Some of the main themes of last week’s blog post are as follows:
Significance of Horses: Morgan brought up a good point about the significance of the horses. She explores how vital the horses are to the lives of Ned and his family. They sometimes seem as if they are more important than money. People are fined or jailed numerous times in the book in relation with the horses. Ned states that “it were them horses that slowly brung [him] back to life God has made no other creature so beautiful there is no feeling to equal the surging of a good horse galloping across the plains”(133). This is a very spectacular statement in regards to something that walks on four legs and eats hay.
Hero or Villain?: Allen suggests that it does not matter whether Ned Kelly is a hero or villain and there would be no way of distinguishing him as either. But what we do know is that Ned Kelly has participated in some illegal acts including, killing someone’s cow, shooting Bill Frost and luring people into a trap with the police. This does not necessarily make Ned immoral. It also does not make him a hero. Either way, this question should not affect the reading of this novel. We see a specific turning point in Ned’s character. David points out that after Ned is released from prison, it seems as if he has decided to live a more peaceful life (save his feelings toward Wright) until Dan is threatened by Cons Flood. Then, despite the opposition of his mother, he decides to steal Whitty’s horse and risk going to jail again. David pointed out a good fact that Ned did not avenge his own sufferings at the hands of the police but put his freedom on the line for his family.
Ned’s Luck with Women: Jamie points out an important topic of Ned’s love life. She highlights the statement Ned makes about never kissing a girl even though he is old enough to be a married man. It is important to remember that this novel is written as a story to his daughter. This then stirs up questions about her mother and what the relationship was like between the two of them. Thus far we have seen interaction between Ned and two female counterparts (Caitlin and Mary.) Jamie then goes on to point out the impact of his parents on his love life. His parents are not exactly parents of the year being that Ned’s father was in trouble with the law and his mother was a prostitute.
Morals: This, in a way, goes back to what I summarized about the “Hero/Villain” complex. His morals are what seem to make him into the character that we either love or hate. Roman brings up an excellent point about Ned’s ethics. “Is Ned Kelly’s ethical behavior, within himself, which would make him a much stronger hero, or is merely a reflection of his belief that what he has been taught?” Roman suggests that the latter would imply that he was dependent upon the ideas-thoughts-concepts of others rather than his own, which makes the individuality aspect of his character much less admirable.