Old Man From The Bush Undertaker
Synopses One: Character – Old man from the ‘Bush Undertaker’
For the first entry in this reading journal, I chose to talk about the Old Man from Henry Lawson’s Bush Undertaker. Initially, the Old Man piqued my interest because he seems like the typical representation of a historical Aussie battler and consists of many of the cultural attitudes most commonly attributed to Australians. After all, he is an aging shepherd making a living on his own except for his loyal canine companion, Five Bob. However, it was the final line of Lawson’s story, spoken by the Old Man that illustrated the dark humour associated with the eccentricity of Lawson’s short story: “…the sun sank again on the grand Australian bush - the nurse and tutor of eccentric minds, …show more content…
89). Eventually, I felt an analysis of this particular story is important in a course for reading fiction because it shows the development of colonial literary practices in Australia. For example, during the time of colonialism, there was the rise of Gothic theme, an influential, sensational form, known for its contributions and influence on Australian Literature (Turcotte 1998, p. 10). After reading the Bush Undertaker, I stated to notice the similarities between Lawson’s short story and the Gothic form by way of the Old Man. In his extended exposure to life in the Australian Bush, the Old Man shows signs of this demonstrating this Gothic form in his appearance as an unstable and eccentric recluse. So instead of a typical portrayal of an Australian male in the Bush, Lawson chose to employ a character that challenges …show more content…
My interpretation of modernity or modernism has to do with how writers challenge traditional modes of literature and interpretations of that literature in a contemporary period. More specifically, some examples of how modernity differs from historical conventional literature are by the use of imperfect textual styles and the in-depth development of characters. Through reading Conrad’s novel, I found evidence of these points. Despite the fact that on the surface, the novel followed the traditional concept of a main protagonist and ideologies of heroism, the underlying principle of modernity were present. In the analysis of Conrad’s novel, it is evident that the textual themes he utilised explored the possibilities of the ‘modern condition’ in his characters that were illustrated as having ‘epistemological uncertainty’ (Roberts 2000, p. 118). The second reason for the association of modernity with Conrad’s novel is the way he employs the imperfect style of the chronology of the text. This is evident in the story when it is apparent that Conrad’s main character Marlow questions himself about whether what he knows about Kurtz is accurate, casting doubt on previous chapters in the novel (Conrad 2014, p. 29). Both of these examples accentuate the link between traditional Victorian-era values and the ideology of modernism. It is the juxtaposition of these points that
For the first entry in this reading journal, I chose to talk about the Old Man from Henry Lawson’s Bush Undertaker. Initially, the Old Man piqued my interest because he seems like the typical representation of a historical Aussie battler and consists of many of the cultural attitudes most commonly attributed to Australians. After all, he is an aging shepherd making a living on his own except for his loyal canine companion, Five Bob. However, it was the final line of Lawson’s story, spoken by the Old Man that illustrated the dark humour associated with the eccentricity of Lawson’s short story: “…the sun sank again on the grand Australian bush - the nurse and tutor of eccentric minds, …show more content…
89). Eventually, I felt an analysis of this particular story is important in a course for reading fiction because it shows the development of colonial literary practices in Australia. For example, during the time of colonialism, there was the rise of Gothic theme, an influential, sensational form, known for its contributions and influence on Australian Literature (Turcotte 1998, p. 10). After reading the Bush Undertaker, I stated to notice the similarities between Lawson’s short story and the Gothic form by way of the Old Man. In his extended exposure to life in the Australian Bush, the Old Man shows signs of this demonstrating this Gothic form in his appearance as an unstable and eccentric recluse. So instead of a typical portrayal of an Australian male in the Bush, Lawson chose to employ a character that challenges …show more content…
My interpretation of modernity or modernism has to do with how writers challenge traditional modes of literature and interpretations of that literature in a contemporary period. More specifically, some examples of how modernity differs from historical conventional literature are by the use of imperfect textual styles and the in-depth development of characters. Through reading Conrad’s novel, I found evidence of these points. Despite the fact that on the surface, the novel followed the traditional concept of a main protagonist and ideologies of heroism, the underlying principle of modernity were present. In the analysis of Conrad’s novel, it is evident that the textual themes he utilised explored the possibilities of the ‘modern condition’ in his characters that were illustrated as having ‘epistemological uncertainty’ (Roberts 2000, p. 118). The second reason for the association of modernity with Conrad’s novel is the way he employs the imperfect style of the chronology of the text. This is evident in the story when it is apparent that Conrad’s main character Marlow questions himself about whether what he knows about Kurtz is accurate, casting doubt on previous chapters in the novel (Conrad 2014, p. 29). Both of these examples accentuate the link between traditional Victorian-era values and the ideology of modernism. It is the juxtaposition of these points that