Lands Edge

             Growing up on the beach is something most West Australians can relate to. In the autobiography Lands Edge by Tim Winton, a contemporary Australian author, Winton recounts his memories of growing up in Western Australia and the impact the beach had on his life. When Winton is retelling these events to the reader his unique style of writing, with its sensuousness and effective imagery, humour, and beautiful choice of language recreate the events of Winton's childhood in full colour and surround sound in the mind of the reader.
             In Lands Edge the reader is introduced to Winton's life, from childhood to more recent events in chronological order. At the start of every chapter in the book, Winton has written a smaller memory in italics. These smaller memories set the scene for the entire chapter, introducing the reader to the main idea for that chapters reminiscences. An example of this is in the second chapter where the short italicized paragraph at the start is telling of the small shack Winton's family used to stay at, specifically about the rat traps catching rats in the middle of the night. The rest of the chapter then recounts Winton's remembrances of the shack, the 'evil field of doublegees where no thong was thick enough to protect you' or all the strange tins around the bucket under the sink with labels such as 'sugared ants, Italian anchovies, pâté from England, olives from Spain, and squarish tins of frogs' legs'. The use of things most Western Australian's would know about; like doublegees, allows the reader to connect with Winton's story by making them think of their own memories as a child, which may include doublegees.
             Another way in which Winton effectively brings to life the experience of growing up in Western Australia is with his use of colloquial Australian language and slang. Examples include: 'From a dune I once saw an uncle running madly fr
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Lands Edge. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 07:52, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/23592.html