No Worries Novel Analysis
Hello, and welcome to the 2016 Online Festival of Australian Literature. I’m Isabella Rix and I will be highlighting today the themes regarding the Australian identity in the novel, ‘No Worries,’ by author Bill Condon, published in 2005. I will be discovering whether this novel’s themes, characters and ideologies explore a true Australian culture or embodies the stereotypical representation. ‘No Worries’ is from a first-person perspective of a teenage boy named Brian. The novel follows him with his parents, social and working areas of life, underlying the main message about the importance of family and friends through difficult situations. The author presents the story, successfully highlighting the true Australian identity .
Bill Condon …show more content…
Brian’s Mum, (Ruby) is positioned to be viewed as a stereotypical ‘losing my mind’ person with bipolar and depression, but the way Brian, our Protagonist handles these dramatic situations, are realistic and relatable from an Australian point of view. This can be understood in the example, “Then she thumped her head against the glovebox. ‘Hey stop it!’ I pinned her shoulders to the seat. She bit me. ‘Mum! Stop it! What’s wrong with you? She let out a scream. ‘Calm down, will you?’” (page 102). This example positions readers to view Brian’s Mother as overly unstable, dramatizing the mental health issue. From this behaviour it is reasonable for people like Brian to struggle in difficult situations, relying on other’s such as Emma, for emotional support. The necessity of support in difficult circumstances links to the strong value of friends and mateship in the Australian culture. Another example is Brian’s father follows the stereotypical Australian dad, some of his values are iconic Australian. This can be understood from the example, “I sipped at the beer. It tasted like medicine to me. I only drank it because of Dad. One of those father and son things.” (Page 17) Brian explains his usual interaction …show more content…
By highlighting the themes of family, growing up and the importance of close relationships allows reader to recognise the expected lifestyle in the Australian culture. This was also discovered through the character’s behaviours and personal traits. And by including various uses of slang and nicknaming in the language created a relatable and genuine representation of an Australian identity
Bill Condon …show more content…
Brian’s Mum, (Ruby) is positioned to be viewed as a stereotypical ‘losing my mind’ person with bipolar and depression, but the way Brian, our Protagonist handles these dramatic situations, are realistic and relatable from an Australian point of view. This can be understood in the example, “Then she thumped her head against the glovebox. ‘Hey stop it!’ I pinned her shoulders to the seat. She bit me. ‘Mum! Stop it! What’s wrong with you? She let out a scream. ‘Calm down, will you?’” (page 102). This example positions readers to view Brian’s Mother as overly unstable, dramatizing the mental health issue. From this behaviour it is reasonable for people like Brian to struggle in difficult situations, relying on other’s such as Emma, for emotional support. The necessity of support in difficult circumstances links to the strong value of friends and mateship in the Australian culture. Another example is Brian’s father follows the stereotypical Australian dad, some of his values are iconic Australian. This can be understood from the example, “I sipped at the beer. It tasted like medicine to me. I only drank it because of Dad. One of those father and son things.” (Page 17) Brian explains his usual interaction …show more content…
By highlighting the themes of family, growing up and the importance of close relationships allows reader to recognise the expected lifestyle in the Australian culture. This was also discovered through the character’s behaviours and personal traits. And by including various uses of slang and nicknaming in the language created a relatable and genuine representation of an Australian identity