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Chapter 6 - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 6
- Charlie talks about what happened when he arrived back home. Explains to the Sergeant that he was going to visit Eliza.
- Describes what Charlie did during his punishment.
- Jeffry is played for the first time in a cricket match, to the crowds surprise he proves them wrong by saving the match.
- Charlie sees Eliza and they discuss various things, including Laura, and then they finally kiss.
- Flashback to a few days prior where Jasper tells Charlie about how he snuck to Mad Jack's yard and saw the same word 'sorry' like where Laura was found.
- Charlie writes poem and scrunches it up into his top drawer.
- People destroy An Lu's garden, how ever a few people, including Charlie's dad defend and try to help An. Jeffry is shown to have 'flipped a switch on himself".
- Bucktin's play a card game where Ruth wins every time. Charlie thinks about his guilt and what would happen if his secret comes to the light.
Characterisation
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Jasper
Jaspers character is shown to be more vulnerable in the small time he appears and isn't this fearless, all brave character Charlie has seen him as. Two archetypal characters may have more in common. - Good quotes on 255.
Eliza
"'See, everyone is just waiting for Laura to ring or to write and say that everything is ok. Or they're expecting her to suddenly return home, but...' Eliza just shakes her head and shuts her eyes tight, Her lips turn down even further and she beings to sob quietly again" pg. 229
Eliza feels guilty about her sisters death and feels guilty she can't tell anyone. Also shows how complicated of a character Eliza is as Charlie is unable to fully understanding why she does things or act the way she does.
"'I know things, Charlie,' she says after a time, and opens her eyes. 'I know I'm not a good person. I don't know why you talk to me.'" pg. 230
guilt, foreshadowing. Also shows that Eliza is a kind person at heart and can even see her own flaws which many characters can't. Shows a softness in her and her fragility.
Wesley
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'He looked at her in that same faintly curious and disappointed way, the same expression he greeted me outside," pg 213
This chapter shows Wesley being upset with his family, which is unusual - form of character development.
Ruth
"Said he locked himself in the baby's room night after night, and couldn't give a shit about how she or I felt" pg. 212
Shows how Ruth's character is one to 'point the finger' as she is constantly blaming others and the town for all of her problems and never says anything about her wrongdoings.
Ruths 'breakdown' foreshadows events in the next chapter and her 'authorative' figure starts to essentially crumble over time in Charlie's view.
Themes
Fear
"I was terrified, but something kicked in me. I discovered a gift for lies." pg209
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No one defends the Lu's in fear of being shunned, also links with appearances as people don't want to be seen as 'outsiders'.
Racism
"people are harassing my dad about it all the time, because he's only allowed here through some sponsorship with the mine" pg. 222
Example is the attack on An Lu's garden, also correlates with the setting/time period as people had hate towards the Vietnamese as Australians were fighting 'their war'.
"And Jeffrey Lu, for the first time in his life, might be garnering grudging respect." pg. 237
You have to be good at sport for people to respect you. Jeffry's 'moment of acceptance' is shown to be one of the only ways for 'whites' to overcome their racism, and that their racism also arises from ignorance. People have to make an effort to overcome their prejudices. If someone is considered valuable only when they do something outstanding, then they are not really considered inherently valuable as a human being.
Silvey suggests that racism arises from ignorance, and people must make an effort to be understanding and empathetic in order to overcome their own prejudices.
Escape, Guilt and Writing
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"Mostly, I spent my time writing. Almost obsessively," pg 215
Shows how often Charlie would use his writing as an escape. By the amount he writes as well it implies how much emotion he is keeping inside of him that just needs to escape. Could also lead to Charlie's Characterisation
"I felt horribly guilty and so sorry for my dad, knowing that I brought this upon him," pg 212
Appearances & Secret
"I remember thinking that if I hadn't seen the cuts and bruises on Jasper's face for myself, I wouldn't have thought for a second that this burly paternal copper was capable of locking up an innocent boy without charge and beating him" pg. 211
Implies that Jasper gets blamed for things he didn't commit due to his previous appearance (being half Aboriginal) and connotations throughout the story. Links to racism too
Understanding, Sympathy and Innocence
Fall-back Questions
- How does the setting impact the amount/type of racism received by the Lu's and Jasper?
- How does fear and racism correlate with one another throughout the chapter?
- How does fear affect the racism received by characters?
Setting
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Time Period
When know the time period is in the late 1960s which was during the time of the Vietnamese War. This time period generally didn't censor racism which is why this theme occurs a lot in the story compared to if it took place in this time period.
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Also, as there wasn't much technology available during this time compared to now, it contributes to one of the many reason why Laura wasn't found and stuffed wasn't perfectly traced back to Charlie and Jasper.