Patrick White - Down At The Dump Essays - Adaminaby, Patrick White

Patrick White - Down At The Dump Patrick White 'Down at the Dump' Patrick White, most noted for his longer works of fiction, exemplifies his craft of storytelling in his short story 'Down at the Dump'. White has dramatized an event in life, such as a funeral, and given us a very believable insight into our own culture. Some readers will take offence to such a raw and truthful portrait, while others will find humor and hope in the same story. White is a writer who crafts a story with such intensity, that at times it slaps you in the face with the truthful, dirty, honest depiction of his characters. All of whom we can see something, if not the smallest little detail of our selves in them. 'Down at the Dump' counterpoints two families, and their journeys on an afternoon. One of the families is off to the funeral of Mrs. Hogben's sister Daise. The other family the Whalley's, off to the Sarsaparilla dump, for busness and pleasure 'I thought the beer was an excuse for comin'.' (Isba pg.8) 'Down at the Dump' is also a modern day Australian Romeo & Juliet, the forbidden love between Lummy Whalley and Meg Hogben. Both it seems are destined for more then what is expected of them. The story is also a comment on the staid middle-class lifestyle, the petty bourgeois existence of the suburbs. The story is also a comment on the sexually non-conformist such as daise's character represents, more about this later. The story is also a comment on standards, principals, morality, values and judgmental and discriminatory behavior. White pays attention to the dirty, honest characteristics of human beings, Her eyes were that blazing blue, her skin that of a brown peach. But whenever she smiled, something would happen, her mouth opening on watery sockets and the jags of brown, rotting stumps. (pg.1) This serves to give the readers a deeper understanding of the characters right down to the bone. This typical descriptive passage is common in white's writing. It cuts to the core of the character, shedding light on a side rarely taken by an author. A gritty and honest sense of reality is achieved. Down at the Dump is a story revolving around binary oppositions, a set of contrasts. The two main families, 'The Hogben's and Whalley's' are the two main constructs of White's direct opposition. This opposition is nowhere more visible then in white's use of language when giving his characters a voice. Whites characters speak from the heart. Their own use of language reflects directly their class and education. For example - the Whalley's speak from the heart, with a distinctly working-class accent. Ere!?waddaya make me out ter be? A lump of wood. (Isba pg.1) We get a sense very early in the story, by the way the Whalley's speak, a direct reflection of their socio-economic background. White's use of language when describing the Whalley's is derogatory and intentionly off putting. This is contrasted in direct opposition to the Hogben's. Who are described through their slightly more capable use of the English language. This helps enforce them as being worth more in a snobby middle-class way. This direct opposition is again contrasted to another level. For although White uses harsh, dirty, honest language when describing the Whalley's, we cannot help but feel empathy with them for their honesty. The Whalley's seem truthfully real and direct people, yet crass and crude on the outside. This is the opposite for the Hogben's. The Hogben's use of speech is much more educated. Although they are described with nice, fluffy, sensitive language, I am filled with contempt for them. Meg being the exception she is one of white's poetic seers; someone who is destined for more. The domestic abodes of the two families are also a symbolic representative of their different socio-economic position and different way of life. Our story takes its journey to the funeral and the dump respectively where towards the end of the funeral serves daise rises from the grave to relinquish her thoughts and feelings. It is about here in the story that the passage I will be discussing indepth occurs. It is through Daise Morrow that Patrick white chooses to make social commentry through his authorial