cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

She regained the floor without incident, and presented the object to Madame St Clair, who stopped crying as suddenly as someone had turned off her tap.”

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood (3)

#figurativelanguage

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

Before the crying could start I grabbed my things and bolted. Outside, the heavens had opened. I ran into a sandwich shop and gulped down a hot pie.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (296)

#humor

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

How on earth could a jury be expected to evaluate a medical case so complex?

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (280)

#conversationalelement

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

I was not brave enough to face the police submergence videos again, but watched the jury sit through them, with their hands over their mouths.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (259)

#honestyandconfession

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

Week 17 Blog

This House of Grief by Helen Garner

Pages: 192-255

Word Count: 345

Summary: A retrial was placed after the jury couldn’t make a unanimous decision on whether or not Farquharson was guilty. During the retrial, the 000 tape was played throughout the courtroom. The tape consisted of the call Farquharson made to Gambino to tell her about the accident. No one was expecting the tape to be played judging by their reactions of shocked faces and soundless mouth-opening. After the retrial, the jury convicted Farquharson for the murder of his three sons. One of his sisters completely collapsed from shock, while another has a grim expression plastered to her face.

Critical Analysis: In a quote from this week’s reading, Garner confesses that she felt as if she didn’t belong in the courtroom in order to relate to the readers and their possible insecurities and show her vulnerability regarding her right to be in the courtroom during trial and follow Farquharson’s case (220). Then Garner transitions to not making herself the center of attention in a quote where she describes Farquharson in the 000 tape from the courtroom as “a child who, in a fit of angry spite, has broken a thing precious beyond price and, panicking now, has led his mother to the wreckage to show her what he has done” in order to reveal her feelings towards Farquharson and his defense in the case (232).

Personal Response: I was fairly surprised when Garner admitted that she didn’t feel that she belonged in the courtroom because I would’ve never imagined that she felt that way considering all the insight and thought she put into following and writing about the case. However, I’m not surprised that the jury was leaning in the direction of finding Farquharson guilty of the boys’ drownings. I fully believe that Farquharson is guilty especially after Garner analyzes some of Morrisey’s defensive statements and Farquharson’s explanation of what happened. Every time I learn of a case like this where a parent kills their own child, it consumes a decent amount of my thoughts even when I’m not reading because I can’t fathom the idea of killing someone let alone your own child.

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

‘Are you telling me you believed her?’ ‘ Yes, I did, and I bet you would have too, if you’d seen her.’ ‘But she didn’t go to the police for five years! How could you not go to the police?’

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (243)

#conversationalelement

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

I longed to tell someone, anyone, about the 000 tape; but a line had been crossed in court that day. I had heard something obscene, something it would have been indecent to speak of: a grown man gabbling like a child who, in a fit of angry spite, has broken a thing precious beyond price and, panicking now, has led his mother to the wreckage to show her what he has done.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (232)

#observantoutsider

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

I had been declared a non-person by the defense, but for the first time, I felt that I belonged in that room, that I had earned the right to be there.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (220)

#honestyandconfession

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

That night, at bedtime, I found the unfinished green wool scarf on the floor where I had dropped my bag. I picked it up and saw that, when the call for the verdict had come, I had stopped halfway along a row. It occurred to me to preserve in some way the moment of decision. I marked it with one red stitch. Then I knitted to the end of the row, and cast off.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (198)

#focusonthelittlethings

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

Week 16 Blog

This House of Grief by Helen Garner

Pages: 128-191

Word Count: 347

Summary: After getting the jury to agree with the defendant that King is some deranged man who lies and creates false memories, Morrisey figures he’s on a roll and has a better shot at winning this case than he first thought. Farquharson continued being asked about the events of that night, so Morrisey took the lead and stuck to their story and told them almost as if it was recited. They asked if he killed the boys, no he did not. Morrisey affirmed, “he had a coughing fit, blacked out, and found himself in water.” Farquharson also didn’t know whether he helped the boys with their seatbelts. It was just one big blur for him.

Critical Analysis: In this section of the book, Garner uses the strategies of honesty and confession and focus on the little things. At one point, she confesses to heading “to a bar at the top of Bourke Street” and ordering “a shot of vodka.” This confession allows the readers to realize how deeply Garner is being affected by the Farquharson case, enough to need liquor to get her mind off of it completely. Later on, Garner focuses on the defense’s argument and the jury’s reaction describing it as “sheer statistical improbability of the defense version of events” and how the “jury [still] sat engrossed.” This creates a strong image for the reader as to how the courtroom must’ve looked at this moment, where Garner and Louise were most likely the only ones who saw right through Farquharson’s defense.

Personal Response: Even while reading I was getting irritated at the poor attempt at rewriting the defense’s version of events that Morrisey was attempting so I can’t begin to imagine how Garner and Louise felt in the courtroom, especially when Morrisey held the attention of all the jury members. It was making me think that Morrisey was not taking the case seriously and saying any ridiculous thing that comes to mind in order to get his client off, and it pains to see the jury believe his fabricated run down of events, considering I fully believe FarqueHarson is guilty. 

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

And when he surged into the final curve of his argument-the sheer statistical improbability of the defense version of events-the jury sat engrossed.

This House of Grief (185)

#focusonthelittlethings

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

Would you have called him?’ I asked Louise. ‘No way.’ ‘Neither would I.'

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (165)

#conversationalelement

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

I kept going to a bar at the top of Bourke Street. I ordered a shot of vodka. Strangers near me were gossiping loosely about the trial.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (146)

#honestyandconfession

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

He doesn’t know. It’s all just a big blur. He’s got nothing to hide.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (141)

#conversationalelement

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

Week 15 Blog

This House of Grief by Helen Garner

Pages:48-127

Word Count: 439

Summary: The trial was still going on and those in attendance were doubting Farquharson’s coughing fit story, which is why his lawyer, Morrisey, called Greg King to testify in hopes of taking anything to protect Farquharson. Greg King and Farquharson had a conversation days prior to the drowning where King claimed Farquharson told him his plan to kill his children on the upcoming Father's Day. Morrisey kept attacking “King’s memory, his truthfulness, his personal honor, even his sanity.” By asking questions such as “if Mr Farquharson had said anything like the extreme things that your evidence contains, you’d have done something about it, Mr King, wouldn’t you-if he really said it,” in order to persuade the jury to believe King is some deranged man who lies and creates false memories.

Critical Analysis: In this section I read, Garner uses observant outsider on multiple occasions, but the most notable one is when she dedicates a paragraph to write about her third grandson. She notes “he was only a few months younger than Brian Farquharson had been when he drowned.” Rather than making herself the center of attention in this quote, Garner describes the interaction between her and her grandson with a great deal of detail to reveal the effect the Farquharson case is having on her. It's putting into perspective for Garner how the mother must feel losing a child so near and dear to her, and just how lucky she is to have this experience with her grandson considering Brian didn’t make it much past his age. She also uses the element of going against the grain when writing about a man, Greg King, who was called to testify in court. Morrisey tried to manipulate his words in order to paint Greg as a liar, but Garner saw right past it unlike others in the courtroom. 

Personal Response: I really enjoyed Garner’s massive details when reading this section. Her getting super descriptive allows me to quite literally be pulled into the story and creates the imagery of each scene as if I was there. The testimony of King was quite literally formed into an interrogation by Morrisey and it really puts into perspective how tough the legal and court system can be especially in the case of the defendant. As I keep reading I keep getting reminded of a case I learned about a while back where a father murdered his entire family and children in order to ensure their entry into heaven before the family strayed too far from religion. Granted the only similarity the two cases have is that both fathers killed their children, I can’t help but compare the two. 

[cleucilaynesaustralianlitblog]

My third grandchild came wandering round the side of the house. He approached me without speaking, turned his back, and stood waiting to be picked up. I lifted him on to my lap. He was only a few months younger than Baily Farquharson had been when he drowned. For a while the little boy sat on my knee. He relaxed his spine against my chest. Together we listened to the clatter of the high palm fronds, the wail of a distant siren. He glanced up sharply when a flight of lorikeets swerved chattering across the garden. Then he spread his right arm like a fan, inserted a delicate thumb into his mouth, and tucked his head under my chin.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner (113)

#observantoutsider