Maestro: an important influence on Australian society

Literary works are the products of the society in which they are created and therefore display dominant societal values unless the text producer deliberately challenges these values. These works of literature communicate these dominant values and reinforce tropes in our society. One such trope, as communicated in Peter Goldsworthy’s Maestro is that of the larrikin – a hooligan, a trope which conjures up a mental image of disdain for authority, propriety and the conservative norms of bourgeois Australia. The consumption of texts produced in Australia by Australians helps reinforce our cultural norms and values, and aids us in recognising ourselves as Australians. This is done through characterisation, with the characters embodying many ‘Australian’ attributes, and the establishment of setting.
Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy provides an insight into 1960s/70s Australia and helps reinforce common conceptions about Australian culture. One common conception Goldsworthy reinforces in this text is Australia’s increasing acceptance of multiculturalism. Maestro, set in the 1960s to 1970s, shows Australians growing more accepting and tolerant of other cultures. This shift in perspective was occurring near the end of the White Australia/Assimilation Policy, which was phased out in the late 1970s/early 1980s. An example of this shifted perspective in Maestro is Paul’s father’s opinion about living in Darwin:
“’I feel like I’ve come home,’ he said…’I’ve realised we’re part of Asia here. Not Europe. We’re Asians,’…’I’ll buy you a wok,’…’…you need one [a wok]. And some books. Malay cooking, Thai. That is what we should be eating - not grills and low climate vegetables.’”
This quote from page 68 places the narrative in the late 20th century, when ...

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...ugh the experience of making love with her he discovers that she is ‘too selfish’ (p.80) and that he really loves Rosie, who is an outsider, like Paul once was. Paul discovers that with her he doesn’t have to be alone and that it’s okay to be different. Their lasting relationship shows that he has not made a mistake in choosing her (his own desires) over Megan (society’s collective desire). This theme of conformity presented in Maestro was a growing trend in Australian society in the 1960s/1970s and is still influential in modern Australian society today. This continuing thematic relevance helps more Australians identify with this literary work and aids in recognising ourselves as Australians – though we value the traits of the larrikin it is more likely that we will be drawn to following the crowd, making Goldsworthy’s novel more relevant in recognising ourselves.