ACEL20/JANAPR2024/KaussalyaVerasingam

My Greatest Ambition, Lurie.

About:

Story written in 1st person in voice of young(?) narrator. Tone shows a wry humour – adult
reflecting on youth seems more likely. Language is straightforward and relies on variety
rather than image creating. Sentences vary in length and create a sense of conversation.
Humour of opening sentence implies adult looking back with affection.

Memory as narrative tool:

memory is always unreliable. Narrator counters this unreliability by frequent corrections

and apologies for inaccuracy.

Title puts ambition against “dream” as writer is scathing of dreamers, yet the whole story is
a dream of his. This becomes increasingly obvious.

Characters:

Narrator is wry and humorous. Description is quite detailed – a sense of growth is evident
as he recognises his suit as ridiculous after being earlier convinced that it looked OK. Age is
conveyed in telephone scene, as is unworldliness of the boy. Countdown on the train
signifies anxiety and excitement. Detail re ink stains increase the awareness of youth of the
narrator.

All others are seen through his eyes. Father is a great “scoffer” – he does not have great
faith on his son’s dream. His humour that of an adult : teasing and general comments about
comics.

Mother is seen in dialogue over telegram. She is loving and proud. Otherwise has little
impact.

Setting :

little of home is seen apart from Father’s hats stored in son’s bedroom. Factory – distance
from town centre and lack of any “glamour” should suggest to reader that this is not a major
concern. Lurie is disappointed, but seems not to realise. He does feel the lack of glamour
on tour of the factory. He is interested in the product, not the process.
 ACEL20/JANAPR2024/KaussalyaVerasingam

Students should create summary and find quotations to support the following points.

1. Wants to write comics in Australia: post war?

2. Writes comic strip and hides it away amongst dad’s hats.
3. Michael Lazarus, a friend, tells him about a magazine in Melbourne.
4. Posts comic to magazine
5. Receives letter – is teased
6. Telephones for appointment – excited and naïve
7. Telegram changes appointment
8. Attends meeting – is paid for comic and shown around factory. Factory is dull and
removes magic from the visit.
9. Returns and writes new comic strip.
10. Receives refusal and told that magazine has closed down.
11. Decides to become an artist – feels this makes him a “dreamer” – art is not an
ambition, obviously

Close language study:

Passages: 335.4-6, first three paragraphs

336.7-337.3 ( “a prince”, my father said”.).

338.9- 339.4 ( A job…)

Focus on narrative style to show age of protagonist. Techniques to make the writing “vivid”
and believable. How does writer show how ill at ease the protagonist at the factory?