The play away by Michael Gow is a story of three Australian families going on holidays. It is set in the summer of 1967-68 during Christmas and the New Year. There are many sub-themes in away such as death/loss, change, moving on with life, and forgiveness.…
Discoveries can encompass the experience of discovering to be something forgotten, lost, new or concealed. Our attitude towards the process of discovery is the most important whether you are discovering something for the first time or rediscovering something. Michael Gow the composer of the short play “Away” is about 3 different families who have unique holidays which are very similar at the same time. All the holidays start at unity then separation occurs which a wild storm in which is defined as a catalyst that conveys discovery and brings them back together. The poem “Barn Owl” by Gwen Harwood is a deep poem on how a girl shoots a bird which conveys a variety of meanings from disconnection and the loss of innocence and realisation. The process of discovery is always challenging representing the different obstacles which occur throughout. When discovering individuals are challenged with physical, mental and intellectual discoveries which impact the individual and society by the loss of innocence and the confronting matter which is upheld.…
The novel ‘Atonement’ and the Harwood poem ‘Prize Giving’ both examine the concept of breaking free, through the breaking of societal and gender conformities. Breaking free is seen in ‘Atonement’ through McEwan creating changing perspectives of his characters through a narrative and them breaking free from the conforms of traditional class and gender roles. This idea links to ‘Prize Giving’, as Professor Eisenbart also breaks free from the conforms of his society.…
“To discover is to gain sight or knowledge of something.” How have ideas about discovery been shown in Away and The Book Thief…
Set in the Australian summer of 1967, Michael Gow’s Away is an elaborate play which explores the ideas of self- discovery and change. Through the war affected nation, three families, each from different social classes, depart on an iconic Australian holiday to the beach. In the play, Gow utilises the characters to demonstrate that going away physically is intrinsically linked to their mental developments. With the help of references to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer night’s Dream, Away uses Gwen and Coral to show the significant psychological changes made by the characters during holidays to the coast. Tom throughout the play acts as a catalyst for the change in other characters and is associated with Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.…
At the start of the Novel Gwen expresses her disappointment for “A Midsummers Night Dream” and the lack of interesting material throughout the play, whereas in “Stranger on the shore”, her enthusiasm was high as she lead the production and slowly became more appreciative of individuals rather than materialistic possessions. All of this is finished off when through gesture; Gwen leads the applause for “Stranger on the shore”. This makes Away worthy of study as the audience will gain a responsive idea of nature’s power to patch up family issues and the after effects. The effects that will change character’s lives for the…
There are times in individual’s lives when sudden realisations may alter their perception of themselves and their place in the world. The place, context and setting in significant moments in time throughout individual’s lives cause such realisations occur. This can be seen in both the novels “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri and “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Remarque, through the experiences of their characters Paul, Gogol and Ashima. Paul is confronted by his experiences on the front line, where his kinship between his fellow comrades have entrenched him from his own family and society. Likewise, those significant moments partaken by Gogol and Ashima, school excursions and getting a job, have both caused social disturbance and an increased recognition of one’s identity.…
Tony Kushner’s play, Angels In America, explores the trials of the journey of human life through the development of his characters throughout the play. When Rabbi Chemelwitz says “Great Voyages is this world do not any more exist.” (Millennium 16) he speaks only the partial truth. It is true that none of the characters at the funeral can make the same kind of trip Sarah Ironson made, the pilgrimage from her home to a foreign land across the Atlantic. However, the voyage to America Sarah took and the various struggles the characters face have many parallels. Instead of the physical trials of Sarah’s great voyage, they are faced with equally as difficult emotional problems that cause them to make certain choices in the great voyage of their lives. Every character faces some psychological journey throughout the play that takes them to new places emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The best example of all three of these journeys is Prior’s development through the play.…
Discovery is one of literatures’ most classic motifs, with characters and personas leading themselves to new worlds, and renewing perceptions of themselves and others in the process. Three texts that highlight these outcomes are the poems ‘Mending Wall’ and ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ by Robert Frost, and the novel ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R. Tolkien. Within, personas, protagonists and authors explore and discover new worlds both literally and metaphorically, as well as discovering a new perception of themselves and others. Or in some circumstances rejecting the new world entirely as a result of the discovery.…
She is quick to counter this idea stating that the act of “separating emotionally immersed and reflectively rational ways of experiencing fiction…might be hampering our understanding of the experience of fiction” (167). She argues that the audience is capable of a double position, in which the author creates by introducing the environment of “joint-attention”. Joint-attention allows for the reader to be aware of a situation, and be aware that the author is also aware of the situation (167). The use of joint-attention can be seen by Eggers throughout A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, in which Eggers often breaks in, as the author, to comment on the situations of Dave, the narrator. Specifically, when Eggers begins to write Dave’s response to the ever looming question of where their parents are as a script, he draws the reader’s attention to Dave’s situation, and also to the fact that Eggers is aware of the situation as the author. By creating it in this script style, the reader feels empathy for Dave, and how he has been put in this situation, but also, this empathy is intensified when they realize that Eggers has responded to this question so many times that his answers feel scripted to him, even…
An understanding of humanity and existence, is gained through personal discoveries and the experiences that lead one there. The Australian play ‘Away’, written by Michael Gow in 1986, utilises a 1967 setting and the characters preparation for, and the events from, their summer holidays to highlight the significance of personal discoveries.. The American film published in 1989 and directed by Australian Peter Weir, ‘Dead Poets Society’, both contrasts and relates to ‘Away’ as it explores an all boys preparatory school, in 1959. During this time there was a pressure on families to be untarnished, and understanding this ideology can improve familial relationships. People around an individual have the power to shape these discoveries. Those discoveries…
The harsh effects of modernisation in ‘Journey: The North Coast” are shown through persona’s escape on the train from Sydney to a country side. In addition, the poet is trying to illustrate the fast pace of a city life through the onomatopoeia of words ‘booms and cracks and tears the wind apart’. Grey uses strong verbs such as ‘swing out’ and ‘rattle up the sash’ to express the anxiety about leaving this one place which has detached him from home. Through the phrase ‘flees on the blue and silver paddocks’, Grey is able to present an escape from commercialised world to the natural environment. A sense of relief is depicted in the phrase ‘I rise into the mirror, rested’ through the use of first person which allows the readers to empathise with the poet’s decision. Towards the end, sharp sentences focus solemnly on poet’s perspective on commercialism which has changed his life and forced him to leave the ‘furnished room’. This is a representation of the city where after spending ‘twelve months’, the poet has reached a realisation about…
Discovery is one of the most essential driving forces of civilisation, leading society to new worlds and values, stimulating new ideas and enabling the speculation about future possibilities. It is through the process of discovery that an individual is able to challenge their preconceived notions about human experience in the world and in turn develop a renewed understanding of themselves and others. This notion is exemplified in William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, Kate Chopin’s ‘The story of an hour’ and Percy Bysshe Shelly’s ‘Ozymandias.’ Despite contrasting social and political contexts, each text explores the way in which renewed perceptions and values result from imminent journeys.…
I learned that Bishop excels at taking the mundane and transforming it to something beautiful. Her poems are so beautifully written that one does not merely read her poetry, instead one can see her subject matter right in front of them. It would be easy to dismiss Bishop’s poetry as merely a descriptive look at the routine but Bishop’s poetry all holds a deeper meaning that really only becomes apparent when you look at Bishop’s own life. After losing her father at an early age and her mother’s institutionalization, Bishop led a largely nomadic lifestyle. Without a true home to call her own, a lot of her poems reflect Bishop’s musing on what makes a home and why humans feel the need to travel. She also examines how often times something that can seem so obvious, like returning home, can be the hardest thing in the world to do.…
But behold. This paper is not about my dramatic story. This is about what captured me to finally feel uncovered and treasured.…