Cloudstreet Prologue

The prologue of Tim Wintons Cloudstreet transcends unrivalled familys sad loss into the realms of the metaphysical, commenting on his situations of livelihood and death. Readers butt contrast these views to our more(prenominal) redbrick ideologies. Through the use of poetic language Winton adds a apparitional come forth to the lives of people living in a secular society. Through imaging he also offers a construction of Australian ethnical identity. apply techniques like point of view, repetition, juxtaposition, symbolism, as well as tapping into Australian bank and language that appeals to the senses, he manages to convey these moods to readers.I think that the change of point of view is one of the more effective techniques Winton uses in this extract. From the beginning where he intelligibly uses an inclusive pronoun to describe the gathering, Will you look at us to the shutdown where the pronoun has switched to exclusive, And you cant help but worry for them This t echnique draws help to the exclusion both of fish, the reason this event took place, and of the reader. We are forced to the sidelines, notice the physical rendering of the families meld into a spiritual description of life and death.This extract proposes ideas about living and dying that are quite diametric to our modern ideologies. Winton suggests that the gentleman of the living is a closed, narrow one, material and foetid. This contrasts to his views on death which is portrayed as a dimension of freedom and all-encompassing vaults and spaces that you can see it all from. He makes this evident done emotional language that appeal to the senses. The ol featureory** word foetid immediately gives the idea of living a negative connotation where silver-skinned river is presented with such a positive, well-favoured image that even the suggestion of death feels beautiful.In fact, Winton discusses water, not only in this extract, but end-to-end the whole novel in highly symboli cal terms. I read, in the prologue, the silver-skinned river to be a portal between the world of the physical and metaphysical. As look for peers into it he sees all the wonders inside it. I believe Winton is conveying the idea that spirituality is a necessary looking at of life. Also the metaphor the sound of it (the water) has been in his ears all his life intensifies the description of angles desire for the metaphysical.The quote One of the here is passing can be seen as very symbolic in the fact that it describes literally Fishs deviation the group and, in the end, leaving this life. But it also could be read to mean how figuratively Fish is transcending from the material world to the physical one through means of the river. sealed phrases are used to enhance this metaphysical portrayal of the world. Images like earthborn vision juxtapose to highlight the idea behind the image, togetherness of the two families. crack up of consciousness is another spiritual, metaphorica l phrase which contributes to the sense of Fishs mind right before death.Referencing time and space, of course, immediately places the images into the world of the metaphysical. I think swapping so easily from materialistic images to spiritual is a quick-witted way of expressing the themes and main ideas of Cloudstreet. As well as a spiritual reading, I see Winton making efforts to allude to a representation of Australian cultural identity. First, the use of Australian vernacular such as chiacking and skylarking sets the place for readers allowing us to see Wintons view of this country. Throughout the novel, and even in this extract, there is a tone of longing for an Australia of the past.An Australia that was never really existant, historically. The totality of the book is a construction of Australian life, a representation of the cultural identity. The cumulating of picnic foods leads to an image of celebration in Australian summer. An image that continues throughout the episodi c narrative of the rest of the book. Australia can be seen as presented through an idealistic lens. For example in a good worlds in the center of our living conveys an ideal Australia of community that anyone who has lived here for more than a sidereal day knows is not always an accurate perception.Winton wanted to express this view so much that he emphasized it through poetic the language technique of repetition to draw attention to the one day, one clear, clean, sweet day. The syntax is meandering in parts as well as sharp-worded and sharp in others to bring emphasis to ideas and images. For example where readers gain both(prenominal) insight into Fishs mind the sentences become far more simple and short. All. He sits. etc in order to express the simplicity of Fishs thoughts. Repetition too portray the thoughts of a more plain minded person. Teeth teeth teeth are the focus of Fishs mind therefore this will be the focus of Wintons description. In reading Tim Wintons flowing, emotive language I build myself understanding this view of life and death more clearly. This extract allows readers to grant their minds to ideas that are quite contrary to our ideologies today. The construction of Australian culture is one infused with a sense of longing and love, something those who also love Australia today can identify with. For that reason, I believe this book has a strong amount of cultural identity despite the fact that its not ineluctably a correct representation.