Fly Away Peter, by David Malouf, details not only the horrors of war, but also the beauty of innocence found in Australian wildlife. Essentially, Malouf expresses the concept of binaries, particularly the contrast between innocence and experience, and what it means to be alive. The novel explores the life of Jim Saddler and his love of Australian wildlife, particularly birds, which Malouf then contrasts with his experience of the First World War, during which he subsequently died. Malouf, through a variety of techniques, including recurring symbols, changes in location, imagery, and shifts in time, is able to convey the central ideas of the binary of life and how it ultimately makes no sense . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayMalouf uses symbolism to explore how the peace and innocence found in nature contrasts greatly with the horror of the experience of war, but that both are necessary to be whole. Throughout the novel, Jim discusses the movement of birds he observes, such as the little sandpipers that appear every summer and come, [...], from [overseas]. Through this symbolism, Malouf expresses his belief that in nature birds migrate innocently and peacefully, without any destructive motive. Malouf contrasts this idea with the symbol of the biplane, emphasizing the ugliness with which humanity attempts to reproduce the beauty of nature. The biplane, a clumsy form [that rises] out of an invisible enclosure and makes slow circuits through the air, is man's attempt to reproduce the flight of a bird, which has now become an instrument of war. Malouf points out that there is a parallel between the innocence of a bird's migration and the destructive motive of man's movement. It is through the symbolic binary of birds and planes that Malouf conveys his idea that life is composed of both innocence and experience. Malouf also uses the change of setting in the novel, detailing the natural beauty of Australia and the nightmarish hell of life in the trenches, to contrast ideas of innocence and experience. When Ashley returned to Australia after visiting England, he observed the mixtures of powdery blues and greens [and] the feeling that [the landscape gave] of offering no prospect of being [ever] finished. It is through this imagery that Malouf reinforces the idea that ultimate innocence can be found in nature and that its beauty is one of life's greatest pleasures. Malouf contrasts this idea with images of trenches, rotten boards, gas-soaked mud, decomposing corpses [...] all tattered and black, changing the setting to the horrors of the war zone to emphasize the idea of how the experience can completely change. our perspective of the world we live in. It is through Malouf's expert use of change in locations that the idea of ​​the two binaries of life, innocence and experience, is reinforced. Malouf incorporates a shift in time to address the concept of what it means to be alive, and part-time plays into that. Towards the end of the novel, Malouf moves quickly to address Imogen's feelings, and it is here that the novel comes full circle. Imogen says everything had changed. The past would not and could not be held, and it is through this statement that Malouf conveys the dark idea that time moves forward and that everything it leaves behind has no meaning. But this is not the only message Malouf conveys. The idea that life is constantly changing offers some comfort through the promise that.