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Essay: Exploring Identity in Australian Novels: Ellen Van Neervan, Nam Le and Melissa Lucashenko

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  • Subject area(s): Sample essays
  • Reading time: 4 minutes
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  • Published: 1 April 2019*
  • Last Modified: 15 October 2024
  • File format: Text
  • Words: 1,111 (approx)
  • Number of pages: 5 (approx)

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Ellen Van Neervan, a critically acclaimed author, produced an array of structurally unique and modern stories within the novel Heat and Light. Neervan meticulously organised the novel into three sections, each with different themes. This difference allows the readers to conjure up their own emotions, so that they can relate to the book, through the various interconnecting stories that Neervan shares. The structural arrangement of the book can be compared to the ‘Dialogic Process’ or the ‘Theory of Dialogism’ developed by Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin describes Dialogism as a “constant interaction between meanings, all of which have the potential of conditioning others” (Bakhtin 2010). The Dialogic Process is evident in Heat and Light, with its themes and turbulent storylines. From interconnected stories, to a stand-alone fiction and ten elegantly crafted short stories, the turbulence and emotion that each of these stories evoke, invites each reader to individually relate to the stories. This makes these stories enjoyable and comfortable to read. The comfortability of a book relies on the structure of the Iceberg Theory, which Heat and Light adheres to well. The theory by American writer Ernest Hemingway, focused on minimalistic writing in short stories to ultimately enhance the effectiveness of the writing itself. (Headlee 2015). Van Neervan uses this minimalistic, but emotionally effective writing technique in her pieces of text. She does this by interconnecting and ultimately focusing on past, present and future relationships between humans and the natural world. By converging themes like identity, race, coming of age, nationality and the loss of innocence, she ultimately coerces readers to reflect and relate to these stories, which overall makes the novel a comfortable and enjoyable read.

Nam Le, a Vietnamese-Australian writer, produced technically proficient short stories in the novel, The Boat, which focused on an array of themes, with the most prevalent being identity. For most, the struggle for identity is perplexing and difficult to overcome. However, Le’s collection of short stories act as a testament to the importance of self-identification. Through his exquisite writing style, he focuses on personal and fictionalised encounters regarding the multicultural and multilingual Australian society. He does this by drawing from recent history, for example, the Vietnam War and the influx of Asylum Seekers to Australia. The exploration of identity was evident in the first short story, ‘Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice’. In this story, Le focuses on a character named Nam Le and the relationship that this character has with his father. Metafiction, a theory developed by American short story writer and novelist, William H. Gass, “is a term given to fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artefact to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality” (Waugh 1984). Through Metafiction, Le focuses on real life situations or topics by using fiction to describe and create a story. He does this to focus on the existing issues of racism in Australia’s society and the effects that this can have on one’s identity and sense of self. In comparison to other novels like Tim Winton’s, The Turning and Shaun Tan’s, The Arrival (Hindrum 2013), Le’s sophisticated use of Metafiction, cleverly uses literature to make subtle, but important points, regarding the effects of losing identity, especially in a society where it is deemed important.

With any piece of literature, the words on the page must enhance and contribute to the overall reading experience. The dialogue in Melissa Lucashenko’s Mullumbimby, demonstrates how the use of language brings characters and the overall story of a novel to life. Throughout the novel, Lucashenko uses strong and opinionated language to touch on themes and delve into the literature theory of ‘Post Colonialism’, focusing on the influence of colonisation on Australian literature. In most novels, linguistic dominance is prevalent, with majority being written in English. With the “rapidly increasing role of English as a global means of communication” (Gnutzmann 1999), the need for bilingual novels is evident. Lucashenko uses two languages, Bundjalung, an eastern Indigenous dialect and English to enhance the choice of words within the novel. The reason she does this is to adhere to the language theory of Lexical Gaps. Lucashenko “borrows a word to fill a gap in usage as well as a phonological gap in our language” (WordPress 2010). Personally, the way that Lucashenko incorporated and integrated the eastern Indigenous dialect with English in the novel, was eloquent and effective. This unique bilingual language throughout the novel, created a demonstrated tone, shown through the characters. Ultimately, this brought a sense of reality to the novel through the characters and language. By the language being predominantly English in Mullumbimby, with some traces of the Bundjalung language, this subtly brings about the issue of the harmonious multiracial society that Australia is desperately trying to achieve, despite a racial division being evident in society today. The way that Lucashenko intelligibly used language to create a modern novel, which is thematically nuanced, ultimately enhanced my individual reading experience, making it a thought provoking read.

Many Australian Novelists and Poets incorporate a marginalised or oppressed viewpoint to draw on Australia’s multicultural society, or the lack of. In Omar Musa’s collections of medium length prose poems in Parang, he represents groups of people who feel marginalised and voiceless within Australia. By delving into the idea of a “changing” Australia, Musa evokes the emotions of these minorities. It can be suggested that Musa’s book shows his own identity politics, but this is done through tenacity, whilst producing a story that humanises the reader. The Malay-Australian voice that Musa presents, shows the importance of including multicultural literature into Australian society and the classroom. Maria Boles suggests that “multicultural literature has special effects for both students and teachers” (Boles 2006), but can also be used as a source of demonstrating problems within Australia’s society. When multicultural literature is used in society, it incorporates the views of the unrepresented and gives them representation in literature. By doing this in a classroom setting, students who previously felt left out, may feel less so when it is evident that their culture is being acknowledged (Boles 2006). Educators also play a dominant role in advocating for multicultural literature being introduced into society. More knowledge about different cultures, can ultimately create a safe and positive learning environment, where students feel accepted and included. Boles also mentioned that “our society is becoming increasingly diverse and it is more important now than ever before”. Therefore, multicultural literature is even more important to include in the curriculum and advocate in society, to include the groups which are considered a minority and educate the majority about different cultures.

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