Henry Lawson: The Loaded Dog Distinctively Visual Distinctively Visual As part of this study you will be asked to explore the ways the images we see and/or visualise in texts are created. You will consider how literary form and structure and the language used in different texts create these images, affect interpretation and shape meaning. Distinctively Visual The scenes created by Lawson allow the reader to appreciate a place they have never seen. He draws on personal experience to depict a bush lifestyle that is fast disappearing. Distinctively Visual: elements conveyed through … Context Audience Form Imagery Symbolism language Plot Summary Three men are mining at a nearby claim and camping in the bush. After deciding that they’d like to go fishing, they invent a way to fish using their mining skills, and decide to blow up the fish in the waterhole. They set about creating a cartridge, but before they can test their fishing prowess, the retriever dog steals the lit cartridge, chasing the men with it, before finally blowing up the mongrel dog in town. The Loaded Dog The harsh nature of making a living in the Australian Bush. The Australian Gold Rush Living in the Bush The bush setting is simple and harsh. The men live in a campsite not far from the “claim”. The weather is hot and unrelenting, “They had a cat that died in hot weather” … their only relief from the weather comes from a nearby creek nothing more that “a chain of muddy water-holes” Life in the Goldfields The Loaded Dog opens with a detailed and realistic description of people and place in the goldfields "There is always a rich reef supposed to exist in the vicinity” … "They'd make a … cartridge of blasting-powder” … "The result was usually an ugly pot-hole in the bottom of the shaft and half a barrow-load of broken rock" Australian Larrikinism A larrikin is considered to be "a mischievous young person, or "a person who acts with apparent disregard for social or political conventions” It has been said that Australia’s larrikinism may have arisen in reaction to corrupt, arbitrary authority during Australia's days as a penal colony. Literary Form Form •Third person, omniscient narration. Linear structure. Uses a mix of short sentences and long descriptive paragraphs Characterisation Dave Regan • motivated by 'fun' and when left to his own devices seems to be able to create a whole lot of mayhem Andy Page • Dave’s partner in crime. Jim Bently • Different to the other men, he wasn’t interested in their 'damned silliness' Tommy • The retriever dog, described as being a black, overgrown pup "who was always slobbering Literary Techniques Juxtaposition • Of an ‘overgrown pup’ with a ‘vicious mongrel’ helps us relate to the shift in tone Alliteration • in the ‘foolish, four-footed mate’ reminds us of his close bond Simile • of ‘tail like a stock whip’ - "Jim swung to a sapling and went up it like a native bear" Literary Techniques Contrasting adjectives • separate the characterisation of these dogs: big, black and young with vicious, thieving canine Emotive language • makes us feel dislike for the ‘yellow’ dog; ‘sneaking’ and ‘fighting’ Em Dash • separates listing of specific features of the pack of hounds: spidery, mongrel sheep-and cattle-dogs Literary Techniques Listing • "There was plenty of fish in the creek, fresh-water bream, cod, cat-fish, and tailers" Imagery • ‘elaborate’ instructions to explain the process of mining and cartridge construction through verbs including ‘bound’ ‘pasted’ and ‘sewed’" Sentence Structure • shifting between long descriptive paragraphs and short sentences like “Dave got an idea.” creates grabs the attention of the responder. You immediately feel as though you have to focus, to lean in closer, links to the oral traditions of the bush stories are emphasised. Literary Techniques Repetition • Run, Andy! Run!” increases panic and heightens tension for the responder. Australian Idiom • Language that would have been used at the time, “Don’t foller us!”, adds realism. Direct Speech • The responder feels as though they are witness to the story. 'Why not blow the fish up in the big water-hole with a cartridge?' he said. 'I'll try it.'