How Is Dorrigo Different From The Narrow Road To The Deep North

Introduction
Throughout our lives society shapes whom we are and how we act, through this we are forced to assume roles based on how others view and perceive us. Both through our close friends and family and the broader media and society, these stereotypes and attitudes from which we develop into can both be good and bad. It is through these expectations and social pressures that greatness can be developed in people, but is also though these expectations great evil and cruelty can be developed within people. Throughout Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North the reader is presented with two distinct and contrasting characters of ‘Dorrigo’ Evans and [First Name] Nakamura. While differing in actions and beliefs, both characters highlight

Nakamura throughout the novel is seen by the reader to be cruel and despicable is his treatment of the Australian prisoner’s of war (POW’s). From the outset the reader perceives him as an evil man who is bent on the completion of the railway at any cost, but by creating this contrasting character compared to the heroics of Dorrigo Flanagan it allows the reader to gain an understanding of the truth that is illustrated in the novel. While Dorrigo is shaped by his love for his men and then continually shaped afterwards by his society to achieve a status of hero, the same, yet opposite thing is true for Nakamura. Where Australian society shaped Dorrigo into a hero, his Japanese society shaped him into a ‘monster’ from the Australian perspective, yet from his country’s perspective he is a hero. These contrasting ideologies allow for a greater understanding of society and its influences on people. From two differing societies, two completely different characters become the same thing. However the majority of the readers of the book would agree with the Australian view of the Japanese actions being horrendous, but Flanagan does not just let the reader just breed hatred for the Japanese rather he forces the reader to consider the nature of evil and what causes it in people. “The thing about evil, the thing about

Through this it is illustrated how societal expectations can shape behaviour and attitude in people, even if that behaviour is something which is brings conflict to their own personal attitudes and beliefs. From this I as a reader gain an understanding about the broader society and the great power that groups and societies have on individuals in those societies. Through these expectations people wield great power over the lives of other, through it great beauty and kindness can develop, but also great evil and sadness as well. It is through our society that we as people are shaped, both by our families and friends who love us, but also by the broader community in which media and what we watch can create stereotypes in gender, race, age and body image. This great power of others on our own lives can be focused for good, in excelling individuals to achieve greatness and following their dreams, as seen in Dorrigo, or it can be used to create a sadness, hate against different people, self-loathing and great evil in the world. The novel while allowing me to gain greater insight into the role of society and expectations in shaping people, also allowed me to gain greater understating of what it means to be a hero, and allowed to reflect and reassess my previously held beliefs. Previously to the novel the image of a hero was something which exuded greatness, an