Fly Away Peter
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The novel Fly Away Peter expresses specific attitudes and values by encouraging the reader to identify with the central character, Jim Saddler. David Malouf, the author, attempts to expose the brutality of war and encourages readers to realise that one can be living a very sheltered lifestyle oblivious of the cruelty and negative side of life. In this text dealing with the experiences of Jim during World War I and events leading up to his signing up, the author uses biblical allusions, evocative and sensuous imagery, contrast of settings, metaphors and other characters to aid readers to establish an identity for the protagonist. It is through his central character that he communicates his disparaging perspective on war and points out how the majority is naпve towards the extent of evil within humanity and sufferings caused by this.
Biblical allusions allows the reader to identify with the protagonist because an intertextual link can be made between the first eight chapters and the “Garden of Eden”. This is the section of the novel before Jims involvement with war where he is living in harmony with nature and his life is full of innocence and happiness. A partnership forms between him, Ashley Crowther and Imogen Harcourt and Jim appears to be in his proper place. We, as the audience, identify with Jim because of the assumption that he is in “paradiseinnocence before the fall” similar to the sensuous environment which Adam and Eve experienced. Readers are able to make this biblical connection between Jim and Adam who lived in a perfect state, godlike, until the sin of pride caused his expulsion from paradise, and the beginning of mankinds misery. The flight from Eden is traditionally called the “Fall of man”. This intertextual link allows reader to understand Maloufs notion that despite the idea that humans, supposedly rational, higher creatures, potentially noble and wise, at times stoop to dreadful low points of villainy, in a way which shocks us. Thus questioning our own beliefs. Humans do encounter trouble as a result of our higher characteristics, our ability to reason, to organise and to believe in abstractions. Similar to Adam who lost paradise because of pride, humans ruin lives in the service of a very human notion of our own rightness and dignity. We tend to dismiss our vulnerability to the forces of nature. The young officer who dies during a charge yelling “”nfair!””shows the absurd vanity of humans, like the original vanity of Adam, believing he could not die because of an abstraction like fairness unlike animals who would not knowingly seek that sort of danger.
The two different settings in Fly Away Peter affect Jim, and his attitude and values are altered. As mentioned before Jim Saddler is in a place of security and enjoying his comfort zone (the swamp), unaware of the activities occurring simultaneously around the world and it is not until he joins up to fight in the war that he understands the full horror of war. He realises that “he had been living” till he came here, in a state of dangerous innocence.” Jim recognises the innocence of children who only see part of life and when come face to face with horrendous events such as war find it like Jim said “annihilatingall”. In the pre-war section of the novel Jim finds in his hobby of birdwatching a type of connection to forces greater than himself. Without ever verbalising it, he has achieved an almost pantheistic sense of union with Nature. Jim admires the birds for the miracle of life that they are, and in revering this miracle, his spiritual dimension is fulfilled. Using Jim, the writer aims to convey that those who merge themselves with the broader processes of life find fulfilment as opposed to those who stand on their dignity, defending a sort of selfish and cerebral individualism.
It is Jims experiences during the war which enables the author to bring forth the folly, mad bestiality
of war. Jim like so many other young men were manipulated by the patriotic society to enter into what was made believed to have been a heroic feat but really the first bloodbath of the century. Jims childish enjoyment of the episode when he and Clancy run to the engine for hot water, and his naпve admiration for the Pharaoh-like grandeur of the war, are reminders of how little he knows. However the audience shares in Jims growing horror as we discover what its really like when he gets into the trenches. Clancy whom by now the reader has associated with as a lovable larrikin is “blasted out of existence”, Erics legs are torn off and Bob coughs up his lungs. These ghastly images as witnesses by Jim causes the reader to react in an anti-war way. Hence through contrast of settings Malouf shows his condescending attitude towards war.
Malouf uses poignant metaphors which relate to the central character and delivers his message of lifes meaning even after death. The concluding scene where Imogen is on the beach reflecting upon Jims unnecessarily shortened life, the wave is a metaphor for Jims life. Growing bigger and higher until ultimately crashing down symbolic of the rising and falling of Jims life. Like a wave Jim reached his peak which was death. Also when Jim, running towards the enemy lines, sees “himself a distant slow-moving figure within the long view of all their lives”, he is understanding that life is something that moves relentlessly towards death. here Malouf seeks to say that we are not divine creatures but instead mortal. We must accept that ultimate change which is the subject of the second last chapter, going back to the earth where we came. By recognising mortality life is given its particular sweetness, its uniqueness.
Another metaphor used in the earlier stages of the book is the biplane, foreshadowing the war. The plane of “a clumsy shape” flying around the area flown by one of Ashleys friends establishes the setting but also has another message to convey. It is a man-made device built to fly like the birds and the author compares these two. Jim was against the biplane believing its bulky presence should not be with the birds in the sky disrupting nature in harmony. The author is saying that the birds and Nature as a whole is the miracle which should