Glass Jar Gwen Harwood analysis

What perspectives of identity are conveyed in Glass Jar?  In Glass Jar, Gwen Harwood examines the idea that as children, our identity is shaped greatly by our experiences and relationships. Harwood demonstrates this idea through the notion of faith, which is conveyed by the accumulation of biblical references. In the beginning, religious imagery such as “sun's disciples' is used to express the child's faith and belief in the 'total power' of the 'pulse of light beside his  bed'. However, his belief is clearly the result of childish innocence as we now that light cannot be held in a !ar, and is further demonstrated as a false hope in the hyperbole" “then hope fell from its eagle height#. $he way that he is betrayed by the light can be compared to the sense of loss he feels when he witnesses the 'gross  violence' done to his mother. %s a result of of his mistrust in both of his 'saviours', 'saviours', the child's identity as well as his view of the world has been transformed. &imilarly, the line" 'so the loved other o ther is...taen' indicates that the child's relationship with his mother has changed irrevocably, reinforcing the idea that our identity is shaped by our relationships. In this way, Harwood explains childhood as a period where our identity is malleable and the relationships we eep as well as our experiences determine our identity.  %nother aspect of identity conveyed by Harwood Harwood is the idea of internal maturation maturation into adulthood. Harwood demonstrates this idea through the extended metaphor of light and darness, which she sets up as a parallel to childhood and adulthood. $he metaphor is demonstrated in the religious imagery of the sun in the beginning of the poem “all the sun's disciples cloaed in dream and darness...this pulse of light#(, as  well as the 'harrowing' accumulation of monsters in his nightmare. $he parallel is seen in the child's hopeful, yet naive belief in the glass !ar, which is opposed to his eye)opening experience. $he child's realisation of his lac of experience and his newfound insight of relationships has catalysed his growth from childhood into maturity. $hrough this depiction, Harwood demonstrates how as understanding of the complexities of life is deepened, we tae our steps towards the world of adults.