Ghost Bird Conventions

Words: 1074
Pages: 5

ENGLISH ESSAY - GHOST BIRD The Australian gothic genre typically incorporates a variety of generic conventions to portray its remote climate, oppressed groups, and inner ruptures within characters. The novel, Ghost Bird, by Lisa Fuller, exemplifies this central genre by establishing Stacy’s struggles with isolation and her marginalized culture that relates to real-life issues existing in society today. Ghost Bird follows the point of view of Stacy, who searches for her missing twin sister, leading to the illustration of Aboriginal spirituality. The author incorporates a variety of generic conventions to intertwine the richly filled genre of Australian gothic to express Stacy’s inner feeling of isolation and oppression within her remote community. …show more content…
Using repetition of Nan’s orders, this quote outlines the emotions of helplessness and seclusion. Aboriginal spirituality is commonly inherited as the association with their environment, inversely, Stacey Nan’s commands contradict this faith through her threats, triggering a contrast between how Stacy may act, and her culture. This quote suggests the spiritual connection of nature, conveying the Australian Gothic genre by incorporating the unknown and ominous ambiance of the outback. Ghost Bird additionally portrays her struggles of isolation through conventions of characterisation and further cements the Australian gothic as the central genre. When Stacy loses her twin sister, she compares it to missing an actual limb, as if her sister is physically and mentally connected to her, “what do you do when a piece of you is missing, when a piece of you that is always there isn’t.” This captures the strong presence of isolation and Stacy’s struggle without her sister. The rhetorical question highlights her feelings of helplessness and confusion, almost as if she is pleading with the audience to reassure and comfort