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Winton's Response To Tom Keely

Decent Essays

Winton's novel is about a broken and damaged man. The force of his sarcasm and his anger fuels the beginning of the book over the state of the world and his own lost idealism. Winton has created a protagonist who fades in and out, Tom Keely.

This novel symbolises life in the world we live in right now. It's a hard life, full of threats, pressures and desperation. People are forced to endure these things without the aid of their significant leaders; police, the law, government welfare, all fail the test of being realistic pathways to escape. They bring fear, money, debts, burdens of family and work into society thus leads to the use of drugs, legal and illegal, alcohol, violence, fear and flight all as a gateway to escape.

Throughout the novel, there is building suspense, a feeling something dreadful is going to happen to the most vulnerable of characters, which leaves the reader eager to find out more.

From the opening, Winton's writing seems over the top, wildly pulsating with life, as if he is rushing to spill out all he can in word and imagery about people and place. …show more content…

Keely ends up unemployed, wifeless and depressed. Despite everything, he remains an essentially good man, trying to do ‘the right thing’. Unexpectedly, he crosses paths with Gemma, whom he knew well in childhood. Keely is a fascinating character – a brilliant invention by Winton. Gemma, despite all the baggage she takes through life with her, is also a sympathetic, an annoyingly stubborn character. Her grandson, Kai, provides a point of connection for Tom and Gemma, and a reason for Tom to become reluctantly involved in their

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