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The Drover’s Wife: * Henry Lawson’s short story “The Drover’s Wife” is about a woman and her four children that must cope with the dangers and natural elements of the Australian bush. * By Lawson not using a description of the woman he makes the story symbolic to all women in her position throughout the bush. (by not giving her a name and making her description pretty generic/general) so it’s a story about the stamina and resourcefulness of the people in the bush – in this case extending to women. * The story emphasizes the drover’s wife’s fierce independence as she battles a hostile environment to ensure her survival and the survival of her family through the accumulation of negative visual and auditory images. * and ‘the gaunt sun-browned woman’ * Extended imagery – choice of adjectives conveys the harsh nature of the land, by showing us an image of the adverse effects on the inhabitants of the land. * Thus by linking the environment to its inhabitants, Lawson’s omniscient third-person narrator shapes our understanding that the unique Australian traits of resilience and courage are the product of an interaction with a hostile environment. * Lawson also uses the dog Alligator a “Big black yellow eyed dog of all breeds…” as another protector of the family and essential to the woman’s ability to survive. * Her dependence on the dog emphasises her isolation “Only last week a… swagman… threw his swag down on the veranda, and demanded tucker. She gave him something to eat… loosened the dog and confronted him. He looked at the dog then her and left” another comment is made about the dog – that she can’t afford to lose him (to the snake) – bush aspect – working dog – contributor to family. There are no luxuries – no pets, everything has to contribute towards survival. * “Young Lady’s Journal…’ its mention in her context emphasises that her surrounding’s not favourable to the development of the womanly side of her nature. Lawson mentions this book as a symbol - * Symbolism – Drover’s wife has to put aside her womanhood in order to brave the rough and harsh conditions of the bush. This is a symbol of all the pleasures she has given up to live there. (sacrifices) * Through the use of flash backs Lawson presents us with the different situations the woman has been confronted with and the way she has had to overcome them while her husband has been away. * “She fought a bush fire…She fought a flood…She also fought…a mad bullock” and now a snake. This reinforces the harshness of the bush and the ability of the woman to protect her family. “She was a determined looking woman”. * “she rode nineteen miles for assistance, carrying the dead child” – despite this incident being perhaps the most traumatic scene in her life, she was able to move on and deal with the other obstacles. Creates an image of her resilience – that under such circumstances she can still do what is needed and what is practical. * The inclusion of her ‘carrying the dead child’ creates a sense of her suffering and the fact that there is no one there to help her, further emphasises her isolation and her ability to do whatever is needed, even in awful situations..
The Loaded Dog * Conveys the distinctively visual elements of outback life - through black humour it highlights the mateship of the bush. * Unlike “The Drover’s Wife” Lawson is able to balance the harshness of the bush with the larrikin characters, allows him to make the story entertaining but also life-threatening. He is able to reveal the Australian sense of humour – once they have managed to survive then they can find the humour in the experience. * Lawson uses the almost dried up creek as an example of the effect that the harshness of the bush has on its occupants. The men usually use the fish as their main source of food but because it has turned into “a chain of muddy waterholes… six to seven feet deep”. In a humorous way, he is still showcasing the resourcefulness of the bushmen. * The personification “Foolish four-footed mate…with an idiotic slobbering grin of appreciation of his own silliness” conveys the close relationship that can exist between the bushman and his dog ‘They loved him for his good-heartedness and his foolishness ...’. This also creates the humorous mood of the storytelling. * The balance between the use of adjectives a ‘…red, idiotic, slobbering grin…’ and the authorial intrusion ‘he seemed to take life, the world…. and his own instincts as a huge joke’ mirrors the larrikin nature of men and their dog. Also, the author is providing his perspective – the harshness of the environment and the humour of the men who survive in it – to form the reader’s opinion. * It shapes our perceptions of the ability of both man and beast to cope with an essentially hostile outback. It also emphasises that, not only are the men strong and resilient, but their humour is what gives them their resilience. (The humour is a coping technique.) * The unsophisticated and extremely practical, down-to-earth manner in which they solve problems is depicted in the way they go fishing. * “dynamite fishing” – extreme behaviour – making use of existing tools – they were after all dynamiting for gold and wanted to do it in the most practical, efficient manner – its extreme nature is what creates humour for the reader because it seems so extreme to us. * This creates humour, but also showcases the bushman’s mentality when placed in a dangerous situation. The events have the air of the ridiculous about them and that is reflected in Lawson’s ability to make it funny even though it was a very dangerous situation at the time. . * The cartridge of dynamite and the effort they go to make it waterproof for fishing foreshadows the potentially disastrous results when something goes wrong – the nature of the problem is what is absurd – a dog running after them with the dynamite about to explode. * “Dave looked over his shoulder and bolted-Jim looked behind Dave and bolted-Andy stood still”- Lawson’s ability to make the dangerous situation absurdly funny. * He uses words with strong tension such as “crisis” which creates dramatic imagery. Then he uses words such as “dog grinned” and “legs started before his brain” to contrast by introducing an element of the absurd into the description - get the desired response from the audience. * “bushmen…trying to laugh without shrieking”- irony – the plan that nearly got them nearly killed them. The bushman’s attitude – anything that hasn’t killed him can be the subject of humour. * This irony displays the bushmen as extremely practical but capable of behaving as happy-go-lucky jokers when the opportunity arises; conveying the unique vision of Australians as distinctive and individualistic with a fine appreciation for life. Remember that it is the ways Lawson tells the story that makes it funny and that is partly because the safe outcome is already know.

In a Dry Season: * Through his realistic portrayal of the Australian outback and the people who reside there, Lawson provides the audience with an anomalous approach into the harshness of bush life and the stereotypical characteristics of its inhabitants. * Lawson captures the essences of the Australian bush culture and introduces his readers to the eccentric nature of its inhabitants. * Lawson concentrates on the harsh reality of outback existence portraying it as a dull environment quoting ‘Draw a wire fence and a few ragged gums, and add some scattered sheep running away from the train. Then you’ll have the bush all along the New South Wales Western line from Bathurst on.’ * With the use of sarcasm, it provides us with an insight into the Australian outback giving the readers an uninteresting dry illustration of his train trip captivating the true nature of Australia * Additionally, the use of descriptive imagery in the quote ‘There is sometimes a small, oblong weatherboard buildings-unpainted, and generally leaning in one of the eight possible directions, and perhaps with a twist in another-which, from its half-obliterated sign, seems to have started as a rival to the Railway Stores; but the shutter are up and the place empty.’ * grants the audience a perception allowing them to visualise the environment of the Australian outback being old and rusty letting the readers to gain a better understanding of what the narrator is seeing from his perspective . * The Australian rural outback during these times was considered to be a harsh, dry and hot climate back then and still is today signifying that Henry Lawson has captured the Australian way of life and describing it the way people perceive our country today. * The characters portrayed are not personalised, remaining anonymous and unnamed and referred to mostly as ‘they’. * They are only differentiated only by their stereotypes. * A quote ‘.........we saw the first sun downer. He carried a Royal Alfred, and had a billy in one hand and a stick in the other. He was dressed in a tailcoat turned yellow, a print shirt, and a pair of moleskin trousers, with big square calico patches on the knees and his old straw hat with covered with calico’ shows the characterisations of a typical swagman in the Australian outback, portraying the Australian stereotypical laidback easy going person.