Essay Questions

Why does Slippery drive away, trying to leave Tadpole behind?

Slippery is a hippie because he wants to live a life of freedom and peace; being beholden to Tadpole means that he is not free to go where he pleases whenever he pleases, and being involved with Tadpole is certainly not a peaceful experience. He believes that he hit Tadpole with his Kombi-Van and feels guilty enough to think that he owes him something in return and that the least he can do is drive him where he wants to go; however, he didn't sign up for theft and a bar brawl at the roadhouse and it's becoming increasingly clear that Tadpole both attracts and causes a great deal of trouble. Slippery certainly doesn't want to get caught up in a shoot out. Giving Tadpole a ride is turning into the good deed that never goes unpunished. He chooses to leave them at the roadhouse when the shooting starts because getting involved in a shoot out is a step too far, and is stretching his kindness way past its limits. He no longer wants to be involved with his passengers, and he is also protecting his girlfriend who is also in the van. This is why he decided that enough is enough, and drives away.

All of the loose ends in the play seem to be tied up at the end. What is the catalyst for this?

The catalyst for the loose ends being tied up is the session of "testifying" after the culmination of the temperance march. Temperance marches were popular in Australia as a sort of prohibition-like anti-alcohol movement gathered pace. In some countries the move was completely connected with religious groups but in Australia this was not the case and each march was deliberately conceived to be a meeting of likeminded secular and religious groups. Many people were encouraged to "take the pledge" which meant that they signed an oath to God and to themselves that they would not touch a drop of alcohol.

Another part of the march would be the invitation to testify at the end. This entailed standing before the assembled crowd and sharing one's deeply hidden secrets, very much like the present-day Alcoholic's Anonymous method of encouraging people to be honest, make amends and move forward. Willie's mother decides that she would like to participate and stands up to testify, at which point we learn the identity of all of the characters in the play, the majority of whom have believed themselves to be a different person entirely. We learn that Slippery is actually her biological son but that Willie is not; we learn that Willie is Tadpole's biological son and that Tadpole is the deadbeat dad who has been largely absent from his son's life; we learn that Father Benedictus has been less than loyal to his vows and had an affair with a married woman. All of these revelations occur because of the testifying process after the march.