The Theme Of War And Masculinity In The Novel Fly Away Peter

709 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: American masculinity and war

The Novella Fly Away Peter, by David Malouf presents the national discourse, the themes war and masculinity is presented through the sources. War is presented through ‘Innocence and experience in David Malouf’s Fly Away Peter’ by Chitra Thrivikrama Nair, where it highlights the tragic experience of war of what men had been through. Masculinity is conveyed through, ‘Malouf’s Epic and the Unravelling of a National Stereotype’ by Peter Knox-Shaw. Therefore, the character Jim Saddler highlights these use of themes through the novella.
Malouf presents the idea of war through Nair’s source, where it depicts what men’s had been through, which reflects on the novella Fly Away Peter where it challenges the national discourse. Nair states the experience of war being “physical and spiritual journey” (Nair, 2014, pg. 154) where the Fly Away Peter highlights a short story of Australian society at the First World War. Furthermore, Nair states that Malouf’s ability of combining history and fictional imagination, where it introduces significant contribution of understanding what Australian war was experienced like. Therefore, the character Jim Saddler is present in Nair’s source which Jim is described as innocent and self-made, where Jim lives an idyllic life. Jim’s point of view about the “swampland” demonstrates the idea of what the world was presented in which, the swampland was destroyed. According to Nair (2014), swampland is been defined by “different types of birds represent cultures and nations around the world”, this determines the way of what …show more content…

Malouf has highlighted the virtual aspects of the Australian national discourse, where he states the understanding of ‘war’ being a tragic experience. Whereas, ‘masculinity’ depicts where Australian soldiers were been stereotyped as diggers. Therefore, Malouf presents the way of Australian national

Show More
Related

  • Irene Hunt's Across Five Aprils

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    This Newberry award nominated book, written by Irene Hunt, tells the story of the “home life” of her grandfather, Jethro, during the Civil War. Not only does it give a sense of what it is like to be in the war but also it really tells you exactly what the men leave behind. Jethro is forced to make hard decisions, and face many hardships a boy his age shouldn't have to undergo. This is an admirable historical fiction book that leaves it up to the reader to decide if being at home was the superior choice or if being a soldier in the war was.

    Read More

  • Impact of War in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past and they can

    Read More

  • The Significance of the Gallipoli Campaign in Australian History

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    I will also discuss how the young, naive soldiers arrived at war, not knowing what warfare entailed. They were shocked by the conditions and the casualties. I will also discuss the bravery shown by the ANZACS in the most dangerous conditions. I will conclude with my reasons for why the Gallipoli campaign holds such value and importance in Australian history and ideology. Australian men were very keen to get involved in the war because they felt that it was their duty and if they didn’t go to war it would make them look cowardly.

    Read More

  • Peter Weir’s film Gallipoli

    1710 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lucas, Rose. “The Gendered Battlefield: Sex and Death in Gallipoli”. Gender and War; Australians at War in the Twentieth Century. Ed. Damousi Joy and Lake, Marilyn. CUP Archive, 1995. 148-178. Web. 2 May 2014.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of James Albert Michener’s Novel Tales from the South Pacific

    2509 Words  | 6 Pages

    The men stationed in the Pacific Theatre of World War II faced many challenges and hardships. The fighting that occurred with the Japanese far surpassed the level of brutality in the European theatre. Some American military units faced relentless fighting throughout the entire war, while other units waited for the entire war for orders to deploy into combat, and never actually saw any action. Only a few stories surrounding both ends of the spectrum of men in the Pacific Theatre exist, and even a fewer number do the men and women that served during that time justice. One of these authors who captured the nature of life during World War II in the Pacific Theatre, James Michener, did so in the novel Tales of the South Pacific. Michener not only offers an in-depth perspective of life during the time, but also brings up key themes of issues that existed during that period. He introduced a new outlook on the South Pacific during World War II, showing that a variety of people scattered around the Pacific joined for the common goal of a successful military operation. The primary purpose for this collection of tales from around the South Pacific focused on telling the tale of everyone who spent the war there. Michener used varying points of view within the plot line to strengthen this point. Within the main focus he brings up three themes: the first being of camaraderie and fellowship, the second the issues of power struggle, and finally racism in World War II. Michener utilizes diction to help characterize individuals to help literary convey these three themes. James Albert Michener brings up the issues of racism and power struggle in the South Pacific, while portraying the men that lived there during that period and the fellowship they s...

    Read More

  • Horror of War Exposed in Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through Baümer, Remarque examines how war makes man inhuman. He uses excellent words and phrases to describe crucial details to this theme. "The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts," (page #). Baümer and his classmates who enlisted into the army see the true reality of the war.  They enter the war fresh from school, knowing nothing except the environment of hopeful youth and they come to a premature maturity with the war, their only home. "We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces.  We are not youth any longer" (page #).  They have lost their innocence.  Everything they are taught, the world of work, duty, culture, and progress, are not the slightest use to them because the only thing they need to know is how to survive.  They need to know how to escape the shells as well as the emotional and psychological torment of the war.

    Read More

  • AQWF

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    War deprives soldiers of so much that there is nothing more to take. No longer afraid, they give up inside, waiting for the peace that will come with death. War not only takes adolescence, but plasters life with images of death and destruction. Seeger and Remarque demonstrate the theme of a lost generation of men in war through diction, repetition, and personification to relate to their readers that though inevitable and unpredictable, death is not something to be feared, but to calmly be accepted and perhaps anticipated. The men who fight in wars are cast out from society, due to a misunderstanding of the impact of such a dark experience in the formative years of a man’s life, thus being known as the lost generation.

    Read More

  • Masculinity: Achieved Through Dangerous Situations

    2508 Words  | 6 Pages

    A raging, oncoming freight train is roaring down the tracks around a slight bend bearing towards a helpless, vulnerable damsel in distress that is tied to the railroad tracks with only seconds to spare. She only has one hope: Superman. Faced with this nearly impossible situation what does Superman do? Naturally, he jumps in front of the locomotive head-on, putting his life in danger, and stopping the train with a screeching halt just inches away from the young lady, of course. What could be more heroic or courageous than succeeding during a dangerous situation? Nothing. As Superman demonstrated, these situations present the chance for traits of masculinity to be displayed. Now, not all situations may possess the severity or extremity of the situation that Superman handled but in all situations that are somewhat perilous masculinity is often associated with the attributes brave, bold, muscular, virile, and forceful, as well as many more. Masculinity requires facing challenges head-on and defeating the dangers; no second guessing, no hesitation. Get the job done. In various short stories from Benjamin Percy’s book Refresh Refresh the male protagonist is always presented with dangerous situations to display his masculinity through his courageous actions. This is executed during multiple different situations, but is often the result of saving a female character. The male protagonist rises to the occasion when an opportunity presents itself, but often they are responsible for creating the dangerous situations. These stories seem to verify Germaine Greer’s view that she expresses in her work Masculinity that “Masculinity requires the creation of dangerous situations, actual or symbolic.” (898)

    Read More

  • The Role Of Masculinity

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the social construction of femininity has been widely examined, the dominant role of masculinity until recently, has remained largely invisible. To construct a reasonable for or against argument that will outline whether masculinity is in crisis or not, I will apply relevant media theories along with ideas from influencing figures to create a constructive argument. The questions that arise that either support or argue with the statements that key theorists propose will be answered formatively and critically. Furthermore, analysis of the representation of gender and masculinity within modern media forms, along with the rise and formation of the ‘laddish’ culture and what factors have influenced the creations of lad mags; while outlining

    Read More

  • Fly Away Peter by David Malouf

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    `Fly Away Peter' by David Malouf is a powerful war story in which the author has used contrasting settings and strong symbolism to clearly portray his own ideas and opinions of war, and further the readers understanding of the text.

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    World War I had a great effect on the lives of Paul Baumer and the young men of his generation. These boys’ lives were dramatically changed by the war, and “even though they may have escaped its shells, [they] were destroyed by the war” (preface). In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Baumer and the rest of his generation feel separated from the other men, lose their innocence, and experience comradeship as a result of the war.

    Read More

  • War Themes in Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    The structure of Faulk’s Birdsong allows us to observe the impact of the War upon numerous individuals across the generations. Throughout the novel, even outside the 1914-1918 time-frame, Faulks continues to maintain a link between the past and the present through his use of a number of motifs and themes. The lasting impact of the War suggests that history should never be forgotten, which is the paramount message in Birdsong.

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front - A Book Review

    1912 Words  | 4 Pages

    Though the book is a novel, it gives the reader insights into the realities of war. In this genre, the author is free to develop the characters in a way that brings the reader into the life of Paul Baumer and his comrades. The novel frees the author from recounting only cold, sterile facts. This approach allows the reader to experience what might have been irrelevant facts if presented in a textbook. This book is written from a perspective foreign to most Americans.

    Read More

  • The Very Unhappy Ending of Lord of the Flies

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s he is at a loss for words, but the officer treats the boys as if they were playing a backyard game. "Jolly good show, like Coral Island," he remarks, followed by the inquiry, "You're all British, aren't you?" (184). The officer thinks that the boys have formed an enlightened, orderly society like in the novel Coral Island, but he fails to realize that even the British, "the best at everything," can fall into the trap of brutish war (40). The officer shreds readers' stereotypes of themselves as superior to war because he shows that war is a virus which can infect everyone.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Men and War

    2566 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout history, men have constantly been at war with something. Whether that something was nature, other men, or a supernatural force, men have historically loved battle. War stories have always been a way for authors to express their concerns about issues in society. Through these stories, authors depict honor not seen in real life, problems that face the world now, and closure so often exempt from our world. There are defined enemies, a clear line drawn between good and bad, and we may be powerful and violent for the sake of righteous ideas. "The war story is a way to exemplify good angels and bad, to exercise our fears, and find some comfort in the inevitable triumph of right over wrong," (strangewords.com). There are three main areas that come to mind under the heading "Men as they are portrayed in war". These topics are: typical attire, enemies, and weapons. We will be comparing and contrasting the four issues as they have been presented to us in science fiction, and also how they have been portrayed throughout history.

    Read More

More about The Theme Of War And Masculinity In The Novel Fly Away Peter

Open Document