What happens to the boy in Walkabout?

What happens to the boy in Walkabout?

In Marshall’s novel, the Aboriginal boy is a Christ-figure, at once self-sacrificing and doomed. His death is attributed to an immune system insufficiently prepared for Western illnesses and a spirit ill-prepared for Western insecurities.

Why does the Aboriginal dies in Walkabout?

He had long planned to make a film of the novel Walkabout, in which the children are Americans stranded by a plane crash. After the indigenous boy finds and leads them to safety, he dies of influenza contracted from them, as he has not been immunised.

Where is the book Walkabout set?

Northern Territory of Australia
A plane crashes in the vast Northern Territory of Australia, and the only survivors are two children from Charleston, South Carolina, on their way to visit their uncle in Adelaide. Mary and her younger brother Peter set out on foot, lost in the vast, hot Australian outback.

What happens on a Walkabout?

A walkabout is their rite of passage during which indigenous males undergo a journey during adolescence. This journey meant a person would live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditional transition into manhood.

Is the term Walkabout offensive?

‘Walkabout’ for many Aboriginal people is a contentious word and considered an archaic colonial term. Its use by non-Aboriginal people is considered inappropriate.

What is the purpose of a walkabout?

Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditional transition into manhood.

Is the term walkabout offensive?

When was Mutant Message Down Under published?

1990
Mutant Message Down Under/Originally published

What is the theme of walkabout?

In this lesson, we will explore themes of racism, culture clash, survival, ritual, and the intersections of civilization and savagery in Payne/Marshall’s novel Walkabout.

Is walkabout still a thing?

They lived off the land for as long as six months, undergoing a spiritual transition into manhood. Today, an Australian walkabout generally refers to a temporary return to traditional Aboriginal life in the bush. For visitors, there is no better way to discover the real Australia than on an Australian walkabout.

Who are the main characters in Walkabout by James Vance Marshall?

The story starts out with two white, Christian kids from the modern world, Mary (age 13) and Peter (age 8) plane crashed in an Australian desert. There, they meet an Aboriginal boy, known as bush boy frequently throughout the book.

Who is the author of the book Walkabout?

Lesson Summary. British author Donald Gordon Payne wrote Walkabout in 1959 under the pen name James Vance Marshall. The young adult novel follows the journey of survival of two American siblings, Mary and Peter, stranded in the Australian Outback.

How did Mary and Peter get saved in Walkabout?

Mary and her younger brother Peter set out on foot, lost in the vast, hot Australian outback. They are saved by a chance meeting with an Aboriginal boy on walkabout, who teaches them to find food A plane crashes in the vast Northern Territory of Australia,

What are the themes in the book Walkabout?

Though on the surface Walkabout is an adventure story, darker themes lie just beneath. Peter’s innocent friendship with the Aboriginal throws into relief Mary’s no longer childish anxiety, and together raise questions about how Aboriginal and Western culture can meet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oztoYEI8HWA