English Literary Essay

In 1993 popular Australian author Jackie French wrote the novel 'Walking the Boundaries.' The idea of writing the book came to mind when she was walking up the gorge one day on her property and she suddenly thought that she could be walking up the gorge 1000 years from now or in the past, and so that's when she started writing the book. She said in an interview, "I think ‘Walking the Boundaries’ is one of the books closest to my heart." Modern day Australians have become familiar with the idea that a journey only consists of physical work, but in the text, French manipulates the reader to also see that a journey can consist of a spiritual aspect too. Throughout the novel French gives a clear insight into the physical …show more content…
In the opening few pages French writes about "the taut brown lines of barbed-wire fences, dams like giant puddles and the dusty verges of the road."(p.g 1)" This sentence is full of similes which provides the reader with an image in their head of the landscape. She also uses personification by writing, "Old Ted looked like he'd dropped out of a TV documentary about somewhere dry and old and boring."(p.3-4) In the end the descriptive language was a good technique because it gives the reader a very clear image of what's happening.

Through Martin’s physical and spiritual journey around the boundaries of Old Ted’s farm, French is able to clearly convey to the reader her message about the importance of looking after the land. The reader gains an understanding and appreciation of the caretaker role that Martin’s family and indigenous ancestors had in looking after the land. The author’s use of a clear plot, third person narrative and descriptive language helps make the reader understand the importance of Martin’s spiritual journey and the novel’s key