Strange Objects

Strange Objects by Gary Crew is a fictional novel based around the non-fictional event of the shipwreck of Batavia and the two survivors that were shunned aside onto the mainland of Australia. The novel was constructed through the use of many non-fiction texts to create a believable fictional narrative. The novel uses narrative conventions such as point of view, descriptive language, juxta positioning, and characterisation to present readers with a portrayal of identity for young Australian males, aboriginals, and police officers. The novel was very effective in persuading readers into believing that what they are reading was a non-fiction text, rather then the fiction text that it really was.

Multiple points of view are presented to us during the novel, usually in a first person point of view. The novel also includes non-fictional texts written by people in creditable positions of power such as doctors and researches. This means that' readers have a harder time convincing themselves that the novel is fiction, because it is written in a way that isn't used that often in fictional writing. Point of view has been used in a very powerful way in this novel to create a believable fictional narrative, through the use of multiple non-fictional texts.

A negative portrayal of young male identity and a positive portrayal of aboriginals and authority figures are constructed by the use of descriptive language and point of view at the beginning of the novel. The descriptive language used at the beginning of the novel by the main character Steven Messenger presents readers with a negative portrayal of an aboriginal identity, and also with an insight into how different and scary aboriginals are portrayed by some people. "…Of course, the aboriginals were in this country all the time, so I can't say they're exactly foreign, just different. The abo kids from near the town were OK and clean enough, but the ones who came in from the properties weren't the same. They needed a wash and looked as if they'd cut your throat. If one came near me I'd move. They didn't care. After school (that is if they came from. In my opinion it was better that way (pg 23.)…old Abo nodded. He was holding a cup of something hot and I could see his fingers, bent around the cup like claws. His hands were deformed, but the skin was black and shiny as polished leather… Charlie lifted his head. I felt my stomach turn over… his missing teeth in the front and his wide nostrils, his face was horrible. I saw his eyes were black and half closed and around them watery pink veins (pg.24)…" The use of descriptive language portrays Steven Messenger as being a very judgemental person, In his descriptions of the aboriginals he uses colloquial language such as the word "…abo…" instead of the word aboriginals this shows readers that Messenger's character has little or no respect for aboriginals . It also illustrates aboriginals in a negative way, describing them almost like monsters or people to be fearful of.

Although the novel uses descriptive language to present readers with a very negative image of Aboriginals from the perspective of a young Australian male, the novel also successfully uses POV and juxta positioning to show how even though the character Steven Messenger doesn't respect him, people in positions of power such as police officers do respect him. Sergeant Norman a well respected member of the community introduces Charles to the children he is interviewing with respect and admiration, this persuades the audience to cogitate that he is a man of importance, and worth paying attention too. "…Mr Charles Sunrise from the mission. I want him to explain a few things. Maybe then you'll understand why you're here…the sergeant stood behind him, with one arm around his shoulder…" (pgs. 23-26). Sergeant Norman's character talks about Charlies as though he is the most knowledgeable of them all, the effect that this has on the audience is that we see that even though aboriginals are more often then not portrayed to the public in a very negative manor, it does not mean that they should be treated differently, or as a minority to be fearful of. Strange Objects successfully challenges negative stereotypes of aboriginals being no brain wild people, and portrays them as being very respectable, and knowledgeable.

Australians have a reputation as being very anti-authority, as a nation we idolise historian people such as Ned Kelly who stood up against the law, and we celebrate him for this despite the fact he was a murderer, and it has become a major part of our national identity. The novel Strange Objects does not however reinforce this Australian ideology of authority figures being the enemy. Sergeant Norman is presented to us in a very positive light. During the third item, a transcript