Reading Body, Reading Society: Body as the Microcosm of Societyin Andrew McGahan’s Novel Praise

Abstract

This article discusses the discourse of the body which is represented in the Australian novel entitled Praise, written by Andrew McGahan. It focuses on how the experience of the body reflects and represents the society in which it exists through a set of metaphors. There are two aspects discussed in this article. The first is the power relationship represented through alcoholism and sexuality, and the second is how the disease inflicted in the bodies represent the “destruction” of the society. The analysis shows that the bodily experiences of the main characters in the novel represents the discourse of complex power relationship that includes patriarchy, colonialism and capitalism in the contemporary society.The power invades and corrupts the body and the society and brings disorder. The corruption results in the disease that inflicts the characters, which ruin their systemic function. The “destruction” of the body represents the degradation of the society. Through the metaphors, the author successfully presents what so called “grotesque realism” and strips off the mask of the materialised society and demonstrate the dark side of human life in the contemporary culture.