Writing Australia: The Motif of Journey through the Prism of Cultural Anthropology

This MA thesis is focused on discovering the literary motif of journey in selected works defined by Australia. These works also share the interest in shaping Australian identity. A socio-historical background of colonisation and the first settlement in Australia is provided and the key terms of cultural anthropology are further elaborated on. The thesis depicts traditional Aboriginal culture and focuses especially on its earthbound philosophy. Special attention is paid to the differences among various literary approaches towards the subject matter, to the application of cultural anthropology findings, to the depiction of clashes between different cultures and possibilities of their reconciliation. Furthermore, the works of selected authors are closely characterised from the point of view of their degree of authenticity and the genre specifics. Various treatments of the literary motif of journey are compared and critically analysed. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org