Genre
Stage Musical
Language
English (Australian colloquial)
Setting and Context
Western Australia, 1969
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is Willie's as the action both revolves around, and is seen from, his perspective.
Tone and Mood
Coming-of-age, introverted, romantic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Willie is the protagonist; Lester, Rosie's boyfriend, is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict between Slippery and Tadpole because Slippery does not want to get involved in theft and shooting people, and so decides to leave Tadpole and Willie behind.
Climax
Willie's mother testifies at the beach during the church's temperance march and reveals the Willie's real birth father is Tadpole.
Foreshadowing
Willie's declarations of love to Rosie in front of her boyfriend foreshadows Lester's combative and violent reaction.
Understatement
Willie's mother states that she has a few things to tell Willie but this really understates the fact that what she is about to share will change at least four lives moving forwards.
Allusions
The characters allude to the prostitution that goes on at the roadhouses along the highways of Western Australia.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
Willie's mother wants him to stay on the straight and narrow morally and go to priest school but the school is presided over by a priest who is the father of her secret love-child .
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Willie finding out who his father is and Wolfgang discovering the true identity of his dad.
Personification
N/A
Use of Dramatic Devices
There are no dramatic devices used in the musical primarily because it is the main characters who drive the plot forwards.
