Metaphors are one method Kim Scott applies to adds multiple layers to his story. There are different metaphorical elements in Benang, three of which will be addressed in this chapter. First of all there is the most obvious one, the protagonist’s loss of weightiness. Secondly there is the image of a tree which helps to understand the condition a part Aboriginal person like the protagonist, might feel like. Thirdly, the use of colours alongside the reassignment of negative connoted and positive connoted words challenges the common perception of these kind of metaphors.
3.3.1 Rootlessness
One aspect about the novel has been emphasized by many scholars; Kim Scott’s use of magic realism. The protagonist, Harley, seems to be as light as a feather …show more content…
See for instance the scene at the bank, where the narrating I is hovering up in the air, observing the scene from above, while another, drained and hollow version of himself is still sitting in the wheelchair. The version of Harley in the wheelchair is the “grandfather’s success” (35) who is absorbed into the white society and “barely alive”. (35) It is emphasized that he could be anyone, for he is bereaved of his individuality and almost dead. The youth in the wheelchair does not identify himself with any of his Aboriginal relatives. What has been left of him after the absorption and assimilation into white society is more reminiscent of an object, a thing than a person. He is the product of his grandfathers experiment and his success, since no colour is left in him, neither external nor internal. Yet, his skin is mottled – a remnant of his mixed ancestry and a witness to the ‘process’ that he is the result of. The other version of Harley, which is hovering in the air, seems to be free and sure about his identity, even though it is very little he can cling to, and he has virtually no historical or cultural roots. He identifies himself with his Aboriginal ancestry, rejecting the white identity imposed on him by his grandfather. Most of the time the two versions of the narrator are combined in one body apparent in the …show more content…
One page 52-3 when Harley narrates his grandfather’s past, he states that Ernest was “up in the air, back then[.]” (52) It is thus indicated that Ernest’s expectations and dreams were unrealistic “back then”. This alone wouldn’t make the passage so important. But a couple of sentences later it is stated that “Ernest Solomon Scat floated all his life, in a different way to myself [Harley], and never even realised it.” [my note] (53) Reading this passage in the context of the story, it can be stated that Ernest Solomon Scat is metaphorically floating in the air and never really arrives or lands on the land. Unlike Harley he is not really floating, there are no passages that feature him magically hovering above the scenery. The reason for is floating is different to Harley’s as well: not because of his lack of cultural roots, but because he detaches himself from the land. And yet, even though it is stated that he never really touched the land, his footsteps still resonate, he still left his marks. (Cf. 53) This provides a hint to the very last paragraph of the story, where the raison d’être of all the different stories, even Ernest’s, is emphasized. (Cf.
3.3.1 Rootlessness
One aspect about the novel has been emphasized by many scholars; Kim Scott’s use of magic realism. The protagonist, Harley, seems to be as light as a feather …show more content…
See for instance the scene at the bank, where the narrating I is hovering up in the air, observing the scene from above, while another, drained and hollow version of himself is still sitting in the wheelchair. The version of Harley in the wheelchair is the “grandfather’s success” (35) who is absorbed into the white society and “barely alive”. (35) It is emphasized that he could be anyone, for he is bereaved of his individuality and almost dead. The youth in the wheelchair does not identify himself with any of his Aboriginal relatives. What has been left of him after the absorption and assimilation into white society is more reminiscent of an object, a thing than a person. He is the product of his grandfathers experiment and his success, since no colour is left in him, neither external nor internal. Yet, his skin is mottled – a remnant of his mixed ancestry and a witness to the ‘process’ that he is the result of. The other version of Harley, which is hovering in the air, seems to be free and sure about his identity, even though it is very little he can cling to, and he has virtually no historical or cultural roots. He identifies himself with his Aboriginal ancestry, rejecting the white identity imposed on him by his grandfather. Most of the time the two versions of the narrator are combined in one body apparent in the …show more content…
One page 52-3 when Harley narrates his grandfather’s past, he states that Ernest was “up in the air, back then[.]” (52) It is thus indicated that Ernest’s expectations and dreams were unrealistic “back then”. This alone wouldn’t make the passage so important. But a couple of sentences later it is stated that “Ernest Solomon Scat floated all his life, in a different way to myself [Harley], and never even realised it.” [my note] (53) Reading this passage in the context of the story, it can be stated that Ernest Solomon Scat is metaphorically floating in the air and never really arrives or lands on the land. Unlike Harley he is not really floating, there are no passages that feature him magically hovering above the scenery. The reason for is floating is different to Harley’s as well: not because of his lack of cultural roots, but because he detaches himself from the land. And yet, even though it is stated that he never really touched the land, his footsteps still resonate, he still left his marks. (Cf. 53) This provides a hint to the very last paragraph of the story, where the raison d’être of all the different stories, even Ernest’s, is emphasized. (Cf.