Characters

The main characters of the short story “One of My Best Friends” by Peter Goldsworthy are the narrator and Willy. The narrator is a white Australian, whose father is a police officer and who often moves because of his father’s job. Willy is a half-Aboriginal boy whom the narrator befriends when moving to a new school. The story follows the two characters’ childhood friendship and focuses on their reunion when they are adults. The relationship between the narrator and Willy reflects the narrator’s prejudiced attitude towards Aboriginals and demonstrates how such attitudes build resentment in the Aboriginal community.

The narrator’s father appears only briefly in the story. However, he seems to influence the narrator’s own prejudiced views. When Willy is sent to a reform school, the narrator’s father remarks: “ ‘Once a boong, always a boong!’ ” (p.80, l. 3), which echoes the narrator’s own remark at the end. 

The narrator

Outer characterization

One of the main characters of the short story is the narrator. 

At the time of the narration, he is an adult, but he recalls events from his childhood. The narrator’s name is not given, and we do not have many details about his appearance. However, we can assume he is a white Australian. The story only shows that the narrator is the son of a police officer (p. 78, l. 14), who becomes a cop himself (p. 80, ll. 17-18). He gets married (p. 80, l. 16) and has “a couple of kids” (p. 80, l. 21). He also enjoys playing football (p. 80, ll. 31...