Investigating narrative devices in

Ransom and Invictus

Flashbacks, flash-forwards, present tense,

‘over-the-shoulder’ shots and parallel editing
 Essential Question: In what ways do Eastwood
and Malouf use narrative devices to
convey themes, issues and ideas through their
texts?
Success Criteria – we will:
• Analyse Malouf's use of flashbacks, present tense and
flash-forwards

• Analyse Eastwood's use of over-the-shoulder shots and

parallel editing

• Compare and contrast the meaning conveyed through

the narrative devices in Ransom and Invictus
 How to use this PowerPoint…

• The first few slides feature information about the structure

and style of each text, with reference to literary and filmic
devices (underlined and featured in bold). These will be the
metalanguage words you use in your essays and your writing
tasks.

• This will be useful to you when studying narrative devices and

when using metalanguage in your essays

• The activities you are required to complete are emboldened

and featured in red later on
 Narrative devices

Narrative devices provide insight to the audience on:

• The experience and feelings of individual characters

• The experiences and feelings of many characters/broader

society

Narrative devices relate to the ways that texts have been

structured (ordering and depiction of events) and the style of
the text (the language, literary or filmic devices used)
 Ransom: Comments on Structure

• Ransom is a novel in five parts. These parts are not named, rather numbered.

• The plot of the novel is generated from the narrative perspective of characters that are
pivotal to the narrative.

• The narrative voice uses a limited omniscience to describe both the physical and mental
state of each main character.

• Throughout the novel there is very little dialogue used to drive the narrative forward,
rather it is driven by the internal reflection of the main characters as they consider the
past and the future direction which their lives may take.

• Malouf orientates his readers to the background and history of his characters via their
thoughts. This introspection does move the narrative forward, but at a controlled pace.
This, in turn, allows for description of setting to complement the thoughts and mood of
each character as they contemplate their actions, as well as the wider significance of the
events within which they are embroiled.

• There is also no real antagonist in the narrative. Malouf deliberately gives the reader
legitimate reasons to feel empathy toward Achilles, even though his defiling of Hector’s
body is an affront to everyone, including the gods.
 Ransom: Comments on Structure
• Chapter One focuses on Achilles eleven days after his slaying of the Trojan hero Hector. The
protagonist in this chapter is presented as a fallen hero; a man at odds with himself due to his
suffering grief and guilt because of the slaying of his best friend at the hands of the Trojan prince,
Hector. This chapter functions as part of the orientation of the novel.

• In Chapter Two, the focus shifts to Priam, the king of Troy, who has a dream or vision which
involves going to Achilles, as a man, not a king, to ransom the body of his son, Hector. The
juxtaposition of Achilles’ personality with Priam’s is well achieved. Both are presented as being
significantly changed in the aftermath of Hector’s death. This chapter also functions as part of the
orientation.

• Chapter Three is composed of Priam and the carter Somax making their way to the Greek camp.
They are joined in this journey by the god Hermes, “the slayer of giants”, who is to be their guide.
This chapter functions as the complication in the narrative.

• In Chapter Four, Priam and Achilles meet. Achilles agrees to return Hector’s body to Priam. In
sharing in Priam’ grief Achilles, finally, comes back to himself. This chapter functions as the novel’s
climax.

• Chapter Five, the final chapter, is the resolution and denouement. Each of the main characters has
their stories intertwined to conclude the novel. Somax and Priam, thinking of their respective
homecomings; Achilles and his son, Neoptolemus, who avenges Achilles by slaying Priam; even the
fate of Troy, are all given to the readers.
 Ransom: Comments on somax’s role and its
interrelationship with narrative structure
• Malouf uses character reflection to conclude the story.

• He takes the narrative out of the hands of the kings and heroes, and gives
it back to Somax.

• Somax is the one who survives long past the destruction of Troy. It is he
who gets to bounce many grandchildren on his knees, and who gets to
speak of his adventure over a drink to anyone who will listen.

• The twist in this conclusion is that later generations forget the details of
history, and assume that Somax is just the borrower of someone else’s
story.

• This twist is ironic and indicates Malouf‟s awareness of his own

relationship to Somax: an aging storyteller who has borrowed from an
ancient, classic tale the inspiration to tell one of his own.
 Ransom: Comments on style – Chapter I

• The voice used by Malouf in Ransom is that of an omniscient narrator. The story is told in the third
person.

• Malouf‟s use of introspection, where each character’s thoughts form the core of the narrative, gives
an intimacy to his writing. This intimacy draws the reader in so that they feel they are sharing in the
thoughts of the character; thus, the novel reads almost as a series of first person accounts and
reflections from different characters’ perspectives.

• Malouf uses sentence length to generate a lyrical rhythm in his prose, especially in the opening
chapter.

• The pattern of his writing also changes to suit each character. This gives each character a unique voice.

• Malouf achieves this through combining structural elements, such as sentence length and the ordering
and eventual overlapping of each character’s story, with subtly distinctive syntax, and individual
lexicons.

• The character of Achilles for instance, has a more lyrical speech pattern, as suited to his status as a
hero. He also tends to think poetically, in a sense, almost philosophically, about his life and situation.
He reflects on and questions his values, and his right to be called a hero. He is also depicted as still
being connected to the world of the gods.

• This gives a depth to his thoughts, a spirituality which on first impression is surprising in a warrior, but
Malouf is careful to construct Achilles so that this spirituality is explained - given that Achilles has
continually faced the reality of life or death for the last nine years.
 Ransom: Comments on style in Chapters II and III
• Priam is depicted differently. His voice is initially constructed to present a more limited set of
experiences. As with Achilles, Priam has had to deal with the stress of war lying on his doorstep,
with all its destruction, waste and death, but unlike Achilles, he has been involved from afar.

• Despite his age, he has not had the need to think deeply about his personal response to these
stresses. Effectively, he has been hidden or sheltered behind his role as king of the Trojans.
Protocol has provided his response to every situation. He has also let others do the talking for
him. It has been his job to keep up appearances; to present as an aloof, regal presence, which
portrays strength and surety by creating the illusion that he is somehow more than just a man.

• Consequently, with the death of his son Hector, and the vision he has which prompts him to
discard protocol and do “something new”, Malouf portrays Priam as being ironically aware of his
own inexperience.

• As such, Priam’s voice/thoughts are generated from his minute observations of nature; his new-
found interest in small things.

• For the first time, almost like a child, he takes an interest in the personal stories and the natural
life which surrounds him. He finds a genuine interest and affection for Somax.

• He also finds the ability to sympathise with Achilles, the murderer of his son. In this respect,
although his phrasing and manner are at odds with his thoughts, Malouf has deliberately
constructed this dichotomy so that his style of writing complements this character’s
preoccupations, juxtaposed with his physical situation.
 Ransom: Comments on style in Chapter III onwards
• Somax is presented using a different style of writing again. He too keeps thoughts to himself, but he
is portrayed as being more used to speaking – and, more specifically, telling stories.

• Malouf‟s style of writing when presenting Somax‟ perspective becomes more balanced in its
combination of thoughts manifesting themselves as physical actions. Somax‟ character rubs his
nose when troubled or uncomfortable. This mannerism has a calming effect on Somax (and also on
Priam and Achilles because of its natural unpretentiousness). It is a mannerism which describes the
character as much as do his thoughts.

• Such descriptive focus indicates the differences in social class between the characters. Achilles and
Priam rarely lose control of themselves; they are above such human reactions. It is as if their every
move is calculated to portray the image which they want their audience to believe.

• Somax has no such pretension. He has no need for theatrics or pomp. Again, Malouf uses his style
of writing to complement each character’s unique perspective. This also allows the reader to
compare characters.

• The mastery displayed by Malouf – the control he has over his art – becomes truly apparent when
the reader realises that he has actually used these different styles to communicate just how similar
these main characters are.

• In spite of their differences, they are able to complete the ransom of Hector’s body, because
underneath each character lies a common humanity.
 Ransom: Comments on Style:
Poetic lyricism:

• The poetic lyricism evident in the opening lines of David Malouf ’s Ransom in which the
putative hero, Achilles, is seen gazing longingly at the sea in the hope of hearing one
more time the voice of his mother, alerts readers that a story which describes a place
where ‘the sea surface bellies and glistens, a lustrous silver-blue’ (p. 3) is not one to
necessarily meet expectations about a re-imagining of Homer’s The Iliad.

Flashback, perspective and characterisation:

• Characterisation is achieved through memory, flashback, the perspective of others, and

words given to the characters as they reflect on their lives and plead their respective
causes.

• For example, when Priam is trying to gain Hecuba’s support for his plan to rescue their
son’s body from the Greeks, we are privy to the thoughts of both characters. We
understand why Priam wants to break with tradition and travel on a cart pulled by a mule,
but we also understand why Hecuba thinks that in a king this is a sign of madness.

• Similarly in the middle section, the viewpoint shifts between Priam and Somax.
 Ransom: Comments on Style

Metaphor and analogy:

• In Malouf ’s literary prose, metaphor and analogy frequently

convey complex ideas.

• For instance, Priam describes himself as a ‘fixed mark’ or as

‘an abstract of the lands he represents, their living map’ (p.
43), and animal imagery is used to emphasise particular
qualities in Achilles and the Greeks.

• Malouf ’s doubling or mirroring (earth and water, joy and

grief, body and spirit/idea) also portrays complex ideas.
 Invictus- comments on structure
News Flashes
• The director cuts from the film’s scenes to news flashes from the media to give the
audience information that would not easily be revealed through the narrative alone.
• For example, newspaper headlines and snippets of TV news programs are used to give
the audience the background information they need prior to watching the film, including
news of Mandela‟s release and subsequent election as president.
• News flashes are also used to show the time that passes between his release and the
election.
• While the film focuses on Mandela’s activities and involvement with the Springboks, the
news flashes acknowledge that Mandela is also conducting many other presidential
duties. These include addressing people at many different events, travelling and
undertaking the many other public tasks necessary to his job.
• Use of this technique helps to portray how busy Mandela is and avoids the perception
that Mandela‟s spends most of his time focusing on rugby, while allowing the film to
focus on the specific events central to the story.
• News flashes are also used to show the varying attitudes in the community towards a
range of topics.
• For example, there are a number of instances throughout the film where reports on the
Springboks are used.
• Topsport reports on the Springboks, at first describing them as “unprepared and
arrogant‟, and Mandela is shown later in an interview discussing his newfound love of
the Springboks.
 Invictus: Comments on style
Point of view
• Invictus is told from the position of a third person omniscient narrator. It is
narrated from a position where all events and characters can be seen and is not
told from the perspective of any single character.

• We see evidence of this when the focus changes from what Mandela is doing to
what is happening in Pienaar‟s life to scenes of the crowd at the rugby. The focus
constantly changes and the audience is privy to what is going on in a number of
characters‟ lives, even when they are all in different places and events are
seemingly unconnected.

Values
• Using an omniscient narrator can make it appear that the director is impartial. This
is generally not the case, however. Directors make very conscious choices about
what is to be shown in a film and how it is to be shown.

• In Invictus, both Mandela and Pienaar are shown in a very positive light. The
director has focused on the positive aspects of their characters and the good that
they did in society. He has not explored any negative traits of character in any
detail, although he has portrayed them as human, acknowledging Pienaar’s
upbringing in a racist white household and Mandela’s problems with his family.
 Camera shots and editing

Camera shots and editing:

• The camera has the power to tell many stories—it focuses on poverty from a bus
window, on crowds gathered at a political meeting from above, on grunting rugby
players in a scrum from beneath, or on the underside of a huge plane flying over a
rugby ground with ‘Good Luck Bokke’ written on its undercarriage.

• Over the shoulder shots (or third-person shot, where a shot of someone or
something is taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of
another person) are used frequently in Invictus

• Sub-plots are developed in the film using parallel editing (alternating two or more
scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations)

• There are stories about Pienaar’s relationship with Mandela, the white and black
security guards learning to work together, the Springbok team and the Pienaar
family changing their view of the President and his ideas.
 Invictus: Camera shots, editing, symbols and motifs:
• Each story shows people changing, a sad exception being Mandela’s daughter.
Members of the Pienaar household change their relationship with their servant
Eunice as Mandela’s influence over the whole nation, in valuing the ideal of
equality, gradually starts to be felt.

• The ‘motif ’ of the little boy Sipho who keeps popping up at various points in the
film’s narrative trajectory, is imbued with intense symbolic effect; as we follow
him through to the climactic moment when the police embrace him, viewers
understand he represents millions of young black boys brought up in poverty and
now included in the nation’s story.

• The opening scene of the white staff in the President’s office packing up their
belongings, assuming they would have no place in the new black-majority
government, is a powerful way to alert viewers to the magnitude of the job
Mandela faces.

• Mandela’s assertion when explaining why his body guards will be multi-racial: ‘The
Rainbow Nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here. Forgiveness starts here’ (Sc.
4, 00:13:32) establishes the literal and metaphorical idea which frames not only
Mandela’s presidential goals but the central theme of the film.
 Invictus: Cinematography

• There is a documentary quality to the cinematography of the film-

making, an effect which is amplified by the use of parallel editing in
the opening scenes of the film and during the final stages of the
World Cup game.

• It is the ultimate message of optimism and hope for a better future

which remains with viewers, this message being poignantly
captured in the final montage of images of Mandela, Pienaar and
their peers, colleagues, family, friends and servants, as they revel
together in their success.

• It leaves viewers with a sense that we can all learn from the
inspiring example of people prepared to put enmity behind them.
 Invictus:

Literary Allusion:
• The title of the film, Invictus, is a literary allusion to a
poem by William Ernest Henley, a poem which has been
documented as providing comfort and inspiration to
Nelson Mandela throughout his years of incarceration
and solitary confinement in prison.

• ‘Invictus’ is the Latin for ‘undefeated’ or ‘unconquered’.

Freeman’s voice-over intones the poem when Pienaar is
alone in the Robben Island cell, with music and fade-in
image of Mandela to portray his invincibility despite his
imprisonment.
 Invictus: Style

• Mirroring, repetition and doubling are evident in a range of scenes

and used for a variety of purposes.

• The most obvious doubling and mirroring is in the depictions of the

two leaders, Nelson Mandela, and François Pieannar.

• Close-up camera shots compare and contrast their feelings as

leaders, as does the dialogue, particularly in the scene when
Mandela asks Pienaar to take tea with him.

• Also, the plot revolves around Mandela convincing white players to

show interest in township blacks, and convincing the black
population to show interest in rugby.
 Activities:
1. Look through the first ten pages of Ransom. Circle the present tense verbs (eg: “lifts”,
“glistens”). What is the effect of writing this story in present tense? Which of the
following words help outline this effect?

– Current
– In the moment
– Transports the reader
– Unfolds the drama in the present
– Existential
– Cinematic
– Dramatises
– Emphasises for the reader
– Creates

Write a sentence that follows the QUESTION STAIRCASE APPROACH (why/how/what) that we
have been looking at in class recently uses quotes from Ransom and some of the words
above to answer the question. You can use this sentence starter to help:

In Ransom, Malouf infuses the narrative with present tense verbs such as…. , … and … in
order to… . Here, the verbs create/convey a sense of …, which serve to … .
 Activities:

2. How does the present tense nature of Ransom link to Invictus? Do both
texts seem like they capture a moment in ‘the present’? Why?

3. Consider the use of flashbacks (pp. 10-13, 65-68) and flash-forwards (212-
214, 216-219) in Ransom. What is the overall effect of locating a character
not just in one moment of time but also in the context of their past and
future? You can use the words/phrases below to help you answer this
question in sentence form that utilises the the QUESTION STAIRCASE
APPROACH :

• It shows that life is an ongoing cycle

• It emphasises the importance of the past
• It demonstrate the cycle of life and mortality
• It shows that every moment comes from somewhere in the past and leads
to somewhere in the future
• It demonstrates the interconnection of the past, present and future
 Activities:
4. Does Invictus have a similar sense of the past, present and future when compared
to Ransom?

5. Use the ‘Over the Shoulder Shots’ resource on page 46 of your Ransom/Invictus
booklet. On Clickview, watch the scenes from the film where the Springboks win the
World Cup. Which of these words and phrases describe the impact of the over-the-
shoulder shots and parallel editing? Write a three or four sentences utilising the the
QUESTION STAIRCASE APPROACH in answering this question.

• Shows perspective
• Shows multiple perspectives
• Range of responses
• Illustrates confrontation
• Captures a panorama of views
• Depicts a pattern of responses
• Demonstrates division
• Portrays collective impact
• Illustrates the sharing of perspectives
 Activities

6. Fill out the Invictus film technique table on pp. 47-52 of your
booklet. You may need to rewatch the opening and closing
scenes of Invictus to help you.

7. On a separate page, compose a list of questions you still have

about how Ransom and Invictus depict their ideas, issues and
themes. These questions could be points of confusion or they
could be aspects you want to delve into more deeply. We will use
these to drive group conversations/debates next week.