Analysis

An analysis of the short story “One of My Best Friends” by Peter Goldsworthy shows that the text is structured chronologically, following the narrator from childhood to adulthood. The story does not follow a traditional plot line, as the events are described in several episodes which are not connected by cause and effect. 

The main characters of the story are Willy and the narrator. The narrator is white, while Willy is half-Aboriginal. The story follows their childhood friendship and adulthood reunion, when the conflict between the two is revealed. 

The physical setting is the Australian town where the narrator meets Willy while they are children and where they reunite when they are adults. The social setting focuses on the relationship between white Australians and Aboriginals, and on the discrimination experienced by the latter. 

The events are described by a first-person narrator, who is directly involved in the story. The narrator is most likely unreliable, as he is a bully and shows his bias and prejudice towards various social groups.

The language used by the author is Australian English and contains informal expressions. This offers an insight into the narrator’s personality and shows his bias against certain social categories. 

A full analysis of the short story can be found in the following pages.