Henry Lawson Distinctive Images Essay

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Pages: 4

“Distinctive images offer a variety of perspectives on the world”

Composers form distinctive images to display new understandings and perspectives, resulting in a heightened perception of the world. This is demonstrated in Henry Lawson’s short stories “The Drover’s Wife” (DW) and “In A Dry Season” (IADS), where the concept of individuals’ hardships, due to the isolated living conditions in the outback, shape their perspectives on life This viewpoint is shared in “Loaded Dog” (LD), where the need for companionship is required in order to thrive in the Australian outback. These texts closely examine the Australian perception of the world through distinctive images.

Through a melange of distinctive images, Henry Lawson depicts a representation of a bush woman’s struggle in social isolation. In “DW”, the protagonist’s isolation and self-sufficiency are shown. The mother’s triumph over a series of adversities is shown in
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Lawson illustrates this through his text “LD”, where “an overgrown pup, a big, foolish, four-footed mate… slobbering grin of appreciation of his own silliness”. The anthropomorphism of the dog being a “mate” has connotations of companionship and loyalty. The dog “Tommy” plays a significant role in the text, as he is a source of entertainment, where companionship is essential in a place of social exclusion. Tommy is not the typical antagonist, however the audience enjoy his presence due to his amusing nature. The characterisation of Tommy is revealed through the series of anecdotes. The repetition of Tommy ”grinning” and holding the active cartridge displays his foolish nature, which makes the situation more dangerous. This dark humour of Tommy chasing the characters with the cartridge creates suspense, but also a lack of seriousness. Thus, Lawson depicts the perspective on the importance of mateship and companionship in the Australian