Part 3- AOS: DISCOVERY

You will be asked to respond to a question related to the AOS: Discovery. In your response you
will be required to make reference to the text studied and at least two related supplementary texts.
This is an extended written response. It may be an essay or another form of writing such as a
speech.

Set text: WRACK

LINK: overall message- the purpose of discovery is to find the truth and yet this is
not possible. The nature of what may be discovered is uncertain. The ultimate
discovery proves to be an absence of certainty or absolute truth. There is no ultimate
discovery, only personal responses and perceptions of the moments that take place in
the continuum between life and death.
Discovery highlights the physical risks, the mystery and the uncertainty involved
in any journey of exploration.
The combination of a variety of narrative voices in WRACK ensures that readers are
aware that this text has been deliberately constructed with a certain purpose in mind.
The amalgamation of historical, reflective and creative prose ensures that the novels
structure mirrors the overall thematic concern with the unknowable nature of truth and
discovery.
By adopting this structural technique, Bradley attempts to avoid producing a text with
one dominant point of view.

Non linear, kaleidoscopic narrative.

No one unified voice (reflects idea of no ONE truth)
Structural technique established in prologue and maintained throughout novel.

Concepts of discovery/ commentary

Discovery involves risks and overcoming fears, and the possibility that what
you discover may not be what you were searching for in the first place.
Bradley toys with the themes of reliability and authenticity of historical fact
and historical documentation. He encourages the reader to believe that the
event did indeed take place and that official documents should be no more
reliable than storytelling. Authentic documents should be under scrutiny.
Nothing is certain, but everything is possible
Theme: time can distort fine line between fact and fiction
Australias past used by Bradley to comment on discovery. Not all discoveries
are intended whilst others can be designed or deliberately sought after
Discoveries can be falsified. History recognizes that false discoveries were
used to deceive and that maps can be unreliable.
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 Some discoveries are hidden kept secret and are ultimately lost in the
past.
Pg 44-50
David is searching for meaning and he wants these mysteries solved. He is
literally and symbolically driving through darkness in search for answers.
Themes of uncertainty, loss and discovery : Impossible to discover what
another person is really thinking about
Some things are buried, not dead
Truth is relative to the individual
David will get caught up in Kurts testimony partly because he wants to
believe what he hears and partly because it will answer in many ways give
meaning to his existence.
The uncovering farm machinery instead of the ship and lack of concern by
police to identify the dead body is a small significant comment on the fact that
some discoveries can be disappointing and worthless. The desire to discover,
to find, can end in disappointment.
David no longer cares if his search has become an obsession, if there is no
conclusive evidence, all he needs is faith, a belief that it exists. David does
not allow reason and evidence to become barrier to discovery.
David is haunted by Tanias ghost and again Bradley shows how the past is
ever present in future
Tanias scent has been tattooed to Davids skin. Davids past is not buried; it is
still close to his emotional surface and is overshadowing his life.
His need for the ship is a way of dealing with the force of his grief
Pg 86-96
The path to discovery can be unclear and complicated. Davids search has
become a labyrinth (web) of mirror, a tangle of snaking lines and maps,
scraps of evidence and David is like a blinding man trying to find his way.
Discovery benefits knowledge and understand, but also allows us to navigate
the future to see beyond our passions
Discoveries in WRACK:
Possible discovery of Aust. By Portuguese
Kurts possible discovery of shipwreck
Davids discovery of Kurt and his story
Davids rediscovery of Claire
Kurts discovery of Fraser and Veronicas relationship
Frasers discovery of Kurt and Veronicas relationship
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Claires self discovery

Kurts discovery of music
Veronicas self discovery and realization of her love for Kurt.

Techniques:
The significance of the ship is buried somewhere in the sand dunes becomes a
metaphor throughout the narratives for the shifting and uncertain nature of
both historical and personal truth.
Discoveries- inconclusive and simply more pieces in a puzzle which [he] can
never complete
The motif of discovery is extended beyond the search for a Portuguese wreck,
but for characters like David and Kurt, the ship becomes an obsession to
give their life shape and meaning.
David uses his search for the ship as a way of subliminating his grief for
Tania (dead wife), while Kurt has the memory of the ship as a place of
refuge and shelter.
The shipwreck becomes a metaphor for the wreck of peoples lives and
how relationships can become obsessive and damaging
The structure of Kurts narrative suggests that David is avoiding everything
Pg 211 by hearing what he wants to hear and reconstructing Kurts narrative to
suit his purposes.
The imagery of cutting, bleaching and slicing suggests the often brutal
and painful process that needs to be undertaken to isolate truth.
Bradley uses the metaphor of a mirror to describe the sand as it will indeed
become a mirror into which the characters must look, not only in an attempt to
uncover the mystery of the ship but also the mystery of themselves
Structure: novel blurs the distinction between the two by juxtaposing the past
and present, history and fiction.
Pg 9-11
Shifting sands- metaphor of truth
Truth, like sand, cannot be pinned down and conclusively mapped.
The waves flow- symbol of overlapping and interconnected nature of past
and present.
The word echoes- impact of past on present and future
All discoveries pointless? What is the role of the author if there is nothing to
expose, nothing to find?

 Linked to the idea that there is no one answer to find- no conclusion.

Narrative often prefaced with might, perhaps, may
Images of the heat of the sun and the intensity of the light glaring from every
angle can be seen symbolic of Davids state of mind, as he wants to uncover
what lies beneath the surface.
The language: shifting uncertain reinforces the novels preoccupation with
lack of absolute truth and the constant process of discovery that characterizes
peoples lives.
Maps as a metaphor for what the novel is about
Maps symbolic of the novels structure. A combination of different narrative
voices, like a combination of different maps, may enrich our understanding of
a particular event or place.
Pg 189
The moonlight only partly reveals Claires figure. Despite their physical
intimacy, David is till unsure of what Claire is thinking and felling. The
emotional and psychological life of the individual is another frontier to be
explored.
Everything in the novel is shrouded in half light, secrets and suspicion.
Glossary
Chimerical: unreal and fanciful
Demarcation: limit or boundary
Charlatan: A person who falsely claims to have special knowledge or skills
Shrouded: masked, cloaked, covered.
Useful quotes
William Townsend: This discovery of ours must remain a secret, locked close as this
journal pg 6
James Bradley: or maybe the truth is not what lies beneath the sand but the sand
itself, always shifting, never certain, so that once we cut away that which we cannot
be sure of we are left with nothing but space and echoes. Pg 9
Anne: we both know what weve found out over the last few months, that theres no
ship here to findJesus, maybe it was never here, the point is that its not here to be
found and we both just have to accept that. I have, so why cant you? Pg 82
Kirkly: The answer is that the Portuguese were never here, that the maps are a
mirage, and that those who make these claims for them are either gullible, or worse,
should know better. Pg 125
how to tell this story, where to begin? Perhaps it begins in a storm, the wind
whipped sand cutting deep into a childs skin, bullying him, driving him, pushing him
deeper into the darkness, this unkindness of win a purification
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Tone: uncertain, insecure, unsure, no direction, possibilities. Author voice.