Essay Questions

How does the title related to character in this story?

The edge of the plain is represented as a metaphorical borderline between the comfort and security of domesticity and the dangerous men-only world represented by the plain. The plain is “shadeless” in comparison to the “mulga shade” on the edge. That Australian tree is instantly recognizable due to its familiar characteristics of limbs growing upward that stretch out widely, but are not particularly dense. In other words, the shade offered by the mulga is hardly the epitome of domestic comfort. That Mitchel and his mate act as though this paltry protection is significantly more domestic than the plain speaks leagues about the toughness of their character as well as their indisposition to the comfort of domesticity.

“On the Edge of a Plain” is almost universally recognized as Lawson’s greatest achievement in writing “sketch stories.” What might account for this critical unity?

Lawson asserted that for the sketch story to excel, “it must be good in every line.” “On the Edge of a Plain” is comprised of about 35 lines and every single one conveys important information concisely and without an extravagance of words. Within the space of just over 500 words, the reader learns following information: How long the narrator has been away from home. When and why his family assumed he was dead and are shocked to see him alive. That his old sweetheart who hasn’t seen in him at least eight years is still carrying a torch for him. How long he kept his promise to never leave again until after his parents had died. Why he broke that promise. That he smokes a pipe That he owns a dog whose feet are sore because of how far he and his mate have traveled already. With all that information at hand, Lawson constructs a story out of those 500 words and 35 or so lines that plumbs the depth of Mitchell’s character, engages in literary experimentation with double perspectives (the narrator and Mitchell’s monologue) and examines multiple themes including the meaning of masculinity in the Australian bush and the influence of perspective on relating events.

What is the significance of the dog to this story?

Lawson could have reduced the word count down by nearly a hundred by cutting out all references to Mitchell’s dog. But the purpose of a sketch story is not to use as few words as possible, but to make every word necessary significant and the dog is just as important a character as Mitchell and his mate. Both the dog and the mate essentially serve the same purpose of revealing the fundamental character of Mitchell. Keep in mind that Mitchell’s running monologue relates a pretty extraordinary story: the man whom a family learned just the day before was dead shows up very much alive at their door the very next day. The reaction of the family to this turn of events in no way seems remarkable or excessive. Except to the person telling the story. Consider, then, the way in which Mitchell first makes mention of the dog:

“The girls came rushing down. Mother was so pumped out that she couldn’t get up. They thought at first I was a ghost, and then they all tried to get holt of me at once—nearly smothered me. Look at that pup! You want to carry a tank of water on a dry stretch when you’ve got a pup that drinks as much as two men.”

Not only does he interrupt this amazing story he’s telling to make an observation about how much water a dog is drinking, that interruption in his train of thought features literally the only use of an exclamation point in the whole narrative. From that point on, Mitchell is not really engaging in a monologue at all; he’s telling two completely different stories taking place at two different points in time and space. The amazing one he relates as if he were talking about a tired, thirsty dog while the story of the tired, thirsty dog is the one he finds interesting enough to interrupt himself. Take the dog out of the story and it changes completely, losing much of what makes it so highly regarded.