Henry Lawson
The Drovers wife and loaded dog
Visuals are distinctive, not because it only appeals to a specific audience but because they convey a universal concept and this is clearly shown in Henry Lawson’s “Drover’s Wife” and “The Loaded Dog”. These two short stories convey the universal principle of persistence, hardship, and mateship through survival in an unforgiving and harsh environment.
The Drover’s wife clearly portrays the unique landscape of the outback through the hardships the drover’s wife’s persistent survival. The vision of the Drover’s wife is one of a protective mother, and a hardened battler against the disasters of the Australian bush. The use of alliteration “no undergrowth, nothing to relieve the eye…nineteen miles to the nearest…civilisation” emphasises how isolated the drover’s wife and that she is alienated from the rest of the world. The personification “Big black yellow eyed dog of all breeds” conveys that only rough, and masculine characteristics can thrive within the outback of the Australian bush. Furthermore the “Young Lady’s Journal…for her surrounding’s not favourable of the development of the womanly side of nature” conveys the journal as a symbol of the drover’s wife leaving her womanhood in the past in order to brave the rough and terrible conditions of the bush. The hardships faced by the people in the bush can be seen in the juxtaposition, “Thunder rolls and rain comes in torrent/the drought of eighteen ruins him” which illustrates the unpredictability of the outback lifestyle. Finally the extended imagery that portrays the wife and her children as “ragged dried up looking children…gaunt sun brown woman” conveys the stoic vision of both the land and its inhabitants as worn and exhausted.
In addition the powerful setting of the outback itself is seen to create the image of the settlers. The endless ‘travel’ motif in “That monotony that makes a man longing to break away, travel as far as a train go, sail as far as ships can sail” shows
Visuals are distinctive, not because it only appeals to a specific audience but because they convey a universal concept and this is clearly shown in Henry Lawson’s “Drover’s Wife” and “The Loaded Dog”. These two short stories convey the universal principle of persistence, hardship, and mateship through survival in an unforgiving and harsh environment.
The Drover’s wife clearly portrays the unique landscape of the outback through the hardships the drover’s wife’s persistent survival. The vision of the Drover’s wife is one of a protective mother, and a hardened battler against the disasters of the Australian bush. The use of alliteration “no undergrowth, nothing to relieve the eye…nineteen miles to the nearest…civilisation” emphasises how isolated the drover’s wife and that she is alienated from the rest of the world. The personification “Big black yellow eyed dog of all breeds” conveys that only rough, and masculine characteristics can thrive within the outback of the Australian bush. Furthermore the “Young Lady’s Journal…for her surrounding’s not favourable of the development of the womanly side of nature” conveys the journal as a symbol of the drover’s wife leaving her womanhood in the past in order to brave the rough and terrible conditions of the bush. The hardships faced by the people in the bush can be seen in the juxtaposition, “Thunder rolls and rain comes in torrent/the drought of eighteen ruins him” which illustrates the unpredictability of the outback lifestyle. Finally the extended imagery that portrays the wife and her children as “ragged dried up looking children…gaunt sun brown woman” conveys the stoic vision of both the land and its inhabitants as worn and exhausted.
In addition the powerful setting of the outback itself is seen to create the image of the settlers. The endless ‘travel’ motif in “That monotony that makes a man longing to break away, travel as far as a train go, sail as far as ships can sail” shows