Fly Away Peter is a novel written by David Malouf. It is set in the period of world war one with the first half in rural Queensland and the second in the war in France. The author describes a journey from innocence to experience that young soldiers like Jim go through as a result of wartime experiences. While exploring this journey, Malouf manages to maintain a degree of integrity by showing the whole picture of war. He allows us to see both the positive and the negative sides to war. While the book depicts the horrors of war, it also gives an optimistic view by giving the impression that life will still go on and there will be a future after the war.

Before going to the war in Europe, Jim led very secluded life in Queensland, making him very innocent and unaware of the horrors life can bring. There were several instances in the book which demonstrate this innocence. For example, he described photography as a mystery, he had never heard of Wagner, and was unaware of the word 'refugee'. He wasn't well educated and had not had th

in some sort of normality in going about their day to day activities. They continue on as best as they can with their lives. Some even manage to profit from the war. Jim mentions that on one side of a hedge people were farming their land while a short distance away, war is raging in.

David Malouf has told a powerful story of how young soldiers loose their innocence in a war situation. It is honestly told, and gives a balanced view of war. It portrays the positive side along with the horrors that people are forced to endure. Instead of focusing on the torture of war, common the most World War One books, Malouf shows us the whole effect on people. It draws conclusions about the meaning of life emphasizes that there is always a future and that life will go on. "It was new. So many things were new. Everything changed. The past would not hold and could not be held' p133.

"Listen men,' he whispered, lifting his chin. He seemed filled with boyish nobility, playing his part of the junior officer as he had learned from the stories in Chums."p94

e land, making him realize he wants to expand on that view. He then joins to fight in the war. Once in France Jim sees the effect war has on people and their surroundings. The war was transforming the soldiers into different people, now unrecognizable to others. This transformation can be first seen in Jim when he is picked by Wizzer. He is overcome by a black rage which was a depth in himself which he had never experienced. Jim is gaining experience by looking inwards on himself. This new knowledge and experience frightens him at first but later it becomes natural as the war rages around him. After seeing people killed and maimed he eventually stops being afraid of the death surrounding him. Jim becomes a 'veteran' p96 of war as he sees his group killed, replaced and then killed again. He feels himself growing much older than he really is. This newly found experience eventually brings him despair, as he loses hope for the future.

arrived in Europe, he had no idea what to expect from the war and found himself in a world that was 'unlike anything he had ever known or imagined' p58. Like other soldiers, he was impatient to go and fight in the war as he hadn't yet been touched by the activity around him. Later in the war, Jim sees soldiers die and be replaced by new ones. He describes admits to their innocence and the state of innocence that he was once in. They were completely unaware of what lay ahead of them. The new, young officer in chapter 13 demonstrated this innocence with a boyish excitement like that of a war game before being shot due to his ignorance.

Malouf manages to maintain integrity in this story as he describes the

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Approximate Word count = 1817
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)