How Did Lawson Affirms Or Disrupts Cultural Assumptions

Explain how Lawson affirms or disrupts cultural assumptions about individuals or groups. Introduction: Henry Lawson explores cultural identity, focusing on the Australian bush and how it shaped the identity of bushmen and women. Isolation and harsh environmental conditions created atypical characters who embodied mateship, self-reliance, and a deep connection to the land. Lawson reveals this identity through his laconic colloquial language, use of dialogue and by giving voice to unique characters and experiences who both sustain and challenge cultural assumptions of the late 19th century. This is evident in his short stories, ‘The Drover’s Wife,’ ‘Our Pipes’ and ‘The Loaded Dog’. Body 1 Gender: Lawson challenges the stereotypes about the role of women in late 19th

In ‘Our Pipes’ and ‘The Loaded Dog’, however, he suggests women are domestic and hysterical. In The Drover’s Wife, Lawson subverts gender expectations when he describes the protagonist’s physical and metaphorical transformation when “She puts on an old pair of her husband’s trousers [to] beat out the flames.” Even her own “baby screamed and struggled convulsively thinking it was a blackman” The imagery of her covered in soot represents her transformation into the ‘other.’ A person more masculine than her gender would suggest. In ‘Our Pipes,’ Henry Lawson explores stereotypical views about gender affirming and disrupting collective cultural assumptions. Jack Mitchel’s mother is shown as a dominating and protective figure who keeps her son and husband in check. Lawson uses zoomorphism in the lines, ‘She got a whiff of it’ and ‘she got the scent.’ using olfactory imagery to liken the female character to a bloodhound, which suggests her protection and suspicions of her son