Bruce Dawe

Texts entail that individuals belong to a society that shapes their beliefs, but it is the ability to move beyond social expectations that enable more intimate connections. Connections refer to the relationship or association between people or objects, allowing entities to be linked - and these bonds shape identity. Bruce Dawe’s “Enter Without So Much as Knocking”, Juan Solanas “L’Homme Sans Tete” and Vernon Ah Kee’s “Cant Chant” explore connections in relations to the context, beliefs, values and concerns of society in the time of the texts.
Texts show that individuals who are isolated or marginalized often wish to seek companionship and leave locations where they are secure to achieve bonds with others. This desire is represented in Enter Without So Much as Knocking, where what the protagonist “enjoyed most of all was when they went to the late show, on a clear naight and he could see (beyonf the fify-foot screen).” The protagonist longs for intimacy, where he leaves his mundane, corrupt psyche to depict a longing of intimacy rather than connotations of advertising, suggesting commercialism is an obstacle of connections. This is contrasted in the recurring motif of the number two in L’Homme Sans Tete, with the two tickets to the ball and the two “cookoos” of the clock, symbolizing the desire of companionship. The protagonist leaves his comfort zone to experience intimate relations, personified by the red handkerchief thrown out the window -which indicates disconnections- symbolising his decision to explore the outside world in order to experience intimate relations.
Texts utilize modern icons to verify that, in a context of commercialism, relationships are shaped by the media. This is evident in the representation of family life in Enter Without So Much as Knocking, where the persona is brought into a world of commodities seen in the accumulation of “one economy-size Mum, one Anthony Squires-Coolstream-Summerweight Dad, along with two other kids straight off...