The Tide of Joy - Tim Winton Essay

Essay
Tim Winton perfectly presents the quintessential Australian summer in “The Tide of Joy”.
This text centres on the feelings Tim Winton, the author, displays towards summer.
Through the use of a variety of literary techniques, the composer has succeeded in
encapsulating the vibe of the Australian summer.
Winton explores the Australian perspective on summer by reflecting on it’s hot days and
sweet smells. There is a bombardment of imagery in the first paragraph “Grapes heavy
overhead. The sighting… The smell…” which allows readers to connect with Winton’s
experiences, seeing the curtains and smelling the barbecued onion. The flowing, liquid
style of the description causes vivid scenes to be imagined by the reader in a short
succession driving home the pleasantness of summer, The idioms used in the article “sky
the colour of Domain cough syrup” and “odd fiver in Monopoly money” are providing a
colloquial tone and narrowing down the target audience of the readers to those that will
understand it: Australians. The idioms also create humour in the story. Who would
compare the sky’s colour to that of cough syrup?! Polysyndeton is present “limestone and
guano, of seagrass and death” causing readers to quicken their reading, following along
with the pure excitement that Winton wrote the article with. Thus it is evident that the
reflections of what Winton feels throughout summer conveys the views held by Australians
on the season.
Winton wields literary techniques throughout his story. Personification is shown “optimism
creeps up” to give the readers an insight as to how much Winton hates the colder seasons
and longs for summer. There are fragment sentences “Of summer.” to point out the
simplicity and laziness of the season which Winton reflects in his writing. “Nuts” is used as
slang to create a connection with the reader, showing them that Winton is a true-blue
Aussie bloke, loving the summer as much as everyone else does. It is through these...