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In My Father’s Den Maurice Gee Written Text Study: Novel

In My Father’s Den Maurice Gee Written Text Study: Novel. Part 1. Background and Social Setting. What is the social setting for our novel?. Small town suburban New Zealand in the 1930s – 1960s. Look carefully at the following 7 images of New Zealand from this period.

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In My Father’s Den Maurice Gee Written Text Study: Novel

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  1. In My Father’s Den Maurice Gee Written Text Study: Novel

  2. Part 1 Background and Social Setting

  3. What is the social setting for our novel? Small town suburban New Zealand in the 1930s – 1960s. • Look carefully at the following 7 images of New Zealand from this period. • List what you ‘read’ in the photos of values, social conventions and lifestyle. (The images are more or less in chronological order: first women, then men. You can find them on the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand web site)

  4. Image 1

  5. Image 2

  6. Image 3

  7. Image 4 1956

  8. Image 5

  9. Image 6 1950s

  10. Image 7

  11. Leading into our novel …

  12. Q1. What shaped Gee’s vision as a writer? • In his work we often see facets of his own parents’ very different personalities and the Henderson of his childhood.(Wadesville (Henderson) is the setting for our novel.) • After gaining an M.A. in English literature and attending Teachers’ Training College in Auckland (1950-54), Gee taught in the small provincial town Paeroa, but … encouraged by the publication of a short story in the literary journal Landfall in 1955, he abandoned the classroom. • Even so, schoolteachers, ranging from the repressive to the inspirational, play important roles in some of his subsequent fiction. (Paul acts as a mentor to his student Celia in our novel).

  13. 2. What do his novels focus upon? • Themes include the tension between family members, violence as an unavoidable fact of life, social constraint and inner freedom.(Paul/ Andrew; Celia’s murder; The Mother/ the den/ Paul) • Gee's publication of "the trilogy". Plumb (1978), Meg (1981) and Sole Survivor (1983) provide a broadly conceived image of life in New Zealand over three generations, with Plumb widely considered one of New Zealand's finest novels. • Gee may be considered a ‘social historian’ for the insight his novels give into how New Zealanders have thought and behaved over the last fifty years.(Distrust of bachelor Paul/ books/ ‘vigilante’ mentality/ small town prejudices)

  14. 3.What has Gee shown us about ourselves through his writing? As a social realist, he has mapped New Zealand’s evolving social pattern from the semi-rural, provincial backwater of his childhood years to today’s cosmopolitan consumer society. (Paul’s ‘freer’ sexual morality, Celia’s longing to travel.)

  15. Part 2 Important aspects of the novel A- J

  16. The title A. What do we learn from the title?

  17. Signals to us that the den… was a special space – but separate/ isolated/ hiding from real world? link between father and son is important It was not his mother’s place den = connotations of comfort/ warmth/ security/ shelter novel will show us importance of this place to narrator's life It’s a significant memory – what is its impact on present? There is a literal den and a metaphysical (emotional/ spiritual) den. The title …

  18. Key elements of the Structure and Style.

  19. B. How is the novel organised? The novel is structured around a double narrative time scheme, running autobiographical past recollections and the narrative present action alongside each other. • 6 days in the ‘present’ (1969) - a kind of psychological crime thriller. • 5 flashbacks to past: covering the years from Paul’s childhood to the present. • A Prologue acts as a catalyst for Paul to look back into his past. • The Epilogue reveals how little Paul has changed and is very low key, in contrast to Prologue. Events unfold in a rising and falling action as tensions rise, Paul comes into conflict with himself and other characters, and turning points occur as the murder is investigated and Paul uncovers the truth. Foreshadowing is an important technique – the flashbacks signal important ‘clues’ to the present.

  20. C. What is the setting? Historical: 1928 – 1969+ Social: Wadesville; rural town, New Zealand; near Auckland; ‘closed’ community; families with strong religious and traditional moral values. Physical = fictional town: • as a pre-war rural backwater, and • as a semi-industrialised Auckland suburb.

  21. D. Who are the main characters? The novel centres on the intellectual friendshipbetween the schoolteacher Paul Prior and his pupil Celia Inverarity.

  22. E. What is the main point of view? First person ‘autobiographical’ narrative. Paul , the main character, ‘shows off’ in a witty way that he is an ‘intellectual’ but he also comes across as having a not-so-praiseworthy self-centred ‘I love myself because I’m so clever’ attitude. Paul’s narrative voice – the kind of man he has become - is a critical element in conveying important themes.

  23. F. What does Gee do with his characters? • Paul and other main characters e.g. Andrew, Celia, are emotionally complex and have distinct personalities - quite individualised. • They are searching for meaningand a sense of resolutionin their lives. • They have problems finding peace because of their own flaws and limitations. • Gee’s world is suffused with a sense of loss, disappointment and failure…it’s a tragedy for at least three people.

  24. G. What can we say about the style? • Carefully crafted parallel structure. • Carefully crafted first person narrative voice. • Formal, educated diction as well as blunt, colloquial New Zealand dialogue. Tonal variation. • Dialogue is a tool for ironic social comment and characterisation.

  25. H. How do we ‘read’ this novel 30 years after it was published?(Positioning of the reader) • A bit melodramatic – the subplot of Andrew and Penelope; the ending • Too much religious fervour acts as a form of oppression of the individual - Andrew, Mother • It was a dysfunctional family • It’s a story of secrets • It’s a coming-of-age story • New Zealand has changed and children have more ‘rights’ but we still have a sense of what is right and worry about our high violence statistics, especially young men and family violence.

  26. I. What are the main themes in the novel? • Control - the impact of repressive moral and religious values on children and the adults they become.Paul and Andrew, Jonathan, Celia. • The New Zealand male as a loner who rejects emotional intimacy as a sign of ‘weakness’.Paul. • How the past impacts on the present – in our attitudes, feelings, and behaviours.Paul, Andrew, Joyce. • New Zealand society and its Protestant ethics in the 1930s – 1960s.The ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to behave, Mother, Celia. • Letting go of the past, forgiveness.Paul, Andrew.

  27. J. What other New Zealand novels convey related themes? • Man Alone John Mulgan • The God Boy Ian Cross • Smith’s Dream C.K. Stead + stories such as A Good Boy by Frank Sargeson

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