Australian Culture in Fly Away Peter

“Fly Away Peter” is a short novel written by David Malouf in 1982, set in 1914 in Queensland, Australia, where two young men, an Australian and an Englishman go to war and experience the horrors and misery of World War One. The book deals with various Australian cultures and identities which cover patriotism, war, and Australia-England relationships.
David Malouf brings his representation of patriotism in Australian culture to life in the early chapters of Fly Away Peter. His idea that Australia was a young but patriotic nation in 1914, when the book was set, is seen when he introduces a minor character, a young girl in chapter 6, which in many ways, reflects the ordinary people within that society period. When she meets Jim in Brisbane in a shoe shop, she asks if Jim is going to join the army, and when Jim asks why, she passionately and patriotically says to Jim ‘If I was a man I’d want to be in it [War].’
At first, the strong patriotism of Australians seems to be s...