Cloudstreet-Symbolism

The house in Cloudstreet is deeply symbolic. It is the place where the Lambs and the Pickles share their lives for most of the novel, and thus assumes great symbolic importance in the novel. One of the most important parts of the house in terms of symbolism is the library, and Winton uses this to present his views on the racial policies of Australia in the 1950s. A lady who deemed herself the

Finally, Winton presents spirituality as an integral and important part of life through the use of symbolism. The main symbols used to present meaning here are the symbolic representations of the characters of the Lambs and Pickles families, and the river. In the novel, spirituality is present in both the Pickles and the Lamb’s families. In the Pickles, this can be seen in how the Pickles family feels the “Hairy hand of God” acting in their life. For example, when Sam wakes up one day on the Abrolhos islands smelling his dead father right beside him, he knows that there are spiritual forces at work and yet he cannot tell “which way the shadow’s fallen”. Thus, he goes to work as normal, thinking “today wasn’t his day to be worried”, and is “dead wrong”, losing the fingers of his hand. The fact that Sam knows that there is a greater force out there influencing his life that can change people’s lives in a random manner reveals a. Similarly, the Lambs’ acceptance of spirituality in their life can be seen in their Christian beliefs. At the start, they are presented as “Godfearing people… you could see it in the way they set up a light in the darkness”. Besides this, the fact that they are referred to as the “Lambs of God” also reveals something about their values, though this is given in a derogative manner. However, the tragedy that afflicts the Lambs causes Lester and Oriel to lose their faith. When Fish drowns and is apparently raised from the dead, the fact that their miracle turns sour as Fish is now mentally retarded causes them to lose their faith in God, as Oriel blames God for the tragedy. Though they have rejected their spiritual life, the river is used as a symbol for how whether you reject it or not, spirituality is still an important part of life. This is because as Fish’s physical self became separated from his spiritual self in water, this reunion must also occur in water, at the river. Thus, when Fish is finally allowed by Oriel to be free, with “no hand in his trouser belt”, he runs straight to the river, where for those seconds he takes to drown, Fish thinks “I burst into the moon, sun and stars of who I really am. Being Fish Lamb. Perfectly. Always. Everyplace. Me”. The fact that Fish’s body desires a reunion with his spiritual half and the fact that he is only complete when the two parts, spiritual and physical are united reveals Winton’s beliefs as the reader is positioned to see that spirituality is an integral part of life and brings fulfilment and completeness.

Tim Winton makes a comment on the racial policies of Australia in the 1950s and endorses love, family and spirituality as being important in the search for fulfilment and completeness in life, and reveals his belief that spirituality is an integral part of life in Cloudstreet. Throughout the novel, symbolism plays an important role in the construction of

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