Influences and experiences in The Secret River Anonymous 11th Grade

The concept of how a person’s view of themselves can be comprised up of many influences and experiences is effectively explored throughout Kate Grenville’s The Secret River. The broad range of experiences and influences that impact upon William Thornhill’s view of himself range from both his physical and emotional experiences as well as the influences of the people surrounding him, both his family and those he meets along the way.

Initially, in making the journey from London to Sydney, Thornhill was a recognized convict and criminal, which hindered his ability to gain the status in and recognition from society that he constantly craved. He faced a duality of alienation and acceptance from the society he lived in. However, after discovering the land of Thornhill’s point and establishing a life there, he came to a metaphorical self-realization that he had not only traveled a great physical distance from London to Sydney but had also essentially traveled even further as an individual. He no longer held the view of himself as the man who was ‘silenced’, convicted and sent away to Australia, but as the man who had embraced his situation and surpassed the little expectations people above him in society had placed upon him.

As...