Craig Cliff Short Stories Analysis 12D 2014
Manawatu- Setting
Rhea, Renee, Charlotte and Chelsey
The story is set in Palmerston North, Manawatu Region, New Zealand.
Find pictures showing the location of Palmerston North, and the Manawatu Region.
Establishing the Setting
Cliff helps his readers to recognise the setting in many ways. Your job is to complete the table below. You must find as many clues in the story that help the reader to understand that the story is set a) in New Zealand generally and b) in the Manawatu.
The kinds of clues you should be looking for include: language used, names of places/people, objects or other things that are particular to the society/place being discussed, anecdotes and any other aspects of the story.
Raro
Auckland
'...lamb with mint sauce.'
'comfy old En-Zed,'
Palmy
State Insurance Building
Farmers' Mutual Building
"...breathing real New Zealand breaths..."
Hydroslide / Wellington
Palmy
the Manawatu River
"He remembered being told in school how Manawatu is supposed to mean 'still heart'. How a chief was being chased and he came to the rivet and it made his heart stop."
"young Heart, Easy Living, the slogan for the Manawatu region."
Glen’s Relationship with the Setting
Answer the following questions about Glen’s relationship with the setting. You should be answering them in as much detail as possible. You must include at least one quote to support each of your answers.
- How does Glen feel about coming back to NZ before he arrives? Why? Before Glen gets back to new zealand he is excited that he’ll get to see his family after five long months away in Australia as he hasn’t been able to see them in such a long time. This is probably due to the fact that Glen thinks that by making the effort he is to come back from Australia that others will be delighted with his return. This is not so as he does not take in the fact that his sudden leaving will have consequences and therefore he is disappointed by the fact that no one really tries to make an effort to go see him.
- How does Glen describe the river? How does this conception of the river make him feel? How does this reflect his overall emotional state? Glen describes the Manuwata River as ‘peaceful’ and ‘Innocuous’ which is not harmful and safe yet he also then comes to think about how he nearly drowned in it. The river seems to make Glen feel calm and safe even though that is very much untrue. This concept of the river related to the emotional state of Glen as though he is standing on the edge of the balcony he still feels calm and in control even though if he slips he could die.
- How does Glen relate the slogan of the Manawatu to his own state of mind? Manawatu means ‘still heart’ and he nearly drowned in the Manawatu river so he relates the slogan back to his own experience and the way he is feeling when he thinks about it “it had become more of a sense than a memory”, saying that he nearly had a still heart because of the river he now relates the river to his own heart being still as he stands on the balcony. In the end after he jumped he refers again his own heart to the river he says “the river was making roaring sounds like a hydroslide and the still heart (his own) was filled with blood again.
- How does Glen describe his breathing at the end of the story? What does this show us about how he feels about New Zealand?"Breathing real/big New Zealand breaths" suggests that Glen considers Manawatu, or 'New Zealand', to be his home. This is because he clearly distinguishes the inhalation of air in New Zealand "New Zealand breaths" to the air in any other country (Melbourne, in particular). This shows that Glen has lived in New Zealand as this is what New Zealanders' can relate to. -The air in New Zealand is more fresh and somewhat unique to that of other countries.
- How has Glen’s conception of the Manawatu River changed at the end of the story? What does this tell us about his state of mind? when he’s standing on the balcony in the beginning he is calm and his heart is beating slowly. When he jumps off his perception of the river changes because he is buzzing with adrenaline and he says “the river was making roaring sounds like a hydroslide” which is referring back to his heart being filled with blood again.
Manawatu- Character
Izzy, Lizzie, Sydney, Kendra, Sara and Samuella
Protagonist
- Glen, age 21.
- Has moved to Melbourne from Palmerston North, for his first full-time job.
- Is visiting his family in NZ for Christmas.
Describe Glen/his personality providing at least one example to support your description.
Glen is unsatisfied with his life, feeling a little let down as he possibly thought that an escape from New Zealand would be a chance to escape his former life he was unhappy with, possibly a chance to change from this person full of teenage anxiety and insecurities. These expectations are ill fulfilled, Glen believing that his move to Australia, life in the big ol' world", would be a turning point, believes the turning point didn't actually do much good.
Lonely: He seeks some form of attention commenting on the fact that "They (his brother and girlfriend) weren't even looking at him"
Pessimistic: "was his family finally trying to become a family rather than a set of subsidiaries, bound by the responsibility to appear at certain prearranged meetings" This quote shows Glen incapability to find any good in his idea of family, in his eyes they are seen (as many things by Glen are) in a highly negative light.
Has this relationship changed since Glen moved to Australia? Why do you think it has/hasn’t changed? (Sara)
The relationship between Glen and his family (mum and grandmother) has changed since he moved to Australia. Glen and his family were not close and didn't show any affection before he left. But now his family is being very affectionate. His mother sought him when he was in another room and his grandmother felt the need to hug him on arrival and departure which is much different to how they were before Glen left Palmeston North to go to Australia.
How does Glen feel about the relationship now? (Sara)
Glen feels like his family are only affectionate because they have not seen him in a long time. He feels as though if he didn't move to Australia there would still be no affection. This is shown when it says "it was the thought that if he had not left, there would still be no hugs". Glen believes that his family is finally trying to become a family, rather than being "a set of subsidiaries". He isn't so worried about all the affection that his family is showing him and all the hugging, but the thought that if he was still in Palmeston North, his family would still not be showing any affection towards him.
What does this relationship help us to understand about Glen’s personality? (Sydney)
This helps us understand that Glen is not a very affectionate person, especially towards his family. He seems almost resentful and doesn't understand where all this affection has come from, as he says "where had all this affection suddenly come from?". This also helps us understand that Glen is an over thinker, as he has numerous mental debates with himself and always questions everything. He questions "If leaving put a value on his head - made him a huggable commodity - what would death do?", he jumps to this question just from questioning the fact that his family is more affectionate since he left to go to Australia.
Glen and his Brother, Warren:
Describe the relationship between Glen and his brother, Warren? (Sydney)
The relationship between Glen and his brother has changed since Glen left to work full-time five months ago in Melbourne. Before he left, Glen looked up to and admired his younger brother as he says "breaking Warren's idol worship five months previous". This shows that after Glen left to Melbourne, his brother may have felt abandoned so he chose to fill the gap, so when he came back he was "snubbed by his brother, he felt like the idolater". Warren seems nonchalant about that fact that Glen has come home from Melbourne and this suggests that they are drifting and their relationship isn't as close as they used to be.
Has this relationship changed since Glen moved to Australia? Why do you think it has/hasn’t changed? (Lizzie)
The relationship between Glen and his brother Warren has changed since he moved to Australia. Before Glen left, he looked up to his brother and idolised him as he says “breaking Warren’s idolship five months previous.” However, Warren proves to not care about Glen after he came back from Melbourne, which is shown in “Warren, was house-sitting and chose to spend the time with his girlfriend rather than with Glen.” Glen now feels like his brother is treating him cruelly, which demonstrates the change in relationship between Glen and Warren. The change in relationship may have happened due to Warren feeling lonely and therefore replacing Glen with Kelly/Katy or Kelli/Katy
How does Glen feel about the relationship now? (Lizzie)
Glen feels betrayed and annoyed that his brother does not care about him as much as he used to. He calls himself an ‘idolater’, feeling as if he is completely devoted to his brother however now, his brother does not take any interest in him.
What does this relationship help us to understand about Glen’s personality? (Sam)
This relationship helps us to understand that Glen is jealous at the fact that his brother is choosing to spend time with his girlfriend who he can see on a daily basis rather than his brother who has come home to Palmerston North from working overseas for five months in Melbourne. He feels like the tables have turned by saying "skipping town and breaking Warren's idol worship five months previous, he'd felt pangs of cruelty. Now, being snubbed by his brother, he felt the idolater". Glen can now understand how his brother felt when he left to go work in Australia- Alone and ignored. By saying "he felt the idolater", Glen expresses that he is jealous of Warren. He is jealous of the fact that Warren has a girlfriend while he has no one. He is jealous of the fact that instead of Warren giving him 100% of his attention, he is ignoring him and Glen seems to be giving Warren more attention by watching him and his girlfriend, willing for them to interact with him.
Glen and his Friends:
Describe the relationship between Glen and his friends. (Sam)
Glen is yet to make friends with fellow colleagues in Australia. This is shown in Glen saying, "five months of acclimatising, of no friends yet but working on it" This shows us that Glen is making a genuine effort to adapt and work in Australia. He's trying to get used to his new lifestyle and at the same time make friends however this is not as easy as he might've initially thought. Even though Glen was unable to make new friends in Australia, he had looked forward to coming to "comfy old En-Zed" to catch up with his old friends who he had left behind here. However when Glen arrives here he realizes that times have changed and his friends have, more or less, moved on showing that the bonds between Glen and his friends weren't as strong as he had thought. This is shown in "But there were friends who didn't make the effort to see him at New Year's in Wellington, then promised to come up to Palmy, but didn't". Glen is left with a feeling of loneliness and ends up thinking about suicide, a thought he had previously had four years ago as a teenager.
Has this relationship changed since Glen moved to Australia? Why do you think it has/hasn’t changed? (Kendra)
After only five months away from NZ, the relationship between Glen and his friends has become weaker. Glen seems to think that even though he has been away from NZ his friends will be as close as they were before he left. We are not told if he keeps in contact with his friends while he is away, but it is certainly shown his friends are becoming more distant. He looks forward to seeing his friends, but his old friends may not feel the same way as Glen tells us when he says “But there were friends who didn't make the effort to see him at New Year's in Wellington, then promised to come up to Palmy, but didn't". He hasn’t replaced his old friends with new ones in Australia, as he friends may think, and he has also drifted further away from his old ones purely because he hasn’t been there to maintain a friendship with them.
How does Glen feel about the relationship now?
What does this relationship help us to understand about Glen’s personality? (Kendra)
As Glen struggled with making friends in Australia, or to befriend any colleges, this shows that he is not the most sociable person and may be resistant to change. Its clear he has been trying to cope with moving away from his family and friends, but still he does not call Melbourne home as shown when he says he’s “home from Melbourne’. As well as this it shows that Glen may be a little naive to think when he gets home everything would be the same as when he left, but his friends are no longer there. He is also shown to be very vulnerable to the negative effects of being alone. After four years of being suicidal thought free, he starts to think of suicide when he realises how alone he is. This loneliness is represented by his thoughts of his friends who are no longer there and his sadness of not having friends yet in Melbourne .
Glen’s Emotions
Glen is a character who experiences many emotions throughout the story.
Make a chronological list of all the feelings that Glen has throughout the story and give the reasons he has these feelings.
ORDER OF EMOTION / EMOTION / REASON FOR FEELING THIS EMOTION / QUOTESPage 1 & 2 / Pessimistic / Glen feels like he has arrived at the nexus of his life. He feels as if his life is a blur of memories and that nothing he does is extremely exciting or significant. / “Just memories. A mix of water and sugar, like Raro.”
“He wondered if these were the only permanent memories.”
Page 2 / Disappointment / Glen feels disappointed that he had made the effort to come back to New Zealand and see his friends and family, only to find that no-one made the effort to see him. It is also not the first time it has happened to him before. / “He had been looking forward to comfy old En-Zed, but there were friends who didn’t make an effort to see him at New Year’s in Wellington, then promised to come up to Palmy, but didn’t.”
Page 2 / Annoyed / Glen is annoyed that his brother would rather be hanging out with his girlfriend than him, even though the were close before Glen left to Melbourne. / "Now being snubbed by his brother, he felt the isolator. "
Page 3 / Overwhelmed / Glen feels overwhelmed by the amount of attention he is receiving from his mother and grandmother. He had not previously received this much affection from them and it seems peculiar to him. / "worse than the snubs were the smothering. The way his mother sought him out when he was in a different room. The way he absolutely must hug his grandmother on arrival and departure. Where had all this affection suddenly come from?"
Page 3 / Depressed/suicidal / Glen is reminiscing about his past with contemplating suicide and how it had effected his teenage years. He now is beginning to think about it again which results in him walking outside and over the balcony's railing. / "for the first time in four years he thought of suicide"
"he'd had flushes of sadness. Great upswellings of distaste for his life"
Page 4 & 5 / Contemplating/reflecting / Glen is having thoughts about the consequences of jumping off the balcony. Whether anyone would care or not and what would happen if he were not to jump. / "once I jump, what then? "
"I have to leave tomorrow. Go back home. Is Melbourne home or is this home?"
Page 6 & 7 / Realisation / As Glen lands safely, he realises that his life is more than what he saw it as. / "whether it was a jump itself or having jumped, something had turned on a great light in the grey sky and the River was making roaring sounds like a hydroslide and the still heart was flooded with blood again."
Manawatu- Theme and Purpose