Meaning of Life and Australian Cultural Identity Essay

From separate catastrophes, two rural families bunk to the city and find themselves sharing a great, breathing, shuddering joint c on the wholeed Cloudstreet, where they begin their lives once once again from scratch. For twenty years they roister and rankle, trick and curse until the roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts. (Winton, 1991) Tim Wintons critic bothy acclaimed story, Cloudstreet is a masterful tale of love, meaning and aliveness-threatening tragedy that speaks strongly of a slur war Australian society that was fundamentally rebuilding itself subsequently years of governmental upheaval and financial struggle.Good first light/Afternoon Ladies and Gentleman. I am a representative of the National English broadcast board and today I am here to demonstrate to you how Cloudstreet is authentic and believable, and as Marieke Hardy suggests It is Australian. Reading it felt similar approach shot home. d nonpareilout Cloudstreet, there ar numerous c oncepts that portray the Australian heathenish identicalness and the theme of pietism and unearthlyity is especially prominent and appealing.The concept of luck, aborigine warmnessuality, and the search for the meaning of life, atomic number 18 all Australian ideas that Winton expertly portrays. Spirituality dope be specify as a concern for that which is unseen or intangible asset as opposed to physical or mundane. (Greenberg, 2008) It encourages a sense of peace and exercise within an individual and get alongs a ol accompanimentory property of be greating. Additionally, religion can be defined as the belief in, and worship of a superhuman controlling power. (Religion) Both concepts ar widely integrated into the core of the young and are depicted by the Australian notion of luck. Luck, which some would argue has long been etched into the Australian consciousness as a common working shape superstition, is, whether they are conscious of it or not, a form of religio n for both families. The Pickles family, near notably Sam, rely on the untrusty shadow of God (p 12) to warn them nearly future events, while the Lambs simple game of spinning the glossa (p 53) acts as their metaphorical life compass.The prospered Country (Horne, 1964) is a phrase that originated from a book of the same name create verbally in the 1960s, and since then, has gained widespread popularity and thus, been attached to the Australian culture for a long time. Winton has sprucely examined this historical mainstayground to incorporate an close facet of the Australian identity into the novel and its subjects. Also related to the concept of luck, is the fact that after look for drowns, Oriel, once a devoted and god fearing Christian, begins to question her religion and the reliability of believing in God.When slant is resuscitated, but only some of him comes lynchpin, (p 32) both she and Lester are emotionally force to abandon God and Christianity and instead, t urn to luck, ambitious work and the idea that life and death, was all there was, (p 65) in order to outwear their circumstances. This draws on the common Aussie battler tradition, of which a working class person overcame thought-provoking situations through perseverance, faith and steadfast determination.In terms of the Australian cultural identity, Winton has again taken an beta and recognized historical Australian idea and shaped it to hint feelings of familiarity and intimacy between the lectors and the characters of Cloudstreet. The frequent behavior of the Blackfella is yet another example of how the Australian cultural identity is portrayed through examination of primary Spirituality. However, in umteen scenes throughout the novel, the blackfella signifies both Christian and patriarchal spirituality through allusion and comparability.For example, he is likened to the Nazarene by walking on pissing and again when he produces a never differenceing supply of wine an d scratching in agiles car. This comparison is oddly effective as it symbolises the coming together of Christianity and Aboriginality, which was a particularly gossamer Australian issue during the time spot of the novel, due to Aboriginal marginalisation and the progress of Christian ideals.Essentially, the Blackfella acts as a proctor of the original religion inherent to Australia and its development, during a time when social and political mixed bag was overtaking that of its native beliefs. The Blackfella alike acts as the conscience of the characters when they have lost their focus or their family unit is threatened. This can finally be seen when he leads Quick back to Cloudstreet after he runs away to the estate, discriminating that Quick feels secretly lost without his family, and of necessity them to feel fully alive.He withal persuades Sam not the sell the home base and states that you shouldnt break a institutionalise. Places are strong and important, (p 406 ) referring to not only the offer and its tragic Aboriginal history, but also to the fragile families who live inside it. In doing so, he ensures that the families stay whole and together, which is an important and dominating religious value for Aboriginality and Christianity, both during the time period of the novel and in our modern Australian society.Consequently, the Blackfellas role in Cloudstreet is a significant theatrical role to the novels relevancy to the Australian cultural identity. The Australian cultural identity is also illustrated in Cloudstreet through the spiritual symbolism and personification of the river, and its familiarity to the characters search for the meaning of life. This is particularly significant for Quick Lamb, who, is spiritually cogitate to the river in a number of ways. The river acts as a place of peace, purpose and be for Quick.Connecting with his mother when they go prawning, glowing after angleing in the country, and approximately import antly, move in love with Rose Pickles, are the most significant spiritually delineate events that Quick experiences while on the river. Through realising just how symbolically important the river is to him, Quick finally understands the true meaning of his life, and gains a feeling of belonging that allows him to finally vomit up his self-degrading title of the lost lamb. (p 310) Australia is a country that values the water.Geographically, we are surrounded by it, with most of our population residing close to the shores. As a result of this, the water is seen as a common gathering place, from which one cannot easily escape nor regard as irrelevant to the Australian way of life. Winton has taken this idea and incorporated it into Cloudstreet, to emphasise and promote a relevant part of Australian culture. Finally, the rivers spiritual and religious society to seek Lamb is perhaps the most important concept of the novel.After Fish drowns and has his soul ripped into two separate pieces (spiritual fish and physical fish), the river that he so urgently longs for, essentially becomes his gateway to the spiritual earthly concern to the place where he belongs. It is not until the end of the novel when Fish is finally ingenuous to reunite with the water that he is rattling whole again. I burst into the moon, sunniness and stars of who I really am. Being Fish Lamb. Perfectly. Always. Everyplace. Me.(p 424) For many, water in Australia is culturally considered to be the blood of the country a place of cleansing and rejuvenation. Likewise, for Fish, the river embodies the epitome of the spirit of Australia in the form of life giving water. Although his life was initially taken by the water, it is in the end returned to him when his physical self re-joins his spiritual self. In conclusion, Winton flawlessly encapsulates the cultural identity and spirit of Australia in Cloudstreet through symbolic representations of luck, Aboriginal spirituality and the search f or the meaning of life.The characters connection with religion and spirituality resonates strongly with the reader and successfully evokes feelings of belonging and familiarity that confirms Cloudstreet is indeed a classic Australian novel. Bibliography Associates, R. Q. (2008, September 16). political theory in Cloudstreet . Retrieved 2013, from www. englishcurriculum. com. au Cloudstreet Notes. (n. d. ). Retrieved 2013, from Sydney Home Tutoring http//www. sydneyhometutoring. com. au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Details-Cloudstreet-notes. pdf. Dot Point Notes Cloudstreet. (n. d. ).Retrieved 2013, from Sydney Home Tutoring http//www. sydneyhometutoring. com. au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Dot-Point-Notes-Cloudstreet. pdf. Greenberg, N. (2008, October 8). Retrieved 2013, from Can Spirituality Be define http//notes. utk. edu/bio/unistudy. nsf/935c0d855156f9e08525738a006f2417/bdc83cd10e58d14a852573b00072525d Horne, D. (1964). The Lucky Country. Penguin Books Australia. Religion. (n. d . ). Retrieved 2013, from Google Definitions https//www. google. com. au/search? q=religion+definition Winton, T. (1991). Cloudstreet. McPhee Gribble.