Critical Analysis Of Butterflies

CRITICAL ANALYSIS the cage of butterflies is a novel by australian writer brian caswell which is aimed at young adults. it was first printed in 1992. there are 2 thematic concerns inside the story that i would like to discuss. the first concern is discrimination of the different and the second concern presented is the abuse of the young and powerless. I believe that the 2 concerns have been intentionally discussed and that they are a relevant problem to society that needs to be addressed.

the first issue was the discrimination of the different. the quote: “the smile on their lips that doesn’t quite make it to their eyes.” and the way they try to focus on my face, as though i’m just a talking head” shows Greg’s situation well. the bitterness and irony of greg’s tone hints this while the dialogue of greg and visitors also gives a more clear indication of this. Greg is one of the most clear and obvious example in the story as due to his limbs and large forehead he is looked at differently and people talk to him differently while purposely avoiding eye contact. Quotes in the story such as “the more they try to ignore my “problem” - as my mother calls it when she’s being polite to strangers - the more their eyes
wander” is implicitly stating that greg is fed up with being the problem and that he feels like a nuisance and a problem child when his mum refers to his crippled state as “a problem”. This corresponds with the thematic concern of discrimination of the disabled or crippled which many people suffer through everyday.

the second issue is the conflict between being selfless and following one's selfish desires.
“Why must you hate him? he cannot help it he is what he is”, “i we understand he must do what he feels he must and i we must stop him if we can.” “ larsen's tone was stubborn, desperate. There would be no changing his mind”, “ you have no say in it. This is my project. They are my subjects.” These are quotes directly from Ricky and Larsen who are the epitome of selflessness and selfish desires. The author utilises extensive characterisation and provides multiple perspectives in the extract. By looking at the quotes, it is immediately obvious that Ricky is a selfless person and that larsen represents selfish gains and
desires.

Ricky is essentially the yin, he is passive and believes that Lasen is largely not at fault and that he just “cannot help himself” Even though he knows that Larsen’s research is immoral and cruel, he suggests “i we must stop him if he can”. Even though Ricky has the ability to stop all this easily, he does not want to hurt larsen and instead wants to purley stop him if they get the chance, further proving his selfless personality. On the other hand, larsen is the yang, he is agressive and dominant. He believes that “this is MY project and these are MY subjects.” This contradicts the actual situation as it is blindingly obvious that larsen does in fact have a research team and does not work on his own “project” by himself and the statement that “these are my subjects”, show us that he believes that he posseses these babies, almost as if they are an object or a toy that he can play around with and experiment all he wants. This firmly sets the notion that larsen is after selfish gain.

in conclusion, the author brian caswell has created a story which explores the ideas of treatment of the different and the exploitation of the young, he uses figurative language devices which are clear and effective in his story and while having themes that might be difficult to understand and know about, caswell has managed to make a story that appeals to young readers alike from upper primary school students to young adults. in summary brian caswell has filled in all the requirements for a good story while making the story something we would all deem as radical but is actually relevant to our current society.