Insight Text Guide author Anica Boulanger-Mashberg discusses Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet

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There are plenty of reasons why Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet (1991) remains one of Australia’s most loved contemporary novels (it hit the top of the list in ABC TV’s First Tuesday Book Club’s survey of ‘10 Aussie Books to Read Before You Die’ in 2012, the National Year of Reading). So how do you translate this diehard national adoration to an enthusiastic and productive academic study?

Yes, it’s one of the longer texts on the VCAA set lists – an epic domestic journey – and that can be overwhelming for students. But it’s a rewarding read, not a slog, and the length and breadth of Cloudstreet means there are so many directions in which students might choose to take their interpretation of the novel. Any one of the text’s features – including character, style, structure, narrative voice, and historical and cultural setting – provides enough textual evidence to support a really in-depth exploration of how Winton constructs meaning in his authorial choices, and by combining any mix of these, a whole new set of investigations becomes available. For instance the narrative framing, formed by the intrusion of Fish’s first-person perspective throughout, welcomes discussions about how narrative point of view influences our understanding of events. When paired with an investigation of the magic-realist style of much of the narrative (particularly Fish and Quick’s experiences), this gives students plenty to think about in terms of how symbolism constructs the reality of the characters and how this reveals underlying authorial beliefs and values. For example, despite the epic difficulties both the Lamb and the Pickles families experience throughout, one of the novel’s strong themes is that family is one of the most important things of all. This is reiterated in symbolism as well as structural elements, such as Quick and Rose’s ultimate return to Cloudstreet, bringing a circular closure to the narrative.

Cloudstreet also offers a strong basis for exploring how characters can convey, construct, illuminate and even epitomise themes – this is useful, as sometimes it can be difficult to identify the connection between character and theme in narrative. An obvious example is central character Sam Pickles’ pigheaded reliance on the power and significance of ‘the Hairy Hand of God’ or ‘Lady Luck’. His fatalism and insistence that lives are shaped and controlled by luck forms an interesting counterpoint not only to the Lambs’ ethos of hard work and determination, but also to his own slightly contradictory view that it can sometimes be possible to hide from the ‘Shifty Shadow’ and thus evade what fate has in store. These various perspectives on fate and free will play out in the events of other characters’ lives too, and in each of their approaches to the opportunities they see as being available to them.

Another particularly productive aspect of Cloudstreet for VCE study is the language use: while many elements of Winton’s story are mundane and relatable (the characters all struggle with universal themes of love and loss, for example), the language itself is often poetic and extraordinary while simultaneously reconstructing very natural everyday rhythms and speech patterns, particularly in the dialogue. There are strong contrasts between informal registers (such as the use of slang and abbreviations in direct dialogue) and more heightened lyrical tones (such as in the frequent use of symbolism, allusion and rich imagery, as well as in the sometimes stylised narrative descriptions). Such contrasts help students look at the specific impact of language choices at various points through the text, whether it be to intensify the novel’s emotional impact; to assist in character development; or to communicate underlying themes and ideas.

Essay questions

• How do the shifts in narrative voice throughout the novel help readers understand Cloudstreet’s central themes?
• Fish’s drowning is a framing event for the entire narrative. Do you think it supports or critiques Sam Pickles’ views about fate and luck? (Note that you will first need to define and justify your interpretation of Sam’s beliefs, since textual evidence can support multiple options here.)
• How does the heightened language in Cloudstreet (consider poetic rhythms, character voices, imagery and symbolism, magic realism etc.) convey underlying values and ideas?
• Consider the chapter titles that form a key component of the narrative. Why do you think Winton chooses to communicate information in this way? How would you describe the contribution of this element to the text?

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Need help getting to grips with Cloudstreet? Purchase our Insight Text Guide for Cloudstreet by Virginia Lee. With chapter-by-chapter analysis, discussion of characters and relationships, practice essay topics, in-depth analysis of themes, ideas and values, and much more, the Insight Text Guide for Cloudstreet provides a clear, comprehensive analysis of the whole text.

Insight Text Guides are produced by Insight Publications, an independent Australian educational publisher.