MASTRiF 2011

Student Number: 0119024

A Character Study – Past the long grass

Alec McFeet 12

Is small for his age. He's a shy, unconfident kid with

big ears and a granddad hair cut. He wears hand me down

clothes and shares a pair of shoes with his 5 older

brothers. The shoes are way too big for him and he ties

them to his feet with string. He's the black sheep of the

family and his 'rough and tumble' brothers don't let him

forget it. Alec's mother died when giving birth to him

and it's a masculine existence for himself and his father

and brothers, but Alec takes solace in his friendship

with Michele 12.

They are opposite sides of the same coin, picking up

where the other leaves off. Alec is forced out of his

comfort zone when he looses the family's shoes. This

pushes him to face up to his introversion and the

strained relationship he has with his father. Through his

friendship with Michele and the development of his own

decisiveness, Alec is able to learn the lesson his mother

was never able teach him; the code of morality. It is in

this lesson that Alec finds strength and grows

comfortable in his own skin. When his father recognizes

this trait in him he develops a new respect and

understanding for his son.

Michele Harris 12

Is a pretty kid, with inquisitive eyes and a passed down

guilt complex. She's highly intelligent and under

schooled. Her mother works hard as a bus cleaner and her

father isn't around. Michele takes care of her little

sister Deana who she is very protective of. She's grown

up quick and learned life’s lessons too young. She's

isolated in the place between childhood and adulthood and

takes solace in her friendship with Alec who is also, a

far stretch from an average kid.

Michele is a serious kid, she thinks things through way

too much and her mother puts a lot of pressure on her to

always be right. Michele has a troubled relationship with

her sister who is stifled by her and her mother’s

pressures. Michele learns to share the weight of

responsibility with Deana by finally stepping back and

allowing her to contribute. Michele learns that mistakes

can be corrected and finds solidarity in her relationship

with her sister when she learns to accept help.

Deana Harris 10

Is a hyper kid with a bad stutter. She's misunderstood

and completely stifled. Michele and Lynne often finish

Deana's sentences and do too much for her out of a

heightened sense of responsibility. But Deana has grown

up fast too and is angry and frustrated at her inability

to communicate properly, made worse by the stifling.

Michele learns to share some responsibility with Deana

through their shared experience, which in turn brings out

the best in both of them. Deana finds herself in a

situation where she is needed and this helps her start to

communicate more effectively. When Deana is relied upon

and given some responsibility she becomes less angry and

an understanding and friendship, between her and her

sister finally starts to develop.

Lynne Harris 30

Is a pretty bus cleaner with strong ideals and OCD. She

works hard and relies on Michele far too much. She is

extremely over protective of Deana and has inadvertently

become a destructive force in her life. Lynne is carrying

a guilt complex because she feels responsible for driving

the girls abusive father away. Lynne is strong and she is

a good woman who wants the best for her daughters, but

life has been tough on her. When Lynne finds out that the

girls have found Jims dead wife and helped him to deal

with his loss she realizes that her daughters are

starting to grow up and that she can relax. For the first

time she feels like she has done right by them as a

mother and this helps her to start feel rational again.

Tam McFeet 40

Is a miner and a heavy drinker. He is well respected in

the community, as a mans-man. His wife Nancy died 12

years previously and he and the family have been going

through the motions ever since. He works hard to provide

for his 6 sons but he is extremely pre-occupied and they

are very poor. Tam’s relationship with his sons is

strained at best and he and Alec spend their lives

avoiding one another. He doesn't understand Alec but

bonds with the others through hunting and play fighting.

Alec feels like his father blames him for his mother’s

death. When Alec finally tells Tam about Big Jim’s dead

wife and admits to stealing his shoes Tam is forced to

face up to his feelings about his own wife’s death. Tam

then thinks he recognizes Nancy’s sympathetic and moral

traits, in Alec and a new understanding opens up between

them. In his meeting with Jim, Tam learns to take his own

advice and makes the realization that it is time for him

too move on for the sake of himself and his boys.

Big Jim 71

Is an innocent soul. His wife of 55 years has died and he

is unable to face up to it. He washes and dresses Dotty’s

body everyday as if nothing has happened. He acts more

and more suspiciously around the villagers as he starts

to crumble under the weight of the charade. The villagers

have become suspicious of his friendship with the

children. But Jim sees hope in their youth and is

innocently drawn to them, like a moth to a flame. When

the children find Dotty’s body they have to make their

minds up whether the villagers are right to be suspicious

of Jim or if they should sacrifice their own needs to

help their friend.