well how about...it's Lawson's version of the bush and its conditions. He creates characters we can almost visualise and imagine or even empathise with. Try looking at his choice of words when he describes these characters. A story I could use as an example is "The Loaded Dog". For this story look at how Lawson uses words to describe Tommy, "an overgrown pup, a big, foolish, four footed mate...Most of hishead was...a red, idiotic slobbering grin of appreciation of his own silliness." From this, the responder, or in your case, the contemporary audience is able to empathise with 'man's best friend'. From the above quote, we learn that Tommy is an innocent, friendly dog who later in the story encounters the yellow dog. Take note as to how Lawson describes the yellow dog, "a vicious yellow cattle-dog sulking and nursing his nastiness...-a sneaking, fighting, thieving cannine..." From here, Lawson has managed to create 'the bad guy' or a character the audience could feel absolutely no empathy towards.
Well hope this helps
