Maestro Essay
2011 HSC exam question on Maestro
"In what ways are people and their experiences brought to life through the distinctively visual?
In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your choosing."
Visually distinctive language allows authors to create characters and bring them to life in a way which makes them relatable and believable to their audience. In the fiction novel "Maestro" by Peter Goldsworthy and in the poem "The Shearer's Wife" by _____ Esson, the authors use language to create characters which explore different elements of isolation.
Peter Goldsworthy uses visually distinctive language in order to bring to life the character of Eduard Keller. In his initial descriptions of Keller, Goldsworthy creates a character full of conflicting ideas and hidden identity. At first he is described as an old drunk with weathered skin but then Goldsworthy makes special note of his “suit: white linen, freshly pressed” this helps to show that there is more to Keller that what we first see. While his face shows a. man full of experiences and booze his suit suggests a propriety and formal manner which is out of place in Darwin. Goldsworthy uses the structure of his paragraphs to convey more meaning than his words alone would. He uses a paragraph break and ellipsis to emphasise the description of the suit, this separates is from the facial description and shows the two conflicting ideas. His constant assault of descriptive language fills in the picture he is creating, each thing he mentions is coupled with a descriptive word or phrase, for example “The eyes: an old man’s moist, wobbling jellies.” This helps to complete the image he is creating of the character. This conflicted character is easily used by Goldsworthy to explore isolation as a common aspect of the human condition. The two seemingly opposing elements to his nature is reflective of his self-imposed isolation and his strive to separate himself from his
"In what ways are people and their experiences brought to life through the distinctively visual?
In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your choosing."
Visually distinctive language allows authors to create characters and bring them to life in a way which makes them relatable and believable to their audience. In the fiction novel "Maestro" by Peter Goldsworthy and in the poem "The Shearer's Wife" by _____ Esson, the authors use language to create characters which explore different elements of isolation.
Peter Goldsworthy uses visually distinctive language in order to bring to life the character of Eduard Keller. In his initial descriptions of Keller, Goldsworthy creates a character full of conflicting ideas and hidden identity. At first he is described as an old drunk with weathered skin but then Goldsworthy makes special note of his “suit: white linen, freshly pressed” this helps to show that there is more to Keller that what we first see. While his face shows a. man full of experiences and booze his suit suggests a propriety and formal manner which is out of place in Darwin. Goldsworthy uses the structure of his paragraphs to convey more meaning than his words alone would. He uses a paragraph break and ellipsis to emphasise the description of the suit, this separates is from the facial description and shows the two conflicting ideas. His constant assault of descriptive language fills in the picture he is creating, each thing he mentions is coupled with a descriptive word or phrase, for example “The eyes: an old man’s moist, wobbling jellies.” This helps to complete the image he is creating of the character. This conflicted character is easily used by Goldsworthy to explore isolation as a common aspect of the human condition. The two seemingly opposing elements to his nature is reflective of his self-imposed isolation and his strive to separate himself from his