Off the Map by David Malouf

David Malouf, an excellent Australian contemporary writer who has travelled across many states of Australia to share his knowledge. His success has lead him to become a full-time writer in 1978, publishing both books and poetry.

'Off the Map' by David Malouf demonstrates the strong forces the urban landscape has on an inhabitant. The poem recites the everyday routine the inhabitant goes through after a day's work. The farm boy loves his country land but at the end of the day, the inhabitant is captivated by the lights of the city and is drawn to dwell over the city.

A journey is taken place by the inhabitant through his/her homeland -the country. The natural landscape is one that provides and aids the inhabitant to be enlightened and awakened from life struggles. The juxtaposition of his lethargic mood and his sudden awareness is used to compare the lethargic mood due to the truck driver's long day at work. The sudden interest towards the landscape portrays the power the natural landscape has to capture the eyes of inhabitants. 'Truck-drivers throbbing on pills...bronze Anzacs dozing, leaden headed' connotes a heavy and tired mental state of the persona. This indicates the inhabitants the work they usually would have to get through to provide for their families and/or themselves. However in 'out into a dream of apple orchards' illustrates that the environment is able to provide a land that. The country atmosphere is one that satisfies with the inhabitants needs, it is able to cure the tiredness instead of using pills, supply the inhabitants with food instead of having to work for an income to go out and purchase food and a home for the inhabitant to rest upon.

The emphasis of the landscape being one that truly provides the inhabitants is used within the simile 'They thunder across like the daredevil boys' refers to the vehicles that intrude and disrupt the ability the inhabitants have to connect with the natural landscape. People often are too occupied praising man-made objects that they forget the landscape can offer them something more beautiful which is the view of grassy plains and beautiful animals in 'paddocks tumbling with mice.'. The change in mood and visual imagery in rode off into headlines and hills or into legends that hang, grey-ghostly, over campfires in the rain' depicts a sinister and dark mood, showing the change and thoughts the inhabitant has towards the natural landscape. The natural landscape isn't safe during the night and isn't loved by the inhabitant due to its darkness. The alliteration in 'grey ghostly' illustrates the unknown during the night. The alliterative use of the letter 'g' presents and unpleasant tone which adds to the mysteriousness of the night time.

When a day comes to an end the landscape cannot be adored as the darkness hides all the beauty, however Strung out on the hills, new streets that glow in the eyes of farmboys, cities alive only at nightfall that span a continent' evidently displays the city's capability of attracting any inhabitant. The lights attract the inhabitant and therefore shows the power man-made objects are looked upon as something magnificent and beautiful.

Off The Map annotations