Our_Crypto_Wowsers_-_Geoffrey_Dutton

This poem, “Our Crypto Wowsers”, is Geoffrey Dutton’s reflection on post World War 2 Australian society, particularly that of the 1960s. It is a study of everyday life in suburbia, and a commentary on the post-war celebration of security and domestic mediocrity. After the Second World War had ended, it would appear that Australia was having an identity crisis, unsure of what its ‘flavour’ was, or who it should be. What kind of society would become the ideal, and what did it want to avoid at all costs' Dutton had been a flying instructor during the war, and afterwards studied at Oxford University, England. He was disheartened to see that, in England, despite the comradery of war, the class system remained as firmly entrenched as ever. In the 1960s Dutton became a staunch supporter of an Australian republic, lecturing publicly that Australia would never achieve its potential if it did not sever ties with England and achieve independence. This was not a popular message for a largely monarchy-supporting culture. The poem makes criticism of Australian society as one trying to keep up appearances, but settling for the superficial and bland. “Our Crypto Wowsers” paints a picture of 1960s Australia where the ideal and proper thing to do was to get married, have children and raise them in a perfectly clean house, with a perfectly cut lawn, with a quaint white picket fence out the front. People had lived with insecurity during the war, and now security was prized by mainstream society. However, there were those unwilling to buy into this this and saw the sanitised life of the middle class as hypocrisy. The subtext is that the 1960s was a time of clash of ideals, from middle class conservatism to the emergence of a hippy culture. The poet, being the founder of the Adelaide Arts Festival in the early 1960s and a scholar, would have held precious things that he sees as being unappreciated by the wowsers – they see those who have not “settled down” as “queer” … “the queer that means ‘most peculiar’, ‘odd’, hell-bent like kids on motor-bikes in jeans”. The themes of “Our Crypto Wowsers”” include Australia’s post war national identity struggle, and the role of women in society. The general mood of the poem is one of mockery, Geoffrey Dutton portrays his annoyance with Australian society. Dutton mocks the sterilized existence of middle class Australia. Society is parodied and conveyed by way of caricature of certain features. Everyone has the wrought-iron garden furniture under a tree, a Holden, and a concrete flamingo in the pool. Of course, everyone doesn’t have these things, but it is the collective image of Australian suburban life. The rugged outback, it is feared, will be domesticated and urbanised. Dutton uses ironic imagery to prophesy that “all across the great outback, made safe for kiddies, there will be a barbeque for every shack; on greens where now the desert sprawls golfers will knock their little balls”. The rhyme adds to the corny image. Australia’s identity crisis stemmed, in part, from a sense that this young country, having fought in two world wars, should have a persona of its own. Dutton suggests that the middle class have set about creating an identity which is artificially constructed. He alludes to its organisations as being the alleged leaders of progress: “progress never leaves them behind. In fact, they are the ones who lead it, Through Apex and the J.C.C. … The ideals and smiles of Rotary…” The influence of the war is evident as mateship is “worn on the lapel where every Joseph is a Joe”. Mateship is one of the planks of the emerging Australian identity, albeit awkwardly. Wanting to be normal, and to fit in, are natural desires in any era. However, Dutton portrays a society in which mediocrity is celebrated. A quote from the poem is, “They pray their children may emerge not brilliant, but ordinary”. The end of World War 1 saw the excess and extravagance of the ‘roaring twenties’. The end of World War 2 saw a thirst for security and evenness. Dutton is disappointed with the post-war response. Hypocrisy is a feature of the identity crisis that Australia faced. The ‘wowsers’ “aim to keep their children chaste, forgetting how, by seventeen, their hand had slipped below the waist”. After the mateship of the war and fighting side by side with the Italians, the ‘wowsers’ “meet New Australians, but never ask an Italian home.” There is an allusion to the immigration of new Australians post war and the general resistance to integration with such migrants. Rather, people “flock to lectures who give our egos little pats and rubs and praise the way we live.” The wowsers themselves are an allusion to the temperance movement, a Protestant movement that proposed abstinence from alcohol. This poem implies that the role of women in Australian society was a role that was generally confined to the household. Women had participated actively in the war effort and it was a source of disillusionment to some to find that after the war they were relegated back to the household, not the workforce. Dutton’s observation is that women were expected to be the peacemakers in the household, and keep everything perfect and refined. In the poem it says that although the men are greatly faulted, due to drinking or smoking, the women are supposed to be okay with it. “The sexes take their guided tour after the little woman pours crème de menthe and parfait amour in stem-war amongst soft furnishings.” Once again, this is a caricature of middle class society. Liqueurs in long stemmed glasses and soft furnishings symbolise false airs and graces. To complement this picture the “good men leave no lawn untrimmed”. The home is clean but sterile: “The house is vacuumed every day Which goes to prove that cleanliness, For living in the most boring way, Is certainly next to godliness.” Dutton used this to show that the gender roles are very defined and different. Throughout the poem the language is simple and clear, using a great deal of allusion to sayings, institutions that hold some symbolism for the author’s purpose, and imagery. The poem concludes with a picture of God sitting on the Safety Council’s Chair, smiling down upon Australia Fair. The language conveys a wry perspective. The tone is critical and somewhat smug. The rhythm repeats in four line groupings, with a certain predictability that mirrors the tone and tenor of the poem. The style is not laden with a variety of literary techniques. Rather, the prose is simply stated, but laced with irony. The images convey meaning. For example, the couples live behind sand-blasted doors, symbolic of perfection and uniformity. Overall, Geoffey Dutton’s poem, “Our Crypto Wowsers” gives an insight into Australia’s post-war ideals and a number of social issues of the time. The defined sex roles are conveyed effectively. The language and tone are effective and appropriate, and the poem is thought-provoking.