A Kindness Cup Essay
A Kindness Cup: Essay Question 1
Disagreements arise when the representation of characters and who they really are clash. A Kindness Cup written by Australian author Thea Astley is a prime example of how this can take effect. Three of the most prominent characters all undergo this occurrence. For example, the never ending guilt of Mr. Dorahy, the need for redemption faced by Mr. Boyed and silent morning of Mr. Lunt. Eventually the horror of not conforming can lead you misfortunes if revealed.
Set in colonial Queensland during the mid-1800, it is a dark time in Australian history filled with many forms of racism, gender discrimination and corruption. In this midst of all this wrong lies the novels central character, Mr. Dorahy (former teacher) and his return to his old town after nearly twenty years of absences in order to attend a reunion. Held every ten years, he realizes that if put off once again he might not live to make it to the next gathering since he is a sexagenarian. So out of “curiosity” he makes his way to his home, to almost immediate, but subdued, resentment. This resentment stems from his continued need to rectify the events of a massacre conducted by his arch nemesis – Buckmaster senior. From the very beginning Dorahy has considered himself and outsider, once stating to Buckmaster himself “Do you want your son to become one of the mindless, insensitive, money-grabbing bulls you see around this town?” From this we can clearly tell that his mindset is almost and exact opposite as to what is expected from his surrounding. This very way of thinking is what caused him to peruse justice or at the very least an acknowledgment of the events that lead to the deaths of those innocent “blacks”.
Another notable character, Mr. Boyed, who himself was present at the very incident in which an Aboriginal woman and her infant jumped from a 200-foot height, is an example of how some ones surroundings can cause a sudden change of the heart (with a little help
Disagreements arise when the representation of characters and who they really are clash. A Kindness Cup written by Australian author Thea Astley is a prime example of how this can take effect. Three of the most prominent characters all undergo this occurrence. For example, the never ending guilt of Mr. Dorahy, the need for redemption faced by Mr. Boyed and silent morning of Mr. Lunt. Eventually the horror of not conforming can lead you misfortunes if revealed.
Set in colonial Queensland during the mid-1800, it is a dark time in Australian history filled with many forms of racism, gender discrimination and corruption. In this midst of all this wrong lies the novels central character, Mr. Dorahy (former teacher) and his return to his old town after nearly twenty years of absences in order to attend a reunion. Held every ten years, he realizes that if put off once again he might not live to make it to the next gathering since he is a sexagenarian. So out of “curiosity” he makes his way to his home, to almost immediate, but subdued, resentment. This resentment stems from his continued need to rectify the events of a massacre conducted by his arch nemesis – Buckmaster senior. From the very beginning Dorahy has considered himself and outsider, once stating to Buckmaster himself “Do you want your son to become one of the mindless, insensitive, money-grabbing bulls you see around this town?” From this we can clearly tell that his mindset is almost and exact opposite as to what is expected from his surrounding. This very way of thinking is what caused him to peruse justice or at the very least an acknowledgment of the events that lead to the deaths of those innocent “blacks”.
Another notable character, Mr. Boyed, who himself was present at the very incident in which an Aboriginal woman and her infant jumped from a 200-foot height, is an example of how some ones surroundings can cause a sudden change of the heart (with a little help