The_Big_Poo

These words immediately alert the reader to the fact that the story in this memoir reflects the reality of Drewe at the time, and that memories are unreliable, but that we all do the best we can when we recount events from the past. About the book Drewe divides his autobiography into a number of parts which also have sub parts and titled chapters. There is some attempt to have a roughly linear chronology though rather than following a conventional autobiographical structure that traces a series of milestones and goes into details about dates, ages and times, he uses a succession of incidents that combine to reveal the writer himself, his perceptions of his family members and his recollections of memorable incidents in his life. The writer does not get bogged down in exhaustive depth of each incident in his early life. The text keeps moving from event to event and the passage of time flows smoothly and seamlessly. The various parts of the text allow the reader to build up a sense of the reality that Drewe creates about his early life. Drewe charts his earliest memories of childhood to his coming of age as a young father, and the struggles he faces growing up in one of the most isolated cities in the world. While there is a murder at the heart of this narrative, this does not take centre stage. Drewe explores what it means to have once met the murderer, to have one of his friends as a victim, and to be a cadet journalist who must report on the trial and how this affects him. These, however, are side issues, as his focus is on his family and how he functions within it. In his author's note, Drewe states that 'This is both a book of memory and my portrait of a place and time' (p. 361). In the writing he has tried to show how he was shaped by the upbringing of his parents and the social setting of a particular time and place. He spends a deal of time describing the way that the city was built on shifting sands and how they were 'people of the dunes' (pp. 33-42), which also has a symbolic meaning. The people of Perth are seen as being isolated and hence somewhat insular in their worldviews. Things come into their environment from the outside world that can be reasonably benign, such as the Billy Graham Crusade, (pp. 160-75) while at other times the people are worried about malignant invasions such as sparrows and Argentine ants (pp. 101-8). There is a successful balance between telling the story of his life and his times. Drewe says that, '…I have tried to tell a truthful story'. (p. 361) Success in meeting the intention of portraying a place and time is relatively easy to judge on the basis of history and matters of public record which accord with sources from this time and place. For example, 'Eric Edgar Cooke would be the last person hanged in Fremantle Gaol, on 26 October 1964, and the second last person to be executed in Australia. (Ronald Ryan, hanged in Melbourne's Pentridge Gaol in 1967 for killing a prison warder during an escape would be the last)' (p. 345). Drewe's sensual imagery and dialogue provide a vivid realism and texture to The Shark Net. While an autobiographical text, it is structured like a novel and shares features similar to a narrative text. Drewe is as concerned with his own family relations as he is with the intersecting true crime story of Cooke. It is, like his many novels, plays and essays, ultimately a work of the imagination. The reality of the author At no time during the story does Drewe pretend that his view of the world is the only one available. He uses the mix of semi-autobiographical and semi-fictional material to illustrate the way that the same events can be viewed very differently by different people. He sees the standard rules subverted in Perth, such as when the teacher encourages the students to come to school barefoot, but from a different perspective, because this was done for the comfort of the children. As a child, Drewe is warned of the dangers of this foreign state, such as the undertow, snakes and 'boiling brain', but this is a legacy of the reality of his mother and her fear of the unknown. He paints an obsessive picture of his father who proudly professes to be a 'Dunlop man' and adores 'all things rubber'. Drewe is brutally honest in his descriptions of his parents, and he does not hold back in revealing their endearing qualities as well as their flaws to the reader. It is up to us to decide where our sympathies lie in relation to these characters, and that is a natural part of the reading process. A biased view Drewe presents an authentic voice which offers a reality to the reader which is familiar and credible. Through his depiction of a typical 1960s Australian family the reader can identify elements of their own childhoods. Drewe does not present a reality that is distorted by obsession or illness, but a reality that we accept is shaped by his own values, perceptions and prejudices, and, as we read, we keep all of this in mind. The memory is faulty, we know that Drewe is being honest in his portraits, and we expect nothing more. Memory shapes identity and reality When we read nonfiction, we assume that it is more 'real' than fiction. It is important to remember that any story written from the author's own perspective is coloured by his or her personal circumstances. Our memories of the past shape our perceptions of the present, and vice versa. Our age, life experience, gender, economic status, education, race and other factors all affect how we view reality, the world and our place in it. The reality depicted in The Shark Net of life in Perth in the 1950s and 1960s is Drewe's memory or version of this life; because it is his experience, it cannot present an objective reality, if such a thing even exists. Memory can also distort reality, so that a remembered event takes on a very different meaning from the one initially associated with it. Questions Does Robert's identification with Eric distort his account of events' Does Robert's sense of guilt at his mother's death distort his memory of this' After Drewe's mother's funeral, we immediately learn that, 'Another girl was murdered in the next street shortly afterwards. It was another Saturday night ….' (p. 266). How does Drewe connect his personal loss to this crime' In your discussion, consider the style and tone of his writing. Drewe describes himself as a 'news shark' (pp. 285-307) and observes that 'It had to be that sharks were buried deep in my collective unconscious' (p. 300). In what ways is Drewe's interest in actual shark attacks connected to his interest in Eric Cooke' We adjust our view of reality as we grow older. If we don't, we risk losing acceptance. In small groups locate examples of the ways in which Robert adjusts his view of reality as he grows older. Is this forced on him or does he change willingly' 'One evening my mother tip-toed with us into the bank. Her ease with general office equipment was impressive enough, but her confidence in the typist's chair was the real eye-opener' (p. 25). What does this passage suggest about the way in which children see their parents' Do you think children have more trouble coping with a reality other than their own than adults do' Think about: You may have memories from childhood that have stayed with you.