Johnno and Behind the Moon: Critique and Analysis

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Behind the moon by Hsu-Ming Teo chronicles the story of three friends and their journey towards discovering themselves and the boundaries of their friendship. It follows them as children when they find each other due to their alienation from others and then follows them as their bond fades through the years eventually finding their way back to each other. It then shows how their friendship holds them together despite the various difficulties in their lives (Teo).

Johnno is a book written from the first-person perspective by author David Malouf. It follows the story of the narrator Dante and his friendship with his schoolmate Johnno in Brisbane in the 1940s and 50s. In this coming of age story, there is one instance where the main character crosses a boundary and transcends his perceptions about his life and his family (Malouf). This essay will focus on four different examples in the two books where characters cross certain borders or boundaries and how these crossings affect their identities in their respective worlds.

When we talk about crossing a boundary or even crossing a border its important to realize that not only is the act of crossing such a line important. Another thing that has great importance as well is how the characters experiences have led him or her to that point and how these experiences lead the characters to make the decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. Their lives being affected not only socially among a small group of people but also on a societal and cultural level that creates a link between them and the people that they surround themselves with.

When we discuss the boundaries that are engaged by the characters in the book there is one character that immediately comes to mind as embodying this concept. That character is one of Justin Cheong. Justin Cheong is a Chinese Australian whose mother Annabelle brought him up with strict Chinese values that placed the perception of society above their own needs. During his childhood, Justin often struggled with his homosexual urges. He saw his friendship with Tien and Nigel Gibbon as the focal point of his existence at the time.

The boundary that Justin crosses within the book is directly related to his homosexual nature. Justin had denied his homosexuality during his childhood due to two major influences.

The first major influence was that of his parents. His father was a person who was well-loved in Justins eyes and thus he wished to fulfill his wishes to the best of his abilities and thus always strived to be obedient and behave. His mother however was a woman who was obsessed with cleaning. She was so adamant about maintaining the cleanliness in her home that she would forbid her son from sitting on the toilet, even threatening him bodily harm if he did so.

These two individuals from one major influence on his life. His mothers obsession with cleanliness instilled a conservative viewpoint within Justin and also ensured that he grew up with much guilt within himself for even considering the prospect of sex much less with a person from the same gender. He knew that his mother would not accept him as a homosexual since she had trouble even accepting the awakening of his sexuality as a teenager. In terms of his father, Justin needs to please the man and do whatever is necessary to be a good son. To that end, he sees the adoption of homosexuality as not fitting into such goals.

The second experience that Justin has is one of survivors guilt. This returns us to Justins teenage years when he engaged in his first sexual activity in the cubicle of a toilet. It can be immediately understood how much Justin would have to set aside here to explore his sexuality.

Especially when it is considered that his mothers voice rings in his head throughout the exchange. However, he completely abandons this form of exploration when he finds out that shooting occurs in a coffee place where he was supposed to meet up with his friends. Upon seeing the carnage Justin blames himself for the incident. He believes that his indulgence in this act is what caused all the death and destruction around him. He blames his decision on his need to explore his sexuality and reflects on the incident telling himself he will never do so again.

However, sometime later Justin crosses the aforementioned physical boundary with his best friend Gibbo. This occurs in the part of the story where Gibbo goes on a camping trip with Justin to Reef beach. While they are there the boys stay overnight.

During a conversation, Justin kisses Gibbo as a sign of his affection for his friend. Not only is this the crossing of a physical boundary as mentioned before, but Justin also crosses a psychological boundary as he lets go of his past experiences and upbringing to embrace his feelings. Additionally, it must be considered that this is Justins first open exploration of his sexual nature with someone who knows him as an individual. The previous person was never mentioned by name or even described showing perhaps that he was a stranger with little or no ties to him. The resulting spat between friends sets up the situation where both of them stay apart from each other for years.

The second boundary which is crossed in the tale is a personal one. This occurs during a reunion of the three friends which happens at the end of their university years. They get together at a party which is organized by their families to mourn the loss of Princess Diana. Not only is their animosity among the three friends during this event but there are also arguments between the parents of the three individuals mentioned as well.

One such argument is one where Gibbos father a medical doctor and a very assertive individual becomes upset with Justins father Tek. In retaliation to Teks words, he reveals his sons sexual orientation to his father crossing a personal barrier by infringing on Justins right to keep such information from his family. This brings about two enormous transformations. The revelation of this fact helps the character of Justin come to terms with his sexuality and evolves his relationship with his family as well.

The third example of a boundary that is crossed in the story is told during a flashback that concerns Tiens mother Lihn. This boundary is one of duty to her family and the customs of her society which are crossed by this woman. The boundary here is crossed by Lihn when she carries on a love affair with an African American GI by the name of Bucky. She does all this while disregarding her familys wishes that are completely against this course of action. She leaves behind the influence of her unhappy first marriage and the sad fate of her first child to pursue a life with a man that she loves. In the process, she finds herself completely alone separated from her family, and running from her war-ravaged homeland.

In the story of the character Dante, his life is examined through the eyes of his friend Johnno by offering a different perspective of his existence, his family, and his city and country through the experiences of his friend. In his childhood, Dante often sees his life as quite frankly dull and ordinary. He also finds his family much the same as he remarks once that they never gave him enough of a reason to rebel.

The narrator tries emotion too much of the experiences of his childhood and makes it clear when he moves to his new home that even though he found Brisbane completely drab, he still found it to be the only home he had. It is only when his father dies and the man has to sort out his affairs that he realizes the complex individual that lay underneath who was so much like himself. During his lifetime many of the proper customs adopted in families in Australia kept him from truly knowing who his father was. However, when he goes through his fathers things the narrator personally and spiritually crosses a boundary maturing into the man that he needs to be.

Not only does he find the greater complexities to his father that he never realized. His perspective about his childhood friend and his city evolves as well as he finds things about his friend that he never knew and comes to see Brisbane in a way that he had not before. In essence through the myriad emotional journey that he goes through discovering all the missing pieces of his past allows him to grow into a person who has a greater understanding of himself and the environment around him.

Allowing him to love it without the reservations he had as a child. These reservations are also quoted throughout the book in its perception of children. This perception beautifully encapsulates how children are naturally inquisitive about adult behavior and issues and are often denied the right to know such information or silenced when they inquire about it. The boundary that Dante crosses allows him to understand himself better and in the end, makes him see how the experiences in his youth may have caused him to misjudge all that he knew about the world around him and come to accept it now as an adult.

When we consider the critical commentaries written on the books mentioned above we can find several which explore the themes of homosexuality and culture from the texts. In the case of behind the moon, the most fundamental aspect of the book regarding Asian culture is explored in a commentary in the book China Abroad. This commentary not only explores the themes of the generational gap between Asians but also explores the culture that dominates the Cheong home.

The commentary starts with the toilet training scene at the beginning of the book and extends its metaphor of cleanliness to show how their son has chosen a completely different path from his parents. It shows that while Annabelle and Tek are pursuing ways to ensure that they continue to have a clean image in society. Their son however has chosen a path that will undoubtedly cast him as unclean in his familys eyes. This is even though his mother has instilled a fear against being unclean within him throughout his child which persists to his teenage years (Ho and Kuehn p. 180-183).

Another commentary given in the companion to Australian literature speaks about how Hsu-Ming Teos work is an exploration of displacement among Asian communities and how distant they feel from their homeland even though they have no direct link there. It explains that her second novel behind the moon is an exploration of the differences and similarities between various groups with ethnic, sexual, generational, and cultural differences. It talks about how the narrative of the three friends mentioned in the book Gibo, Justin, and Tien encompasses the ethnic diversity that exists in Australian society today and how their differences serve to bring them closer together (Birns and McNeer p. 115-116).

In the case of Johnno by author David Malouf the commentary dissects the authors works and mentions how the author writes about his characters as if they are willingly alienated from Australian society. The commentary specifies how the author has created the character of Johnno to specifically resist Australian culture and stereotypes that a character is a person who wishes to be seen as nothing but an individual unto him.

While in the case of Dantes father, the description given of him in the book is one of a complete stereotype in Australian society. A strong and honorable man who eventually dies leaving only the meaning of the symbols he represented behind. He acts as a bridge between the younger and older generation in to integrate the younger generation of today into society. Johnno sees the area of Brisbane as a personification of everything he does not want to be.

He wishes to remove himself from it since he sees that as the only way he will be seen for the individual that he is and not seen as everyone else. The commentary also speaks of how though Johnno ran from these stereotypical institutions all his life they eventually caught up to him in death, showing that no one can escape such intricacies of culture and society (Mohr p. 216- 222).

Another commentary speaks about how his book explores the boundaries of Australian culture. It explores the culture and symbols which are inherently present within Australian culture. Then it uses the personal experiences of the main characters in his story showing their transformations into individuals who can finally perceive the true nature of the country that they live in. This is in contrast to how they viewed it before. In this way the entire books act as a supplement to history, establishing its legitimacy. He does all this while speaking in the first-person perspective to convince his readers by connecting with them instead of taking them out of the picture (Rooney).

References

Birns, Nicholas and Rebecca McNeer. A companion to Australian literature since 1900 p.115-116. New York: Camden House, 2007.

Ho, Elaine Yee Lin and Julia Kuehn. China Abroad p. 180-183. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2009.

Malouf, David. Johnno. New York: George Braziller, 1998.

Mohr, Dunja M. Embracing the Other: Addressing Xenophobia in the New Literatures in English p. 216-222. 2008: Rodopi, New York.

Rooney, Brigid. Remembering inheritance: David Malouf and the literary cultivation of nation. Journal of Australian Studies Volume 31 Issue 90 (2007): 65 75.

Teo, Hsu-Ming. Behind the Moon. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2005.

Click Here To Order Now!

Johnno and Behind the Moon: Critique and Analysis

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)