Taronga vs children of the dust
Taronga vs children of the dustTaronga is a novel written by Victor Kelleher, which is set in Australia in 1987, two years after last days, a tragedy caused by Chernobyl. Similarly, the novel �Children of the Dust� written by Louise Lawrence is also about a disaster cause by a nuclear war, set in England. The weak are killed and the strong become stronger as the human race fights for survival. The themes, characters and relationships are similar and different in both novels. These two books have many groups and themes represented which coincide or repel each other.
In Taronga, the main characters, Ben, Ellie, Molly, Steve, Chas, and raja, are present throughout the book. Ben and Ellie fight for survival in Taronga zoo, which is controlled by molly and Steve. Groups with leaders such as Chas, want to sabotage and take over the only civilized place in the whole of Sydney- Taronga zoo. The main human character, being Ben, is constructed as being quiet and submissive. After putting up with Greg for two years, using him for his telepathic gift he decides to run away. Reaching the city, he gets pushed into Taronga zoo by Chas and his group, where he meets the remaining main characters. Ellie, who is caring, kind and compassionate, befriends Ben. Together, they survive living in the zoo, which is run by Molly and Steve, in the end, escaping to freedom.
Taronga is relatively different to Children of the Dust, where a family of four, Sarah, Veronica, William and Catherine, has to survive in their house, away from all the radioactive material as a result of a nuclear war. Only one of the four survive, Catherine, where she then lives with some other survivors from other families who have not been affected by the radioactive material. The focuses of the characters change in part two of the book. The story is then told from a different person�s view, which happened to be Catherine�s father taken to a government bunker. The novel explains of life in the bunker, and how new generations are bought up there. In part three of the novel, the characters change again. These characters are connected to the ones in previous parts but much later in the future. Survival is the number one priority for all characters throughout both novels. The ways both these novels are written, and the different way the storyline is presented, shows how they are not the same.
In Taronga, animals are given as much importance as some of the human characters, with Raja the tiger being most important. The way the humans think is compared to the way the animals think and interpret different situations. Sometimes the animals� thoughts have a deeper meaning than those of humans. Raja has a more complex and sophisticated way of thinking, and is harder to understand than any of the other main characters. In contrast to that, in �Children of the Dust�, the humans, or rather more mutants, are described to be more inhumane characters, due to their physical features.
Both Taronga and Children of the Dust don�t depict the future in a there are great technological advances, but as the breakdown of society. Breakdown of society is an important theme in both novels. Although it is included in children of the dust as one of the main themes, Louise Lawrence makes survival the biggest and most important theme. In Taronga, people live in an uncivilized society, with no laws or rules to keep everything under control. This absence of control causes chaos outside Taronga, which happens to be the only place in Sydney that is under control. �As he penetrated deeper and deeper into what was left of suburban Sydney, the atmosphere of madness grew even stronger� pg. 37.
Similarly, Louise Lawrence also creates a world where there is no control and the city and its people are free to do anything. This creates chaos, as it is displayed in part 1 of the novel. The society will do anything and everything to survive from the nuclear war. Survival is highly unlikely. �Everything is dying. There�s no way we�ll be able to stay alive�. No future for any of us� pg. 73. Both novels create a similar picture for the themes Breakdown of society and survival.
Taronga by Victor Kelleher and Children of the Dust, by Louise Lawrence are similar and different way. Themes, characters and relationships are all very important in both novels. Its is about survival of the fittest.