Dry Land
1. Describe the changes that have occurred since 'The Theft That Got Me Here'. Consider changes in the
environment, government, health and characters. Support your response with evidence.
Environment
The Theft That Got Me Here
Dry Land
Urban: dry, lacking natural
resources, food and water.
Rural towns: ‘You’d do better in the higher towns...There’s a
lot of nice people, country people...’ p.55
Rural: abundant natural resources
and food
Rural:
Constant rain, floods and starvation threaten life, animals
stampede.
‘The grass or whatever was here before has been stripped by
a thousand new rivers...’ p.48
No electricity: ‘...the thousand dollar appliances you can’t use
since the grid went down.’ p.49
The lack of food has become desperate: ‘I...slice into a
cushion and eat a few bits of golden foam...’ p.49
‘There hasn’t been a proper season for grapes in years.’ p.52
Eating bark and rats
Government
Urban: ‘Central’ government,
requiring urban ID
Rural: No ‘Central’, but still requires
a rural ID, most people very
religious ‘church-goers’
Health
Most people relatively healthy
Urban: easy access to required
medication
Rural towns: Need people who are young and fit to work:
‘...they don’t want women her age while they’re building.
She’s... over the cutoff.’ p.55
Rural: people have changed from ‘church-goers’ to people
desperate to survive.
The constant wet weather conditions cause rheumatism in
humans and animals
Meds are required to function normally
Rural: less access to medications
Grandma: suffering dementia for 6
years
Narrator: Uses prescription
medication recreationally
Characters
Narrator: 17 years old, ‘delinquent
hoodlum’
Narrator: 23 years old, responsible government employee
Rural people: very religious, lived
comfortable lives
Rural people: ‘Her breath is sour from alcohol. Most of the
people out here were proper church goers at one time, but
most of the churches shut down a while back.’ p.50
‘I can see that before...she had a comfortable life...This
surviving thing is a recent development for her.’ p.52
2. Describe how the characters; Grandpa, the narrator, Liz and Jenna, 'cope' with the situations they find
themselves in. Support your response with evidence.
Grandpa
Situation: Grandma has suffered from dementia for 6 years. She has one good day, but then returns to being unable
to function normally.
Coping mechanism: Grandpa has coped ok, until he loses his licence and the narrator is sent by his mother to help.
After Grandma’s good day, Grandpa decides life is not worth living anymore and ends his and grandma’s life in a
murder/suicide.
Narrator
Situation: Evacuating people from their homes, constant rain, lack of food
Coping mechanism: These situations cause the narrator to develop a ‘survive at any cost’ approach to thinking about
life.
Evidence: ‘...all I see is people being washed away by life and I think the respectful thing to do is treat them
efficiently...’ p.47
Evidence: ‘...I keep one clear eye on my escape route and the other eye on what I’ll need to grab before I go.’ p.53
Evidence: Thinks about Jenna’s way of coping: ‘She’s exactly the kind of romantic that’s got no instinct to make it.
She’s fighting...’ p.54
Evidence: Manipulation ‘...realising how practised I’ve gotten at talking people out of everything they care about.’ p.56
Evidence: ‘There have been a lot of times in this job when I’ve seen people holding on to things that didn’t makes
sense, thinking that...it would keep them safe when the water reached the door.’ p.59
Evidence: ‘They probably will get spilt up in the new town...but at least they’ll be saved.’ p.61
Imagination: ‘I make the time pass by conjuring sunny days, warm meals, people being happy to see me.’ p.47
Sense of humour: ‘All I’ve got on me,...is...my water container, and that’s empty. Given the forecast for the next
month, that last fact doesn’t exactly scare me.’ p.49
Liz
Situation: Not wanting to leave her daughter
Coping mechanism: drinking alcohol and resorting to violence
Evidence: ‘If we stay here and stay drunk, I don’t know what comes to us, but at least I don’t have to say goodbye to
my daughter.’ P.58
Jenna
Situation: Surviving
Coping mechanism: Holding on to traditional values and writing
Evidence: ‘I write it all down...Families being scattered, friends making enemies just so as to stay alive.’ p.54