'Away' (1 Viewer)

[imone]

hey guys....anyone who know where i can get essays on the nove; 'Away' and how it deals with physical journeys??

 

[timrie6]

ew, Away.
Its a drama/play not a novel and yes I have heaps of stuff on it.
an example:

‘The Journey leads to a greater understanding’

There are three types of journeys – physical, imaginative and inner. These categories allow us to put texts into context and perspective. Away by Michael Gow, represents on the surface, a physical journey. However the physical journeys portrayed lead to inner journeys also being achieved. Similarly, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost depicts a physical journey. However, it is a metaphor for an inner journey through life. The song, Home is where the heart is, written by John Butler, represents two journeys - the physical journey of refugees coming to Australia; past and present, and the inner journey of the nation of Australia confronting immigration and multiculturalism. Finally, the Leunig cartoon, Mr Curly transports wayfaring pilgrims… is visually a physical journey, but perceptively an imaginative journey, and political metaphor.

A physical journey is journey which involves obstacles and movement to new places. Travellers are given the opportunity to expand physically, emotionally and intellectually while responding to challenges and learning more about themselves and the world around them.

In Away, the composer, Michael Gow represents greater understanding through journeys in different ways through the use of two types of journeys – physical and inner, charting the growth and development of characters throughout their separate, individual journeys.
One example is Gwen, whose harsh, unfeeling character is transformed by their trip ‘away’. At the beginning of the play, Gwen is shown to be manipulative, snobbish and controlling character, set in her ways and preoccupied with material possessions. Her vow to “never be poor again” after surviving the depression, brings her to believe that material possessions will bring happiness, and the only way to protect her loved ones, is to control them.
Gwen embarks on a physical journey with her family - the ritual nature of the holiday is evident – “a game we play each year”. However, a new obstacle is introduced – the catalyst storm, which strips the family of material possessions, (stage direction “fairies wreak havoc”) and Gwen of her securities. This forces them from civilisation to nature, where their journey joins with the other two families.
Gwen is faced with the challenge and knowledge of Tom’s inevitable death and the pain and suffering his family were going through. “we have this boy and we won’t have him for long. And whatever he does will have to be enough”.
The physical journey of going away and the obstacles involved forced Gwen to learn more about herself and the world around her – realisation of how she was treating other people and the deeper awareness of how the love that Tom, Vic and Harry shared was much more important than the possessions and status she held so dear.
As a result of this physical journey, Gwen achieved a greater understanding about herself and the world, and also undergoes an inner, personal journey of her mind and spirit – where she reviewed herself and her own growth and development. She expressed remorse (“you must hate me”) and the family reconciled. Meg removes a cardboard carton (Christmas presents) from the scene – an object which previously caused much argument and tension as Gwen used it to make her family miserable. It was now a symbol of the family’s old way of life.
An inner journey is a journey of the mind and spirit – where individuals review their growth and development in the light of experiences which challenge and inspire them.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost depicts a physical journey – but is actually a sustained metaphor for an inner journey of choices and progression through life. It represents two roads, of which only one can be chosen – “as way leads on to way”, making it impossible to retrace your steps and experience everything. The composer expresses regret at this realisation (“And sorry I could not travel both”). It raises some important issues about the degree to which our decisions are consciously made: the extent of control which people have over decision making.
The 4th stanza introduces a sense a closure to the poem in telling the responder that the experience to choose one road over the other is something that will influence the composer for years to come.
Home Is Where the Heart is, a song by John Butler, represents two journeys – the physical journey of refugees: past and present coming to Australia, and the inner journey of a nation regressing due to this (becoming more primitive).
In this text, John Butler attempts to convey greater understanding to the responders with the use of these two journeys. Superficially, “Home is where the heart is” means that no matter what nationality you are, or where you come from, home is where you feel it is. The ironic, underlying meaning is that Australia has no heart, as there is no home for refugees here, according to the government “cos the government’s full of racial hate”. Accompanied by compelling instrumental music (slide guitar and double bass) and repetition of the main message “Home is where the heart is”, John Butler effectively conveys this deeper meaning relating his experiences, opinions and his perception of the situation.
An imaginative journey is a journey of speculation, imagination and inspiration. In the Leunig cartoon, Mr Curly transports wayfaring pilgrims…, Leunig also attempts to convey greater understanding to the responder about the world. It is a political statement in which Leunig’s speculates about the current world situation. This perceptive personal appraisal is expressed using a humourous medium that appeals to a greater audience as it is in a simple appealing form.
The cartoon features Mr Curly (a recurring naïve Leunig figure) driving a ‘little goat drawn cart carved from a huge potato’ rescuing wayfaring pilgrims. Text is included: “Mr Curly transports wayfaring pilgrims away from the bad mood of the world to the peaceful shores of Lake Lacuna, a small, mystical and beautiful place of sanity which lies between the large, uncontrollable forces, the great powers and the major issues. The little goat-drawn cart has been carved from a huge potato”
The symbol of dark clouds looming in the corner suggests to the responder that the “major issues” are inescapable. Also the phrase “Lake Lacuna …place of sanity” is significant as Lacuna means a gap or something not there – suggesting there is no such thing as sanity.
He makes use of bathetic contrast for example between the innocent image of ‘a little goat cart carved from a huge potato’ and the phrase/expression ‘large uncontrollable forces, the great powers and the major issues”.
Leunigs uses Mr Curlys journey to encourage the responder to share his understanding of the world through his speculation, inspiration and imagination that the cartoon has invoked. However the characters involved are yet to complete their journey of understanding, and carry on in blissful ignorance and naïvety of the real world.
Putting these texts into context, it is easier to understand deeper meanings and the underlying intentions of the composer. The act of the characters in the texts embarking on the various types of journeys shown, leads to their greater self awareness and understanding of the world around them and our greater understanding of them, their world and by contrast perhaps places our own world into perspective.

 

[timrie6]

And here are some techniques which I don't think I added to that essay: (which you need to know)

Away Techniques

•Suspense
o Quick interchange of short lines eg when Tom tries to have sex with Meg

•Shakespearean Elements
o By conscious borrowing from SS, Gow draws our attention to the themes of universal importance in Away.
o Tom is Puck at start of the play and King Lear at the end
Puck the catalyst, and King Lear, reconciled to his own death ‘I crawl unburdn’d towards death’
o 5 Act Structure
o Storm (crisis point) used as catalyst for change and redirection of characters. Used in King Lear, The Tempest, Twelfth Night
o Use of Fairies & supernatural elements (Mid Summer Night’s Dream)
o Transition from the civilized world to the natural world (characters are forced to face up to their fears/inadequacies) as in Mid Summer Night’s Dream & King Lear.
o A play within a play as in Mid Summer Night’s Dream- ‘A Stranger on the Shore’ and the school Shakespeare plays, MSND & KL.
o Characters in disorder and in need of being corrected (MSND)
o Themes:
•King Lear: theme of stripping away falsehood and understanding true human values
•Away: theme of stripping away materialistic possessions and social status and understanding true human values eg love, compassion, family stability

•Dialogue
o Roy given more dialogue than Coral when they conversed – shows that Roy was dominant

o Coral uses future tense a lot in her speech “I’m going to..” implying vagueness of promises that may not be necessarily kept

o Colloquialism - “fuken miserable time” – helps to flesh out characters and cut across educational boundaries. It extends the appeal of the text to a wider audience, allowing them to emphasise and relate to characters

o Mute scene- penultimate scene in play where characters are given no dialogue- yet perform actions denoting reconciliation and resolution to earlier conflicts.

o Slang, colloquialism, cultural references eg. ‘dunny’, ‘pressies’, ‘bex’, ‘chips rafferty’ – reflects Australian culture and along with short, chit chat type dialogue (eg after school play) gives more highbrow and lengthy dialogue more significance in comparison:
 Eg Coral Monologue: “That boy! In that blue light the shadows on his face and neck were like bruises”
 Tom Play: “Better I am unhappy for all eternity than she suffer another moment”

•Structure
o 5 Acts: MSND Dream ending is beginning of Away and King Lear’s beginning is the ending to Away- suggesting that journeys are eternal and continual. Tom’s journey had already started before the play and had not finished at the end.

•Symbols
o Catalyst storm: powerful crescendo/climax in play eg “fairies wreak havoc”
o Lighting effects: “the light becomes bright- summery morning” Act 5- indicates optimism for future- conflicts resolved- corresponds with reconciliation

Let me know if that was of any help to you!

 

[Danoz The Great]

you're a scab