Part 3 Question for The Secret River!
As I read this particular section of the novel, I was intrigued by the way class relations are dealt with. Specifically, I find it slightly disturbing that Will Thornhill, someone who has served his time on the island, would treat his "slaves" so poorly. I'm wondering why this is the case and what may be some reasons to why he keeps up this act in front of certain types of people.
Hi Catalina, I was also confused why Will would treat people who were in a similar position to him in the past so poorly especially because he disliked it so much. If I had to think of a reason, I would probably attribute this to his thirst for status. Will tries his hardest to reach the highest status he can, as can be seen by him abandoning everything for some land just because he can say that it is his. While Will does not appreciate the fact that people above his status treat him lowly, he understands why and it seems he agrees with the reasoning, as he treats Dan the same way.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly enough, I think that Thornhill's treatment of Dan and Ned are to be expected based on his life. I understand the sentiment that he had to endure classism in London and even in New South Wales and that therefore he should be sympathetic to it and therefore want to not perpetuate that kind of treatment. However, this is easier said than done. In a society where everyone's goal is to "get ahead" and "move up the ladder" it is likely that Thornhill sees his treatment of Dan and Ned as not unjust but instead his right. When he was a lower class citizen he was treated this way, now he has worked off his charges, became free and it is his turn to be the one ordering people around. He benefits from their labor and by not giving them breaks and treating them inhumanly he feels like he is finally becoming upper class which has been his goal from the start.
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