Teachers Notes for The House on River Terrace
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A Novel for Young Adult by James Moloney
Shortlisted for CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers 1996 The House on
River Terrace is
set in As well as being a wonderful story in its own right, The House on River Terrace would lend itself well to an integrated unit study in English and SOSE. ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
James now writes full-time and has written over twenty books
for children and Young Adults. His first novel, Crossfire was listed
as a Notable Book in the CBCA awards in 1993.
His short novel
Swashbuckler won the Children's Book Council of Australia
Book of the Year Award in 1996 and in the following year, A
Bridge to Wiseman's Cove was named Book of
the Year in the CBCA's Older Readers category. His other titles have
appeared regularly on shortlists for literary prizes and children's
choice awards ever since. James
says: 'I like to get inside the
head of today's adolescents, to connect with the passion they have
for life and understand what they care about. The challenge then is
to express it in a story. That challenge keeps me young. I love
it.' Themes There are a number of significant themes in this novel that could be examined. These include:
convict history the Early settlement of
WWII contemporary society Father/son
relationships Ben and his father have a somewhat strained relationship. Make a
list of the issues they clash over during the course of the
novel. An unfamiliar
dread lurched into his stomach as he realized that he didn’t trust
his father with Maeve’s precious story.
(p40) In what
ways would Ben not ‘trust’ his father with the
story? What do
you think causes these differences of opinion? Are they
fundamentally different people?
Ben’s
mother appears to be a much softer person than Rob Fielding. Why do
you think the family’s life is so influenced by his father? Is this
a typical family dynamic even
today? Throughout Ben’s family history there are
stories of fathers and sons whose attitudes differed from each
other. Why do you think this happens? Is the generation gap to blame
for these differing
attitudes? Inhibition vs freedom of
expression Ben is impressed by Jess’s art. He wished he could draw with such freedom (p82) When he finally lets himself go he draws a wonderful portrait of Jess on the walls of the gazebo. (p100) How
does Jess manage to draw the artist out of Ben? What values does she
teach him? How
would Rob Fielding react to this
behaviour? Ben is not the only family member whose emotions and self-expression is stifled. Rob Fielding
had trained his face to snap easily into the smile of a politician,
which could be switched off just as quickly as it appeared.
(p6) In what
ways could Rob Fielding be seen to be a ‘typical’
politician? When Ms Daley
was around his father began to change, to harden, to cool
(p18) Do you
think that there is a difference between Rob Fielding the man and
Rob Fielding the politician? Do you think that Rob’s personal
beliefs and behaviours are inhibited by his social status? List any
evidence you find of this in the
novel. Why do
you think Gwendolan House may have ‘spoken’ to Ben in a way that it
never would to Rob
Fielding? Personal vs social responsibilities and
goals Archie Fielding
teaches his son, Michael, that people should always come first,
not nations, not empires, nor even a family’s business. Don’t be
afraid to stand firm, Mick, even if it’s your own family at fault.
There were times when I knew in my soul that we Fieldings were wrong
in what we were doing….Remember, Mick. It’s people. It’s people that
matter. (p111) How
does Archie change over the years from a young man to a
father? What
factors in his life may have contributed to this
change? In what
ways does Rob Fielding neglect to put people
first? Rob Fielding
was campaigning against Street kids – they’re a menace and the
government is mishandling the whole situation.
(p38) Why
would Rob Fielding see street kids as nothing more than a menace
that needed to be removed from society? From this statement in what
way do you think he would believe the government is mishandling the
situation? Rob Fielding tells the street kids to go home, asking them “What about your parents?” Ben relates to
Archie’s uncertainty and browbeating, his loneliness and
isolation. (p74) The same
personal characteristics are mirrored through all generations of
Joseph Fielding’s family. Make a list of the socially
sympathetic and unsympathetic characters in the Fielding family. Are
there any specific factors in their lives that cause these
characters to have these
attitudes? Ben is hesitant
to appear on the current affairs program as he knows it will be bad
for his father. Do you think there is some level on which
Rob Fielding would actually have approved of Ben agreeing to speak
up for the street kids? The
power of the media There is no doubt that the media today can have a very significant impact upon our society. Much of what we know, or believe we know about the world, we know bacuase of what we read and hear about through the media. A number of indications are given throughout the novel about the ways in which the media can and does distort the facts.
Why do
Ben and his father feel so differently about the
documentary? What do
these comments suggest about the accuracy of much of what we see in
the media? What things may affect the accuracy of the
content? Can you
think of any examples of the ‘sanitising’ of
history? Social
history studies a) convict
history When the research into the Fielding family is first undertaken, Rob Fielding remarks that a link to the convicts would be a real bonus. (p9) It is only since the bicentenary in 1988 that it has become fashionable to be able to prove convict ancestry. What brought about this change? Joseph says to Maeve, This place is growing quickly and I will grow with it. You should stay too. There’s more opportunity here for the likes of us. (p28) Consider the plight of the convicts. What
opportunities were there in colonial b) the Early
settlement of Using local and State libraries, the students could be taught research skills such as how to gather and interpret primary sources. Research the
key historic events referred to throughout Archie Fielding’s
diaries. eg What happened in 1866 that Archie referred to as
The Great Disaster? Compare
Research a prominent c) the
Aborigines The house
wouldn’t have been built if the Aborigines hadn’t helped to bring in
the timber. And they were cheated. Poisoned. Even Archie knew it was
happening but he wouldn’t stop it.
(p78) Research the role played by the Aborigines in
the early settlement. Was
Archie justified in not doing anything to stop the Aborigines being
given the bad home
brew? In what
ways do we see this same attitude reflected in our treatment of
Aborigines today? In what
way is Archie and Albert’s attitude to the Aborigines mirrored by
Ben and Rob’s attitude to street
kids? d)
WWII After the Second
World War, Research the situation in Research Prisoner of War
Camps. Why
could Bill Fielding and Elena understand each other so well? In what
ways would their experiences have been similar?
Further
reading: Shaun Tan’s picture book The Arrival is
a powerful portrayal of the migrant
experience. g) contemporary
society How are
street kids perceived by the general public? Conduct a survey in
your local community regarding people’s attitudes towards street
kids and what should be done to solve ‘the
problem’. Create
a time capsule for people to discover in 200 years. What are the
important aspects of our society that you would want to
include? Many people
today argue that Click for Home Page Welcome to James Moloney's Home Page |
