In David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon, the most intriguing character of the novel is Australia itself. Malouf conveys the immense fear of the unknown by using the landscape with the lack of knowledge and familiarity, hope and individual characters capabilities, and the malleability of the Australian landscape. Malouf’s portrayal of Australia establishes character development and personal growth. Along with the progression of the novel, a true character and identity of the unknown environment is revealed.
Malouf uses the landscape of Australia to portray the immense fear of the unknown, and the lack of knowledge and familiarity within the characters, therefore causing a distorted view. Figurative devices are used to establish and exaggerate…show more content… Australia itself has been guiding characters to change and accept themselves. Although darkness is used to symbolise the immense fear of the unknown, it is also establishes hope as the characters develop into the future. The unidentified landscape radiates darkness, and over time, the obscurity reveals itself to be harmless and the power of the word is lifted. The change in darkness resembles a timeline, from ‘absolute darkness’ signifying no light or potential for change, to ‘half-darkness’ where the characters of the novel can see past the darkness, to expose the light and hope within. Symbolism and anthropomorphism is used in the closing sentence of Remembering Babylon to create an intriguing perspective to the Australian landscape as “it glows in fullness till the tide is high and the light almost, but not quite, unbearable.” ‘Light’ has now come into the country, therefore, the Australian landscape is perceived as less unknown and terrifying, revealing a sense of hope into the future, leading to a new beginning. Characters begin to see “the new light they brought to the scene” which establishes the light-dark antithesis within the novel, conveying both the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides of the landscape. Ultimately, more characters are able to view Australia’s different characteristics. Characters in Remembering Babylon understand the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ that the Australian landscape has to offer, and by doing so, the sense of hope of Australia begins to grow within
