“Summer of the Seventeenth Doll” Essay

Resource Description

How does language reveal, affirm and/or challenge aspects of Australian cultural identity in Ray Lawler’s “The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll”? Intro: In SOSD Ray Lawler, through the language of drama, shows that a resistance to change can have tragic consequences for individuals, communities and cultures. Lawler questions the merit of traditional working-class roles of masculinity and femininity in a time of significant change in 1950’s Australia. Lawler further reveals how the succeeding generation can either resist or embrace the changing roles of men and women, either furthering the cycle of tragedy or breaking it. Thus, through his exploration of change, Lawler reveals the need for Australian society to be aware of the inevitability of change and alert to the consequences and opportunities inherent in the process of cultural evolution.