TEACHING NOTES
© SCOT GARDNER 2009
Gravity is a story about Adam. He’s not happy with the way his life is going but
doesn’t really have the guts to change it. He’s taking risks and learning to live with
the consequences. He’s learning how to stand strong and fight for the things he
believes in. He’s learning what it’s like to love and be loved.
There are several major themes in the book.
1 – Family and Friends – breakdown of family, loving and hating your family,
solidarity.
2 – City Life Versus Country Life – the pros and cons of living in a small
community, culture shock, diversity and tolerance.
3 – Work – a job with meaning, paying the bills versus passion, being part of a team.
4 – Sex, Lust and Love – healthy and unhealthy relationships, sexual attraction and
preferences, changing relationships.
5 – Self-Responsibility – taking charge of your life, owning up for your mistakes,
helping out.
For each of the themes, there are some questions From the Book, a Snippet of my
thoughts and some What Do You Think? ideas for discussion.
The What Do You Think? exercises are designed to engage young people in an
individual and creative way. They provide opportunities for students to tell stories
from their own lives and develop their personal voice through writing and
discussions. A couple of suggestions are: set some ground rules prior to discussions
(respect others’ stories, use ‘I’ statements, positive feedback) and get actively
involved in discussions (teacher tells their own stories as part of the process).
Ten Fast Minutes is a creative writing technique. For exactly ten minutes, disregard
language, grammar, spelling, character, plot and structure and tell a story. The telling
of the story is paramount. Students should be coached to keep their hand moving the
whole ten minutes. The results may be ‘stream of consciousness’ or have more or less
structure. Some people might like to read theirs aloud. Some might be refined further.
Show, Don’t Tell is a fiction writer’s axiom. It’s the crux of professional writing.
Instead of writing, ‘Bob was angry’ and feeding the reader all the information, say
‘Bob’s face changed colour, from red to purple’ still conveying the image but drawing
the reader into the story. Some of the exercises use this technique to expand young
people’s grasp of creative writing.
The For the Courageous questions are curly ones. Teachers will know their groups
well enough to decide if opening discussions on these issues will be courageous or
stupid. I like to err on the side of madness in the classroom, but I wouldn’t ask you to.
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FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Simon shows his true colours (pp18-21)
Family life is hard after Simon’s accident (pp21-23)
Mum leaves (pp21-22)
Reunion of lost friends at Mum’s flat (pp118-120)
Mum returns (pp166)
Mum and Dad patch things up (pp184)
Mum meets her grandchild (pp208)
FROM THE BOOK
1 – In Adam’s view, Simon has two faces. What are they? Relate an incident from the
book that describes them.
2 – Simon suffers an acquired brain injury in the accident. How does that change
him?
3 – When Bully, Tori and Francis visit Adam at his mum’s flat, why does his mum
slam the door?
4 – How is Tori’s boy Francis related to Adam?
SNIP
The older you get, the more diverse your family becomes and every relationship is
different. I’m a son and a father, a brother, an uncle and a nephew, a grandad and a
grandson. All that and I consider my family small!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Do you think you’ll ever be a parent? Why or why not?
Write down three things your parents do that you will do differently if you have kids
of your own.
Write down three things your parents do that you’ll do the same (or more of) with
your own kids.
TEN FAST MINUTES
Fast-forward your life until your youngest child has started high school. Write a letter
to a friend from your school days and fill them in on the highs and lows of your life
since you were at school together.
FOR THE COURAGEOUS
Which family member would you sell first on eBay and why? Write the ad –
remember you’re trying to make them sound good enough to buy!
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CITY LIFE VERSUS COUNTRY LIFE
Adam drives Bully’s Subaru to Melbourne (pp28-29)
Adam thinks about silence (pp30-31)
Hating things is an art form in Splitters Creek (pp42, pp126)
Adam feels proud after ordering take away food (pp75)
Adam realises ‘Country’ is also a style (pp92-93)
Adam thinks about all the people in the city (pp100)
FROM THE BOOK
1 – How old was Adam when he first ate McDonalds? Why was the experience such a
laugh for Simon?
2 – Why do the 4x4 drivers carry CDs in the bush near Adam’s home?
3 – Which groups hate each other in Splitters Creek? Who does Adam’s mum project
her hate onto when she moves to Melbourne?
4 – What home delivery is available in Splitters Creek?
5 – Why does Adam feel lost at the pub with Harry?
SNIP
I’m good at getting lost. Give me a map and I can get you lost in the city or the
country! My family moved from the city to the country when I was twelve. I loved
my teenage years in the bush and I hated the city with a passion – because I was
scared of it. I’m not scared anymore and I love city life, but I’m happiest in the
country.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Write a recipe for ‘home’. List the things you need to be happy, work out the
quantities (for example, 1 bookshelf full of XBOX games, 2 younger brothers, 2 pet
dogs, 1 caring and funky parent, 1 McDonalds franchises nearby) then explain how
you combine the ingredients to make a top day.
Do you prefer city or country? Why?
TEN FAST MINUTES
Go outside. Describe the details of your surroundings without using your sense of
sight. Listen hard, sniff the air, and be conscious of the things your skin feels.
FOR THE COURAGEOUS
Write a list of nine things you HATE about the place you live (don’t use names but
you could include stuff about your bed, room, house, street, town, suburb, state,
country, hemisphere or planet!)
Write a list of twelve things you LOVE about the place you live (same rules; no
names but they could be little things—like the graffiti on the slide at the park—or big
things—like the way the sun doesn’t shine in your window until after mid day!)
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WORK
Adam does weekend and holiday work for Mick Fenton (pp31-32, 70-71)
Adam lands a job at Hardware House (pp51-54)
Woodwork makes sense to Adam (pp71)
Adam compares work at the sawmill to work at Hardware House (pp81-82)
Adam loses his job (pp155-156)
Gordon’s house and woodwork inspire Adam (pp113-115)
Adam is secretive about his woodworking project (pp199)
FROM THE BOOK
1 – What did Adam’s weekend and holiday work at the sawmill entail?
2 – How does Adam get his job at Hardware House? Was it a case of ‘who you know’
or ‘what you know’ that made him employable?
3 – How does Adam get his nickname from Harry?
4 – What are the primary differences between working in the sawmill and working
with Harry in the timber yard at Hardware House?
5 – Who is Gordon? Why does he have sawdust on the floor of his house?
6 – Why does Adam lose his job?
SNIP
I reckon life goes more smoothly when you do something you love for a job. I think it
sucks that kids are pressured about a career when they’re little. ‘What are you going
to be when you grow up?’ ‘Um, I want to be a fish.’ I didn’t know what I wanted to
do for work until I was twenty-eight and by then I’d had fifteen jobs! Even now, the
thing I like most about writing is the fact that nobody tells me what to do or write—
I’m only writing to entertain myself, and I can go wherever I want to go in my head.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Make a list of eight bizarre responses to the question ‘What are you going to be when
you leave school?’. I’m going to be a professional smiler. I’m going to fix shopping
trolleys and make them go straight. I’m going to sleep. Get the idea?
Of all the people you know, young and old, who do you think loves their work most?
What do they do? Why do you think they love it?
SHOW DON’T TELL
Write a paragraph from the perspective of somebody going about his or her job. In the
first person will probably be easiest. (For example ‘I ducked so my hardhat didn’t hit
the roof of the tunnel and waded into the icy water’). Gently reveal the occupation the
person is engaged in. (‘My boots felt heavy and I hoped my torch batteries would last
the distance’) Adding one little detail at a time until the picture is complete (‘Please
be alive, Andrea Campbell. Your mum and dad are going crazy with worry and I’d
like to be the one who brings you back safe’)
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SEX, LUST and LOVE
Simon’s sex drive goes crazy after the accident (pp21)
Adam remembers losing his virginity (pp31)
Debbie and Adam flirt (pp60-62)
Adam has the hots for Bonnie (pp79-80, 94-96)
Debbie and Adam have coffee (pp108-109)
Bullant sleeps with Harry (pp136, 148-149, 188-189)
Tori remembers telling Si that she doesn’t love him (pp193)
Adam and Tori get together (pp200-201)
FROM THE BOOK
1 – How old was Adam when he lost his virginity? How did he feel about it?
2 – What were Debbie and Adam doing at work that became ‘an erotic experience?’
3 – What are Adam’s first impressions of Bonnie and Harry’s relationship?
4 – Why did Debbie storm out of the shopping centre?
5 – Who is Sandy Willis? How do Adam’s feelings for her change?
6 – According to Harry, why does Bullant sleep with him?
7 – Who was Tori in love with at the time of Simon’s accident? Why didn’t they end
up together?
SNIP
Sex and lust and love are tricky ground and it’s hard to write about them without it
sounding silly, insincere or perverted. I have gay friends and straight friends and
friends who are somewhere in between and it feels important for me to acknowledge
and celebrate sexual diversity. There was a lot more sex and love and lust in the
earlier drafts of Gravity but my publishers felt it was over the top. Much of it was
edited out. It changed the flow and emphasis of the story significantly.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We only have a small number of words to describe relationships. The Inuit
(sometimes called Eskimos) have a word that means ‘I like you a lot but I wouldn’t
want to go seal hunting with you’. Make a list of new words for different levels of
relationship and give them meanings. For example; Drender – someone you’ve slept
with who you hide from in supermarkets.
SHOW DON’T TELL
You spot three people sitting together in a restaurant. Hint about their relationships to
each other by describing body language. For example: ‘The red-headed woman’s foot
rested against the taller man’s ankle, but it was the man with the tattoo who held her
hand above the table. Her foot didn’t move, just hung there pressed against his sock.
The redhead and the tall man laughed in tandem.’
FOR THE COURAGEOUS
Write a sex scene where the characters don’t touch.
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SELF-RESPONSIBILITY
Adam drives while drunk (pp4-5)
Adam does a runner (pp14-18)
Adam helps Debbie and Harry clean up the paint mess (pp51-53)
Adam forgets that he has his mum’s only keys (pp86-89)
Adam helps the lost boy (pp97-101)
Mum and Adam talk about running away (pp101-103)
Tori and Adam talk about running from your problems (pp130-133)
Adam sticks up for Tori and Francis (pp144-145)
Adam tells his mum he’s going back to Splitters Creek (pp153-155)
Adam hands his license to Cappo (pp175)
Adam apologises to Mick Fenton for missing work (pp176-177)
Adam comes full-circle (pp185-186)
FROM THE BOOK
1 – What story does Adam come up with to shift the responsibility for his accident?
2 – Where did the idea of using sand to clean up the paint come from?
3 – Why is Adam inclined to help the lost boy?
4 – After talking with Tori, Adam sees five bad choices he’s made. What were they?
5 – Why would Cappo hand Adam’s license back?
6 – Where is Adam when he realises he’s come full circle? Describe the circle.
SNIP
I’m guilty, your honour. I did drink drive a few times when I was young. Didn’t get
into any strife but yes, I was asking for it. While I was writing Gravity I was involved
in a traffic collision – a drunk P plater in a white commodore lost control and crashed
into my car. Wrote it off. Almost wrote us all off. It was a scary thing and I realised
how fragile life is and how it can balance on one shitty decision. That seemed like an
important thing to write about.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Life is full of rules and regulations – write a list of eleven that suck the most. Imagine
a day when one of those rules didn’t apply – how would you make the most of it?
TEN FAST MINUTES
What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done and gotten away with? Write ‘I remember …’
and tell the story – you might need to change the names to save the guilty from
embarrassment!
FOR THE COURAGEOUS
Write a poem titled ‘Sorry’ and apologise for things you wish you’d done differently.
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SOME ANSWERS FOR THE ‘FROM THE BOOK’ QUESTIONS
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
1 – In Adam’s view, Simon has two faces. What are they? Relate an incident
from the book that describes them.
A – One face is ‘The Golden Child’ mask; the other is the true Simon, vicious and
cruel. Playing all-terrain footy, he’d hurt someone then when the parents came he’d
put on a sorry act.
2 – Simon suffers an acquired brain injury in the accident. How does that change
him?
A – He got fat, he spoke in grunts and moans, he wanked in the lounge and in public,
became more obviously violent.
3 – When Bully, Tori and Francis visit Adam at his mum’s flat, why does his
mum slam the door?
A – Adam’s mum hates Tori with a passion, blames her for Pat’s death and Simon’s
condition. Can’t stand to be around her.
4 – How is Tori’s boy Francis related to Adam?
A – Francis is Adam’s nephew
CITY LIFE VERSUS COUNTRY LIFE
1 – How old was Adam when he first ate McDonalds? Why was the experience
such a laugh for Simon?
A – Eleven. He thought the store manager was Ronald McDonald without the
makeup.
2 – Why do the 4x4 drivers carry CDs in the bush near Adam’s home?
A – Adam thinks it’s to protect them from the silence.
3 – Which groups hate each other in Splitters Creek? Who does Adam’s mum
project her hate onto when she moves to Melbourne?
A – Aussie rules players hated the league players, National Parks staff hated feral cats
and dogs, farmers hated weather and wombats, the hippies from Hargate hated the
loggers and the government and vice versa. Adam’s mum hates Asians.
4 – What home delivery is available in Splitters Creek?
A – Gas bottles.
5 – Why does Adam feel lost at the pub with Harry?
A – He’s in a strange environment, there are lots of people and he hardly knows any
of them, the ‘Country’ atmosphere seemed fake.
WORK
1 – What did Adam’s weekend and holiday work at the sawmill entail?
A – Cleaning up, docking logs to length with Cecil the chainsaw,
2 – How does Adam get his job at Hardware House? Was it a case of ‘who you
know’ or ‘what you know’ that made him employable?
A – Adam discovers Debbie struggling with the paint mess and helps contain it.
Debbie is impressed with the way he works and tells her boss to hire him. It was both
what he knew (cleaning the paint with sand) and who he knew (Debbie bosses the
boss around) that secured him the job.
3 – How does Adam get his nickname from Harry?
A – Harry calls him the Chainsaw Prince after the circular saw dies and Adam cuts a
large order to length using a chainsaw.
4 – What are the primary differences between working in the sawmill and
working with Harry in the timber yard at Hardware House?
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A – Hardware House is easy work, lifting in pairs and not working up a sweat. The
mill job was relentless and noisy. A splinter at the mill was no big thing but at
Hardware House it was an excuse to go to first aid.
5 – Who is Gordon? Why does he have sawdust on the floor of his house?
A – Gordon is Harry’s neighbour. He used to work with Harry’s grandad. His house
has sawdust on the floor because his lounge is actually his workshop.
6 – Why does Adam lose his job?
A – Adam thinks he loses his job for suggesting that Tony and Debbie were having an
affair.
SEX, LUST AND LOVE
1 – How old was Adam when he lost his virginity? How did he feel about it ?
A – Fifteen. It made him feel hollow, cheated.
2 – What were Debbie and Adam doing at work that became ‘an erotic
experience?’
A – Shifting big paint cans.
3 – What are Adam’s first impressions of Bonnie and Harry’s relationship?
A – Adam thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend.
4 – Why did Debbie storm out of the shopping centre?
A – Debbie ran off because Adam joked that she was having an affair with Tony.
5 – Who is Sandy Willis? How does Adam’s feelings for her change?
A – Sandy Willis is with Bullant in the Catalpa Arms at the beginning of the book.
Adam thinks she’s smelly and hairy to begin with but later thinks she’s authentic and
reliable.
6 – According to Harry, why does Bullant sleep with him?
A – He was too drunk to find his swag.
7 – Who was Tori in love with at the time of the accident? Why didn’t they end
up together?
A – She was in love with Simon’s friend Pat. He was killed in the accident.
SELF-RESPONSIBILITY
1 – What story does Adam come up with to shift the responsibility for his
accident?
A – Pretends a wombat or a wallaby ran in front of his car and that he had problems
with the steering.
2 – Where did the idea of using sand to clean up the paint come from?
A – Bullant’s garage. Some oil had been soaked up that way. (pp16-17)
3 – Why is Adam inclined to help the lost boy?
A – The lost boy reminds him of Francis. Adam is feeling a bit lost and vulnerable.
4 – After talking with Tori, Adam sees five bad choices he’s made. What were
they?
A – Drinking and driving, driving on after he’d fallen asleep at the wheel, lying to
Cappo, dragging Bully into the mess and leaving without saying goodbye.
5 – Why would Cappo hand Adam’s license back?
A - Probably because Adam has owned up and found the courage to take
responsibility for his actions. Possibly because Adam and his family are already
suffering. Possibly to save himself paperwork!
6 – Where is Adam when he realises he’s come full circle? Describe the circle.
A – Back out at the fence post where he stacked the ute. He’d run away, spent time in
the city, taken responsibility for the silly things he did and made his way home again.
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