The Golden Age Symbolism

Question 1

Music

Answer 1

• symbolic of hope, joy and health
• Ida’s skills as a pianist offer abundant potential and enrich her life
• her music offers a source of comfort which transcends the pain of the children’s condition

Question 2

Light

Answer 2

• light is a technique with the ability to describe individuals
• Frank believes that Elsa is “outlined by light” when he sees her from the doorway of Girls. This silhouette serves as a halo and likens Elsa to an angel
• Olive Penny has the role of as a giver of light and hope (Meyer sees a “light” within her, which gives him hope, and she holds her arms in Ida’s direction “as if she held a light” to welcome Ida to the piano)

Question 3

Birds

Answer 3

• a motif for freedom
• The GA kids can hear the calls of cockatoos flying overhead and their spirits are raised by the knowledge of this “good omen”
• The injured bird that Margaret sees in her backyard symbolises Elsa, with its chest “split open”
• also symbolise life in Australia (comforting for the GA kids, squeaky wheels in need of oil for Meyer, and “melancholy, harsh” for Ida)