Thunder Road

The character of Trace is interesting in the novel Thunder Road by Ted Dawe. Trace is interesting because he develops a close relationship with Devon, his low self-esteem and he changes from a follower to a leader during the novel.

One interesting feature of Trace is his relationship with Devon. At first, Trace wasn’t sure about Devon saying, “I didn’t know who I was sharing a room with”. As the novel continued Trace started to spend more time with Devon eventually becoming so close that he feels that “we were brother’s man”. Trace had no close family and in the novel, Devon became like his family. This was important because it meant that Trace was willing to support Devon in everything he did, like you would for a family member. Trace’s relationship with Devon is interesting to the reader, because it means that Trace is willing to do things he wouldn’t normally do, including stealing the drugs.

A second interesting feature of Trace’s personality is his low self-esteem which is shown through his relationship with Karen. Karen is a girl from a rich family. Her parents are both doctors and her house is a mansion. When Trace goes to dinner at the house he feels that both her parents are looking down on him. He says “they thought I was nothing”. Instead of standing up to them, Trace sinks lower and drinks a lot to boost his confidence. This results in him humiliating himself in front of the family and ultimately, the end of his relationship with Karen. Karen’s parents weren’t actually behaving negatively towards Trace. He just imagined that they were because of his low self-esteem. This is an interesting feature of Trace’s personality because his low self-esteem makes him more likely to go along with what other people want. If he had a more positive view of himself, he might have behaved better at Karen’s and might never have gone along with Devon. His low self esteem shows the reader his motivation for what he does in the novel.

Another interesting feature about traces personality is his

Lastly, Trace changes from a follower to a leader during the novel. At the beginning of the novel he is willing to go along with everything Devon says. He often says “Yeah, OK mate” to whatever Devon suggests. He steals the drugs and becomes involved with the criminal underworld, even though he knows it is wrong. Even more shockingly, he stands aside while Devon assaults a girl. Trace is really disturbed by that action, but does nothing. By the end of the novel, Trace has begun to stand up for himself. He chooses to give the stolen money back in order to save his friends, even though Devon tells him not to. Trace says at one point, “I decided to take my life back” and that is what he does. Trace takes control of his life and starts to make good decisions again, rather than following Devon. This is interesting to the reader because it shows that Trace has grown as a person.

There are many interesting characters in Ted Dawe’s Thunder Road. One such character is Trace. Trace’s relationship with other characters, his low self-esteem and the way in which he changes during the novel, ensure that he is a memorable character.