Romulus my father helpp. (1 Viewer)

[Jazy]

Hey, i was just wondering if anyone who has studied Romulus, my father has a quote bank or any close analysis tips i have no clue.

Thanks.

 

[Aerath]

Perhaps look in this forum? Concept: Belonging - Bored of Studies

 

[Kat92]

There's also a couple of websites on the internet as well. Just do a google search for romulus my father belonging or quotes:

http://secondary.cengage.com.au/cmn/sampleChapters/255/Belonging.pdf -- Quite a good link; this where I obtained most of my quotes used from as they have strong links back to the concept of belonging. You will probably use a similar material to this in class. You may find that Nelson Belonging also published work booklets on Romulus My Father with activities to broaden student's understanding.

HSC Online
-- You may also wish to take a look at this site as it gives a run-down of the module requirements.

Once you have your quotes built up and your thesis, you should be able to get an understanding of the different concepts of belonging, isolation and dislocation.

 

[Monsterman]

Focus on specific aspects of belonging in the text.. like how Romulus is an immigrant.. Does he belong to Australia? and if he does how does he gain this sense of belonging?
and if he doesnt what prevents him.. ect... Same as Raimond.. he builds a connection to the australian land and stuff right?

For the hsc.. i did a paragraph on a comparison of Raimond and Romulus.. belonging to the australian land.. and another on Romulus and Hora's friendship...

there are quite alot of things you can talk about..

 

[Kat92]

Focus on specific aspects of belonging in the text.. like how Romulus is an immigrant.. Does he belong to Australia? and if he does how does he gain this sense of belonging?
and if he doesnt what prevents him.. ect... Same as Raimond.. he builds a connection to the australian land and stuff right?

For the hsc.. i did a paragraph on a comparison of Raimond and Romulus.. belonging to the australian land.. and another on Romulus and Hora's friendship...

there are quite alot of things you can talk about..

Very true for Raimond, as he grows the memoir highlights his understanding of the multifaceted nature of belonging. However, not really for Romulus as he doesn't become accustomed to the land as he outlines himself as an "Aborigine" when he moves to Australia. The symbolism of "The lonely red gum delienated against a dark blue backdrop of a sky"; representative of his opression when juxtaposed to the European foliage of his native homeland.

 

[Jazy]

I'm just having a lot of trouble finding quotes with good analysis, my teacher says be prepared for every type of question i need like 5 key quotes for each theme or idea. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh supplementary text also epic fail. Have a feeling this is NOT going to be a good year.

 

[Kat92]

I'm just having a lot of trouble finding quotes with good analysis, my teacher says be prepared for every type of question i need like 5 key quotes for each theme or idea. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh supplementary text also epic fail. Have a feeling this is NOT going to be a good year.

The main themes are:

Displacement, Friendship, Father-Son Relationship and Madness.

To help build up analysis may I suggest doing up a table with two columns (headings in bold font).

Character Quote [About Christina] She seemed incapable of taking care of me...

What the quote tells you about the character and 'belonging" Raimond's impartial reflection on his mother's inability to adequately look after him shows his difficulty in feeling a sense of belonging with his mother. It also reflects the sensitivity he displays towards his mother and her mental illness.

Other examples to expand on may include:

[About Romulus’ reaction to Raimond’s Elvis Presley book] He tore up the book. How could I have written it?

[Romulus] “My son is everything to me.”

[About Hora] Hora believed himself to be a man with sufficient courage to die rather than betray his principles or other people.

[Mitru, about Christina]... she is very homesick and very uneasy when the boy is not with her.

[Romulus, about Mitru’s request for a divorce]... he did not ‘believe in divorce.’

[About Mitru’s suicide]... he believed that the judgment you passed was on yourself...

[About Romulus and Hora’s values] Character... was the central moral concept for my father and Hora.

[Romulus, about Christina after her death] ‘In my heart, I still loved her.’

[About Romulus’ insanity]... my father’s insanity cast its shadow over everything I did or thought.

[About Romulus paying fares for Lydia’s family]... it was inconceivable that he would go back on his word...


You may find more than that but it shows the main themes.

Imagery Quote... if the moon was out, the dead red gums looked ghostly in its light.
Technique/sVisual/landscape imagery. Descriptive language.
How the quote relates to ‘belonging’References to the ‘dead’ trees and their ‘ghostly’ appearance reflect the potential of the landscape to be fearful, haunting place. Although Raimond’s experiences are sad he has a great awareness of the beauty of landscape and this is what helps him to belong.

Others to possibly expand on may include:

Our life at Frogmore was Spartan, but I never felt that we were poor...


He was a passionate man and his madness was passionable.


[Romulus] spent most of his time in his vegetable garden, or ... caring for his animals.


[About Romulus, when Raimond rides on the motorbike with him] Most of all I remember his strong, bare, sun-darkened arms on either side of me as I sat on the petrol tank.



First-person narrative exampleJack behaved like no other bird I have seen. His loyalty to my father was intense.
Representation of ‘belonging’ and/or ‘not belonging’Raimond perceives Jack, the cockatoo, as a member of the family, who displays loyalty towards Romulus just as Raimond himself does.

Various other ideas for expansion:

We travelled everywhere by motorbike.

[About Hora, after Mitru’s death]... his face twisted in grief and with what I read as despair.

[About Christina, when she visits Raimond at school] I also felt resentful that she should come, just like that, unannounced.

In one way, my father was a fierce moralist.



Good luck, don't fret you have only just started English Advanced, it is a really good subject. Just make sure you know your quotes/textual details and the Modules well.

 

[d-alarmclock]

Here's a list of some madness quotes and incidents. We had to do a task in class with the themes Kat92 mentioned above. If someone can help deconstruct these, and relate them to belonging - that would be the bestest thing ever (for everybody).

• Pg 89 - [Hora to Mitru] "'How can you let yourself fall so low?' he demanded of Mitru. 'How can you let yourself be trampled down by such a characterless woman?'"

• Pg 91 - [about Christine] "That evening she told me the truth, and that she had spent the previous two nights sleeping at the foot of the tower, fighting the impulse to follow him."

• Pg 178 - [about Romulus] "He was out of touch with reality in a way that defied rational or factual correction, by himself or by others, and the intermittent realisation of that terrified him."

• Pg 178 - "there is no sickness worse than mental sickness."


• Mitru's madness - pg 87 "He beat her with his belt. It was a measure of my affection of him and his sense of desperation that I did not resent him for beating my mother."

• Pg 87 - "Mitru hit my father. Although my father was much stronger than Mitru, he did not return the blow. Mitru cried and apologised. He said he could stand my mother no longer, that he was 'at the end'."

• Pg 84 - Christine voices - "rather than accept that my mother was mad."

• Pg 137 - Romulus - attempt to kill Lydia and her husband

• Pg 128 - [about Romulus] "We followed him and this must have appeared threatening to him because he picked up an axe and swore that he would cut our heads off if we came closer."

 

[essayqueen]

PM me your email address and I can send you a sample of a set of teacher-written notes