‘Our Pipes’ Henry Lawson – analysis table
Idea about language,
culture, identity and
individuals
Example (quote)
Language feature,
technique and comment
Effect and impact (your
analysis)
Affirm, ignore, challenge,
reveal and disrupt
Australian bush landscape
shapes identity
‘fringe of mulga’
Australian botanical jargon
(Language unique to a topic;
technical language) sets context
The visual imagery creates a
bleak, harsh environment where
the characters come to rest at
the end of the day. The effects
of the swagmen’s journey still
resonate into the night time with
little relief.
This challenges my beliefs and
experiences as it views it
differently but adds to my
original thoughts and beliefs. I
typically see Australia’s outback
as red orange desert with mulga
going as far as the eye can see
but not the “’timber’ proper which
is ‘very thick and very dark’” as I
see the tree barks as medium
width with light red-brown colour
and stringy bark.
The ‘Swagmen’ is established as
an exclusive within the text, in
which the authorial intrusion
consistently reminds the reader
is a limited group; however, this
title may feel inclusive to those
who identify by it. Additionally,
the repeated self-identification
as Swagmen creates a sense of
pride in which the relevant
This affirms my view of how
Australian men are in-general as
there are very few swagmen left
for me to have an opinion on
them. I can imagine groups of
regular Australian men acting
like this all the time, as they’re
quite prideful of their status and
accomplishments.
Cultural identity of Australian
‘swagman’
‘timber’ proper” which is ‘very
thick and very dark’
‘The moon looked like a big new
copper boiler set on the edge on
the horizon of the plain.’
Visual imagery creates rugged
scene
‘We had tramped twenty-five
miles on a dry stretch on a hot
day – swagmen know what that
means.’
‘Swagmen’ as Australian
vernacular. The interjection of
‘Swagmen know what that
means’ in authorial intrusion into
the text. There is repetition of
this authorial intrusion implying a
specific connection to swagmen
within this paragraph.
‘….We knew that when we sat
down we wouldn’t want to get up
again in a hurry…’
‘Swagmen will understand.’
© NSW Department of Education, November 2018
Simile using Australian
vernacular
The second quote indicates the
cultural identity of the swagmen
by relaying the values and
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Idea about language,
culture, identity and
individuals
Identity through language
Example (quote)
‘billy boiled’
‘some leaves laid down for our
beds and the swags rolled out.’
‘Johnny-cakes’
Language feature,
technique and comment
Effect and impact (your
analysis)
attitudes. This is shown in the
collective pronoun of ‘we’,
making a unifying statement
alongside the high modality
language of ‘knew’ and
‘wouldn’t’ which indicate the
definitive tone of defeat and
exhaustion.
people may feel unified by the
title.
The third paragraph is littered
with Australian idioms
(commonplace saying, can be
unique to an area)
Understanding what each term
means helps strengthen the
imagery of the Australian bush
lifestyle, the ‘swagmen’s’
experience.
Affirm, ignore, challenge,
reveal and disrupt
We can also understand the
lifestyle of the ‘Swagmen’, in
which they work they work
laboriously and frequently take
solace in leisure.
This affirms how I felt when I
read the text for the first time,
bombarded by Australian
imagery, which really increased
the Australian ‘feel’ of the text,
creating a sense of authenticity.
These assumptions/beliefs have
come from comparisons of my
South African parents to the rest
of Australia, especially my
teachers and friends, throughout
my entire life so far.
‘tucker-bags’
Individual relationships – the
masculine identity
“…our leg sinews, especially
those of our calves, would ‘draw’
like redhot wires.”
‘We gave our calves time to tone
down a bit; then we lit up and
began to answer each other. It
got to be pretty comfortable...’
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The inclusive pronoun shows
how their ‘group’ is together. The
simile shows how it would feel to
them if they’re not careful.
Colloquial language – Redhot.
Connotation of ‘draw’ as to draw
a gun.
Masculinity expressed in
smoking to wind down and relax
with your mates. Inference of
time before communicating.
- Shared experience of pain
and suffering. The
connotations of the gun
show the intense
feelings of exhaustion
from their labour,
provides commonality
for their mateship and
addresses their feelings
using violent imagery.
This reinforces the
The bonding, unity, showing the
smallest amount of emotion, and
the ever-changing world are all
ideas and opinions that affirm
with mine as I have seen the
positives and negatives of the
bonding and of hiding emotion,
and how much the world
continues to change. The
traditional notions of the violent
male challenges my belief as I
‘Our Pipes’ Henry Lawson – analysis table
Idea about language,
culture, identity and
individuals
Example (quote)
Language feature,
technique and comment
‘We cursed society because we
weren’t rich men, and then we
felt better’
Allusion to smoking foreshadows
stories to come about smoking,
‘…conversation…ended in that
of smoking.’
‘He reflected’
Hyperbole since them cursing
against the whole of society is
an exaggeration of their
situation. Inclusive pronoun of
‘we’. Cynical tone towards a
society that shuns the poor
‘bush man’.
The mention of smoking again is
foreshadowing the importance of
it to the story.
Anaphora heightens his longing
for past connections.
Effect and impact (your
analysis)
traditional notions of the
violent male.
- Implication that men need
time before they can
share in conversation.
Reinforcing masculinity
stereotype of showing
the smallest amount of
emotion. Smoking can
be perceived as a
symbol to form unity
between Australian
men, creating a bond.
Affirm, ignore, challenge,
reveal and disrupt
can accept that men can be
violent, but the idea that all men
are violent is not true as this
stereotype covers too much
ground with all males as they’re
all individuals as well everyone
being unique. The part about the
feelings of solitude though
confuse me as I didn’t get to
complete that part and I don’t
how to finish it, not allowing me
to find where I stand with it.
- Creates feeling of solitude
for the individual placed
in this situation. This
plays on the Australian
cultural
conveys masculinity in
Australia to be able to
become angered about
an issue but still
careless. This could
imply a
- The continual reflection of
a life long ago
symbolises the changing
world.
© NSW Department of Education, November 2018
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Idea about language,
culture, identity and
individuals
Example (quote)
Language feature,
technique and comment
Effect and impact (your
analysis)
Affirm, ignore, challenge,
reveal and disrupt
Individual relationships – the
feminine Identity
‘Mother was at work out in the
kitchen at the back, washing up
the tea-things...’
Positional representation first
female character is away from
main action partaking in
stereotypical feminine duties
Female voice represented in a
periphery position suggests their
role is removed from masculine
activity.
‘You’ve been smoking!’
Accusatory tone
Female voice is one of authority
and control.
‘Give me that pipe!’ she said. I
said I hadn’t got it. ‘Give – me –
that – pipe!’ she said.’
Heated exchanged conveyed
through the dash, italics and
punctuation
Forceful demand and angry tone
convey feminine voice as the
enforcer of the rules.
‘I was having a smoke outback
when I heard her coming.’
First person perspective
A man’s response to the
matriarch is to fear their
reprimand, deceive and/or avoid
them
The lack of understanding is
definitely something that affirms
my belief, but not just between
males and females but
everyone. And the fear of getting
punished also affirms with me as
everyone has it and I’ve seen it
affect people’s lives good and
bad through people pushing
themselves to be the best they
can be or getting stressed from it
all on their shoulders, but this
response of fear is a two-way
street and males can also cause
it. The rest of the impacts do
affirm but I believe that they are
role/position based and aren’t
just determined by gender but
many different factors, such as
personality/character, age, etc.
Anyone can have these impacts
on people but they have to fit in
that position/role for them to
access those affects.
Suspense
‘I got out of her way quick, for I
hadn’t time to look innocent…’
“…she got a whiff of it.”
Olfactory imagery
‘She went sniffing round…’
Likens character to a
bloodhound for comic affect
‘She got the scent…’
‘…he was sort of pensioned off
by mother and she kept him
pretty well inside his income.’
Colloquial language and
euphemism
The determination to reprimand
the son provides a lack of
understanding for the pleasure
such an activity provides.
Gender roles are divided as
there is a lack of understanding.
The mother’s reaction to the
son’s smoking habit is one of
disgust whereas the male finds
pleasure in partaking in the
forbidden
Matriarch dominates financial
affairs of the family, likens to the
stereotype of tightly controlling
income.
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‘Our Pipes’ Henry Lawson – analysis table
Idea about language,
culture, identity and
individuals
Example (quote)
Language feature,
technique and comment
Effect and impact (your
analysis)
Affirm, ignore, challenge,
reveal and disrupt
Cultural context of smoking
‘We gave our calves time to tone
down a bit; then we lit up and
began to answer each other.’
Colloquial expression for
smoking also a pun
The act of smoking provides a
common activity for the men to
share, relax and unwind.
I agree with all of this, except
‘the coming of age ritual’ part,
that this is what I believe
Australian men to be like but
replacing the smoking of it with
anything as it’s based on the
individuals as a group, and
Australian men aren’t
stereotypically known to smoke
but to drink and be drunk all of
the time. The idolisation affirms
my belief of how everyone acts
towards the important/big people
in their lives, for example they
can be teachers, parents,
siblings, role models, celebrities,
etc. They just have to mean
something to the person in
question, giving them the power
to shift the direction of the
person’s life. These beliefs of
how these impacts mean to
Mitchell are what I believe to be
true from how he has told his
story, his reactions and what he
has told the viewers of his past,
definitely showing how deeply
engrained this is into the
person’s personal context,
making it a part of himself.
Personal anecdote
‘I started smoking first when I
was about fourteen or fifteen’
Visual imagery of his first pipe
‘clay pipe and nigger-head
tobacco’
Colloquial expression for parents
Positive emotive language
‘such great admiration for Jim’
Positive emotive language
‘And what did your old man do
when he found out that you were
smoking?’
Colloquial language hyphens
and punctuation for emphasis of
the fondness of the memory.
‘…he seemed to sort of brighten
up – liven up – when he found
out that I was smoking.
‘Ah! Many a solemn, thoughtful
old smoke we had together on
the quiet – the old man and me.’
Long engrained in personal
context.
Creates connotation of a special
experience in his youth – a
coming of age ritual.
Idolising adults who engage in
activities we long to partake in –
sense of worth, growing up,
maturing. The ritual of smoking
is one of collaborating – the
male characters use this activity
to connect the spiritual, almost
sacred connection between
father and son – implication of it
being ‘men’s business’.
Fourth Box
© NSW Department of Education, November 2018
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- Individual Identity
- Collective identity
- Assumptions/beliefs about others, society, or cultures.
o Where did these come from?
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‘Our Pipes’ Henry Lawson – analysis table