Blue Remembered Hills Scene 13 (Hayleigh & Portia)

Scene 13

 

Scene 13 depicts the interactions between Peter and Donald, as Peter enters the barn where Donald is hiding. Peter is upset and angry, having just lost his fight with John, and therefore is looking to reassert his reputation by bullying someone weaker than him. Donald, on the other hand, is very cautious- watching Peter from his hiding place before greeting him- and is eager to avoid a fight. Due to this, and Peter being larger physically, there is a clear imbalance of power in their relationship.

Donald behaves sycophantically at first, but when the story of the jam jars is introduced, his intelligence makes him equal to Peter. Peter’s liking of materialistic things makes him impressed with Donald, so he starts treating him in a more friendly way. However, he still feels the need to prove his superiority so he threatens to blackmail Donald, saying “You’ll go to gaol, won’t you?” and “What’ll you give I (if he doesn’t tell)?”

He goes on to taunt Donald about his father- “Your dad’s missing, ent he? ...Him’s good as dead, then.” Peter fails to realise the impact this has on Donald, demonstrating his immaturity. But when Donald begins to cry, Peter realises how personal this issue is and feels guilty. This could be the development of his superego. He says, “No. I won’t tell…Just wait till we get hold of them Japs.” This shows that Peter still knows his boundaries and is sometimes considerate of his peers’ emotions.

Because Donald is bullied, he goes to extremes to show his worth as a person, usually through arson. One example of this is him setting fire to the coal shed, which he doesn’t seem to regret- “Oy! It was (good)! It was that!” This indicates that actions seen as excessive by other people are more natural to Donald, so his state of mind is slightly different.