Away Michael Gow Analysis

In the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer portrays a story of Chris McCandless and his journey to create a new life for himself though isolation and self determination. While connecting momentarily with people McCandless meets on his expedition, he is determined to cut off all connection with his family and previous life, to create a new one through his own actions. Krakauer depicts McCandless’ yearn for isolationism in relation to his excursion through specific utilization of rhetorical devices throughout his book.

An individual’s discovery inevitably involves their attitudes and beliefs being challenged and transformed. Michael Gow represents the ramifications of a discovery through the character, Gwen. He explores the insights of Gwen’s emotional discovery through the recurring motif of “bex”. At times of pressure of when Gwen “needs a bex”, it symbolises her desire to prevent feeling vulnerable and to avoid feeling out of control. The bex is Gwen’s way of manipulating her family into doing what she wants, as it shows the audience Gwen’s controlling nature and her ability to avoid the consequences of her impact on others. Gow illustrates to the audience Gwen’s emotional disconnection from her family through her harsh tone, “There! Are they there… I

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India once said, “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if we seek them with our eyes open” (Nehru). In the book Into the Wild Jon Krakauer introduces the reader to Christopher McCandless’s, a young man from California with a heart yearning for adventure and a head beyond his years. The reader learns there is no one quite like Chris McCandless, but many people have sought out to seek the “more” from life. Jon Krakauer uses pathos and quirky but also thrilling anecdotes throughout Into the Wild to separate how Chris McCandless perceived himself and how others perceived him.

“Away” is a historical play written in 1988 by Michael Gow. Away reflects to the central ideas, values and conflicts of Australia in 1967-68. The central ideas embrace outsiders, family conflicts and grief and loss which affected families in the play and in the time. Gow uses three main families to convey the message of the play. The use of language and stylistic devices influence the way Gow has been able to speak to the modern Australian audience. In the play, Gow is able to speak to the modern Australian audience with the clever, complex use of allusion. The modern audience would have to do research to understand the allusions in the play however on a superficial level the audience is still able to enjoy the central themes and ideas of the play.

Set in the Australian summer of 1967, Michael Gow’s Away is an elaborate play which explores the ideas of self- discovery and change. Through the war affected nation, three families, each from different social classes, depart on an iconic Australian holiday to the beach. In the play, Gow utilises the characters to demonstrate that going away physically is intrinsically linked to their mental developments. With the help of references to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer night’s Dream, Away uses Gwen and Coral to show the significant psychological changes made by the characters during holidays to the coast. Tom throughout the play acts as a catalyst for the change in other characters and is associated with Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

People encounter different experiences and respond to the individually. These personal experiences may result in growth, change or other consequences. There are a variety of pathways and elements which enables for the transition of an individual into a new world. An individual’s determination to pursue a dream can inspire them to challenge society’s expectations as they transition into a new world. However, there are barriers which often disallow an individual to achieve this movement into their desired world. The concept of ‘into the world is evident in the film Billy Elliot by Stephen Daldry (2000).

The death of Coral’s son has caused an emotional breakdown as she cannot accept her son’s death. Moreover, Coral has lost her social identity and tends to struggle to find a connection with anyone, as she “can’t think of anything to say” (Act 2, Scene 2). Her husband, Roy, is annoyed by her bizarre attitude and this causes Coral to lower herself to the behavior of a naïve child “I’ll be good! I’ll improve!” When Coral does begin to speak, it is presented as very expressive and mournful. Her tone is filled with emotion as she is constantly “wiping away tears”.

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The movie “Breaking Away” presents the story of a young man from working class origins who seeks to better himself by creating a persona through which he almost, but not quite, wins the girl. The rivalry between the townies and the college students sets the scene for the story of four friends who learn to accept themselves as they "break away" from childhood and from their underdog self-images.

Thoreau once said “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves” following this Chris Mccandless adventures off into the wild on a journey to discover himself without being surrounded by a materialistic society or his family. Sean Penn delicately crafted cinematography in the film into the wild makes use of …. to show the challenges of family relationships, the power of words and self discovery. This is shown through the use of many different filming techniques to emphasise a certain theme.

In conclusion, Michael Gow has used outsiders, family conflicts, and grief and loss to refer to the central ideas of the play, “Away”. Gow has used many literary devices such as allusion, juxtaposition, simile, flashbacks and tragedy to convey the message that he is

The places we visit throughout our lives can sometimes leave a bigger imprint on us than anything else. The novel, Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer, displays a man, named Chris McCandless, who selfishly goes into the Alaskan Interior alone. The places he visits and the way he connects with the people and places around him before and during the journey help exemplify who he is.

The concept “Into the world” is a process assisted with many new experiences and changes. An individual’s response to these experiences and changes is known as a consequence. Thoroughly portraying the stages of moving into the world with the assistance of an array of techniques, the novel “The story of Tom Brennan” by J.C burke and the movie “Juno” composed by Jason Reitman, distinctly present a variety of consequences as an individual’s response to many changes and new experiences.

“Yet, walking down the path with her, he blurted out, ‘I’d like to go and have a look at those rocks down there,’’ (Lessing 1). During the short story, “Through the Tunnel,” Lessing shows that Jerry has an interest in breaking away from his mother early on in the story. He shows a passion for wanting to go to the wild bay, instead of staying with his mother at the safe beach for their vacation. Jerry’s transformation from boy to a young man is revealed in the settings of the safe beach, wild bay, and the journey through the tunnel.

Even though, jerry wants to be accepted and in control of his life, the harsh reality is Jerry’s identity wants to be with his mother. Further throughout the story the tunnel is shown as the symbol of the story; letting the reader know that Jerry senses that it is the door to his identity. Additionally, the chronological structure is effective throughout the story in showing the process of growing up and an insight into Jerry’s transformation. Moreover, the 3rd person omniscient narrator and formal register presents the character of Jerry and his mother in a distanced way and without a biased perspective. This suggests the sense of detachment and alienation that Jerry is starting to feel from his mother as he is growing up and wanting to make his own choices. The story is firstly introduced with a description of the mother carrying a bright striped purse. It was this and other uses of describing Jerry’s surroundings with the use of bright colours symbolising jerry’s childish world and thoughts. In addition, the thought of jerry’s childish thoughts shows his struggle to establish his own identity. The author writes that Jerry goes swimming “over a region where rocks lay like discoloured monsters under the surface”. The simile shows that even though Jerry wants to be independent and swim alone in the bay, he’s terrified of being alone in the water and not seeing his mother again. Briefly, Jerry learns that you cannot