Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Narrow Road (Russo) (Location Part 3 (14:, 15:, 13:, 16:, 12:, 17:, 11:,…
Narrow Road (Russo)
Characters
Dorrigo Evans
Protagonist of the novel. doctor-turned-soldier, unofficial leader of the POW camp.
Ella Lansberg
Woman that Dorrigo is engaged to against his will, her family has money and that is pretty much the only reason Dorrigo is marrying her
Amy
The secret love of Dorrigo's life, Amy has no intention of marrying him. She breaks it off with him after her husband finds out of the affair and is presumably killed
Keith Mulvaney
Amy's husband, and also Dorrigo's uncle. He welcomes Dorrigo to his home with open arms and knows of the affair while it is happening. He is an arguably "good" man but loves to hear himself talk and is oblivious to what others are tyring to say to him
Darky Gardiner
He is a fellow POW in the camp that Dorrigo is in. He is beaten to death in part 3 of NRTTDN. Dorrigo finds out later that Darky is his relative
-
-
Colonel Kota
He is in charge of Major Nakamura and he gives him orders about the construction of the railroad. He is deeply damaged by his training to become a Japanese official
Major Nakamura
Major of the POW camp that Dorrigo is in, he is highly addicted to shabu and under a lot of stress to finish the railway in time
at the end of the book, he begins to become more disillusioned and he finally realizes the bad deeds he had done when comparing himself with his wife
Tiny
One of the POWs in the Japanese camp with Dorrigo and Darky. He starts out as being one of the strongest and most resilient men but suffers after a beating by the Goanna and becomes weak and feeble
Rooster
Man full of hate in the POW camp, he survives by reading the Mein Kampf
Goanna
Korean officer in the POW camp who is especially brutal, he is responsible for the beating of Darky Gardiner and Tiny and numerous others
Themes
-
-
Infidelity
Amy and Dorrgio, Dorrigo and his other lovers, the weird chemistry that Kota felt with Nakamura, Amy's other affairs
-
-
Heaven
The King of Cornwall, Keith's hotel, seems like a heaven to Dorrigo when he and Amy are sneaking around with each other. The cool ocean breeze is a sharp contrast to the unbearable heat that is constantly present in the training camp
Japanese culture
The Japanese culture of war is an extremely important theme in the book, it is what drives the commanding officers of the POW camp to do what they do and to punish in the way that they punish
Light and shadows
constantly present in the novel, at the beginning of the book, Dorrigo describes his first memories of light as an infant child, gradually shadows and darkness are introduced into the book in the form of war and violence
-
Symbols
Amy
Amy symbolizes Dorrigo's restlessness in his relationships and also the deep sadness portrayed throughout the book
-
Steak
This is a HUGE symbol in the book. It is confusing in that is describes the prisoners view of Dorrigo as a hero but it also symbolizes Dorrigo's inner struggle when it comes to his heroic acts
The heat
The heat is used to describe an unbearable and unwavering stress that is always following Dorrigo while he is in training camp and in the POW camp
The sea
The sea is used as a sort of relief from the heat for Dorrigo, it contrasts from the trapped-feeling that readers get when Dorrigo is at training camp
Darky's Beating
This scene serves as an explanation for the mindset of the Japanese throughout the war. It shows that they have been brainwashed to do anything necessary to fulfil the wants of the emperor
light and shadows
the book starts out with the memories of light that Dorrigo has as a young child, this implies the idea that all children are born without sin and without the shadows of violence, war, and other dark matters. Gradually, shadows are introduced into his memories, mapping out the progression of his story and his descent into guilt and violence and war
Rose in the mud
There is the image of a rose growing in the mud at the end of the novel, it symbolises the ability of love to exist even in the darkest mind or the most uncommon place
Romance novel
Dorrigo is reading a romance novel in the end of the book but the last page is missing, to me this means that the romance will go on forever and it also nods to the fact that Amy is dead and Dorrigo didn't get to finish his love story with her but he gets to continue with the story of he and Ella and their family
-
Location Part 2
14: Meeting with Colonel Kota, Major Nakamura's POV, past POW camp in Kota's memories
15: Amy's POV, Keith's hotel, swimming in the ocean
13: Training camp, Melbourne with Ella, Ella's father's clubhouse
16: Colonel Kota's hut, Nakamura POV
-
17: Amy' POV, keith's hotel, abandoned beach
-
-
-
-
9: Keith's car, Keiths hotel
-
-
21: Amy's POV, King of Cornwall hotel
-
-
6: Melbourne with Ella on a leave, Adelaide training camp, Keith's hotel/bar
23: Amy's POV, Keith's car
-
24: Amy's POV, her memories, she and Keith's shared bed
-
25: Amy's POV, the Robertson's home, Keith's car
-
26: Dorrigo's POV, training camp, call hut,
-
27: Amy's POV, King of Cornwall
1: Training camp in Adelaide, bookstore
-
-