Sex in Australia From the Man’s Point of View – Archetypal

     Sex in Australia From the Man’s Point of View fits into certain aspects of archetypal criticism. The two main characters, Lily and the male narrator can be considered the hero and the heroine. The plane itself could also be considered as a hero. There is no sidekick or helper, or villain. Aside from hero and heroine, none of the other archetypal characters fit into this strange story. For example, there is no mad scientist, or femme fatale.

     The task or trial in the story is Sex in Australia from the Man’s Point of View attempting to land on the island. There is no real journey, but the pursuit of sex could be considered a quest. Loss of innocence isn’t there in the traditional sense, but the chase of sex and the overtly sexual description of the plane landing represents intercourse, and could be considered as a loss of innocence and virginity for the three characters (Lily, male narrator, and the plane).

     The plane represents sex from the male point on view. This story was written at a time when it was condemned to write about such a sinful act. The line ‘he catapults forward and Sex in Australia from the Man’s Point of View noses into the wet sand’, as the plane ‘fertilizer hopper’ (that’s gross) ‘lets out the remainder of the grass’, is a very abstract and round-about description, and demonstrates the plane’s true meaning.