The major setting of the play, ‘Gary’s House’ is a house. It is rather symbolic on many different levels throughout the play, and in particular, for the characters. The house holds quite importance to the character of Gary. For the character of Gary, it symbolizes a new start and direction for his life.
The house is a labour of love for his partner, Sue- Anne and his unborn child. Through building them a house, Gary tries to achieve the kind of life for his family that he feels he himself never had. Gary, who had lived in foster care throughout his childhood builds the house from his family so they would have a comfortable life, living in their own and feeling as if they have their own place in the world, unlike Gary, who in his childhood felt as if he didn’t belong. The house is also symbolic of life, change and the journeys taken by each of the characters. Through the play as the house develops, so too does the characters and they become even more vital independently in the play. As life, the house and the notion of building a house is symbolic of the great Australian dream that many people, throughout their lifetime try to achieve.
The idea of the achieving the great Australian dream instill a great sense of bliss and prosperity within the characters and storyline. This is especially shown in Act 1 scene 2, page 12- where Gary holds a conversation with Sue – Anne about the house and says ” Soon- and I’m not promising when, I’ll put a verandah on ’round here’… .” (Gary holds the gas lamp up to show their way).
The Essay on A Haunted House Treasures Of Life
A Haunted House: Treasures of Life The short story 'A Haunted House' is story with meaning, by portraying to us the treasure of life. When two ghosts are searching through their old house, looking for their 'Treasure', the treasure or meaning is revealed to us. The joy and love shared between two people is the treasure, the treasure of life. By using irony and stream of consciousness Virginia ...
This also shows the determination and pride that Gary feels towards building the house. When Sue- Anne leaves Gary, he sees no point to continue and takes his life in the very place where he was to achieve the “perfect” life. For Sue- Anne the house is just somewhere for the family to live and does not hold much significance, but for Gary’s sister Christine, it provides the beginning of a new journey, especially after Gary commits suicide as she take it on to finish what he started, creating a home yet again for Sue- Anne and the baby.
In Act two, scene ten, when Sue- Anne announces that she is moving to the city with Vince and the baby, Christine loses the plot and feels like she has wasted her time and feels completely let down and used. She takes to the house and begins to smash it to pieces. It is the way Christine vents her feelings of anger and frustration which has built up inside her. On a technical level, the house provides the play with a central focus- something that remains constant and grows throughout.
The setting of the house is where all the tension and atmosphere for the play is created- especially in the first scenes where a frustrated Sue- Anne tries to maul Gary with a chainsaw. The conflict is created because of and around the constant setting of the house. The house provides the audience with a constant symbolic object throughout the play to which they can relate. Symbolically it is important as it is a vital aspect for the audience to grasp the true realities of the play and provides a visual idea where the audience can realise how significantly it is to providing the tension and conflict within the play, Gary’s House gary house- debra oswald.
