ruby moon has an elliptical structure, rather than a linear one.
the many flashbacks the characters experience in their recollection of what happened the afternoon ruby disappeared creates a fragmented story...
a picture of what happened, and the characters of flaming tree grove is found out by the audience in dribs and drabs.
after building up this picture, the audience discovers at the plays conclusion that ray and sylvie are no closer to discovering the truth about what happened to ruby; rather, they are back at where they started. throughout the play the reader also gains an awareness that ray and sylvie's detective work is treading over old tracks.
seven stages is a non linear narrative, as each scene is different from the last and tells a different story, which builds up a general picture of typical aboriginal experience - the scenes also become fragmented, through contrast: eg moving from a humourous scene to a very sad scene.