preview

Identity In Peter Goldsworthy's Novel 'Maestro'

Decent Essays

Peoples identity can develop over time due to the people who surround us, the events that we experience and circumstance. This can be demonstrated through Peter Goldsworthy’s 1989 novel ‘Maestro’. Maestro follows the life of a young, childish and self - centred boy by the name of Paul Crabbe. It is evident through this boy’s experiences that the statement 'Identity can develop over time’ is true.

Although this novel was written by Peter Goldsworthy, the narration of it is written as a series of Paul’s memoirs. This can be seen through Paul’s reminiscing of Keller. "Sitting here, setting down these first memories of Keller—and checking them through, believing them accurate—I find it hard to understand how much I came to love the man, to depend on him.” Paul foreshadows how much his initial feelings toward Keller will change throughout the story. It also lets the reader know that he is relaying the narrative of his youth from an older age as he is “checking them through” and is in possession of a more mature perspective and the knowledge of how the whole …show more content…

This can be displayed through Paul’s recollection of "Mother. Was this the first time I had used the word in that way—keeping her at a distance, as if with a verbal barge pole. Certainly somewhere in that year she has made the transition from Mum to Mother: the journey of nuances.” This is juxtaposed against “I stood behind my mother…” at the start of the novel. When telling his mother about his trip to Adelaide with the band, Paul makes the switch from calling her "Mum" to the more distant "Mother." Paul begins the book incredibly close to his parents, but as other characters enter his life these other relationships make him more distant from his parents. This change is therefore part of Paul's growing up and coming of age in the novel proving that his identity is constantly changing by his newly formed relationships with

Get Access