Discuss the importance of voice in two of the works you have studied.

Possible Texts: Woman’s World, Human Acts, Fun, Home, The Importance of Being Earnest, Carol Ann Duffy.

In Han Kang’s Human Acts, voice is a centripetal force operating through the 7 characters and in each of their narrations. By including these various voices, Han creates a collection of experiences narrating and capturing the tragedy of the Gwangju student uprising. Voice becomes an important tool to aid the understanding of the reader through the retelling of this tragedy. In Graham Rawle’s Woman’s World, voice is a powerful (and biased) tool used to create the characters of Norma/Roy, their mother and other characters like Mr.HANDS and Eve. Voice is also important in its physical presence through the collage of cut-outs and fragments of magazines from the 1950s and 60s. In both texts, it is clear that voice is integral to the creation of both texts but also to the understanding of the reader.

One example of voice being important in Human Acts is in chapter 2 with the use of a reverent narrator. Because the reverent narration looks beyond, operating as the voice of a soul that overlooks the physical world it is able to capture a different perspective and emotion not previously available with the physical scenery. The reverent voice of Jeongdae goes on to illustrate the long-term effects of trauma. The questions that are directed at the reader in second person narration convey a sense of urgency and lack of accountability. The structure of repeating demanding questions such as “where were they right now?” and “why did you kill me?” scattered throughout his narrative helps to reinforce his strong desire “to know.” The emphasis on the pronouns “they” and “you,” mimics the effect that Kang is speaking directly to us. We are positioned to feel responsible.

Similarly in Woman’s World, Rawle also uses voice to capture the mental effects of trauma. Voice is able to capture Norma/Roy’s tender consciousness. However, unlike Human Acts, Rawle does not use voice to show a traditional duality between the mental and physical effects of trauma. Instead, voice in itself in the effect of trauma that the reader only really understands till later in the novel. Norma’s voice is characterised and portrayed as being delusional and almost treading into the realm of fantasy. Often this is seen through the way she gets almost distracted by the littlest details which sends her into a spiral of advertising descriptions. Her voice

In addition, Human Acts, the dissonance that reverent Jeongdae experiences as he reflects upon his dead body and recognises that he “wasn’t Jeongdae anymore,” highlights the ability of an event to change a person. Jeongdae changes from a middle school boy to one of the several victims of the authoritarian regime.

Similarly in Woman’s World, the voice of Norma communicates that trauma has an effect on changing one’s persona. In contrast, Woman’s world portrays this effect to be much more extreme with Roy who is a crossdresser to capture that memory.

it is also to important the function of voice on the level of the writer.

• han kang having her own separate chapter
• rawle’s voice in pulling on his own experiences to pick out the mothers reaction

Vocabulary associated: