DISCOVERY
RELATED MATERIAL PORTFOLIO
MICHAEL KWONG
1. TITLE AND COMPOSER OF TEXT
Short story - And the Water was Dark and It Went Forever Down
Written by Tim Winton
2. source date published
First published 1997 by Addison Wesley Longman Australia Pty Ltd.
Taken from MAKING CONNECTIONS a compilation of short stories put together by Brian Keyte
3. A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE TEXT(150w)
The narrative focuses on a fourteen year old girl who’es mother is mentally and physically struggling with the complexities of life. Together they live in a rented cottage by a beach and to escape her resentment over her mother’s alcoholism, the girl channels her resentmenther rage into swim training. Whilst walking along the beach she has decided to swim to the an island in the distancet. As she arrived, she felt more and more difficult she boats pass by. She discovers that the island was is a bird sanctuary, where they are safe from predators and their numbers are able to thrive. In her solitude, she quietly observes the birds. She is also able to discover that the cycle of life is same for birds, animals and humans. The girl discovers that she could not take her care of her mother for her whole life and that she has to live on.
4. CONCEPTS OF DISCOVERY (150W)(THESIS)
This text reveals that discoveries and discovering can offer new understanding and renewed perception of ourselves and others. These can be far reaching and transformative fort the individual and broader society. The young girl in the story, whilst away, on the island, makes many discoveries. For example, she discovers the “web of life”. The web of life represents the process of “hatching, growing, hunting, mating, dying” showing how a person’s life is always through the same process. This process is similar to her life. She is born, growing. However, her growth is slightly different from other people. As a child her way of going through the process of growing is different