This book, entitled Prayer for the twenty- showtime ascorbic acid, is by illustrious Australian writer, John Marsden. It is an illustrated, poetic b completelyad, filled with similes and complex reappearances, write to send messages of intrust and warning intended for the race of this b ar-ass vitamin C, specially those that forget shape it (our children), ab start the lessons learnt from the by, the splendor of today, and the wonders of the early.
The vitrine of the text on the front coer, and by dint of bug erupt the book for that matter, is in an untidy scrawl that is both important - in that it is in a bold font and is a de partding colour (either forbidding or white) - and is informal, imperfect, personal and hu composition - in that it is passwritten. These aspects combine to constitute the bear witness-book personality of the book; that the text is actually p prowess of the art in the illustrations themselves, and that the devil gutter non be isolated on their ingest and singled out as optical or written text. This report is compensated throughout the book.
The front polish off of this book has a spray-patterned, olive-drab accentuate, which has calm connotations. The blue in any case serves the purpose of increase the salience of the bright orange panorama of the male child in front of it, because the insure contrasts violently with the mount, and reducing that of the fluffy special K derivations of scrawled writing that fade into the blue of the background (the writing in the background is some other example of where the line between ocular and written text is unclear). The boy is the clear focal allude of the foliate, and stands out from the rest of the cover, devising the lines of the song hardly marked in comparing. This is to touch the get that words, like those in the metrical composition, be not nearly as strong as actions - especially the actions of those who, like the child on the cover, will shape the twenty-first century.
The title knave has an earthy coloured, frond-patterned background with both hand prints surrounding the text of the title and authors name. These handprints feed aboriginal connotations, and depend to hold some sort of wisdom from past ages. These visual elements combine with the lines in the text to reveal the disposition of the poem; that this is not truly a prayer to a god, alone a com small-armd, request, and message of hope for this unoceansoned generation. It is a conclusion of wisdom from the past centuries, for this brand-new century, and a reminder to the newer generations to rally the lessons of the past.
may the road be free for the journey. These words make up the eldest line of the poem and introduce us to the first radical of the poem, that support mustiness be free. The motive of freedom world the primary(prenominal) message in this first line is emphatic by the word free in massive, lowercase font, placed directly preceding(prenominal) the line of the poem. This is a motif effective at sho offstage the main point of the page, and is repeated throughout the book (the main brain pull throughence emphasised by a large fronted keyword place in the background) which is effective in emphasizing the main idea in the text. The background is a gravel-brown colour, emphasising the comparison of intent to a quarter road, a free road, a road that could lead anywhere.
The run into on the left page continues this idea of an unknown future, by comparing life itself to a river, natural laws to banks, and the various(prenominal) as someone travelling along a river in a boat. In this stream of life, no one knows what is around the succeeding(a) bend, pull up that around one of them, eventually, is the sea (death). The furnish also continues the theme of abstract metaphors and symbolization, in that the get word is not really boats, vertical freehand take a shitings of them. However, whether life is a road or river, the point remains, it must be free.
The beside page has a very(prenominal) similar layout to the page before it; and indeed to both page in the book, with a line of text, a textured background, and a picture (sometimes more than one) upon a double page sp analyse. The text on this page, whitethorn it lead where it promised it would, makes the point that life must deliver the reward it offers. The blue in the background of the second page is associated with hope and promise, and this promising blue is once more used in the illustration. In the illustration, is a Queen, symbolising achiever and all of the glory that was promised to get it on with it. The theme of promised success and the associated rewards that come as a result is continued in the picture of the map - which appears to be from a time of discovery and conquest of new lands. The various scientific diagrams atomic number 18 there in order to make the point that there will be an answer to all of our questions if we work hard, further emphasising the idea of swither leading to the much deserved and promised success.
Upon the set of pages, two lines instead of one be written. These atomic number 18; May the stars that gave ancient bearings Be seen, still be understood. These lines urge pack to mobilise the knowledge of the past, and be able to understand it. The picture itself is easy to tangency to the line (it is a picture of stars) however, due to the accompaniment that it is make in the Aboriginal style, the pictures full nub toiletnot be understood, except by someone whom knows how to interpret and understand the ancient symbolism of Aboriginal art. This introduces the idea that, for the knowledge of the past to be in full realised, it must be understood.
The succeeding(a) page now returns to the idea of life as a journey, by calling the unmarried a traveller, introducing the opinion that life should be true(p) for all, and that the safe people must find those whom have been lost, and help those whom have been forgotten. It does this in the lines, May all(prenominal) aircraft fly safely, May every traveller be found, The concept of safety in life is emphasised by the colour of the background; a calm, soft green. In the illustration, the audience is placed in the point of count on of someone inside of a safe aircraft, who is looking out of the window. Directly outside of the window, the sky is a serene blue; precisely around the windows red, orange, and yellow - colours with danger connotations - edges, another scene forms. A lonely traveller, who could be anyone due to its enigmatical colour and unknown gender, stands lost and alone, unsafe and helpless upon the aircrafts wing; sur go by a muddied sky with the solely hope of help being from the person in the plane, who is the knockout of the picture. This calls upon the viewer, as a traveller of life safely within the walls of the aircraft, to help the lost person, to find the traveller; and puts the viewer in the spot wild, making the point that; if you wont, who will?Upon the next page, the two lines read; May straw hats in crossing the ocean Not insure the cries of the drowned. The same layout as before is used, except on this page, two pictures instead of one, argon used. The background is blue, which has links to tears (cries), tactile property blue, the ocean, and the uniform of a sailor. The first picture appears to be a symbolic representation of someone battling once once against lifes troubles (i.e. a sailor crossing the ocean), fish call from the sea as strong drink of the drowned, the dark sea thrashes and churns, while the yellow sky swirls above a down in the mouth boat riding the crest of a wave. In the next picture, one of lifes travellers has heard the cries of the drowned, and joined them. However, in the background of this picture, there is land, showing that even at the smite times, there is still hope. In both of these, the idea of the individual travelling the ocean or river of life, in a boat, is reintroduced. The main point made by the last two lines of this stanza, and their check illustrations, is that life has ups and downs, and not to succumb and relinquish ones self to despondency at ones lowest points, because, as was stated on the first page, is restated on this page, and is stated again on the last page, no one can know what the future holds.
May gardens be wild, like jungles, May nature never be tamed, are the first lines in the next stanza of the poem.
The pages have a yellow, earthy-brown, palm-frond-patterned background, which connotates nature and jungles. The picture, with its complete absence of straight lines, and blurred movement, makes the point that nature is never rigid and constrained, only free to do some(prenominal) it wishes. This point is reinforced in the bank less waterfalls, and the rounded cliff faces. The people in the picture exist to draw attention to the relationship between nature and people, and says that the people of the twenty-first century, like those in the picture whom are neither move to disrupt or control nature, must harmoniously co-exist with it nature, and not try to tame it, but to acknowledge its freedom, and grasp the fact that nature is not for humankind to control, but is untameable, it is wild and free.
May dangers create of us heroes, reads the next line. The background of this page is a splattered, cameo green, which, along with the mateship displayed in the picture, connotates war. However not all heroes are born of violence, as is shown in the midshot (inviting the viewer into the scene) picture of a boy jumping off the top of a haystack, and his friends jolly him on. The black and white photography, setting, and attire of the people in the picture appear to be from an old time, a time of simpleton values, and simple heroics. At first glance, it appears that the boy in the picture is a hero because he did something that was dangerous, but this is not the case. He is a hero because he made people intelligent by facing the danger. This goes on to show the true meaning of the line. That we must evermore have people that go out of their way, or face danger, to help others whom are in need. The boy symbolises that anyone can be a hero. That anyone, and everyone, must help those in need.
May fears incessantly have names reads the next line of the poem. The keyword in the background (fear) is hidden among tendrils of paint, first introducing the concept that, even though the name of the fear may be hidden, it always exists, fears always have names. The illustration is dark, with soft, runny brushstrokes that depend to obscure true meaning. At first, it appears to be a picture of fears, peeping between the trunks and branches of trees, but upon pixilatedr inspection, it is revealed that the fears are not fears at all, but people, experiencing that which we fear. The people in the picture are in agony, some cry at the side of a dead loved one, others just cry out in pure pain. Then, last(a)ly, the viewer notices a horseman in between the trees and realises two things. The first is the reference to the Myall Creek Massacre and the next was that the fears were created by people, the fears have names, and their name is the evil of humankind. It asks us to think back our evil, and asks the people of this new century not to repeat the evils past committed, or else, like the symbolic dove upon the pictures left, peace will flee the world.
The next page, and its two lines, May the mountains stand to remind us Of what it meat to be young, now berate about the impermanence of juvenility, and the importance of the wise. There are again two pictures. In the first picture - a faithful lined photograph - great mountains, symbolizing the vast importance, knowledge, wisdom and experience of the old, stand in the background with rays of light dropping upon them; while in the foreground, a vast plane of rocks, younger, little versions of the mountains that dwarf them in comparison, stand to show the true importance of the memories of the old, in comparison to the inexperience of the young. The second picture is a soft lined painting (symbolizing the impermanence of being young) of two youths embracing and in love. They are shown next to a shell, which puts them on a symbolic scale. It makes the point that, if these two youths are dwarfed by a shell, and a shell will be dwarfed by a rock, such as those seen in the picture on the opposite page, how tiny they are, how fleeting their time as youth if they are to sustain into the giant mountains, how petty their memories and experiences in comparison to the mountains. It is through this symbolic scale that the illustrations remind us of what it means to be young.
The final lines of this stanza reads; May we be outlived by our daughters, May we be outlived by our sons. This line is different from the rest of the poem in that its meaning is transparent and obvious, and that this line is actually a prayer for the long and happy lives of our children. The pictures add to the text, in that they are pictures of people from different ethnic groups, and that they join united at the edge of each picture, showing that it refers to the entire people of the 21st century, they are not our children in a literal sense, but are the children of humanity. It prays that, even though there will be hardships in life, as is mentioned many times before and is symbolised by the black and white colour scheme of the older children, the new generation, as with the generations before them, must live through them, and continue - as is symbolised in yellow colour of the background of the page - to shine on like the sun, outliving those before us.
Historys importance is again brought up in the final stanza, with the opening line being: May the bombs rust away in the bunkers, May the eschaton clock not be rewound, The lines ask the new century not to use mankinds evil, even though they do and always will exist; they then ask humanity not to repeat past mistakes, even though we will always have the potential difference to. The background is patterned by gears, and the emphasised keyword this time is rewound, displaying that the main idea of these lines is to make the point that we must never repeat our past mistakes. The gears are also straggle of the doomsday clock, which is simply referring to time and chronicle itself. The picture shows text from what appears to be newspaper articles, which refer to injustices throughout history to the indigenous peoples of Australia, which hold some of the greatest evils of this countrys history. The many pictures at the top of the image show the faces of the many sufferers of evil, from a small child, to a grown man. The theme of war is again brought up with the word bombs in the first line, and the image of a man from Picassos Guernica, a painting about the suffering of innocents as bombs dropped on their city. For many people, that day was their doomsday. It once again brings up the issue that humankind itself is what causes people the most pain and suffering. Overall, the pages ask the people of the 21st century never to use humankinds evil again.
The next page continues the theme of war, with a reference to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War. The line reads May the solitary scientist working, take to be the holes in the ground and the single, hand drawn illustration, is of a large and powerful solitary scientist in his own solitary world, admiring and overawed of his solitary discovery; while behind him his discoveries explode over a desolate plain on which the only survivors are a small, helpless man and woman, silhouetted against the bleak white light thrown across a vast landscape, and upon them from evil inventions that exist to destroy. It asks the people that will shape this new century to remember that every single action has consequences, and that knowledge can just as easily be used for the evil of bombs, as it can be used for the good of curing cancer. It tells people to look into the past, in order to shape the new centurys future for the better.
May the knife remain in the holder, May the biff stay in the gasoline, These penultimate lines continue the theme uttered in the first stanza, that even though we have the potential and the means to carry out evil, the people of the 21st Century must never do so. The page is extremely straightforward in relation to the pictures - the bullet is being put into the gun and must remain there and the skeleton has been skinned with a knife - however, in the skeleton picture, the body is made up of many different cut up body parts, making the new point that we should not use evil upon anyone, indiscriminating of who they are, or what they believe in.
The final lines of this prayer are as follows: May those that live in the shadows Be seen by those in the sun. Upon the pages surrounding these lines, are two pictures, one of footsteps on a beach with a mans shadow crossing their passage; the other of a silhouetted man running along a beach with a beam of sunlight floating on the waves of the sea. Both pictures are in black and white, emphasising the ideas of shadows and sun. The blue background is the same textured blue as at the very first page of the poem, and is sea-spray like in appearance. The theme of these final two pages, is very simple, to help others, and this idea can be seen throughout the illustrations. The picture of the footprints, reminds of the Christian story of how Jesus carried the man over the sand, and through lifes shadows. This makes the point that, sometimes, others need to be carried through hard times. The shadow crossing the path of the footsteps represents a dark time in the life of the person that made them but this shadowed part is only a mere fraction of the whole, a symbolic representation that life does have thick darkness, but for the most part, it is light.
The next picture across, the one of the runner, continues this idea; and also adds to it. This time, the sea is used s a metaphor for life, and, as first mentioned on the page about sailors, the sea can be in many states. The repetition of the motif of both light and shadows making up life is displayed on the surface of the sea, where the thick beam of light shines and glistens, while at the edges, shadows and darkness can be seen. However, and again, there is more light in the picture than there is shadow. The illustration of the silhouetted man running along the beach, making his own path in the sand, appears - at first glance - to show that he himself is in a shadowed stage in life. However, on close inspection something appears to be in his arms, if you look very closely, you can see that he is carrying something. This man is not the Christian messiah; this man is an ordinary person, showing simple, yet powerful heroics as mentioned earlier in this book. He further demonstrates that we all can be heroes, even without obvious physical dangers, just by helping someone. This final line is a hope. It is a hope that maybe, just maybe, in the 21st Century; we can all stand and walk together, in the light of the future.
This simple yet honest poem of hope and fear effectively reached out to, and appealed to me, the target audience and a child of the 21st Century. It was mysterious and complex in some places, yet simple luxuriant to be understood by the intended reader. It is a thought stimulating read to be understood more and more with wisdom and experience. Now it is just a question, first comprise in the photograph of the boy on the front cover - one side of his face in darkness, the other in light - as to whether this generation of young rocks will grow up, remember the past, not repeat its mistakes, and one day be tall mountains. Then we will write a new prayer, for a new century.
By George Harris.
Bibliography:http://www.johnmarsden.com.au/home.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marsden_(writer)http://www.judyoz.com/ccp0-display/john-marsden-books-tomorrow-ellie-novels-australian-fiction.htmlhttp://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/john-marsden/
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