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Theme of Change in “Journey” by Patricia Grace

prepigcse 11th Aug 2019 Leave a comment

Q) Explain how grace represents the old man’s reflection of the past and the
present.

A) Patricia Grace’s “Journey” is a story about a man who contemplates the past
and present on his trip to the government official. Grace uses the old man’s
journey as a means for him to reminisce about the past, highlighting the disparity
between the past and the present and depicting the condemnation of the man
towards the contemporary world where he is impotent against the prejudiced
government.

The description of the man’s train ride is replete with references to the changes
made to the city. Grace mentions how “in the old days all you needed to do to get
on the station was to step over the train tracks”, whereas in the present the old
man has to pass through subways where people urinate blatantly. Then she
describes how the government has made changes to various terrains to
accommodate for urbanisation— there have been artificial landmasses laid down
near the edge of the sea where the old man used to get the native seafood pipis
from and they demolished a Maori graveyard to build a motorway. Furthermore
there are references to relentless deforestation by the government to make space
for houses when the writer says “couldn’t give life, only death” after saying
“couldn’t give the trees or hills a name and make them feel special and leave
them”. This multitude of instances where Grace makes the present an antithesis
of the past helps portray the old man’s plaintive remembrance of the past.

Patricia Grace uses these juxtaposed reflections of the past and the present to
depict the old man’s disapprobation towards these changes. This disapproval is
hinted when the old man makes repeated use of the phrase “funny people”
following every comparison to address the white folk, suggesting that he finds
their acts rather hysterical. Moreover, Grace makes use of anaphora when she
says “same old” in numerous instances to represent how the old man is reluctant
to change. The repetition of “same old” in his descriptions of his own
neighbourhood indicates that he associates uniformity with positivity, for he does
not disapprobate the butcher, post office, shop or taxi being the same as before.
Hence the contrast created between his own neighbourhood, where things are
left untouched and unchanged by the government, and the transmuted city
significantly emphasizes on the essence of nostalgia in the story.

The old man’s condemnation of the present-day society is accentuated through

his meeting with the government official. His patent vexation after his ideas were
rejected by the government official is depicted through “[he] wanted to swing a
heavy punch” and “he kicked the desk”. Additionally, he demands being
cremated instead of buried, signifying his cynicism and distrust towards the
government. This censure is integral in augmenting the sense of anamnesis as his
disapprobation stems from the fact that matters were substantially divergent in
the past; the government was not prejudiced and the Maoris had a voice, which
was not suppressed by the avaricious government.

Hence, grace institutes reflection of the past and present as a crucial component
of the story.

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