[Salutations]

Today I will be discussing how the Contemporary Australian novel Cloudstreet, by Tim
Winton, is of value and how it is received in different contets! I will firstly discuss how
the novel is of value because of the presence of universal, timeless themes of" the search
for a sense belonging and the importance of family! #eing post$modern readers, we
believe that the reception of a tet depends on our contet and value system!
Conse%uently, a tet can hold many interpretations! In the light of this, I will also be
discussing how the plight of the Aborigines in Cloudstreet is perceived by readers from
the time in which the novel was set compared to today!
In the tet, Winton&s use of the timeless theme of a search for a sense of belonging gives
Cloudstreet value! All of the characters in the tet are searching for some sort of physical
or psychological sense of belonging, and most of them seem to find this within their own
family! We can see this when the character of 'uic( leaves home because he can not
cope with the constant conflict and searched for a better life! )any of you may see a
parallel to the biblical story of the *prodigal son& +a story of a young man who leaves his
family and lives a life of pleasure and sin, only to return to his family a depressed and
poverty stric(en man,, here, Winton comments that a true sense of belonging can only be
achieved by the acceptance of one&s place in society and an environment which is
supportive! -owever, 'uic( returning home and the *prodigal son& story contrast if we
read it according to a feminist interpretation! When 'uic( returns home, he is greeted by
his mother, .riel, not the patriarchal father figure depicted in the biblical story! -ere,
Winton is challenging traditional gender roles by empowering the women in the tet! The
dominance of .riel in her family is revealed in her reaction to 'uic(&s homecoming and
the governing tone in her comment to her husband /ester" 01et your mouth outta gear
and help me get him inside2
Another of the principal issues in the tet is the importance of family! So does this give
value to it3 Cloudstreet li(e many other contemporary Australian novels is a saga! It
allows us to observe the true 4ourney of the two families, through the 4oyous eperiences
as well as the tragic! The tense relationship between 5olly and her daughter 6ose,
illustrates this point! Their relationship is a result partly of the family&s struggle to
survive their numerous misfortunes and partly a result of 5olly&s harsh and unhappy
upbringing which has in turn made her an inconsiderate and selfish woman, who
according to 6ose, would 0beat us and shamed us in public2! As seen here, Winton&s
constant use of Australian vernacular creates a sense of social realism which effectively
portrays the characters& thoughts and feelings! -owever, by the end of the novel with the
birth of *Wa -arry&, 6ose&s son, 5olly and 6ose&s relationship is partly reconciled,
suggesting that there is hope for the unity of the family! #y sustaining this hope to the
end in spite of so many harsh circumstances, Winton celebrates human endurance and
will power which gives the novel its value!
In today&s post$modern society, we are aware of the persecution of Aborigines in post
WWI Australia! -owever, the society at that time +illustrated through Sam, perceived
Aborigines as people with no importance or true identity! As Steven Cooper comments,
0Sam is representative of this ignorance! -e is harmless enough but he is a symptom of
what is wrong with the country!2 Two events demonstrate this to us! The house
Cloudstreet has born witness to a tragic history" it was used as a boarding house for
Aboriginal girls with the purpose of 0ma(ing ladies of them so they could set a standard
for the test of their sorry race!2 Winton&s blunt language used to represent this aspect of
Australian history 0they had been ta(en from their families and were not happy2
recogni7es a complete lac( of awareness of these facts on the part of Australians of this
time! Similarly, Sam 8ic(les& failure of recogni7e the significance of the land for the
Aboriginal man on *voting day& brings up two issues" firstly, that Sam&s value system
accords more with the development$driven mentality of 8erth in the 9:;<&s! 0In the new
year I&m gonna to sell it! #ulldo7e it and build a=great bloc( of flats on it!2 And
secondly, Sam&s failure to recogni7e that 0>ou shouldn&t brea( a place, places are strong
and important2, as epressed the aboriginal man! Sam also fails to recogni7e that the
Aboriginal man can not yet vote! .ur contet allows us to be critical of Sam&s
perspective and recogni7e the aspect of Australian history which the boo( ma(es only
subtle reference to!
I hope I have shown you today how multi faceted Winton&s novel is! In its capacity to
intelligently sustain perspectives on Australian themes and values and evo(e a prior time
in our history the novel can be said to be of great value and has the capacity to be valued
by different audiences at different times! It also gains value by being able to support
different readings while maintaining its overall consistency!