Peripheral
Characters
Cloudstreet
Tim Winton
Joshua Alonzo
Jesse Da Silva
Belonging
Peripheral characters are background/ secondary characters
that are not often seen in the novel but still play
fundamental roles to the story as a whole.
They are the minor characters which play a small part in the
novel and their effects are crucial to how the story is
interpreted and understood by the readers.
It sparks ideas to the reception of the story which gives us
certain contexts according to Winton's depiction of these
minor characters. For example, the birth of Wax reconciled
the two families together. The Blackfella carries the
historical contexts of aboriginal heritage and the values that
are presented in their culture.
Peripheral characters
The Blackfella is seen numerous times in Cloudstreet, often
seen and depicted as an angelic figure when the family's are
in need of desperate guidance.
The Blackfella carries the historical contexts of aboriginal
heritage, having known to value the importance of family
and place which relate to cloudstreet’s story line of
belonging.
His role in the novel is to keep the two families as a whole
and together by giving advice to characters such as Quick.
Blackfella
The Blackfella maintains the relationship of the two
families by directing Quick back to Cloudstreet and urging
to convince Sam Pickles not to sell Cloudstreet. Being, an
aboriginal, the Blackfella knows the value of family and
place.
Nevertheless he's a centralized symbol of belonging and
does this through words of wisdom by reasoning against the
issues that arise between the two families.
Blackfella
“You shouldn’t break a place. Places are strong,
important… you better be the strongest man.”
– Blackfella reasoning with Sam, urging him not to sell
Cloudstreet.
“Go home says the black man. This isn’t your home. Go to
your home, mate… go home.”
– Blackfella, guiding Quick back to Cloudstreet.
Blackfella
Wax Harry Lamb is the second child of Quick and Rose
after their first attempt at a child lead to a miscarriage.
His role in the novel is to bind the two rivalry families
together.
Wax Harry Lamb
Giving birth to Wax had driven the spirits that haunted the
library, it was the final “shoving force” for the old hag
spirit and the Aboriginal girl’s spirit that once lived there.
Wax was a fundamental healing process between the
relationship of Rose and Dolly. Rose had finally accepted
her mother and trusts her to look after him.
Wax Harry Lamb
Looking towards the reception of the story, the birth of Wax
could be an analogy between him and the concept of
reconciliation.
The cause of his birth had sealed the bond between the two
rivalry families together as one. In spite of this, cloudstreet
can be perceived as a story of reconciliation in conjunction
to belonging.
Wax Harry Lamb
“The spirits on the wall are fading, finally being forced on
their way to oblivion, freeing the house, leaving a warm,
clean sweet space among the living, among the good and
hopeful”
- Birth of wax drives the spirits away, bringing new
hope amongst the two families.
Wax Harry Lamb
When Quick leaves home to find purpose, he goes out in to
the country to work for the Wentworth family to shoot
kangaroos.
It is in this section of the novel where we are introduced to
Lucy Wentworth.
Lucy Wentworth teaches Quick about sex and becomes his
first sexual partner that helped Quick mature and grow up
as a man.
Being a background character, she's not important as a
whole but its because of her actions that aid the transition of
Quicks maturity.
Lucy Wentworth