the turning Flashcards
Chapter: Damaged Goods.
Exp, on notion of disempowerment + iso manifested/evoked from complex situations, Vic’s wife reiterates the community’s impression on Straw Al, alleging that…
“Such a pity, they said about her birthmark. If only. Could have been a stunner. What a shame she’s damaged goods.”
Adopt. phrase “What a shame she’s damaged goods.” = W underscores + alienates + iso endured by A as a results of being labelled, marginalized + stigmatized. A = disparaged by her uncont. flaw -> rendered valueless, unworthy + undesired ; t/f = treated like as if A = outcast + barbaric fig. to society. Stigma + judged. criticized. thru her habitual confront to stigma A = has sense of disemp. + loss of self worth -> further feel like alien
When referring to Vics dead sister
“I pressed him for details but her picked up his keys and backed towards the door. I let him go. As angry as I was, I believed him. He’d blocked her from his mind. He looked as appalled as I was.”
-> Vic refuses to confront and chall. his memories/trauma..
He emotionally shuts down and wants to put distance b/w himself and trauma
-> Still haunted by his past/Its impact still cripples him
-Failing to confront trauma -> Inability to move forward in present.
“Let go, he said. Max let go of your board. But Max jerked and bashed so much that the sea churned with whirls and streamers of blood.”
-> Max X let go of board -> X transcend/X want to lose dominance over F
- Foil F+M = F can let go of AFL h/e X family
-Shark = represent trauma/ past coming back ->violent/pain
-Transcendence = those who remain holding onto past = will always experience pain
-Shark = violence/if trauma X addressed = become harmful + threatening entity.
Chapter: Aquifer
Vic says
“The past is in us, and not behind us. Things are never over”
-> Past in you = hard to remove/get over
-> = Positive realization for ppl to have bc forces you to take on trauma.
-Vic = means that no matter how hard you try to overcome trauma, it still is there b/c past = stuck
-Winton speaking to audience directly -> want you to take on trauma head to head / X ignore it.
-Past = X erased bc indelible part of our ID
-Empowering h/w difficult realization bc ppl need to examine themselves.
Community response to Raes plight
“She sent Harrison with the girls and let herself be stitched up in silence… when Rae glanced at her she saw that the nurse was teary.”
-Although the nurse is crying, she X Intervene
-> shows stigmas of society b/c many ppl including nurse and harrison know that Rae = in danger of Max h/w scared to standup for R.
Family
“As boys in that caravan park in the lee of the Sandhills, the tower loomed over Max and him; its faded red tank was a bloodshot eye that never closed. From anywhere in town or from miles away out at sea, it was visible, the home beacon.”
F= ID crisis + Displacement -> Become ‘more or less sober for the first time in days’= similar to Dan
-Water tower = familiar market = rep. sense of B/ connection to town
-Ever-present belonging even in the darkest times
-Individuals drawn back to genuine connections during crisis b/c confronting
Max’s Characterization
“He snarled at her… He roared”
Snarled = agressive/violent/unpredictable/hostile
-He has the capacity to impose himself.
->Entraps R -> power imbalance created
-enforced thru fear +intimidation
->Aware he can harm/control her
You just need a little faith to see through, Rae, you’re a good wife. A good mother.
Talk like that hearted Raelene, She came away feeling good about herself.”
-Sherry’s words = compassionate/warm/support + loyalty towards R struggles
-R = treated with respect + humanity (X abuse)/ seen as a person / X defined by scares / X judgement -> momentary escape
-Small moments of human connection = powerful enough to help vulnerable ppl experience a brief reprieve from their struggles.
The stigma of DV
“She was sick of herself. Maybe someone like her didn’t deserve better than Max. She needed a rescuer”
-Complex + desp emo state including her guilt.
-R = constantly put herself down -> mental health=damaged
-X done nothing wrong h/w R = still with M -> X good -> stays entrapment
-Shows how dependent she is and how disempowered she is by ‘rescuer’
-Feels helpless -> X capacity to change things herself.
Sherry + Rare
“White Point’s a kind of second chance for Dan, said Sherry - for us… Booze leaves a pretty big hole”
-S+D = experience = bad with alcohol b/c D = addict -> dangerous/traumatic history -> WP new chance
-Faith=seen as new chance/escape from history/reality
-X everyone = perfect + those who are, have their own struggles
-> S+D = teaches R even those with supposably flawless lifestyle are trying to escape things that will haunt them -> faith = help overcome
-Faith = molded new S+D / their new life
-Pair = haunted by past / Dan alcoholism + self destructive lifestyle
“The job mostly consists of hosing blood off the floors… Some days I can see me and Biggie out there as old collgers, anchored to the friggen place, stuck forever.”
-Graphic/menial labour / unskilled / very repetitive
-Stuck = powerless / entrapped / hopeless / bleak
-Limited opportunities b/c both failed exams / unable to move beyond with class jobs unlike their peers.
-Class depicted as negative bc it can entrap and define lives.
