Characters
The story “Cloud Busting” by Tara June Winchfeatures several characters: May (the narrator), Billy (her brother), the narrator’s mother (who also functions as a narrator), Alice (the narrator’s grandmother), and Samuel (the salesman). All these characters are simple; their traits are not presented in detail. Out of all of them, the most important ones are May, Alice, and Samuel.
May
May is the main narrator of the short story. Her name is not mentioned in the text, but we know it because the story is a chapter from the novel Swallow the Air.
May recounts childhood memories, which means that her characterisation is focused on her features as a child.
From May’s outer characterisation, we find out that she has a brother named Billy and that her mother has Aboriginal origins (p. 193, l. 30).
Inner characterisation
May’s inner characterisation is conveyed mostly indirectly, through her attitude, her actions, and her thoughts.
The way the narrator recounts childhood memories suggests that—as an adult—May is nostalgic about the past. As a child, May is playful, dreamy, and imaginative. The descriptions of activities like cloud busting, clam collecting, and ocean diving suggest that May has a vivid imagination, like any child: “We go cloud busting, Billy and me, down at the beach, belly up to the big sky. We make rainbows that pour from your heads…” (p. 192, ll. 1-2);
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Alice (the grandmother)
The grandmother is one of the main characters in the story told by the narrator’s mother. Because the events of the story took place in 1967, the grandmother is only presented as a young mother. However, at the time of the narration she is already dead.
Outer characterisation
Alice’s outer characterisation from that time presents her as a mother of eight children, most of whom have been placed in missions. She is an Aboriginal woman working as a...
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Inner characterisation
Alice’s inner characterisation presents her as a daring woman. She is the one who approaches the white salesman: “Mum called him down, I don’t know why, she didn’t know him.” (p. 193, ll. 43-44). She is very direct with Samuel and uses colloquial language:
‘You not gunna let me buy em then?’ Mum said blowing smoke over our heads.
‘Would you like to, Miss?’
‘Of course I bloody do.’ (p. 194, ll. 27-30)
Furthermore, she is able to convince him to sell her the saucepans, although she is only able to pay for them in instalments:
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Samuel
Samuel is another character that appears in the story told by the narrator’s mother, from 1967.
His outer characterisation presents him as a “white man, all suited up” (p. 193, l. 42), who works as a “travelling salesman” (p. 194, l.33). He comes to Goulburn with a set of saucepans, trying to sell them.
Inner characterisation
His inner characterisation presents him as a good, respectful person. When he is approached by Alice, he does not refuse to present the saucepans, although he is aware that the Aboriginal women probably could not afford them.
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