Fly Away Petet
'Malouf is concerned to portray the transformation of innocence into experience, but in the process to maintain integrity. His mood is optimistic rather than despairing.'Fly Away Peter is a novel written by David Malouf. It is set in the period of world war one with the first half in rural Queensland and the second in the war in France. The author describes a journey from innocence to experience that young soldiers like Jim go through as a result of wartime experiences. While exploring this journey, Malouf manages to maintain a degree of integrity by showing the whole picture of war. He allows us to see both the positive and the negative sides to war. While the book depicts the horrors of war, it also gives an optimistic view by giving the impression that life will still go on and there will be a future after the war. Before going to the war in Europe, Jim led very secluded life in Queensland, making him very innocent and unaware of the horrors life can bring. There were several instances in the book which demonstrate this innocence. For example, he described photography as a mystery, he had never heard of Wagner, and was unaware of the word 'refugee'. He wasn't well educated and had not had th
'a proof that even here among the horrors of battle a spirit of scientific inquiry could be pursued, it's interests standing over and above the particular circumstances of war, speaking for a civilization that contained them all, British and German alike, and to which they would return when the fighting was done'p99. Both the British and Germans were tunneling from opposite sides to uncove!r the mammoth. In spite of her grief, she looks toward the future and comes to the conclusion that 'A life wasn't for anything. He also suggests that the British and Germans will come together again after the war is over. This newly found experience eventually brings him despair, as he loses hope for the future. It portrays the positive side along with the horrors that people are forced to endure. It is a continual cycle and in spite of death, the world still lives on. Jim began to gain his personal experience when he heard the news of war breaking out. Jim becomes a 'veteran' p96 of war as he sees his group killed, replaced and then killed again. "Why?' he asked in a last moment of innocence. He does this by giving the impression that life still goes on, and that there will be a future after the war is over. Later in the war, Jim sees soldiers die and be replaced by new ones.
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