This novel immediately reminded me of a TV show called Real World. Real World features several young adults who live in a house with other strangers for a few months. The creator of this entertaining series finds a variety of people to cause disruption and chaos. The diversity of these people makes the show exciting and spontaneous. During this experience the young adults live without their families and home town comfort. But, in the end, they always learn a thing or two about themselves, life, or how they want to change their inner person. Each one of them comes out of the experience with a new incite on the kind of people they met. At the end of Mary's experience she learned that this African American only meant well, and that the two races are more alike than she though. I believe that she returned with a different perspective on discrimination.
Walkabout connects to this TV show in numerous ways. Both have troubled young adults trying to find their own path in life. In Walkabout's case, the bush boy meets new people who have a different life style. The two life styles don't exactly meet eye to eye on each circumstance. For example, Mary did not agree with the bush boy's nudeness around her. It made her feel uncomfortable. In one of the real world episodes, one woman had uncomfortable feelings about one of her house mates walking around naked. .
The feeling of discomfort can slowly eat away at your conscience. It is healthy to talk and get all of your feelings out. Unfortunately, Mary and the bush boy didn't speak the same language. Both of them let their differences cause disruption. On the television show, the unalike people fight over not understanding where the other person came from. Mary didn't realize that the bush boy had no other home to return to. The bush boy didn't realize that Mary was timid about being naked in front of a boy. .
