Free walkabout Essays and Papers - 123HelpMe.
Walkabout, by James Vance Marshall. Reviewed By Anisse Gross. May 21st, 2012 “It was silent and dark, and the children were afraid.” This the opening line of James Vance Marshall’s Walkabout, but isn’t it also the first line of all of our lives? Walkabout, first published in 1959, is a petite book with a classic premise: two white children from Charleston, South Carolina are traveling.
Walkabout by James Marshall Vance is a captivating story about two American children who become stranded in the Australian Outback and then are rescued by an Aboriginal boy. Inevitably, their cultures, beliefs and values clash which ultimately brings tragic consequences for the Aboriginal boy. I taught this novel study unit in a grade 9 applied English class. The theme of survival in the novel.
WALKABOUT is a 1971 film adapted from the 1959 novel by James Vance Marshall. It tells the story of a schoolgirl and her younger brother, who are left stranded in the Australian outback after their father commits suicide. They then encounter an Aborigine boy who shows them how to survive. The film was originally classified 'AA' uncut for cinema release in 1971 (meaning no admission to persons.
James Vance Marshall is the pseudonym of Donald Payne (b. 1924). Only half a dozen Marshall novels have appeared in the last fifty years but they have sold several million copies and been translated into seventeen languages. Two, including Walkabout, have been made into films. Walkabout is a work of collaboration between Donald Payne and the Australian James Vance Marshall (1887-1964.
In fact, the script, penned by British playwright Edward Bond (loosely adapted from the novel by James Vance Marshall), apparently only consisted of fourteen pages. This doesn't matter, though, since Roeg constructs his narrative mostly through captivating imagery. At its most basic level, 'Walkabout' is a film filled with stunning photography of breathtaking vistas and extraordinary wildlife.
Walkabout is written by Edward Bond (one of the writers on Antonioni's Blow-Up), adapting a novel by James Vance Marshall. The final film is an odd mixture of travelogue, coming-of-age story, and strung-out post-60s psychedelia. Stylistically, it comes off as a bit of a mess. Roeg engages in showy aesthetic shifts (still photographs, a turning-page graphic, etc.), and the story is peppered.
Nicholas Roeg's (1971) film, drawn from James Vance Marshall's (1964) book 'The Children' is set in the desert or 'outback' of Australia sometime during the fifties. It's a powerful and disquieting film which confronts the situation of two city children (Jenny Agutter and Luc Roeg) who are orphaned and stranded in a remote and inhospitable area by their father's suicide.