English (Advanced: The Human Condition)

Examine how composers use texts to explore concepts about

the Human Condition.
In your response you should refer to your prescribed text and
ONE other related text of your own choosing.
The Human Experience is a quintessential aspect of humanitys existence, shaped
by the interplay of physical, emotional and spiritual characteristics which constitute
the foundation of mankind. The encapsulation of the true character of the human
condition is demonstrated by 20th Century Australian poet Gwen Harwood and late
19th Century writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gwen Harwoods At Mornington (year)
explores the cyclical nature of life and being, whilst Father and Child (year)
highlights the deterioration of authority due to the inevitable process of emotional
and physical ageing. In spite of their contrasting contexts, F.S. Fitzgerald effectively
interweaves both notions in and through his novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), with
all three texts definitively exploring the recurrent quality of existence and the
withering trend of authority through time.
The cyclical nature of life and death is evident in Gwen Harwoods At Mornington
which, through its exploration of the temporality of existence, conclusively asserts
upon the disposition of life, superimposing the past and the present in order to
emphasise the circularity of human essentia. This is seen through her train-ofthought style approach; Harwood utilising free verse and the lack of a rhyming
scheme to connote cyclicality, as shown through With their cadence of trees/
marble and granite parting. The application of the term cadence is used as a
symbolic allusion for life and death, denoting it being one, whole continuum. In
addition, the motif of water accentuates and is indicative of the cleansing nature of
death, as shown in will shine like the waters/that bear me away for ever through
the transition of future to present tense. This is further elucidated through the
repetition in the next wave, the next wave, which enforces the continuance of our
experiences, our life, uniting it with the absolving quality of water. The line, we
have one day, only one, is significant in highlighting the temporality of existence,
where the stress of the word only and reiteration of one illustrate the constrained
longevity of human life. Coupled with the motif of water, it allows Harwood to thus
provide integral insight into the cyclicality of life and death and its impact on the
human condition.

F.S Fitzgerald further develops this exploration of the human condition as he

explicates upon the brevity of life, connecting it to the annularity of existence and
happiness within his 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald draws clear parallels
with Harwoods At Mornington, as he illustrates the quest of a mans pursuit of
happiness and material wealth in the strained but economically booming era of
1920s America. Fitzgerald expresses the inability to achieve happiness due to life
progressing circularly, shown by the recurring imagery of water surrounding
Gatsbys life, thus extending and paralleling the themes discussed by Gwen
Harwood. The motif of water is prevalent alongside Gatsby, as shown in the
passage Gatsby, pale as deathstanding in a puddle of water. Foreshadowing is
utilised in the puddle, due to Gatsbys existence beginning and ending with water,
as exemplified by the thin, red circle in the water following his death in the pool,
connoting the recurrent quality of existence. Thus, the significance of the phrase
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past, is
elucidated by the alliteration of the letter b, signifying the regression of existence
through a medium (current) and permeating the brevity of life through multiple
realms. Fitzgerald thereby extends the work of Gwen Harwood, providing insight
into the recurrence of life, represented through Gatsbys pursuance of happiness.
Similar to At Mornington, the deterioration of authority as a product of ageing is
showcased by Harwood as a pervading concept through her analysis of the
transience of time, astutely expounding on the sizeable influence of old age on an
individuals attributes. Harwoods diptych style approach to the poem establishes
the passage of time and highlights the clear contrasts between the forty year on
frail father and his former authoritarian figure, indicated through the imperative
tone in end what you have begun of the prior segment of the poem, Barn Owl.
Furthermore, the extended metaphor in I crept out with my fathers gun
epitomises the fathers unquestionable authority, with the gun representing the
destructive armament which destroys an individuals human condition, as
symbolized by the death of the owl in I saw eyes mirror my cruelty. This,
coupled with the recurring imperative tone in link your dry hand in mine
exemplifies the ability of old-age to deflate ones personal autonomy, thus
contributing definitive insight into old ages decay of authority in all human figures.
Analogous with Father and Child, Fitzgerald ensconces mortality and authority with
the ephemeral magnitude of time, depicted through the deaths of Gatsby and
Wilson. In the passage, over Wilsons body the adventitious authority of his
voice set the key for the newspaper reports, the deterioration of authority is
explored through the vicissitude of power between Wilson and surrounding
individuals. The reversal utilised in 'authority' is ironic, as Wilson was previously

respected, however, by shooting Gatsby he thereby destroys his own human

condition, ending his life and abrogating all authority he had - denoted through
'adventitious'. Moreover, the pathetic fallacy utilised in we drove on toward death
through the cooling twilight" connotes the nature of mortality to be consonant with
the rising and setting of the sun, hence delivering further perception into the
affinity between authority, life and time.
Overall, it is therefore evident that Gwen Harwoods At Mornington and Father and
Child, alongside F.S Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby each delve into the depths of
the human experience, demonstrating the indisputable impact of time on authority,
mortality and happiness, and highlighting the correlation between transient
existence to the interminable cyclicality of life.