Maestro: Metaphor and Australian Visions
Australian visions can be the image of an Australian city or a view of a person. In Maestro, Peter Goldsworthy has used various features of narrative with effective affects to communicate Australian visions.
One of the Australian visions that be shown through the use of narrative features in maestro is the vision of Darwin. Goldsworthy has used many descriptive adjectives to reveal Paul's vision of Darwin. On the first day that Paul's family arrived in Darwin, Paul shows his love of the city through the author’s use of high descriptive language “those hot, steamy perfumes that wrapped about me… Moist, compost air. Sweet-sour air…”these words demonstrate a strong and vivid feeling of the air in Darwin; it’s steamy with sweet but also sour smell. The tropical weather of Darwin is created by the use of adjectives. Metaphors and similes are also used to show Paul’s vision of Darwin. “To walk the streets at night was to walk among rows of lined, illuminated screens.” The metaphor conveys a vivid image of the wet streets in Darwin after rain. Similes like “As if the leaves were a kind of plastic” and “Like some lush, green five o’clock shadow” give a clear idea to the readers that in Paul’s eyes, Darwin is like an imaginary world, and everything is exaggerated in colour, shape and texture. Through the use of various narrative techniques, Goldsworthy had created a vivid vision of Darwin in Maestro.
In Maestro, Paul Goldsworthy also has used different features of narrative to communicate the vision of Keller. Keller’s appearance and character are contrasted through the use of descriptive language, humour and metaphors. Goldsworthy used a lot of descriptive passages in Paul’s first impression of Keller “the red glow of his face…The pitted, sun-coarsened skin – a cheap, ruined leather” and “migrant-height, European-height, wop-height” to contrast a vivid image of Keller’s physical appearance. His skin is very rough with red glow on his face and he is in medium height.
One of the Australian visions that be shown through the use of narrative features in maestro is the vision of Darwin. Goldsworthy has used many descriptive adjectives to reveal Paul's vision of Darwin. On the first day that Paul's family arrived in Darwin, Paul shows his love of the city through the author’s use of high descriptive language “those hot, steamy perfumes that wrapped about me… Moist, compost air. Sweet-sour air…”these words demonstrate a strong and vivid feeling of the air in Darwin; it’s steamy with sweet but also sour smell. The tropical weather of Darwin is created by the use of adjectives. Metaphors and similes are also used to show Paul’s vision of Darwin. “To walk the streets at night was to walk among rows of lined, illuminated screens.” The metaphor conveys a vivid image of the wet streets in Darwin after rain. Similes like “As if the leaves were a kind of plastic” and “Like some lush, green five o’clock shadow” give a clear idea to the readers that in Paul’s eyes, Darwin is like an imaginary world, and everything is exaggerated in colour, shape and texture. Through the use of various narrative techniques, Goldsworthy had created a vivid vision of Darwin in Maestro.
In Maestro, Paul Goldsworthy also has used different features of narrative to communicate the vision of Keller. Keller’s appearance and character are contrasted through the use of descriptive language, humour and metaphors. Goldsworthy used a lot of descriptive passages in Paul’s first impression of Keller “the red glow of his face…The pitted, sun-coarsened skin – a cheap, ruined leather” and “migrant-height, European-height, wop-height” to contrast a vivid image of Keller’s physical appearance. His skin is very rough with red glow on his face and he is in medium height.