The Concept of Distinctively Visual Explored Through Henry Lawson's 'In A Dry Season' and Sean Tan's 'The Rabbits' Samuel Rose 12th Grade

"Distinctively visual" refers to the understanding of how relationships and perceptions with others and the world are shaped through unique written and visual language texts. This concept and the idea that these texts allow readers to ‘see’ then ‘feel’ can clearly be explored and reflected through “The Drover's Wife (1892)” and In A Dry Season (1896) by Henry Lawson, and alternately through “The Rabbits (1998)” By John Marsden and Shaun Tan. These texts incorporate a variety of literary and visual techniques, coupled with intricate narrative styles which help shape our understanding of the difficult experiences they depict and invoke a variety of emotions including admiration, sympathy and empathy in the reader.

“The Drover’s Wife” incorporates a colloquial and relatable narrative style which effectively shapes understandings of the hardships and the difficult impact of isolation on the wife of a sheep herder, and invokes feelings of empathy, sympathy and admiration in the reader. This is reflected through the technique of descriptive language. For example, “bush all around- bush with no horizon”. This creates a visual image, describing the place as featureless and lonely. The repeated reference to the absence of defining...