Essay Prompts

‘It’s odd, you know, but my father has always been lucky with inheriting things.’  To what extent do you agree with Ruth’s statement?

In many ways The White Earth is a warning about placing hope in property rather than investing in family. Discuss.

In what way can it be said that the land itself is a character in the novel The White Earth?

Andrew McGahan depicts a world that was very different for women than it was for men. How did women live and survive in the novel?

Kuran House is old and deteriorating. Why is it so important to the characters in the novel?

The newspapers called him ‘The Last of the Pure Merinos’, and it was not a complimentary title.
‘We’ll go into town. Okay? But not right now. We have to clean you up a bit first. Otherwise a doctor might wonder why you’re all battered and bruised … Do you see?’
How important is reputation to characters in The White Earth?

In the end it is Ruth and William who survive. What do these characters have in common?

‘The burning man was his reminder of things lost, and his accuser of things done. But now it had vanished, and John knew why. It had moved on to William. All unknowing, the boy had assumed the burden and John was free of it at last.’ Discuss.

McGahan incorporates various political and legal aspects into the narrative. How does the text explore these?