Big World By Tim Winton Analysis

By making detailed reference to at least two texts studied for this module, compare and contrast how context, language and structural choices encourage responders to think about representations of Australia.

Tim Winton was born in Karrinyup, Western Australia on the 4th of August 1960. He later moved to the small country town of Albany in 1972. He is the prolific author of the collection of short stories called The Turning. The collection of 17 short stories originally published in 2004 explores friendship and dignity which are both significant representations of Australia. Two stories contained in his book which specifically explore these two ideas are Big World and On Her Knees. Winton does this through his use of descriptive language and

The story follows the journey of two best mates, Biggie and the unnamed main protagonist. The two boys have a strong relationship as they have helped each other in many situations, making sacrifices for each other. This can be seen multiple times in the story; such as when the protagonist helps Biggie with his homework “His sole academic success was his essay on the demise of Led Zeppelin, but then I wrote that for him.” and when the protagonist sacrifices his night with Briony Nevis for Biggie “I don’t go on with Briony Nevis the way I badly want to because Biggie will be left behind for good.” Winton’s strategic use of the first-person perspective makes the reader feel as though they are reading a personal experience. This method tries to make the reader feel like they are one with the protagonist, causing the story to feel as though it’s more involving. Winton also uses descriptive language in the text to give great detail on situations and events that occur. The descriptive language is particularly effective at putting images of ….. into the reader’s

Biggie and the protagonist have a job in a meatworks and the protagonist is disappointed that he is working at a meatworks instead of going to university “...missing out on uni really stings.” Colour and lighting are major keys in the film they are used to symbolise the feelings that the characters are experiencing. Dark colours such as blue and black are used as well as dark lighting in the meatworks scenes to represent the sad and depressed state the protagonist is in. Nearly the entire film is played in a slow motion speed, this is used to make it seem as though time is moving slowly and to create moments of tension. In particular, the meatworks scenes are played in slow motion to indicate that time feels like it moving slowly. A specific moment of tension in the movie is when the protagonist and Biggie stop at a petrol station to fill up their Kombi. Biggie meets a girl called Meg and she joins the pair in their journey. The protagonist looks in the rear-view mirror and sees Biggie and Meg talking in the back seat. The protagonist feels as though he has been left out and in a way replaced. Biggie seems to enjoy being smarter than her, similar to the friendship between the two boys. “It’s me all over. It’s how I am with him and it’s not