Thursday's Child
...teship it is not always well intentioned. Despite his continual offers to help, Cable is still disliked by the Flutes and most other people in the area. We recognise this is because of Cable’s wealth, his unique image and appearance and because his character is so different to the typical Australian. “Vandery Cable was a high and mighty man about the district, the richest person that anybody knew…He was a tiny man, hardly bigger than Devon, with a head of thick black hair and dainty little feet at the end of his scanty body.” Not only was he disliked for his wealth and his unique appearance, but he was also disliked because of his approach to others and the way he interacts with others in the town. “He eyed me a disquieting moment…” Therefore, through the use of characterisation, Hartnett may encourage readers to dislike the character of Vandery Cable as he is false representation of the typical Australian valuing mateship. The setting in the novel Thursday's Child has been constructed in such a way to positively emphasise the Australian image displayed towards endurance. As the novel has been set in the harsh mining outback of Australia during the Great Depression, we can’t help to recognise the many misfortunes that have befallen the Flute family. The Flutes are surrounded by "Desolate, dry barren wasteland…” where endurance is needed to survive. We discover the setting also places more emphasis on the characters attributes that they posses. This is demonstrated in the text when the Flute family show desperation in surviving off the minimal resources the land has to offer them. “Our land must be particularly exhausted or maybe simply sullen, a bad patch maybe poisoned, so we trapped rabbits now instead.” Court Flute, the father of the family, possesses the attribute of endurance as he continues to provide for himself and his family off the land, even though the land has little to offer. The setting portrays Court’s attribute of endurance as he "hunt and shot rabbits" for his family to eat and sell the skins for a small income. Therefore, through the use of the setting, the author gives readers an insight to the hardscrabble life of the Flute family, causing them to sympathise for the family and support any values they uphold. The novel Thursday's Child uses the narrative convention of characterisation in order to depict a positive view of the Aussie Battler myth, which reflects the Australian image. At the novel’s opening, Harper believes her father is a good and kind man, one who offers her warmth and stability. But both the reader and Harper gradually realise that he is incapable of looking after his family on any level, not the least because he shies from any confrontation with authority. How much of this is due to...