Literary Analysis of Kate Grenvilles The Secret River Essay

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s best known authors, she was born in 1950 in Sidney, Australia. She has won many national and international awards for her writing about Australia’s past and the interactions that may have been taking place between the first settlers and the aborigines. The Secret River was one of these popular novels, which is exploring the past, although it is only historical fiction. The inspiration for writing these historical fictions, came from the fact that she did not knew much about her ancestors which settled on a river named Hawkesbury River in New South Wales. William Thornhill is a convict, who has been transported by the ship Alexander to his new home in His Majesty’s penal colony with his family in 1806,†¦show more content†¦His skin swallowed the light and made him not quite real, something only imagined† – page 2, section 5. The description of this native man is highly connected and dependent on the narrators experience and thoughts in the situation. The narrator significantly controls the reader; we get a sense of understanding for his situation, we share his concerns and fear because we are able to read his thoughts, and that may be the main reason for why Kate Grenville uses this narration type. William Thornhill is a convict likely from England, who has been sent to His Majesty’s penal colony, he is married and a father to two children as well. There is not much information regarding his physical appearance in the novel, although there are many psychological indicators. William is suffering mentally because he knows that he will never return home. â€Å"This was a place, like death, from which men did not return home† and â€Å"He would die here under these alien stars, his bones rot in this cold earth† These statements or thoughts indicates clearly what he fears, but before the night is through he gets other concerns, such as his and the family’s security. The situation with the aborigine shows the kind of person he is, he is not afraid to protect his family even though he is unarmed. The novel is taking place in New South Wales in 1806 at a little penal colony, which is located next to a hill and a bay where the ship Alexander