Preliminary English Assessment task 2012 Module A- A close study of texts Rosie SwansonWood Question: “Distinctive ideas are at the heart of every text” In your view, what distinctive ideas are explored in your prescribed text? Analyse how these ideas are developed throughout the text by examining the ideas, form and language used in the text. The Piper’s Son The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta explores a variety of issues, themes and ideas. Grief, closure and development of the individual are all key issues in the novel. Marchetta engages the reader in the development of these issues via key events and relationships between characters. Grief and loss are vital elements in this novel. Not only is Tom’s family grieving the loss of …show more content…
Examples of closure in the novel occur when Georgie confronts Sam about his affair. She had remained silent about this for many years, yet when they do reconcile Georgie becomes pregnant which is not an ideal outcome for her at this time. Another example is when Tom apologises to Jamie Hailler for missing his grandfathers funeral. This brings closure to the situation. Tom now realises the importance of a funeral as he has not been able to have one for his own grandfather. His apology lets Jamie know that he is sorry and their relationship may now heal. Notes - Grief: -Tom is aiming for oblivion -A couple of years ago, Tom watched his family implode – his uncle Joe, Dominic (Tom’s father) and Georgie’s younger brother was killed senselessly, an innocent victim of the London Underground bombing. -Tom’s uncle was killed in tragic circumstances, pointless circumstances, his father turned to drink, his mother left, his father left. -Everyone is grieving, deep psychological grieving that permeates this entire book. Tom grieves the loss of his family, Georgie grieves the loss of her brother but the death of Joe also renewed her relationship and connection with Sam, which had ended in grief and even though they are seeing each other, this does not bring Georgie any form of peace of mind. If anything it causes her more worry, and more stress but she cannot let it go either. -Tom is self-destructive at the beginning, searching for nothingness through drugs, alcohol and
‘Saturday the 27th of August’ was the day Tom Brennan’s life changed forever. The Story of Tom Brennan is written by J.C. Burke with the story centred on teenager Tom Brennan and how his brother, Daniel, made the Brennan family the most hated people in Mumbilli. The Brennan’s were then forced to move to a new town, Coghill, where they knew no one but Gran, Tom’s grandmother. Daniel had been a heavy drinker and one night he had way too many but yet still decided to get into his car, leading to an accident and therefore the death of two mates and leaving another a quadriplegic. The themes of growing
Burke illustrates Tom’s inner conflict with first-person narration. The guilt he feels over the inactivity he had on the night of the incident, his frustration with Kylie and the added guilt he exhibits because he feels sorry for himself all adds up to his conflicted thoughts. Tom doesn’t know or feel like himself anymore. But Burke brings this to the attention of the reader in a good light when Tom thinks, “But now I knew what I missed most. I missed me, Tom Brennan, and that’s why now I could smile, ‘cause I could see he was coming back.” Thus, when J.C. Burke aptly finishes the book with the line “that was the morning Tom Brennan came back, forever,” the true development in Tom’s character and conflict is shown through the employment of first-person narration. Therefore, J.C. Burke thoroughly addressed the conflict in Tom’s mind as it was overcome in the
In ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’, the protagonist confronts a traumatic incident which compels him to undergo a physical relocation and sudden emotional change. The transition Tom predominantly faces is sudden as moving into the town of Coghill where he has to deal with social alienation and the horrific trauma inflicted through past events including Daniel’s anger and selfishness which hinders his physical and mentally growth and development. Tom experiences flashbacks of the ‘usual’ Australia Day with his family showing the complete paradox with what is now their reality and horror juxtaposed towards his flashback of the tragic accident of his older brother Daniel: “Running towards the car. Running into the headlights. Running into the silence of death.” The anaphora and repetition of ‘running’ highlights his emotional and physical devastation which emphasises the initial stages of the novel and negative connotations of ‘death’ assumes the setting. As a result of the crisis, Tom responds rather opposing towards transferring to a new setting of Coghill. Depressing motifs are frequently implied throughout the novel to express the feeling of despair and sadness: “There aren’t words to say how black and empty pain felt. It was deeper than the
| Tom wants his old life back prior to the accident and he sees the accident as the end of his life as he knew it. He loses his sense of identity and sense of family in particular.Feels guilty and ashamed about the irrevocable consequences his brother’s irresponsibility had for other people and their familiesRetreats into a depressed state which feels empty and black.
Through Tom, the legal and social rights of the entire community are called into question. Tom's injury, therefore, represents the injury of all the people he epitomizes.
Flashbacks to Tom’s previous rugby games with his brother re-affirm the loss he feels towards his old life. Tom feels the need to have everything the way it once was, and Coghill can’t replicate the joy he found in the endless afternoon training sessions with Daniel and his father, nor the adulation of the local community.
“I saw them in Santa Barbara when they came back, and I thought I’d never seen a girl so mad about her husband. If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily, and say: “Where’s Tom gone?” and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him coming in the door. She used to sit on the sand with his head in her lap by the hour, rubbing her fingers over his eyes and looking at him with unfathomable delight. It was touching to see them together — it made you laugh in a hushed, fascinated way. That was in August. A week after I left Santa Barbara Tom ran into a wagon on the Ventura road one night, and ripped a front wheel off his car. The girl who was with him got into the papers, too, because her arm was broken
Arriving back at his apartment, Booker found Tom curled on the couch, his gaunt face a mask of misery. Dressed in ill-fitting sweats, the borrowed clothing swamped his slender frame, giving him the appearance of someone much younger than his twenty-five years. There was a bucket next to the couch that smelled faintly of vomit and Booker averted his eyes, unable to stomach the sight of the foul smelling liquid. His lower body ached, and all he wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed. For the first time since Tom’s arrival, he was aware of the enormity of what he was taking on. He could say goodbye to his carefree bachelor’s life, he was now responsible for a sick and emotionally damaged
Throughout the novel “The Story Of Tom Brennan” Burke cleverly employs an enormous amount of changes as a result of one tragic event. The event involves
This book explores lots of different emotions, all tying into each other. Each emotions feeds off others, and different people experience different feelings. Emotion is a major part of the book because, while it doesn’t often go that deep into it, it is the driving force for lots of the plot
“Sonny’s fingers filled the air with life, his life. But that life contained so many others…..He made it his: that long line, of which we knew only Mama and Daddy. And he was giving it back, so that, passing through death, it can now live forever. I saw my Mother’s face again, and felt, for the first time, how the stones of the road she had walked on must have bruised her feet. I saw the moonlit road where my father’s brother died. And it brought something else back to me, and carried me past it. I saw my little girl again and felt Isabel’s (his wife) tears again, and felt my own tears begin to rise. And I was yet aware that this was only a moment, that the world waited outside, as hungry as a tiger, and that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky.”(359)
Tom Walker sat at his bedside feeling rather melancholy for he had not much to do but be chided at by his notorious witch of a wife. They both lived in their humble abode of an apartment in the middle of a city but they had a sublime view that overlooked the scenery of the domicile's dumpsters. They lived poorly, just barely getting by to afford a couple gallons of gas. Tom grew a hatred for almost everyone around and had only a handful of “friends”, he believed that money was the most valuable and important thing in his life.
Consider how the effect of a new perspective has been reflected and developed in a literary text or texts you have studied. Discuss the ideas developed by the text creator about the effect an individual’s perspective has on personal beliefs.
2. Identify the author’s main idea(s). In other words, what is the main point the author is attempting to make about the book?
Then identify the main themes/ideas being compared. E.g. Justice (and the idea) and the noble lie(and idea)