Secret River Kate Grenville
‘“The Secret River’” written by Kate Grenville utilises conventions of fiction that expose the potential challenges and values of early Australian settlers and the relationship with the indigenous Australians. What conventions are used by Grenville and how efficient are they in positioning the reader?”
‘The Secret River’ by Kate Grenville is a historical narrative which utilizes conventions that expose the potential challenges and values of early Australian settlers and their relationship with the Indigenous Australians. The conventions Grenville utilizes include characterization, themes, and figurative language, which assist in positioning the reader to consider these challenges.
Grenville uses characterization as a convention to expose the potential challenges and values of the fictional colonists and their relationship with the Indigenous Australians. The events of the narrative deliver a great insight into the potential distressed mind of the main character, William Thornhill. Throughout the narrative, Grenville effectively positions the reader into feeling compassion towards Thornhill, as he was forced to move from the poverty-stricken London to a foreign land. In the orientation, Grenville epitomizes a colonist’s experience, and the tension becomes clear between Thornhill and the Indigenous Australians. The initial tension is highlighted by Thornhill, “It took a moment to understand that the stirring was a human, as black as the air itself” (Grenville, K., ‘The Secret River’, 2005, page 5). The settlers’ values are presented efficiently by Grenville throughout the narrative. For example, Thornhill believed the settlers immediately had, on their settlement, a cultural dominance and therefore had no respect for the way the Indigenous Australians had initially lived. This positions the reader into feeling sympathetic towards the Indigenous Australians, as they are harshly mistreated. Throughout the narrative, the reader is able to see the good and evil in
‘The Secret River’ by Kate Grenville is a historical narrative which utilizes conventions that expose the potential challenges and values of early Australian settlers and their relationship with the Indigenous Australians. The conventions Grenville utilizes include characterization, themes, and figurative language, which assist in positioning the reader to consider these challenges.
Grenville uses characterization as a convention to expose the potential challenges and values of the fictional colonists and their relationship with the Indigenous Australians. The events of the narrative deliver a great insight into the potential distressed mind of the main character, William Thornhill. Throughout the narrative, Grenville effectively positions the reader into feeling compassion towards Thornhill, as he was forced to move from the poverty-stricken London to a foreign land. In the orientation, Grenville epitomizes a colonist’s experience, and the tension becomes clear between Thornhill and the Indigenous Australians. The initial tension is highlighted by Thornhill, “It took a moment to understand that the stirring was a human, as black as the air itself” (Grenville, K., ‘The Secret River’, 2005, page 5). The settlers’ values are presented efficiently by Grenville throughout the narrative. For example, Thornhill believed the settlers immediately had, on their settlement, a cultural dominance and therefore had no respect for the way the Indigenous Australians had initially lived. This positions the reader into feeling sympathetic towards the Indigenous Australians, as they are harshly mistreated. Throughout the narrative, the reader is able to see the good and evil in