Winton displays the importance and emphasises on it, brilliantly with the help of language techniques and conventions such as emotive language and characterisation. He does this many times but most importantly on page 18 with the text, “He was lonely sometimes but he liked being with his mother.” The quote tells us that Abel does in fact feel lonely but also loves spending valuable time with his mum, he loves her and her company dearly. This emphasises on the benefit of a strong family bond. Through the use of emotive language and inner thoughts, this technique makes us as readers feel for Abel, on his inner feelings of loneliness and also respect the mother and son’s family ties. It also makes us realise the importance and need of the theme which makes us want it in our individual lives. This is once again promoted on page 49, “Abel stopped at the peppermint tree his mother used as a kind of shrine to his dad.” This uses emotive language to help the audience feel and understand the feelings of Dora and her son through the mention of Abel’s late father. Winton also addresses the Jackson’s connection to the land through the use of the natural environment and it’s assets to commemorate their late family member someone whom they loved. This shows us how important it truly is to have strong bonds with our family members and environment as it dives …show more content…
Winton addresses many realistic problems occurring in the world throughout the story, he does this countless times accompanied by emotive language, similes and characterisation. For example, he indicates, on page 128, the way Dora learns about everything she knows. “She learned by staying put, by watching and listening. Feeling things. She didn't need a computer and two degrees.” This informs us as readers living in the technological world that is today that we don’t always need to have a laptop near us and that we can learn from respecting and listening to the environment and world around us just like Dora did, she learnt through the ocean and land, not a computer nor a college degree. It also tells us through the use of setting and characterisation that we learn the majority of our knowledge over time, not in a day. We learn about how Dora knows everything she does because she grew up by the bay, she belongs to the community of fisherman and divers, she respected the bay through having the patience that she does which builds her character in the novel. This is reversed, however, on page 87 of the book where we lean the damage caused when you don’t respect the environment. “It had a stainless steel meat hook in its jaw and swam like a ghost if itself.” This excerpt is shown through the use of language techniques, including emotive language and similes that the shark is depressed and close to