanour is what encourages her not to call the Manager. Instead Caitlin ‘smiled at him. I smiled at him and said, ‘I hate mopping.’/ He sat in his chair/and smiled back/and I felt good/that I hadn’t called the Manager.’ Herrick uses the direct speech in this extract to demonstrate the potential for belonging between Caitlin and Billy. She does the unexpected and puts him at ease and the motif of their smiles further emphasises a connection between the two. This exchange between Billy and Caitlin shows us that belonging to another can happen unexpectedly and is not always reliant on there being a similar social background between two people. Caitlin does not use her position of power or social status to distance herself from Billy. ▪ Billy doesn’t let his preconceived ideas about Caitlin’s social status close an opportunity for them to belong together. In ‘Breakfast’ he passes by Bendarat Grammar School and sees that ‘All the students look clean/and rich and smug/and confident,/and I thought of Caitlin/and decided I shouldn’t judge,/not yet anyway.’ The punctuation in the final line suggests an ambiguity in Billy’s decision. He may come to judge her or he may let events persuade him otherwise. Both of them let the events of Chapter Two steer them towards a strong sense of belonging. In leaving notes and a ‘business card’ on the table after each night he spends in McDonald’s, Billy is offering Caitlin more opportunities to belong to him as a person, rather than allowing his circumstances to become a barrier between the two of them. Caitlin’s ‘acceptance of this is clearly shown in the use of contrast in the extract from ‘Manners’, in which she observes that Billy has, ‘Such perfect manners,/eating scraps at McDonald’s’. His good manners are more important to Caitlin than the circumstances that have left Billy ‘eating scraps’. Her reaction to his ‘business card’ again shows that Caitlin is drawn to Billy because of who he is and not what he is. The deliberate juxtaposition in ‘Homeless, and proud of it’ and the fact that she smiles when she considers this, reinforces that the sense of belonging that will grow between Billy and Caitlin is one that will be based purely on their true characters, not on any external factors.

Billy Gives Cigarettes To Old Bill ▪ Billy’s first act of compassion and kindness towards Old Bill in the Freight Yard creates an opportunity for belonging between them. When Billy hears Old Bill in the Freight Yard for the first time he is faced with a decision. ‘I didn’t know whether/to leave him be/or say sorry.’ The use of the adverb ‘then’ indicates that Billy’s quick decision to ‘rush back into the carriage’ to retrieve his father’s cigarettes provides a chance to belong to Old Bill that might never had happened had he walked away instead. It reminds us that the process of belonging to another person at times happens because of a chance encounter like this one. It also happens because Billy allows it to by not turning his back on Old Bill. This parallels the way in which Caitlin chooses not to tell her Manager about Billy stealing food in McDonald’s. Old Bill’s reaction in readily accepting the cigarettes and allowing Billy to sit with him ‘staring at the beer/and the sunrise,/sharing the hobo hour’ further shows in the metaphor used that it is the openness of individuals that is important in the process of belonging to each other.

Caitlin Visits Billy’s Carriage ▪ Caitlin’s visit to Billy’s carriage further consolidates the sense of belonging between them. The contrasts offered between Caitlin’s wealthy background and Billy’s homelessness in ‘Caitlin visiting’ and ‘Billy’s cave’ shows that the external factors in Caitlin’s and Billy’s lives are not barriers to their sense of belonging. The sarcastic tone and harsh slang terms used in the extract ‘Sometimes being rich/and having a dad who/spoils you and buys you/completely stupid/unnecessary crap like/a gold watch/and a mobile phone ...’ reveals that Caitlin does not value these things and therefore will not let them become barriers to belonging. When she visits Billy’s carriage, her tone softens in describing his ‘warm, safe little cave’. Herrick uses soft alliterative sounds throughout ‘Billy’s cave’ to show how Caitlin feels an immediate sense of belonging to his place. Billy has reciprocal feelings for Caitlin during her visit: ‘the more she looked at me I the more relaxed I became/and I looked back ...’ The eyes become a significant motif in establishing a sense of belonging between Caitlin and Billy. Her visit to his carriage confirms that their relationship will become an important and enduring one because it is forged on a true understanding between them both.

Billy And Old Bill Work At The Cannery ▪ The way in which Billy encourages Old Bill to join him in working at the Cannery helps to forge a bond between the two characters and also provides a point of transition in Old Bill’s life. By having a sense of purpose each day, Old Bill finds himself dwelling less on his tragic past and also spends less time drinking. Even he grudgingly admits that ‘this kid’s going to turn me I into a health freak!’ The sarcasm and slang used in this exclamatory statement reveal that Old Bill sees the positive changes that working and being with Billy may bring. The sense of belonging between Billy and Old Bill is further consolidated and there is a suggested equality between them as co-workers. Herrick represents the reciprocity of their relationship: each is learning and growing because of the other.

The Picnic ▪ Caitlin and Billy have a picnic together by the Bendarat River. The rhythm and pace of ‘The picnic’ is slow and calm. Herrick uses repetition - ’We ate everything./We took our time .../It was warm,/it was delicious ...’ - and a steady beat throughout this verse to illustrate that the way in which Caitlin and Billy come to feel a sense of belonging to each other is unhurried and easy. The enjambment in the final part of the verse - ‘and we slept together/only/we really did just/sleep together/content/to waste the hours/close.’- also places emphasis on the feelings of comfort and closeness that each provides for the other.

‘Old Bill’s Fall’ ▪ Old Bill recalls the deaths of his wife and daughter in 1993. The blunt simplicity used to describe the death of Jessie in ‘Old Bill’s fall’ and of his wife in ‘The house’ contrasts with the enormous emotional upheaval that these events had on Old Bill’s life. Herrick uses his free verse style to effectively reveal the numbness that these events have left Old Bill with. Both events have become barriers to Old Bill’s sense of belonging to anything or anyone. The sharpness of the assonance used in the short ‘a’ sounds in ‘mad with rage and pain’ echoes the actions of Old Bill hacking down the tree that Jessie fell from. His anger and grief at these two horrible events make him unable to feel any sense of belonging to others or the world. The extended metaphor of ‘the fall’ also demonstrates that, in losing his sense of belonging to the house on Wellington Road, his family, his past, his work and his town, there is no control over his feelings or actions any more. It feels like an endless process – ‘I’ve been falling ever since ...’ - which the hyperbole reinforces. ▪ The only thread of connection to the past left in Old Bill’s life is the house on Wellington Road. In deciding not to sell it because of ‘the thought, of a family/within those walls,/people I don’t know/within those walls ...’ reveals that Old Bill is not able to completely cut the bond that house once meant for him. Herrick uses repetition and an ellipsis in this extract to show there is uncertainty in Old Bill’s decision not to sell, a link he can’t bring himself to completely sever. These events show that tragic events can completely change a person’s sense of belonging and sometimes it is a physical object that can act as the symbolic final connection to those feelings of belonging.

Conversations ▪ The simple acts of conversation and sharing meals help create stronger connections between Billy and Caitlin and Old Bill and Billy. The poem cycle of Chapter Six focuses on the information exchanged between the characters and the meals shared. These events show how important conversation and shared experiences are in building the trust necessary to feel a greater bond to another person. Old Bill tells Billy ‘about his Jessie/and his wife/and the house he visits ... and how he’s afraid to forget ...’ This extract uses repetition of the conjunction ‘and’ to show that Old Bill trusts Billy enough to tell him many things about himself. He opens up about his past and his feelings and Billy understands that this is a sign that they are truly friends. Herrick parallels Old Bill’s revelations to Billy with those of Caitlin to Billy in ‘Lucky’. A metaphor is used to reinforce the importance of conversation and honesty in forging their sense of belonging together: ‘Billy has become the diary entry/of my days. He holds the secrets ...’ In developing closeness between people, everyday actions and exchanges are important for building trust and understanding.

Caitlin Sees Old Bill At The Freight Yard For The Firsi Time ▪ When Caitlin sees Billy sitting with Old Bill at the Freight Yard, her sense of belonging to Billy is challenged. She watches Billy helping Old Bill get breakfast and runs away back to school where ‘all I can think/is that - seeing Billy/with that old hobo/made me think of Billy I as a hobo ...’ The repetition of the slang term ‘hobo’ signals that potentially Billy’s social status could become a barrier to belonging between himself and Caitlin. Herrick then uses a series of rhetorical questions - ’Hadn’t I known/that’s how Billy lived?/Hadn’t I seen him/stealing food,/and hadn’t I seen/where he sleeps?’ - to show how Caitlin has to confront this element between herself and Billy and decide if it will be something she can’t cross. ▪ Caitlin chooses to change her attitude. The barrier does not become an impenetrable one for Caitlin because ‘by lunchtime/I decided/I was a complete fool ...’ The self-deprecation in this extract shows that not all barriers to belonging are easy to confront. There has to be a change of thinking and attitude for Caitlin. The repetition of ‘I walked’ in the final lines of ‘The afternoon off’ becomes symbolic of the choice that Caitlin has had to make. She can let Billy’s status stay a barrier to belonging between them or, instead, she can turn in another direction and let their relationship continue. Her choice is represented as a positive in the symbolism of the poem that follows, ‘In the sunshine’. When she goes back to the Freight Yard, ‘he smiled, and said welcome,/welcome to my sunshine ...’ - Here the sun is used to connote a bright future for the two of them and the sense of belonging they share.

The Dinner Party ▪ Caitlin hosts a dinner party for Billy and Old Bill which becomes a turning point in the relationships. By inviting Billy and Old Bill to her house while her parents are away for the weekend, Caitlin is trying to show that she wants Billy to feel an important part of her life. The conversation they share also helps Old Bill feel a connection to others: I realised as I walked home that for a few hours I hadn’t thought of anything but how pleasant it was to sit with these people and to talk with them. ▪ By feeling he belongs again, Old Bill is able to forget about his grief and pain for a while. This transition in his feelings about himself and others is confirmed later in the chapter when he decides to drink less for the ‘kid’s sake’. The dinner party is also the first time that Caitlin and Billy have sex. This is the ultimate expression of their love for one another and the rhapsodic style (which emphasises the delight and ecstasy in the moment) that Herrick uses in ‘Making love’ indicates the significance of this event in bringing the two characters together as lovers. This physical bond is just as significant as the emotional and intellectual bond they have been forging together. The use of a metaphor to describe the act as ‘a special world’ underlines the all encompassing nature of the experience for them.

Billy Is Questioned By The Police ▪ When two police officers confront Billy on the main street of Bendarat, he realises how much he has to lose. When the police officers question him about his age, residence and work, Billy is forced to lie about his independent state. They make him promise to return to meet with a welfare officer the next day. This encounter makes Billy recognise just how much he has gained by living in Bendarat and how he is now threatened with the loss of the feelings of comfort and belonging that he has found in himself. When he tells Old Bill about his fears, he says he is unsure how he could ever ‘leave/the only town/I’ve ever wanted to call home,/and Caitlin ...’ Herrick use hyperbole and an ellipsis to suggest that this thought is too painful for Billy to contemplate and that the consequences for him would be terrible.

Old Bill Gives Billy His House ▪ When Old Bill decides to give Billy his house on Wellington Road he is demonstrating that the bond of friendship they share makes him willing to make a great sacrifice. The decision is a painful one for Old Bill. The emotions he describes in coming to this decision reveal that his grief and fear about the past could have been the final barriers to his having a true friendship with Billy. Herrick uses strong emotive language in describing how the decision he reaches is ‘so unbearably painful/my whole body shakes/with the thought’. This moment of pathos shows that the process of belonging is complex and not always an easy experience. Paradoxically, the gift of the house helps to forge a great sense of belonging between himself and Billy but at the same time creates the final break with Old Bill’s past and the sense of belonging to his family that the house has represented for him. It both seals and breaks a sense of belonging for Old Bill. ▪ In giving Billy the keys to his house on Wellington Road, Old Bill is proving that his relationship with Billy is one of complete trust and that it has also enabled him to take steps towards living again. The significance of the exchange is just as powerful for Billy. It represents a confirmation that Old Bill trusts Billy to take responsibility for the house and that he believes he can live responsibly and independently there. The use of sibilance and alliteration in the extract ‘Old Bill and I/sat on the veranda/ watching the swallows/swoop and play/with a gentle breeze blowing/through the fir trees/along the back fence.’ sets a peaceful and calm mood as the two characters share what will become a symbol of their bond of friendship. The nature motif adds to the mood, showing that in a way by passing on the keys to Billy, Old Bill is continuing the life cycle: Billy is about to become the ‘head of the household’ in the same way as Old Bill once was. Another important aspect of the exchange is the way in which Old Bill’s tremors cease ‘for a moment’, which metaphorically highlights the way in which the friendship he shares with Billy offers him the chance to transform both physically and emotionally. ▪ Billy’s decision to wait for Caitlin before he goes inside the house shows that he sees her as part of his own transformation. The act of stepping over the threshold together symbolises the way their relationship is transforming into one of adult responsibility and is completely free of any of the external barriers that might once have prevented it from developing.

Old Bill Decides To Go North ▪ When Old Bill reflects on all the changes he has undergone since meeting Billy, he recognises that the final part of his transformation is still to come. He realises that he had been telling Billy to travel but ‘he should have been listening/to his own words/ ringing/hollow in his head.’ The metaphor and alliteration used in this extract reinforce the bitterness Old Bill feels about the way he has behaved in the past. He understands that it is now time for a final transformation: to deal with his grief in a way that treasures the lives of his wife and daughter rather than trying to forget them through alcohol and isolation. His daughter’s school project becomes the catalyst for his final catharsis: ‘... I promised her we’d go/ and I promised her we’d swim together/ and wave at the fish!’. The exclamatory statement echoes Old Bill’s renewed excitement and sense of hope this promise offers him. By travelling north, he can make a fresh start and also honour his daughter in a positive way. He also sees a future for himself beyond this trip ‘for when I get back/from taking Jessie’s/trip to the ocean’. These are significant changes in Old Bill’s outlook and feelings, brought on primarily through his friendship with Billy. ▪ Billy spends time in both the house on Wellington Road and his carriage on Old Bill’s final day in Bendarat. After spending the night with Caitlin in the house in Wellington Road, Billy rises the next morning to have breakfast with Old Bill in the Freight Yard. In this splitting of his time between these two locations, Billy reveals that both represent important places of belonging for him. The house symbolises his future with Caitlin and the consolidation of their romance into one of adult responsibility. The Freight Yard represents his friendship with Old Bill and the way that place gave him an opportunity to start again and begin a life without the negative influence of his father. The lines ‘I wander through the house,/so big,/much bigger than a train carriage.’ use repetition to reveal that Billy sees the future as more challenging than his time in the train carriage. The latter was a step towards this bigger future and the greater responsibility he has in keeping Old Bill’s house for him and in his relationship with Caitlin. The imagery of the ‘hobo sky’ that he looks towards at the conclusion of the verse novel represents the connection that he will have to Old Bill, no matter where he travels, and also the hope he has for the future in his connection to Caitlin and Bendarat.
CHARACTERS AND THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Billy ▪ Billy finds a sense of belonging through unconventional means. Billy has not experienced the primary sense of belonging that most children start their lives with - that of parent and child. Herrick makes no mention of a mother figure in Billy’s life and the recount of key events from his past demonstrates that his father is a violent and unloving character. There is no bond between father and son and as a consequence Billy feels no connection to his family home on Longlands Road. This lack of belonging between father and son causes Billy to feel sad, angry and scared. The use of slang terms to describe his father and their home in examples such as ‘the old bastard’ and ‘this dump’ reveals that Billy is bitter about his circumstances. Furthermore, the personification of the rocks he has thrown at houses as he leaves and the onomatopoeia used in the extract from ‘Longlands Road’, ‘the rocks bounce and clatter/and roll and protest/at being left at this damn place ...’, echo the anger he feels about not having any sense of belonging to the one person and place he should belong with. Ironically, it is by becoming homeless that Billy ultimately finds a sense of belonging to a place and to significant people in his new life. Bendarat becomes the ‘only town/I’ve ever wanted to call home ...’ and the relationships he develops with Old Bill, Caitlin and even the town’s librarian, Irene, all give Billy a sense of belonging he never felt in his old life. ▪ Belonging provides Billy with self-confidence and hope. By freeing himself of his father and the barriers that contained his previous life, Billy is able to develop a sense of responsibility and confidence in who he is and what he is capable of. From the outset he has to develop survival skills to sustain himself in Bendarat. ‘I’m poor, homeless, but I’m not stupid.’ is used as a framing line in the verse ‘Lunch’ to highlight the growth in Billy’s self-confidence. The symbolism of the ‘business card’ he gives to Caitlin in ‘Business’ also shows that, despite not having a traditional home, he still feels strongly attached to the freight carriage and is happy to declare it as a home. Other actions such as getting a job at the Cannery, making meals for Caitlin and understanding the responsibility ahead of him when Old Bill gives him the house on Wellington Road all demonstrate that, by feeling a sense of belonging to others and to the town of Bendarat, Billy has the courage to live independently. He also shows that through belonging he has hope for the future. In the final lines from the verse ‘Lock and keys’, ‘and I can decide/what I really want to do/here in Bendarat’, the use of repetition in the personal pronoun ‘I’ and a strong tone show that Billy’s sense of belonging to Caitlin and Bendarat allows him to feel confident in taking charge of his own life and future. ▪ Billy’s sense of belonging to others and places gives him feelings of comfort and safety. The places where Billy feels he truly belongs (the freight carriage, the house on Wellington Road and Bendarat) are all described in ways that show that this sense of belonging provides Billy with feelings of security and comfort. The carriage is described metaphorically as his ‘cave’ and the house he eventually moves into ‘feels like a home/where I can look out/and not le afraid’. Herrick also describes these places with soft, alliterative sounds to reflect the feelings Billy has for them. In a similar way, by belonging to Old Bill and Caitlin, Billy feels secure in who he is. After making love for the first time, Billy feels ‘safe for a lifetime’. This hyperbole reflects the powerful feelings that accompany this act of romantic belonging. Herrick uses high modality to show the certainty with which Billy feels connected to Old Bill in the opening line to ‘Old Bill and the ghosts’: ‘Old Bill and me are friends’.

Old Bill ▪ Old Bill has lost his sense of belonging to anyone or anything because of tragic events. The deaths of Old Bill’s wife and daughter illustrate how quickly and dramatically feelings of belonging can be changed. Their deaths have left Old Bill jobless, homeless and alone. They have formed an enormous barrier to any feelings of belonging to others or society that Old Bill may have once had. His dependence on alcohol to help remove any feelings or thoughts about belonging show that the grief Old Bill suffers has changed him irrevocably. Whenever he returns to the house on Wellington Road, he is reminded about the family and home to which he once belonged. It causes more grief for him to remember what he has lost than he is able to deal with; he has to ‘get so drunk/I sleep for days./I sleep, and/I don’t dream’. The repetition and hyperbole used in this extract show the way in which Old Bill has lost basic human functions such as dreaming, because he has lost the important bonds he once had to his family and home. He doesn’t want to feel anything positive; as such feelings only serve to remind him of his loss. Herrick uses a metaphor in the extract ‘I called for another/as all thoughts of/truth and beauty/washed from my mind’ combined with enjambment to emphasise the things Old Bill wishes to get rid of and to show how he is trying to stop himself from feeling anything at all. The experiences of Old Bill show readers just how important belonging is to human existence; Old Bill, however, tries to remove this element from his own life because he barely wishes to exist at all. ▪ Old Bill finds hope again through watching others find a connection. Not just through his relationship with Billy, but also through watching Billy and Caitlin form a romantic connection, Old Bill begins to feel again. His observation of ‘Billy kissing his girl Caitlin’ and his experiences at Caitlin’s dinner party help to remind Old Bill about how it feels to belong to someone. The following extract: I’d listened to Billy and Caitlin talk and I’d noticed how they looked at each other- their quick gentle smiles over the food- and the way they sat close, and I realised as I walked home that for a few hours I hadn’t thought of anything but how pleasant it was to sit with these people and to talk with them. uses hyphens and commas to create a quiet, contemplative rhythm and pathos to make the reader realise that there are feelings beneath Old Bill’s numb and grief-stricken exterior that can be reignited. By watching Caitlin and Billy demonstrate the qualities of belonging together, Old Bill allows himself to have the same positive feelings that he probably once experienced when he belonged to his own wife and daughter. ▪ Old Bill remembers the importance of belonging in his life. By not selling the house on Wellington Road, Old Bill shows that he was not willing to completely cut ties with the feelings of belonging to his family. It becomes the symbol for Old Bill of belonging to the past and to the future. He helps Billy stay in Bendarat by giving him the house and he ensures that it provides him with a continuing sense of belonging to both Billy and to the memories of his wife and child. The more that feelings of belonging are awakened in Old Bill the more he begins to live again. He shows that he is beginning to live again by not drinking as much, by working and by deciding to mow the lawn at the house. He also shows that he is beginning to accept that he can let himself feel a sense of belonging to his wife and daughter when he recalls key events from when they were alive. The recollection of Jessie saving an injured parrot becomes a catalyst to Old Bill’s understanding that feelings of belonging are essential to feeling alive again. The repetition of the phrase ‘I thought of Jessie’ and the use of the personal pronoun ‘we’ throughout the verse ‘To help people’ reflect the way Old Bill allows himself these feelings of belonging again and realises that they can be life-giving rather than soul-destroying.

Caitlin ▪ Caitlin rejects a conventional sense of belonging to her parents and their values. She shows that she does not feel a particular bond with her parents and their values through the language she uses to describe both their actions and their possessions. ‘Dad is too ‘rich for his own good’ deliberately inverts a saying that is often uttered by adults about young people. Such an inversion shows that Caitlin does not conform to her parents’ lifestyle or viewpoints; instead she ‘can’t wait for university I so I can leave home ...’ The colloquialism demonstrates Caitlin’s rejection of home and family. She also looks disparagingly on the possessions her parents provide for her. When she lists all the things in her bedroom, she concludes in a defiant tone: ‘And I’m not a spoilt brat OK,/but I am spoilt,/spoilt to boredom,/and I’m smart enough/to realise that none of this/means anything ...’ The repetition and hyperbole emphasise Caitlin’s feelings that these things are barriers to feeling that she belongs to her parents. Their values are the opposite to those that she is developing as a young woman. ▪ Caitlin overcomes social barriers to feel a sense of belonging to Billy. Despite her overt rejection of the materialism that her parents stand for, Caitlin is forced to recognise that she still subconsciously holds on to some of the values that they have brought her up with. When she sees Billy sitting with Old Bill she flees, suddenly seeing Billy’s homelessness as a harsh reality. She is forced to confront a barrier to belonging to Billy and see that ‘maybe there was something/of my parents in me,/ whether I liked it or not.’ The ambiguity of what that ‘something’ may be allows us to realise that, even though Caitlin no longer feels a strong bond to her parents, there will always be a connection that keeps them together. The signs of this connection can arise unexpectedly; in this circumstance, Caitlin is made to realise she has to consciously reject them again as she symbolically ‘walked slowly and deliberately/ back to the railway tracks,/determined not to run away again.’ She confronts a barrier to belonging to Billy and overcomes it so as to deepen their love for one another. ▪ Caitlin develops a greater sense of identity through belonging. Caitlin’s relationship with Billy helps strengthen her belief in herself and encourages her to trust another person enough to share who she truly is with them. Despite the fact that she comes from a wealthy family and has a strong circle of friends, it is not until she connects with Billy that Caitlin feels she can really be herself. Herrick uses the motif of silence to indicate that Caitlin keeps her true feelings and thoughts concealed from those she superficially belongs to. She tells of dinner with her parents at which ‘we eat in silence’ after they try to tell her what career she should pursue. The decision to not speak also shown when she decides not to tell her friends about making love with Billy: ‘not yet/not just yet’. In contrast, she speaks openly with Billy about everything: ‘Billy has become the diary entry/of my days’. Through belonging to Billy, Caitlin feels most true to herself: ‘I don’t feel rich or poor,/or a schoolgirl, or a McDonald’s worker,/or anything but lucky ...’ In this extract, the nouns (the labels that people apply to her) are replaced with an adjective (who she is). Belonging has given her a greater sense of self.

RELATIONSHIPS AND THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Billy And Old Bill ▪ Billy and Old Bill’s sense of belonging is based on reciprocity. Both Billy and Old Bill are running away from something. Billy is escaping a violent, unloving alcoholic father and Old Bill is trying to escape the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter. Their desperate circumstances lead them to homelessness. When they share the ‘Bendarat Motel’, each recognises the pain in the other’s life. Each of them needs a friend to give him back a sense of hope. Their relationship and connection show us that belonging can occur through shared circumstances. Despite the fact that Billy and Old Bill are quite different in age and background, they find a commonality through their present situation. Herrick aligns the two characters from the outset through their names. He also shows the way in which actions bring the two together. Billy helps Old Bill (with breakfast, getting a job, cleaning himself, putting him to bed when he gets drunk) and Old Bill helps Billy (giving advice, listening and helping him remain in Bendarat). Their bond is strengthened by this exchange. A clear example of the reciprocity in their relationship is shown when Old Bill decides to give Billy the house on Wellington Road. When he goes to tell Billy of his decision he realises that ‘when I saw him/I felt something/I hadn’t felt in/many years./I felt pride.’ Herrick uses punctuation effectively to emphasise that this gift benefits not only Billy but also Old Bill. They both gain something important from it. ▪ Often they don’t have to say a lot to create a connection. It is the quiet and the shared understanding that draw them together. This is shown clearly when Old Bill tells Billy that he is going to go north. Billy ‘didn’t know what to say ... ‘I love the house’/ and I left it at that.’ The simplicity of this short exchange and the bluntness indicated through the short alliterative ‘t’ sounds show that the two men don’t have to say a lot for it to mean a lot. Their reciprocity is illustrated in the mirror image Herrick uses in the final verse. Billy watches ‘Old Bill/with his back to me/looking up at the sky’, then he copies this in his own final action: ‘and I looked up into the sky ...’ This imitation by one of the other’s actions leaves us with an enduring sense of belonging that the two have with each other - one that is based on simple exchanges and a shared circumstance. ▪ Billy and Old Bill’s relationship helps bring about change in both of them. Through the process of belonging, Old Bill and Billy are both transformed. Their bond brings positive change to the grief-stricken Old Bill and provides Billy with a chance for a fresh start and a future in Bendarat. Billy is uncertain about his future and is just living as each day comes before he meets Old Bill. Their relationship starts slowly and carefully. When he first encounters Old Bill, Billy has a dream and worries about ‘getting old/long before my time’. Yet Old Bill gives Billy the opportunity to show someone else that he cares. Billy gives him some cigarettes and then tentatively leaves breakfast for him in the morning after their first meeting. The metaphor of walking off into ‘the fragile morning’ implies that he is not sure how this offer may be received. For Old Bill, Billy mirrors his own circumstances; in seeing someone so much younger than himself in this situation he is also motivated to help him. The irony of their shared circumstances is reflected in the simile in Old Bill’s view of Billy as ‘a good kid, living like a bum ...’ He tells Billy about working at the Cannery to help him earn some money. In return, Billy encourages Old Bill to join him in this endeavour and this gives Old Bill the chance to stop drinking so much and to find some purpose in his days. The impact of their relationship on Old Bill is seen clearly in the extract from ‘Old Bill and this town’: ‘I wake early/I eat properly, for breakfast at least,/and I’ve taken to walking/every day./I go to the river with Billy/and we swim and wash ...’ Herrick uses a series of simple sentences, placing emphasis on the verbs in each one to emphasise the activity that Billy has brought to Old Bill’s days. He has changed from a man who drank heavily to forget to a man ‘planning/where I’ll go tomorrow’. His relationship with Billy also helps him deal with his grief. He takes tentative steps towards confronting his tragic past because of Billy’s encouragement. When Billy tells him ‘Don’t walk near a pub’, he finds himself walking past Jessie’s old school the next day instead: ‘I could feel my hands/shaking/as I walked back to town. I walked the long way,/careful not to go past a pub.’ The enjambment used emphasises how difficult (by isolating the word ‘shaking’) this change is for Old Bill, yet the repetition of ‘walked’ also shows his desire to keep moving forward rather than continuing to be overwhelmed by his grief. ▪ For Billy, the change his relationship with Old Bill brings is just as significant. By providing him with someone to talk to and who understands his situation, Old Bill encourages Billy to develop his independence and sense of responsibility. Their friendship also gives Billy the confidence to pursue his relationship with Caitlin and allow it to become a serious commitment between them both. Old Bill demonstrates that he trusts Billy by giving him the chance to live in the house on Wellington Road. Old Bill makes his decision final when he ‘saw the first signs of defeat’ in Billy’s eyes. Old Bill knows that, by giving him the house, he will ensure that Billy never suffers in the same way he has. He is giving him the opportunity to build a life with Caitlin in Bendarat. Old Bill also teaches Billy the importance of these relationships. When he returns to the Freight Yard after his first night in the house on Wellington Road, Billy is acknowledging that he has learnt the importance of people over possessions. It is the love shared between himself and Caitlin and between himself and Old Bill that is most important to Billy. The Freight Yard becomes a reminder to Billy that this is where his life lessons began. He makes a vow to return to the carriage once a week to keep the ‘hobo life close by’. The metaphor in this extract shows us that Billy has learnt through Old Bill that life is precious and fragile and that you have to appreciate every moment you can with those that you love.

Billy And Caitlin ▪ Billy and Caitlin’s relationship demonstrates that belonging can happen at a deeper physical and emotional level. From the outside, Billy and Caitlin have nothing in common. Yet their relationship proves that a sense of belonging can emerge from a deeper internal level. Billy is a homeless runaway who is escaping a violent, alcoholic father and Caitlin is a private schoolgirl from a wealthy, concerned family. These factors would be expected to create barriers to belonging rather than be the reasons why the two come together. Both Caitlin and Billy are attracted to physical and intellectual attributes in each other. Billy is drawn to Caitlin’s ‘bouncing, shiny, clean hair’ and her eyes. Herrick uses a quick succession of positive adjectives to reinforce his attraction. Caitlin is attracted to Billy’s manners, calmness and pride: ‘Homeless, and proud of it’. The use of an inverted cliché shows that she finds his unexpected attitude refreshing. Both seem drawn to each other on a level beyond the external. Caitlin describes her response to Billy’s note metaphorically as ‘a slight ache, a twinge/and I knew it was hunger I but not a hunger for food.’ Sexual desires draw the two together as much as the intellectual and emotional exchanges they have. Their sense of romantic belonging encompasses this sexual attraction as well as the trust and honesty built through their conversations with each other. They both put aside the social barriers to belonging to pursue their relationship in a committed and serious way. Imagery used by Herrick to describe their bond includes portraying Billy as a ‘badly dressed satellite/spinning crazily in [Caitlin’s] orbit’ and Caitlin sees Billy as her ‘sunshine’. These metaphors serve to show the positive romantic bond the two have. ▪ Billy and Caitlin’s sense of belonging provides them with stability and commitment. Even though Caitlin and Billy have completely different social backgrounds, they are still both searching for a place in the world. Their relationship with one another provides them with the chance to find that place. Billy has run away from a violent, loveless home and Caitlin is desperate to escape a home that no longer fits with the person she thinks she is. This mutual desire for escape from the significant adults in their lives proves a platform for belonging for the two of them. Billy gives Caitlin the chance to forget ‘my other life,/the life I’d forgotten about for a few hours last night/and this morning.’ The imagery of a separate life shows the way in which Caitlin sees her relationship with Billy as a chance to be someone else. In a similar way, Billy sees his relationship with Caitlin as a metaphorical ‘special world’, somewhere quite separate from his real existence. Their sense of belonging allows them to reinvent themselves without the influence of others and begin to establish a life together. The house on Wellington Road and the way in which they readily engage in domestic activities there (cleaning, cooking and so on) symbolically underline the fact that they are embarking on a serious and responsible relationship At the end of the verse novel, when Billy presents Caitlin with ‘the beautiful green emerald ring’, the gesture is symbolic of the selfless and honest commitment they are making to each other and to their future together.
IDEAS AND THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Transformation ▪ A sense of belonging can help people change and transform. The three characters in The Simple Gift all demonstrate that, through a sense of belonging, they begin to transform and change in positive ways. Old Bill, who has removed himself from all aspects of living like a normal adult, learns to reconnect to his society and to others again. Through belonging to Billy, Caitlin matures and finds a safe place in which she can be her true self without the label that others have given her. Billy’s relationships with Caitlin and Old Bill also help him find a new place in he world; one where he can be responsible and independent without the negative influence of his violent father. All three of the characters represented start the verse novel either lost in some way or trying to escape someone or something. As their friendships with each other form, these issues begin to fade. ▪ Examples of these changes are seen when Billy says that, in being with Old Bill, he is able to see that ‘his laugh becomes real’, he is able to ‘feel young again’ and that ‘there’s hope in the world’. These are contrasted to the times when, without his friendship with Billy or by keeping the memories of belonging to his wife and daughter alive, Old Bill is ‘afraid he’ll have nothing to live for’. ▪ Herrick provides contrasts through the sound devices he uses in different verses to indicate that a sense of belonging changes the moods of characters for the better. When Billy describes the place he has no sense of belonging to as ‘rundown and beat ... shithole ... this damn place ...’ in ‘Longlands Road’, Herrick is employing short, terse alliterative sounds to build a harsh and angry tone. In contrast, when Billy is in a place where he feels a great sense of belonging such as his freight carriage, it is described as ‘comfortable too, being old and well made. I close the door/make a home/in Carriage 1864’. In this example an alternate rhyme pattern is used to give this moment a lightness and an uplifting mood. This is clearly a place where Billy feels good about himself and his circumstances, despite the irony of its being a place symbolic of his homelessness. ▪ We are able to see a positive change in Caitlin because of her romantic bond to Billy. He makes her see beyond superficial elements in people; material possessions are not as important when there is no love behind them. Instead it is the trust, honesty and security that become important to her because of the way in which she belongs to Billy. Herrick pairs two verses to make this distinction. In ‘Lucky’ Caitlin reflects how being with Billy makes her forget all the expectations and labels that others have placed on her and instead she feels ‘simply lucky’. This is then juxtaposed with the verse ‘Dinner’, in which Caitlin’s parents try to talk to her about the careers she should have, making her feel alienated and angry again. She remembers that being with Billy will be able to make her ‘forget all about/careers and education/and the dreary school world. By presenting these two poems next to each other, Herrick is able to clearly illustrate the contrasting feelings of belonging and alienation and thus show that it is through belonging that individuals are able to experience positive transformations of the self.

A Sense Of Belonging Can Emerge From A Variety Of Different Circumstances And Motivations ▪ Billy is instinctively seeking a sense of belonging from someone or somewhere. He has only had feelings of alienation in his previous home life. He quite quickly feels he belongs to Bendarat and the freight carriage because he is desperate to escape such alienation aroused by his home town and his father. His desperation makes him open to any opportunity to belong again. ‘I knew where I was going/for the next few months-/to the library/to McDonald’s/to the river/and home here to the Hilton - a circuit of plans ...’ uses high modality and a listing device to show how certain Billy is about the new sense of belonging Bendarat has given him. There is comfort for him in the pattern this place provides because there are now people and places he feels connected to. This extract helps show just why he wants to belong and how the process of belonging unfolds for him. ▪ The way in which Caitlin comes to feel she belongs to Billy is also through a desire to escape her home town and her parents. She no longer feels connected to the latter, as her values and beliefs are divergent from theirs. Billy offers her an opportunity to free herself from the bonds of family as she develops into an independent young woman. In many ways, his homelessness is an attraction as he is able to offer only himself to Caitlin and none of the possessions and status symbols he has come to so despise. When he mentions to her ‘the honour of poverty’ after she has momentarily doubted their relationship, Caitlin becomes ‘more determined to sit with him ...’ This extract shows that it is the set of values that Billy represents that makes Caitlin want to belong to him and why she seeks to consolidate their feelings of belonging to one another through a more serious commitment. ▪ Old Bill’s memories of his family show how, for many people, belonging is a primary and powerful connection that even death cannot break. His memories and his terrible sadness show the primacy of this type of belonging. To have lost such a sense of belonging is to lose the ability to live at all. His memories of the love and joy that his daughter’s actions brought to him (emphasised by the repetition of verbs) in ‘Jessie helping that bird’ and ‘cutting and pasting’ together on a school project reinforce that these were the shared experiences that created a sense of belonging that is too hard for Old Bill to forget. The sense of belonging that emerges for Old Bill through his friendship with Billy comes about because Billy shows him kindness and is not judgmental. Also, Old Bill is motivated to ensure that Billy has the chance to belong to a family like the one he once had; he knows it is an important part of existence because he has both had and lost it. He wants Billy to ‘start his new life,/in a house that needs new life,/happier than the old one.’ Herrick uses personification to enhance the importance of the house and the meaning it holds for Old Bill. This ultimate act of selflessness helps bond Old Bill and Billy for ever and proves that Old Bill has learnt of a way to keep his sense of belonging to his family alive and to make his friendship with Billy even stronger.

SOCIETIES AND THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Homelessness ▪ Homelessness and its relation to the concept of belonging are explored in the verse novel. Belonging is a powerful driving force among individuals in society. The need to belong to someone or a place is instinctual among sociable human beings. Herrick explores the concept of homelessness as a challenge to these natural drives. Both Billy and Old Bill are homeless characters. Yet despite their lack of a traditional home, they still manage to establish a sense of belonging to each other and to the freight carriage. Herrick makes us realise that it is not necessarily the conventional notion of home that is important in the process of belonging. Sometimes it is the feelings and the emotional connections that are more important than the ‘bricks and mortar’ of the home. Billy’s previous ‘home’ on Longlands Road does not have the qualities and elements necessary for him to feel it is truly his home. He is not safe: ‘he came over ... gave me one backhander/across the face,/so hard I fell down ...’ Nor does he feel loved and comforted: ‘my dad had chased me/out of the house/with a strap,/I’d hidden in the neighbour’s/chook shed, waiting for night ...’ The brutal realities of his home life are shown in extracts such as these, which use negative diction to make us recognise that, for Billy, homelessness is actually a better state of being than forcing himself to belong to someone and somewhere as terrible as this. ▪ In a similar way, homelessness for Old Bill is also a better state to be in than to have to confront the tragic reality of the deaths of his wife and daughter on a daily basis by remaining in the family home. Until Old Bill is able to begin to remember the positive ways in which he belonged to his family, the house on Wellington Road is merely a symbol for everything he has lost. By living as a ‘hobo’, Old Bill is able to distance himself from the painful reminders of his past. Homelessness is a way in which Old Bill can remember how to belong again. When he first meets Billy he says, ‘Welcome to the Bendarat Hilton,/I’ve been here since March 2nd, 1994 /May your stay be as long/if you wish it.’ Herrick uses a conditional clause in this quote to show that, ironically, homelessness gives Old Bill and Billy choices they didn’t have in their previous homes. Old Bill couldn’t stop his daughter falling from a tree and dying and Billy couldn’t stop his father drinking and harming him. They were powerless in their previous states, and paradoxically they find control and choice through being homeless. This is best represented when Billy realises after receiving his first pay cheque from the Cannery that: ‘with nothing/you’re rich./You’ve got no decisions,/no choice, and no worry.’ ▪ Herrick uses inversion and repetition to show that being homeless and poor ironically makes Billy and Old Bill feel ‘rich’ in the control they can exert over their own lives. They can find other ways to belong that don’t rely on traditional notions of family and home. So, through these characters’ experiences, Herrick is able to subvert society’s belief that homelessness is dichotomous to belonging.

Friends ▪ The importance of friends is explored when the primary bond of families has failed to provide a sense of belonging. All three characters in The Simple Gift demonstrate that it is possible to find a sense qt belonging somewhere other than in the family. None of the characters, because of their various circumstances, rely on the traditional bond with family that society promotes as the primary unit of belonging. ▪ Billy’s family is represented as dysfunctional and violent. The recounts Herrick includes of Billy’s family life repeat situations of fear and isolation. Billy’s feelings about family are echoed in the metaphor used to describe being on the train to Bendarat as a wind that ‘hits you in the face/with the force of a father’s punch’, which shows that his family life is associated with feelings of fear and violence rather than of comfort and security. ▪ Caitlin, while she doesn’t suffer the violence that Billy does, also feels alienated within her family. Hers is an intellectual isolation. Everything that her family stands for is rejected and despised by Caitlin. Even when she invites Old Bill and Billy to the ‘richest house in Bendarat’, she rejects the traditions of her family dinners and decides: ‘we couldn’t sit at the table. It looked too neat,/too polished, too clean./We sat on the floor.’. The symbolism of this action reveals that Caitlin does not conform to the conventions of her family life; she doesn’t feel that she belongs to them any more. Instead, she establishes her own way of doing things and finds belonging through her relationship with Billy and her friendship with Old Bill, both of which represent her ideas about belonging as coming from things other than possessions and status. These examples reinforce the way in which Herrick has challenged society’s expectation that family will provide the primary sense of belonging; his characters find more powerful bonds outside this institution.

LANGUAGE FORMS, FEATURES AND STRUCTURES AND THE CONCEPT OF BELONGING

Structural Techniques ▪ Herrick uses the structures of a verse novel to represent the different ways in which individuals come to belong. As the text has both individual verse and chapter divisions, we are able to see the way characters experience different stages of belonging. For example, the first chapter of the verse novel introduces the reasons why Billy does not feel he belongs to his father and the family home. Each of the verses within this chapter reflects key steps that Billy takes to seek a new place to belong. ▪ Another important aspect of the structure that a verse novel provides for Herrick’s exploration of belonging is the way it uses multiple perspectives. In this way we can see the same event or experience from different viewpoints. This helps to show how the feelings associated with belonging are complex and individual. Each character has their own unique view of what it means to belong to a person or a place. An example of this is the two paired poems from Billy’s and Old Bill’s perspectives on their time in the river together: ‘Hobos like us’ and ‘The kid’. Billy notices that going to the river gives Old Bill a chance to laugh and establishes the idea that Billy feels a connection to Old Bill through a shared circumstance - ‘there’s hope in the world/ even for hobos like us.’ - in the paired poem ‘The kid’, while Old Bill reflects on the same experience. It means something else to him – ‘I almost feel young again’ - and he distinguishes himself from Billy by calling himself ‘an old hobo’ and Billy ‘the kid’. We can see that Old Bill feels paternal towards Billy: he ‘deserves more ...’ He hopes that their belonging together will bring about a chance for Billy to be more than just a ‘hobo’ like himself. Herrick uses this structure at many points throughout his verse novel to represent the very personal and complex experience that belonging is for individuals.

LANGUAGE MODES

Narrative And Poetry ▪ Herrick combines the modes of narrative and poetry to represent the concept of belonging. By combining these two modes of representation, Herrick is able to explore the many dimensions of belonging. The narrative mode helps him represent the process or stages of belonging quite clearly as his verse novel follows the conventions of plot. Each chapter moves the events of the story as a whole forward and we are able to see the ways in which his key characters begin to feel they belong together. ▪ By using the mode of poetry as well in his text, Herrick is able to represent the emotions of his characters very economically and powerfully. The devices of poetry, such as alliteration and imagery, help to quickly establish a character’s feeling towards another person or situation; this enables Herrick to show the complexity of belonging. It involves many different feelings and also happens differently for everyone.

Narrative Devices ▪ Herrick also employs devices such as foreshadowing, which is often used in narratives to suggest how events may unfold to a reader and to keep them engaged with the storyline. An example of this is the physical attraction Caitlin feels in an early encounter with Billy: ‘I read this and felt/something in my stomach ... hunger/but not a hunger for food.’ These feelings of sexual arousal foreshadow the sexual relationship that Billy and Caitlin eventually have in a later chapter. ▪ Another narrative device that is used effectively to represent aspects of belonging is flashback. Herrick includes examples of flashback to provide reasons for characters’ behaviours and attitudes in relation to belonging. Billy’s alienation from his father is made very clear through the series of flashback verses that show times in which he was mistreated and harmed both physically and emotionally by his father. Old Bill’s flashback, which gives us reasons for his ‘fall’ helps to show why at first he has many barriers to belonging. The tragic events that are revealed in regard to his wife’s and daughter’s deaths help us (and Billy) understand why he takes such tentative steps towards belonging to another person in his life.

LANGUAGE FORMS AND FEATURES

Symbolism And Motifs ▪ The keys to Wellington Road symbolise the connection with his family that Old Bill keeps alive. He decides he can’t sell the house because ‘the thought of a family/within those walls,/people I don’t know ...’ is too painful to consider. So he keeps the keys as a symbol that he still belongs to the family he has lost and to the home and life he once had with them. It seems that Old Bill understands that, despite his overwhelming grief at losing his family, he may one day have the strength to return to the house and to re-establish the bond to that former life through more positive memories of his wife and daughter. ▪ When Old Bill gives Billy the keys to the house on Wellington Road, they become a symbol of the bond between the two of them. He is showing how much he trusts Billy with the care of his home and also how much he wants Billy to have the same chance to belong that he once had. The keys leave Billy with mixed feelings: ‘I wasn’t sure/whether taking them/meant Old Bill/had a new life too/or if taking them meant/he now had nothing ...’ Billy’s uncertainty about what the keys mean is overcome when Old Bill decides to head north to find a new direction, one that will enable him to see his memories of Jessie and his family home in a positive way. ▪ Water is used as a symbol of cleansing and purification necessary to start a new sense of belonging. Billy finds comfort in the river both at Westfield Creek and in Bendarat. In Bendarat, Billy goes to the river to ‘wash the world away’. The river is a place where the friendship of Billy and Old Bill is forged. Billy makes Old Bill go there with him to wash and clean their clothes and, despite the domesticity of these actions; it becomes a place where they laugh together as well. ▪ Water also symbolises the connection between Caitlin and Billy. When they make love, Billy recalls ‘it was like falling headlong/into the clear waters of Bendarat River ...’ which expresses powerfully the enormous joy and comfort his relationship with Caitlin provides. ▪ Herrick also uses recurring motifs from nature such as swallows, sunshine and the sky to evoke positive moods associated, with increased feelings of belonging between people and places.

Alliteration And Assonance Alliteration and assonance are used in many of the verses to reflect the feelings characters have towards belonging or towards the barriers to belonging. ▪ Soft ‘s’ sounds are often used to create a calm, peaceful mood. One example is in the lines ‘over the rocks/and the wattles on the banks/and the lizards sunbaking,/heads up, listening,/and the birds silver eyes and currawongs ...’ when Billy reflects on how he feels a strong sense of belonging to Westfield Creek. ▪ Sibilance and assonance are also used to reflect the changes that are occurring in Old Bill as he begins to feel a sense of belonging again. When he returns to his house, ‘The swallows swoop along/the grass and weeds ...’ These devices echo the softening of Old Bill’s own mood as he spends time with Billy and begins to feel capable of living again. ▪ In contrast, Herrick often employs harsh tones to reflect feelings of alienation when a character encounters barriers to belonging. In the following extract, ‘I’m not a spoilt brat OK,/but I am spoilt /spoilt to boredom/and I’m smart enough/to realise that none of this/means anything’, Herrick repeats hard ‘t’ and ‘n’ consonants to echo Caitlin’s anger at and rejection of the lifestyle her parents think she wants. Her tone makes us see that she feels no sense of belonging to her home and her parents, as both are the antithesis of what she knows really help define a person.

LANGUAGE STRUCTURES

Enjambment And Punctuation ▪ Enjambment and punctuation are used effectively at times to place emphasis on key words or phrases associated with concepts of belonging or to build a particular rhythm or pace to set the mood for a situation. In ‘The mop and bucket’ Herrick builds up the pace of the verse through enjambment and commas to reflect the initial nervousness felt between Caitlin and Billy when they take the first step towards belonging together: and I felt foolish holding the mop and bucket trying to look confident, and he said yes he’d love to and I said I’d love to as well and I went back to mopping trying to act as though nothing had happened ... ▪ Enjambment is used to show how catastrophic Jessie’s death was to Old Bill’s sense of belonging: ‘my sweet lovely Jessie/fell/and I fell with her I and I’ve been falling/ever since.’ The enjambment both isolates the word ‘fell’ and places emphasis on the word ‘ever’ to reflect the clear connection between this event and its capacity to destroy Old Bill’s ability to belong.
Style
The poetic, narrative form of the verse novel draws us in and invites us to read the personal thoughts and observations of three key figures whose lives become fortuitously enmeshed. They express themselves colloquially and a sense of vivid realism and striking immediacy is gained by them speaking first-hand. The terminology is precise and succinct. The various characters are individualised by nuance and turn of phrase which allows the readers into their thoughts. There is no sense of them writing for any specific audience other than them selves and this gives credibility to the sincerity of what is presented. Responders are given access to their psyche in a remarkably natural manner, as if we are privy to their thoughts but not consciously addressed. They are further delineated by their interactions with others who have an impact on their lives. Ernie and Irene have positive influences on Billy’s life as do Caitlin’s friends and Old Bill’s memories of his daughter. Such details help the reader place the characters within a social context that helps codify their situation. This effective and dynamic access to inner voices is reinforced by dialogue which is instantly identifiable by particular preferences for idiom and tone. Idiosyncratic differences emphasise that they are individuals who are drawn to each other by bonds that overcome social difference and prejudice. A variety of techniques are used to make them multi-dimensional and believable. We know their motivations, their backgrounds, their fears, strengths and weaknesses. There is a depth to their personality that the verse form allows which engenders empathy and pity as well as admiration and respect. By means of personal disclosure, Herrick is able to demonstrate that they are products of their own social contexts which give added validity to their characterisation and the central thematic concerns of the text. The use of direct speech makes it easy for readers to visualise the scene and gain an understanding of character. Ernie the train driver is quickly delineated by his concern for the boy’s welfare and the easy going manner of his conversation. As he shares his sandwiches, coffee and companionship he offers the boy far more than just an opportunity to ‘Keep warm’. He gives a lot but asks nothing in return and this establishes the idea of open generosity that becomes such an important feature of the text. Unlike others Billy has known, Ernie doesn’t seek to ‘boss’ him around or ask ‘prying questions’. Instead, he respects the boy’s space and demonstrates that he knows ‘the value of things’. He is contrasted to Billy’s father who takes but gives nothing in return except bitter rebuke, violence and heartache. As the boy compares the train driver with his father he remembers his threatening aggression as he ‘stood over me’ when he was only ten years of age and ‘slammed the door/on my sporting childhood.’ The father’s backhander does more than merely draw blood and the discarded soccer ball in the bushes puts a distance between them that is never healed by the six years that follow before Billy escapes. Steven Herrick makes use of the following stylistic methods: ▪ dialogue ▪ contrast ▪ multiple narrators ▪ symbolism ▪ imagery ▪ alternative settings ▪ colloquial language When the poet was asked to identify what he believed gave the book such a strong sense of immediacy and realism, he responded: ‘The location and some of the minor incidents in the book were taken from my past experiences when I bummed around the country in my twenties. I camped in a train carriage in Ballarat (not as long as Billy), I swam in rivers to keep clean, I ate scraps from McDonald’s, and I froze on a speedboat on a train, and was helped by a very kind guard who did even more than Ernie (he took me to lunch the next day).’ Personal experience has enriched the narrative and given it a more believable voice. Contrasts in characterisation effectively drive the plot and keep the pace fast-moving without the need for excessive description or recount.

Language The language used is simplistic and is almost stream of thought. The narrative is unfolded through dialogue and monologue, which is the main technique for developing our knowledge of the personalities. Through their own recounts, we develop a sense of who they are and who the other characters are. The spacing of the sentences across lines gives emphasis to some of the ideas. It almost forces us to read more slowly and savour the events. Each action stands alone. Thus, we are able to ponder them more carefully and thoughtfully. For example: He sits there, staring, doesn’t notice me behind him.

I try to wake him and help him into the warmth.
FEATURES OF THE TEXT

Structure The poem is organised in eleven chapters, each prefaced by a quote reflecting the overall theme of each chapter. Each chapter contains several titled scenes, to mark a change in a setting or character focus. The narrative unfolds through the almost diary like entries of the three main characters. Ernie, the train driver, is granted one entry, which takes the form of dialogue, and highlights his simple gift of shelter, food and kindness to a desperate young man. The narrative tells of a young man’s experiences as he ventures from the confines and stress of his life with an abusive alcoholic father to his new life of friendship and acceptance. It unfolds through the entries of Billy, Caitlin and Old Bill. We can see incidents from each character’s story, as they describe in their own words their actions and feelings. The diary-like entries, multiple points of view and ordering of scenes in The Simple Gift weave together the experiences and attitudes of Billy, Caitlin and Old Bill at different stages in their lives, each for different reasons. The effect of this is to provide a broader picture of the way individuals can move into new stages of experience. The novel is divided into eleven chapters. Each of these is divided into smaller sub-chapters or scenes that describe the action and express the thoughts and feelings of the main characters, Billy, Caitlin and Old Bill. Each scene is written from one of the character’s point of view, indicated by their name in handwritten scrawl at the top of the page. The layout and style suggest a diary entry and the use of the first-person point of view creates an intimate view of each character’s world: their emotions, experiences, attitudes and beliefs. In the scene titled ‘Comfort’, for example, Billy reflects on how his life has changed as he confesses: ‘I didn’t have any friends, I didn’t want any’ This scene reveals how much Billy’s life and attitude to relationships has changed since he arrived in Bendarat. Telling the story from each of the characters’ point of view reveals different perspectives of the same event and the effect the event has on the character. It also highlights similarities in the characters’ attitudes and beliefs. The ordering of the scenes in each chapter also contributes to our understanding of the characters’ actions and attitudes. An example of this is the placement of the scene ‘Truth and beauty for Old Bill’ next to ‘Old Bill’s fall’. In the first scene Old Bill is drinking his earnings from the cannery. His behaviour contrasts with the self-controlled, contented and forward-looking behaviour of Billy. The next scene movingly tells the story of Old Bill’s daughter’s death and ends with his absolute desolation, drunk in a pub wearing the clothes of a hobo. The juxtaposition of these two scenes changes our impression of Old Bill, highlighting the destructive effect this experience has had on his life - it has led him to retreat from society and all of its responsibilities.
Tense
Much of the story is written in the simple present tense. The stark simplicity of the language emphasises Billy’s lack of pride and his attitude to life. He is living in the present. At the beginning of the novel he has no long-term plans, and nothing to look forward to. Billy simply describes who he is and what he is doing: I’m not proud. I’m sixteen, and soon to be homeless. I sit on the veranda and watch the cold rain fall. This stark presentation of Billy and his life in the first chapter contrasts with his attitude at the end of the novel. He has a home to live in and is considering the possibilities for his future. This change in the way he thinks about his life is conveyed via his use of the conditional and future tenses, I took the form and the book, told Irene ‘d think about it, and maybe I will

Tone The tone of the storytelling changes as we move from one character to another and as we move through the story, developing an image of each character’s changing attitudes and beliefs about the world.

Language Written in free verse, the style of The Simple Gift is poetic and fluent, with a strongly oral quality. Language structures and features including the choice of images, ordering of syntax, repetition and other poetic techniques such as alliteration and enjambment give the story an irresistible rhythm and momentum.

Alliteration This technique is used to create a variety of effects that range from changing the pace of the story to emphasising key ideas. In the example below, repetition of the sibilant ‘s’ sound, particularly when combined with the long vowel sounds in ‘slow’ and ‘so’, slows the reading pace and emphasises the qualities of calm and steadiness that Caitlin identifies in Billy: and he walked out, slow and steady, and so calm, so calm. In the example below alliteration is used to communicate Billy’s attitude of enthusiasm and celebration of life and nature as he and Caitlin set off on their picnic: The sun is sparkling Saturday and I’ve scrubbed my clothes

Word Patterns Word patterns are used to emphasise key ideas and foreground certain emotions and impressions. An example of this is the frequent repetition of the first line of a scene in the last line or lines. This repetitive patterning or parallelism is used in ‘Old Bill’s fall’ to communicate Old Bill’s feelings of complete devastation and the impact of his daughter’s death on his life - it has changed him from a successful family man to someone who has completely rejected mainstream society: but my Jessie, my sweet lovely Jessie, fell and I fell with her and I’ve been falling ever since. The use of a line break placing ‘fell’ on its own emphasises the impact of this one event. The transformation of the past tense ‘fell’ to the present continuous tense ‘falling’ emphasises that the impact of that one experience is not over for Old Bill, who is still falling, unable to cope with his loss or start a new life.

Imagery Imagery is used in the novel to reveal significant experiences that have shaped Billy’s and Old Bill’s lives and at the same time communicate the strong emotions that accompany these experiences. An example of this is the use of a simile at the start of the story that reveals Billy’s experience of domestic violence and communicates the cold bleakness of his past life. The juxtaposition of the nouns ‘father’ and ‘punch’ is shocking and reveals the harsh childhood experiences that have given Billy his ability to survive and his determination to find a better life: and the wind and rain hits you in the face with the force of a father’s punch The same language technique is used to communicate a sense of delight and spirituality through the comparison of Billy and Caitlin’s lovemaking with the sparkling beauty of nature in the following simile: It was like falling headlong into the clear waters of the Bendarat River and opening my eyes to the beautiful phosphorescent bubbles of light

Stress And Rhythm Varied line lengths and patterns of stress draw the reader’s attention to key ideas. I looked back and I saw past the shiny watch and the clean hair and the beautiful woollen overcoat. I saw Caitlin, and I liked what I saw. Our attention is drawn to the line ‘I saw Caitlin,’ because it breaks the pattern of lines starting with ‘and’. The line is also much shorter than the one above it and the first three syllables are stressed. Each of these techniques slows the pace down and causes the reader to pause at this line, emphasising the importance of this experience for Billy. He sees beyond Caitlin’s physical qualities, seeing her personality, spirit and character, and realises that he has found someone that he really cares about and connects with.

Symbolism ▪ Symbolism is used throughout the novel, starting with its title, The Simple Gift. The ‘simple gift’ literally refers to small material gifts such as the sandwiches Ernie gives to Billy or the meal Caitlin cooks for Billy and Old Bill. Symbolically, the simple gifts are the friendship Billy and Caitlin extend to Old Bill, Caitlin’s refusing to judge Billy when she first sees him in McDonald’s eating scraps and the acts of kindness and compassion that Billy extends to Old Bill throughout the novel. It is gifts such as these, which do not cost anything financially, that, are ultimately the most enriching in life. Compassion and friendship are the gifts that were missing from Billy’s life with his father, and they are the gifts that Old Bill needs to find a new beginning. Billy discovers that in giving these simple gifts he receives them in return. ▪ The changes in Jessie’s school also act as a symbol, indicating that it is time for a new beginning for Old Bill. This new beginning for Old Bill is also symbolised in his loaning his house to Billy to start a new life there. In doing this, Old Bill is able to start a new life for himself. ▪ Old Bill’s physical shaking in Chapter 9 literally reflects his withdrawal from alcohol but also symbolises his fear of going back into mainstream society of social interaction and facing the challenge of living again. It is Billy’s friendship, optimism and persistent compassion, symbolised in the handshake between Old Bill and Billy, which gives Old Bill the strength and emotional courage to face a new life: and offers his strong young hand. We shake, and my hand in his stops trembling for a moment.
Herrick uses food symbolically to show how the characters develop a sense of belonging through looking after each other. When Billy first offers Old Bill Weet-Bix for breakfast, Old Bill tells him to ‘go away’, although he later eats the food. Billy’s persistence has a positive effect as Old Bill and Billy develop a routine of sharing breakfast, enabling them through conversation to discover more about each other. The connection Old Bill starts to feel with Billy helps him to rejoin the world a little more, and overcome his alcohol addiction. As an act of thanks, Billy also gives Ernie, the train driver, the champagne for him to enjoy on his boat. Caitlin shows her love by packing a basket full of ‘good food’ for Billy, and by cooking dinner for Billy and Old Bill. From the outside, Billy appears to be a delinquent youth with little regard for authority and learning. However, the books he reads symbolically represent his quest for knowledge – about himself and the world - and they prove that appearances can be deceptive. It is ironic that when Billy fails to go to school, he goes to Westfield Creek to read. The first thing he does when he arrives at Bendarat is go to the library. Despite failing every subject in Year 10 other than English, Billy is smart and knowledgeable about many things. He identifies with the characters in the books he reads, achieving a sense of belonging in his mind that he is unable to achieve in reality, and learns a great deal about humanity through these characters and their experiences. Until Billy meets Old Bill and Caitlin, he feels a greater connection to characters in novels than he does with people in real life. The references to dreams symbolically convey the idea that reality is something from which people wish to escape. In this context, dreams are reflections of the characters’ desires or fears. Billy says, ‘I can read. I can dream’, suggesting that the characters and their experiences in fiction inspire him to dream that a better future is possible. He later says he ‘slept the sleep of the dreamless’ after his first night in Bendarat, as he is free of anxiety and stress. It is ironic that Billy feels more comfortable and at ease in an abandoned train carriage than he did in his own home with his father. For Old Bill, however, dreams symbolically represent reality. Old Bill sleeps a dreamless sleep when he is drunk, which is the reason he drinks - so he isn’t tortured by images of his daughter and wife, and the tragedy that befell his family. When Old Bill decides to help Billy, it is not through dreams, but through the practical matter of offering him his house.
LINKS OF THE SIMPLE GIFT TO BELONGING

The theme or idea of belonging in The Simple Gift can be a focus for each of the characters in the text. Herrick’s characters don’t belong anywhere initially and each is unsettled and trying to fit in. Billy when we first meet him has nothing to belong to in Longlands Road. Even Bunkbrain the dog is left behind as he leaves his mean and bitter father saying ‘I can’t go back’. What he does enjoy near home is Westfield Creek where he can be at peace and read. So Billy leaves to find a more permanent place to belong and he shares his vision of what type of man he would aspire to be where he compares Ernie the friendly train driver to his violent father. When he gets to Bendarat he is still an outcast, he doesn’t belong here either as the kids are ‘shouting insults’ but he does belong in the library where he can escape reality. Choosing not to belong at his home in Longlands road was hard but finding a place to belong will be as hard if not harder. Billy finds himself a ‘new home ’when he goes to the old railway yard and he begins his new life here. But still he doesn’t belong because it is ephemeral and he could be made to move on at any time. Short of money he steals leftovers from McDonalds where he meets Caitlin, an upper middle-class local girl who is attracted to him but sees him as ‘self-contained’. She too feels estranged at home and her parent’s expectations are not her own. At around the same time he meets Old Bill and they begin to become closer despite themselves. Billy has found two people he cares for and they in turn care for him. Caitlin feels his home on the carriage is like ‘a warm, safe little cave’ and he feels she gives him something in return. Billy makes an effort to belong here and these characters help him. We need to remember that there is tremendous pressure to conform in society, to belong. Look at Kate’s experience with sex and how she had tried to belong to someone. It was ‘too messy’ and ‘it hurt’ and ‘we both felt stupid’. It is not always easy to belong and this is an example of how trying to belong can result in problems, perhaps failure and even emotional and psychological problems. We learn later that Old Bill once belonged to a nice family and had a home but when his daughter Jessie died in an accident it all fell apart and his wife’s drinking lead to her death in a car accident. Old Bill, a once respected man who ‘understood the Law’ became a homeless alcoholic. He chooses not to belong to society but by the end of the novel he wants a place to go. Old Bill gives him his old house where he knows he will never belong again due to the tragedy he associates with it. While Billy is uncertain about taking the keys he is grateful for the place and knows he will belong here. Note that he goes in together with Caitlin and it seems they too belong with each other. He treats the house with ‘respect’ because it makes him feel a sense of belonging.
HOW THE SIMPLE GIFT RELATES TO BELONGING

The Meaning Of ‘Home’ Billy longs to find a place he can call home. He decides to run away from the oppressive and uncaring environment presided over by his father. For Billy, ‘home’ is not about where you live or where you go about your daily business, but it is about the people you spend your time with. Billy feels as comfortable in the carriage at the freight yard as he does swimming in the Bandarat River. Through his relationship with Caitlin, Billy also begins to understand what it means to care for another person unconditionally, and learns the true value of belonging. He realises that relationships are about giving and receiving, and this affects the way he conducts himself in the community, so when he considers stealing a ring he would like to give to Caitlin, he reconsiders when he thinks about the consequences. He feels a sense of ‘home’ in Bendarat because he has stability and plans for the future. Billy realises that stealing the ring would jeopardise his chance of staying in Bendarat and therefore destroy his relationship with Caitlin, whom he values. When he is given the key to Old Bill’s home, he waits for Caitlin to enter the house with him, symbolically representing that he wishes to begin a new stage in his life with her, and that with her he feels ‘at home’.

Shared Experiences Belonging is represented in The Simple Gift through the experiences the characters share with one another. Despites Caitlin’s abhorrence of cooking, she prepares a meal for Billy and Old Bill. During the meal, they sit on the floor near the fire. Billy and Caitlin talk about their lives and plans for the future, while Old Bill listens quietly. Old Bill reflects that he is thankful for their ‘simple gift’ of friendship, and wonders how he can repay them. Old Bill’s acknowledgment of Billy’s friendship is important, because he realises that he too can care for other people again. He has been living a solitary life, drinking himself into oblivion, and has not given of himself to anyone, or cared for others. His determination to help Billy and Caitlin in any way he can shows that he wants to belong in the world he previously rejected. When he gives the key to his home to Billy, he is offering Billy the happiness he once shared with his own family. He accepts that he can no longer belong to a family in this way, but is proud to give Billy and Caitlin the opportunity to enjoy what was once special in his own life.

Acknowledging Simple Pleasures For Old Bill, laughter heals the wounds caused by the pain of the past. Laughter has been missing from his life for some time. The devastation and heartbreak that Old Bill experienced when he lost his daughter and wife led to his disengagement with society. He no longer wanted to live in his home without his family, and rejected all aspects of his life that he associated with his family and his sense of belonging. Instead, he became an alcoholic, gave up working, and moved into a carriage in the freight yard away from society. Through Old Bill’s relationship with Billy, however, he begins to acknowledge the simple pleasures in life, such as talking with friends, laughing and sharing a meal. Old Bill begins to relax in Billy’s company. When Billy and Old Bill go down to the river, Old Bill dives in and ‘his laugh becomes real’, a ‘deep belly roar’, conveying an image of happiness and friendship. The laughter is a therapeutic aid, part of Old Bill’s transformation from isolation to belonging in the world.

CONCEPTS OF BELONGING IN THE TEXT

Travel To Find Belonging The novel suggests that Billy needs to find a sense of belonging in order to be happy within himself. This is not something that Billy can find at home, so he must travel in search of it. Herrick communicates this through using metaphors of travel and the ‘hobo’. You will note that trains and things associated with trains feature prominently in the text as positive symbols of escape and belonging. Each main character leaves in search of a sense of belonging. Billy leaves an unhappy and abusive home to find happiness. He makes clear in Chapter I that he does not feel he belongs at school, at home, or in the local community. Caitlin, too, leaves a home that is comfortable and secure but stifling for a more meaningful home with Billy. Old Bill at the end of the novel leaves Bendarat for Queensland to find peace.

Belonging Is Based On People Rather Than Places The characters find a sense of belonging primarily through their relationships. There is the clear suggestion in the novel that individuals do not find belonging in places or in objects. When Billy first arrives in Bendarat, he is unable to trust anyone because of his past experiences. He initially mistrusts Caitlin and Old Bill. It is not until Billy learns to trust other people that he can feel a sense of belonging. Both Billy and Caitlin feel that they do not belong in their family homes. It is through their loving relationship and trust that they find a feeling of belonging and comfort in each other. Even though the young couple find a place to start their life together in Old Bill’s home, it is the relationship that allows this to happen. At the end of the novel, Billy talks in terms of belonging in Bendarat. This feeling of belonging is based on the relationships he develops with others while he is there, rather than the place itself.

Belonging And Happiness The text suggests that people need to feel they belong in order to find happiness. It is almost as if belonging and happiness are dependent on each other Billy needs to be happy so that he can feel he belongs, but he needs to belong so that he can feel happy. Billy’s past experiences with his father and school have led him to assume that others will not accept him. The whole novel presents Billy with a series of relationships that allow him to do this. When he first leaves home, his initial reaction is to automatically mistrust every individual he meets. Billy initially mistrusts Irene, Caitlin and Old Bill. However, Billy’s increasing happiness allows him to trust and to feel like he belongs. He allows others to allow him to belong. He needs to accept others so that they can accept him. The novel shows that an individual’s happiness is directly related to their sense of belonging. Billy’s personal happiness increases in line with his growing comfort in Bendarat, Herrick also examines this idea through the character of Old Bill. Billy and Old Bill are designed to be compared and contrasted with each other. They have been consciously named in a similar way to foster this sense of comparison. Old Bill is an example of what happens to people when their purpose and sense of belonging is taken away - as occurred with the death of Old Bill’s daughter and wife. Billy is at risk of becoming Old Bill if he fails to find love, purpose and belonging. Caitlin provides this for Billy, and Billy in turn provides this for Old Bill.
SAMPLE ESSAY

QUESTION: In what ways do some texts encourage reflection about what it means to belong?
In your response, refer to your prescribed text and other related texts of your own choosing.

It is very true that, for n individual to feel they truly belong, a variety of factors and experiences must come into play. Belonging is a complex process and concept; it is not something that is felt strongly or sustained unless many elements work together. At times, the actions of others to include an individual are pertinent in establishing a sense of belonging. Significant moments that bring individuals together either through adversity or shared experiences are also part of the process of belonging. This is very true of the way in which we see Billy and Old Bill come to feel they belong as friends and the way Billy and Caitlin form a romantic relationship in Herrick’s verse novel The Simple Gift. Adversity is also something that brings the migrants of Les Murray’s poem, Immigrant Voyage together as lifelong friends. An unexpected sense of belonging that emerges between Nam and his father Thanh in Nam Le’s short story ‘Love and honour and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice’ from his collection The Boat reinforces the idea that belonging needs more than just the ‘accident of birth’ to occur. These examples all reflect the highly personal and varied ways in which individuals feel a sense of belonging to places and to others. The actions of others are essential catalysts for an individual to belong. In creating a feeling of belonging between individuals and groups, such interactions and exchanges are necessary to establish commonality and connections. These may be small or large gestures that show that the individual is cared for, included and wanted. In The Simple Gift it is the small acts of kindness and compassion by Billy towards the drunken and grief-stricken Old Bill that bring the two together as friends. By giving him cigarettes, making breakfast each morning and encouraging him to work, Billy makes Old Bill feel comforted and human again. The framing device of the phrase ‘I like the kid’ that begins and ends the poem ‘The kid’ reinforces the sense of how important Billy has become in Old Bill’s life. In a similar way, Caitlin’s decision not to tell the Manager when she sees Billy taking leftover food opens the way to his belonging. Instead Caitlin smiled at him. I smiled at him and said, ‘I hate mopping.’ He sat in his chair and smiled back and I felt good that I hadn’t called the Manager.
Herrick uses the direct speech in this extract to demonstrate the potential for belonging between Caitlin and Billy. She does the unexpected and puts him at ease and the motif of their smiles further emphasises a connection between the two. Both of these examples reflect the importance of small and large gestures in bringing about a bond between two people. The complexity of belonging is revealed through the way adversity and circumstance can bring people together. At times, the situation in which individuals come together is not an easy one and it is this shared difficulty that bonds them. Both Billy and Old Bill are running away from something. Billy is escaping a violent, unloving alcoholic father and Old Bill is trying to escape the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter. Their desire to escape leads to the shared situation of homelessness that provides the opportunity for a bond to develop. Billy aligns himself with Old Bill through the phrase ‘hobos like us’ in Chapter Six, using the slang term to group the pair through circumstance. In a similar way, adversity is what bonds the migrants in Murray’s poem, Immigrant Voyage. The framing device that Murray uses in starting his poem with the line ‘my wife came out on the Goya’ and ending it with ‘friends who came on the Goya’ shows how the commonality of the experience of the migrants before, during and after the journey will always give them a sense of belonging to those they travelled with. They may have started out as individuals, but the use of the collective term at the very end reinforces the bond that is created through harsh experience. The importance of common ideals and connections is another factor that proves that belonging doesn’t ‘just happen’. These shared values are important links between people and help to strengthen their sense of belonging so that it becomes more than just a fleeting experience. The way Caitlin comes to feel she belongs to Billy is largely because she no longer feels connected to the materialistic values of her parents. In some ways, his homelessness is an attraction as he is able to offer only himself to Caitlin and none of the possessions and status symbols she has come to so despise. When he mentions to her ‘the honour of poverty’, after she has momentarily doubted their relationship Caitlin becomes ‘more determined to sit with him ...’ The adverb ‘more’ shows how powerful this attraction is. Murray also shows people bonding over an idea in his poem: that of the prospect of belonging to a new place. Through their time on the ship, ‘those who knew that they/were giving up their lives/were becoming the people / who would say, ... I we came out on the Goya.’ The use of the collective term ‘the people’ and the pronoun ‘we’ brings the experiences of those aboard the ship in alignment. They have bonded on the ship through what it represented for them (a new life), what they had to give up and through the time itself spent on the journey. It makes us realise that sometimes the reasons people belong to one another are not obvious or defined; instead they are intuitive and intangible connections. Both of these examples reveal how belonging certainly doesn’t ‘just happen’; it has complex and varied layers to it that make it a meaningful experience for individuals. The fact that cultural connections and similar upbringings do not always make people feel they belong again demonstrates the complexity of the concept. Caitlin feels no connection to her parents and the values they stand for. When she lists all the things in her bedroom she concludes in a defiant tone: ‘And I’m not a spoilt brat OK, I but I am spoilt, 1 spoilt to boredom,/and I’m smart enough Ito realise that none of this / means anything . . .’ The repetition and hyperbole emphasise Caitlin’s feelings that these things are barriers to feeling that she belongs to her parents. Their values are the opposite of those that she is developing as a young woman. Nam also feels no connection to his own father in Le’s short story. Nam says: ‘he was a soldier . . .with me, he was all proverbs and regulations. No personal phone calls. No female friends. No extracurricular reading ... ‘ The imperative tone and truncation of these sentences reflect Thanh’s toughness and the bitterness with which Nam views his father. Both Caitlin and Nam find it is an unexpected reminder that links them to their parents. When Caitlin confronts Billy’s homelessness in its harsh reality, she realises that ‘maybe there was something I of my parents in me, I whether I liked it or not.’ The ambiguity of what that ‘something’ might be allows us to realise that, even though Caitlin no longer feels a strong bond to her parents, there will always be a connection that keeps them together. In a similar way, Nam comes to feel a connection to his father, not through traditional parent and child bonding, but by recognising as an adult that ‘We were locked in the intricate ways of guilt. It took all the time we had to realise that everything we faced, we faced for the other as well.’ The metaphor and repetition emphasise the slow awakening to belonging that Nam undergoes. Both of these examples reinforce how belonging doesn’t just happen through the accident of birth; at times the bond is confirmed in unexpected ways. Thus we can see, through reading Herrick’s verse novel, Le’s short story and Murray’s poem, that belonging to a great extent does not ‘just happen’. For someone to feel a strong connection to another person, place or group, there are many factors and experiences necessary. The actions of others and a shared value system are clearly such important factors. Encounters under adverse conditions, as we see in the cases of Old Bill and Billy and of the migrants aboard the Goya, add to the complex process of belonging. Sometimes, as Caitlin and Nam’s experiences demonstrate, a sense of belonging becomes evident in unexpected ways. In conclusion, the interplay of complex factors and events are an essential component in creating a deep and long-lasting sense of belonging for the individual in a range of circumstances and clearly shows that it is a feeling that doesn’t ‘just happen’.