The Outsider by

Graeme Lay

A modern short text

Context – General Plot

Use the following words to write a 2-3 line summary of ‘The Outsider’ plot.

‘The Outsider’ is about…

Carl Sikowsky American tourist Kaimara

Surfing Justine Love Pregnant Abandoned Afraid Tied down Obsessed LocalBach Deserted NZ

The Outsider’ is about…

Karl Sikowsky, an American tourist who arrives in Kaimara to surf. Justine, a young local girl falls in love with him and becomes pregnant. Karl abandons her and leaves Kaimara as he is afraid of being tied down and is obsessed with surfing. Justine returns to Karl’s bach to find it deserted.

Characters

Karl and Justine.

Karl= Obsessed with surfing, selfish, shallow, conceited, false, loner, restless

Justine= Naïve, innocent, trusting, obsessed with Karl

Techniques which show character: Setting Contrast Dialogue

Importance of Character

Karl’s obsessive nature and actions show the theme of betrayal/desertion and how ‘obsession’ can be destructive to people’s lives – both their own and those around them.

His obsession with surfing prevents him from having a real life. Also that ‘outsiders’ often have trouble finding ‘acceptance’ in cliquey small town NZ. Justine illustrates the theme of naivety or innocence and also obsession.

Themes

Desertion/betrayal, What it means to be a man, Destructive nature of obsession.

The obvious theme is desertion – Karl gets Justine pregnant and deserts her. She had loved him but he was self centred. Karl, the surfer shows that the responsibility of having and caring for a child is not something he wants any part of and flees during the night. Justine is confronted with an empty house – Karl has taken the food, the photos of him surfing and left only the photo of him and Justine together.

Quotes that show Theme

“all the photos had been taken from the walls, all except one of two people walking on the beach.” Desertion/What it means to be a man

“ “…he might leave and that thought was unbearable to her“ Obsession

“the beach and the little house became their entire world” Destructive nature of obsession

StyleForeshadowing (Technique)

Lay foreshadows Karl’s desertion of Justine. ‘…then he might leave and the thought of

that was unbearable to her.’ (Karl had been talking about other people surfing)

His reaction to the pregnancy news was: ‘his eyes were brightly amused, as though she had told him a long and highly entertaining story.’

StyleFigurative Language (Technique)

Lay uses similes for description such as:‘head bobbing like a Moslem at prayer’‘sea had been like glass and the waves perfect translucent tubes…’‘teeth clicking like an abacus’‘his hair was stiff and shiny, like wet straw’‘wetsuit gleaming like a seal’He also uses a few metaphors such as ‘cutting a diagonal furrow down its face’ (Karl surfing)

StyleNarration (Technique)

Lay uses omniscient narration to get inside the heads of the main characters. Karl thought: ‘What did it matter that the town was Hicksville, when he could have all this to himself’

The author shows Justine’s naivety: ‘to him I am different and that is why we are so good together’

Karl thinks of himself while Justine thinks of the two of them together. This also foreshadows Karl’s desertion.

Setting

Setting:

Kaimara – a small coastal town in South Island. Probably the early 70s - telephone exchange. Carl - ‘Hicksville’,‘Hillbillies’ from the ‘Appalachians’.

Lay describes: ‘town was talking’, town reacted to Justine with ‘sniggers of youths, matrons’ frosty stares’ and how in the winter ‘the town concentrated its passions on the rugby ground’. Carl liked it because no-one else surfed.

Importance of Setting

Importance of Setting:

Helps reflect the personality of Karl i.e. he likes being alone or distant from society, can not be tamed or confined. This helps readers to understand his character better and also the theme of isolation and acceptance. Karl’s differences keep him from being accepted in the town. Readers can also identify or relate to the story easily as it has a NZ setting.

Abandoned beach – foreshadows an abandoned Justine?

Quote: “The beach was deserted…not a soul in sight”“the town concentrated its passions on the rugby…but he showed not the slightest interest.”