“Australian drama is a valid portrayal of national identity.” Discuss the ways in which Gary’s House explores the characters connection to a larger human struggle. Australian drama is a valid portrayal of national identity in that the plays usually deal with some sort of Australian issue. Gary’s House in particular deals with the lives of four Australians and their struggle to be happy. Many of the issues portrayed are universal issues but can more specifically be related to Australian people. Our national identity refers to our social, cultural and political history from a very broad perspective.
It is how we appear to the world and to ourselves. The characters in Gary’s House only really depict a small section of our national identity. That is, it does not face all issues of Australian culture, society, geography, and history. It more specifically deals with the idea of the “Little Aussie Battler”: the Australian dream.
In the beginning of the play, we are immediately given a basic insight into the nature of the characters. Mmm yum Gary is working in the heat of the day, Dave has come over to say hello, and Sue-Anne is having an insane mood swing. Gary’s angry outbursts and workaholic nature, Dave’s relaxed temperament (“too much hard slog in building”, etc. ), and Sue-Anne’s violent mood swings are exhibited at the opening of the play. Also with the introduction of Christine, we are shown her bitchy nature.
The Essay on Australian Poetry National Identity
The Call Of The Bush The poem I have chosen is titled "The Call of The Bush" that is written by Dora Wilcox. The subject/ story of this poem is about the poet / writer being in the outback without anything but the horizon in front of her. The main emotions expressed in this poem are happiness, relaxation and peace. The poet has used the following poetic devises to create a clear picture in the ...
The main characters in Gary’s House – Gary, Sue-Anne, Dave and Christine – are all striving towards a certain future. The one thing they have in common is their need to be happy. However, they each have their different ways of reaching their dreams. Gary’s ultimate dream is to be secure in marriage with a family, and living in the house he is building. What stands in his way is his temperamental wife, Sue-Anne, and his lack of money.
When his pregnant wife runs away in a fit of anger and leaves Gary alone and heartbroken with his half finished house, he kills himself. The progress of the house it cut short. The actual house mirrors the characters progression towards their dreams and towards happiness. Nelson sucks nob When Gary begins to believe his objective is out of reach, he kills himself. This, unfortunately, is quite a common occurrence not just in Australia but throughout the world. Death is often seen as the only easy way out of a difficult situation even though it often – as it does in Gary’s House – makes matters worse.
Gary’s urge to build a home and family with Sue-Anne is another universal feature of the play. Despite his lack of money, he wants security through having a stable family and his own home. This is probably a result of his emotionally unstable upbringing. Sue-Anne is an extremely moody and unstable person. A do long, long, long, a do long, long. Her relationship with Gary could be seen as one sided because she never really shows any evidence of love towards him, yet he obviously cares about her.
We assume she comes from a lower class home because of the language she uses and the way she acts, yet she refuses to live like a “d erro.” She is very selfish and only talks about herself and her problems which projects upon her a “victim mentality.” Sue-Anne wants the perfect relationship, which is impossible, so she is constantly unhappy and is in fact not able to find happiness by the end of the play. This idea of being dissatisfied with life is another link to a larger human struggle. There are people who are never content with what they have, so spend their whole lives being unhappy as a result.
