I disagree with dani_danoz. I did Journey to the Interior with Away and I was averaging 14/15 for my Area of Study essays just before the HSC. Several of my classmates did too and we all ended up with Band 6's for Advanced English....
Here is a sample extract from one of my essays about Journey to the Interior and Away:
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In Journey to the Interior by Margaret Atwood, the protagonist ‘I’ makes a journey to from the exterior to the inner depths of the mind. Such a journey is often ridden with turmoil but ultimately leaves the traveller with a better understanding of self. Atwood’s poetry belongs to the confessional school of poetry, which deals with taboo subjects such as abortion and mental institutions - things which wrenched the human mind to a difficult emotional stage. The exploration of such issues can often bring to the surface horrible memories with inevitable pain, yet will ultimately give the traveller a sense of closure and of peace just as the characters in Away must endure the storm or tempest before experiencing peace.
The erratic rhythm of Atwood’s poem symbolises the bumpy and gruelling road into the mind: “the travel is not easy going”. The lack of rhythm to Atwood’s lines and non linear shape of her structure with the use of indents indicates the jagged nature of this particular voyage.
Atwood’s internal world is paralleled by the external world, with references to swamps and cliffs. This is a rugged terrain, painful at times to travel but all to do with light and dark where there are “no destinations apart from this”. Atwood’s reference to the natural world is a direct parallel to Away in which the natural world allows the characters to reveal their true selves and be healed just as the journey into the mind is a natural trip, like the arduous terrain of the country.
The journey into the mind is often unclear and difficult to navigate: “A compass is useless” and “the lack of reliable charts”. It is a road not travelled previously, just like the road which has never before been taken by Meg’s family to the beach. It turns out that that is a road to paradise and here there is a slight optimism that this passage can be ended safely for “some have returned safely”. However, as in Away, not all do. Tom has been able to save the others from their pain and heal them but ultimately cannot save himself.
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And the essay that I wrote just before the HSC:
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Journey to the Interior by Margaret Atwood is very effective in its portrayal of the processes and results of a journey. The journey is undertaken by “I” into the depths of the mind, with parallel allusions to an external physical landscape of cliffs, prairies and swamps, indicating a harsh and rugged landscape full of potential obstacles to be overcome. This journey is one which is deceptive, again, with parallels drawn to the exterior landscape “hills that the eye make flat as a wall.” This reference to the natural world corresponds with the natural world in Away which provides a reference point and a sanctuary for those on the journey.
The unnamed protagonist without a face, an age, a gender or a nationality indicates a universality of this particular journey for everyone to undertake into the mind. “There are no other destinations apart from this” suggests that Atwood is commenting on the inevitability of this journey of self examination, with its arduous process and a result which is arbitrary. The poems erratic rhythm suggests a rough and unclear pattern in the journey into the mind.
Reference to the “lack of unreliable charts” has a dual symbolism in that the way into the inner depths of the mind is murky but that also this particular journey has a different form for each individual. It suggests that the roads which travellers do not often travel can lead to more favourable results, such as the insistence of Meg to travel down the unknown road in Away which leads her family to Tom’s beach and a healing. “I” know that “It is easier for me to lose my way here than in other landscapes.” Yet the finality in the tone of this poem suggests that this journey is one which is inevitable. The poem states that “some have returned safely” but like in Away, not all do. Coral and Roy’s son never returned from being sent away and Tom has been able to heal the others from their pain, but ultimately cannot save himself. This is the sad and inevitable result of his journey.
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I have my friends essay's too, which have more ideas and information, but as I don't have permission to publish them I won't do that. If you want more information PM me.
Hope it helped. Best of luck for your HSC.
