Prac Essay

Discovery can be presented in many forms, whether it is physical, imaginative or inner. Often what differentiates discovery as a distinct process, catalyzed by an emotional or mental reevaluation, is that it can lead individuals towards a renewed understanding of oneself and the others around them. Robert Gray explores these concepts through the use of various language forms and features throughout his poems “Meatworks” and “Journey, The North Coast” which explore the notion of an inner realization from the persona’s self reflection, as well as depicting the importance of a physical journey as a catalyst towards a discovery of both natural beauty and mental reflection. The film by Sean Penn “Into the Wild” (2007) conveys similar paralleled understandings and notions presented by the poems of Robert Gray.

The poem “Meatworks” reflects on the experience of an individual’s initial discovery and deals with perceptions of inhumane treatment of animals that are butchered for human consumption. The persona explores the harsh realities of living in the regional area “The only work was at this works”, the syntactical repetition highlighting the characters desperate need for employment. However the disgusting and visceral imagery utilized throughout the text “sticky stench of blood”, compounded by the sibilance describes the inherent inhumanity of the true nature of the slaughterhouse.

The personification in “frail green money”, conveying the inadequacy of money as return for labour in such conditions. Those seeking employment, such as the persona, are desperate to be employed, thus, they often have no other choice but to work and go through a dehumanizing experience such as the experience expressed in the poem.

Moreover, the author, Robert Gray utilizes “them”, the technique of the third person pronoun to explore this notion of inner discovery. This use of third person pronoun intentionally separates the persona away from his co-workers, evoking the persona’s