Peter Carey
30 Days in Sydney by Peter Carey Analysis by Rose Fuggle
The creative non-fiction piece ‘30 Days in Sydney’ written by Peter Carey is an interesting insight to an expatriates experience of coming back to Sydney for a 30 day holiday. This piece was written in an almost journal like sense, with the intentions of giving readers an account on Sydney and its history. The work is written to show the carefree city of Sydney which he is fond of, however also to show the reader how Sydney is a place of contrast, with a deep convict history and reveals the dark side of Sydney, hidden underneath the relaxed city it appears to be. He convinces the reader using his apparent knowledge in history as well as his own personal experiences in Sydney. I believe the target audience for this piece would be anyone who has had any kind of experience in Sydney. A reader who has been to or lived in Sydney would be able to understand and connect more with the piece than someone who hasn’t. This isn’t to say, however, that a reader who has never been to or had any connections to the city of Sydney wouldn’t be able to enjoy the piece.
The piece begins with Carey specking of his flight over to Sydney, where he speaks of his uncomfortable flight, squished in with noisy tourists and little sleep. “They were so aflame about the journey, the had been loudly excited since we left LA thirteen years ago, that they had tested the powers of my Temazepam to the limits”, here Carey uses humour and emotive language which evokes a feeling of trust and empathy within the reader. This creates a relationship between the reader and author, meaning that later on in the piece, the reader will willingly go with Carey’s more controversial and personal opinions. The use of these techniques is found often throughout the piece, as Carey cleverly uses them to strengthen the trust and connection. This then helps Carey’s intentions of the piece, to reveal the dark side of Sydney as the readers trust his opinion.
The creative non-fiction piece ‘30 Days in Sydney’ written by Peter Carey is an interesting insight to an expatriates experience of coming back to Sydney for a 30 day holiday. This piece was written in an almost journal like sense, with the intentions of giving readers an account on Sydney and its history. The work is written to show the carefree city of Sydney which he is fond of, however also to show the reader how Sydney is a place of contrast, with a deep convict history and reveals the dark side of Sydney, hidden underneath the relaxed city it appears to be. He convinces the reader using his apparent knowledge in history as well as his own personal experiences in Sydney. I believe the target audience for this piece would be anyone who has had any kind of experience in Sydney. A reader who has been to or lived in Sydney would be able to understand and connect more with the piece than someone who hasn’t. This isn’t to say, however, that a reader who has never been to or had any connections to the city of Sydney wouldn’t be able to enjoy the piece.
The piece begins with Carey specking of his flight over to Sydney, where he speaks of his uncomfortable flight, squished in with noisy tourists and little sleep. “They were so aflame about the journey, the had been loudly excited since we left LA thirteen years ago, that they had tested the powers of my Temazepam to the limits”, here Carey uses humour and emotive language which evokes a feeling of trust and empathy within the reader. This creates a relationship between the reader and author, meaning that later on in the piece, the reader will willingly go with Carey’s more controversial and personal opinions. The use of these techniques is found often throughout the piece, as Carey cleverly uses them to strengthen the trust and connection. This then helps Carey’s intentions of the piece, to reveal the dark side of Sydney as the readers trust his opinion.