The Secret River
The Secret River Research Assignment
Question: Literary Texts can challenge or naturalise the ideas of society in which they are produced. Discuss making close reference to the novel that you have studied. Many novels naturalise gender roles, class structures and cultures of the society in which they were produced. Kate Grenville’s work The Secret River is a great example of such a novel as her utilisation of narrative techniques such as characterisation, imagery, setting and symbolism represent the ideologies of 21st century Australians at the time and place of its publication, 2005 in Australia. Through these narrative techniques, the novel naturalises the ideas of the 21st century Australian society in which it was produced. The construction of the setting naturalises the idea of eradicating classism within 21st century Australia. The Thornhills’ interactions with the physical environment are symbolic of the class they represent. They all ‘stole turnips from time to time’ to avoid starvation. The Thornhills represent the lower class as they steal to survive, hence constructing a setting of poverty and hunger on the streets of London. This is highlighted with Thornhill’s view of God as to him, Christ Church was a ‘a place without charity in its greystones for a boy with the seat out of his britches’. Christ Church represents the upper class and Thornhill clearly expresses his interaction with this physical setting as one that does not exist. Being of the lower class and in poverty, he does not receive ‘charity’ from this church because its privileges are only reserved for the upper class. Catholic churches in 18th century Britain ran on the donations of the upper class and were therefore of no use to the lower class who could not afford to pay. This created a sense of classism within the society that readers view in the novel as biased and partial to the gentry and nobility. Additionally, the simile ‘God was foreign as a fish’ emphasizes this reserved
Question: Literary Texts can challenge or naturalise the ideas of society in which they are produced. Discuss making close reference to the novel that you have studied. Many novels naturalise gender roles, class structures and cultures of the society in which they were produced. Kate Grenville’s work The Secret River is a great example of such a novel as her utilisation of narrative techniques such as characterisation, imagery, setting and symbolism represent the ideologies of 21st century Australians at the time and place of its publication, 2005 in Australia. Through these narrative techniques, the novel naturalises the ideas of the 21st century Australian society in which it was produced. The construction of the setting naturalises the idea of eradicating classism within 21st century Australia. The Thornhills’ interactions with the physical environment are symbolic of the class they represent. They all ‘stole turnips from time to time’ to avoid starvation. The Thornhills represent the lower class as they steal to survive, hence constructing a setting of poverty and hunger on the streets of London. This is highlighted with Thornhill’s view of God as to him, Christ Church was a ‘a place without charity in its greystones for a boy with the seat out of his britches’. Christ Church represents the upper class and Thornhill clearly expresses his interaction with this physical setting as one that does not exist. Being of the lower class and in poverty, he does not receive ‘charity’ from this church because its privileges are only reserved for the upper class. Catholic churches in 18th century Britain ran on the donations of the upper class and were therefore of no use to the lower class who could not afford to pay. This created a sense of classism within the society that readers view in the novel as biased and partial to the gentry and nobility. Additionally, the simile ‘God was foreign as a fish’ emphasizes this reserved