the dry quotes

by jane harper

“i didn’t know it was like this […] sad faces and brown landscapes”

“i didn’t know it was like this […] sad faces and brown landscapes”

cultural assumptions, characterisation, narrative viewpoint, and imagery — Falk is reflecting on the unforgiving and ruthless environment of Kiewarra, where he takes pity upon families like the Whitlams who moved to the countryside, assuming the idealistic farm life instead of the overbearing drought.

“death rarely changes how we feel about someone. heightens it, more often than not.”

antithesis and dialogue - Falk is stating here that death does not change a person's perception, but rather enhances the associations with them that existed before their passing. this demonstrates how despite Kiewarra’s beliefs surrounding Luke and the Hadler’s death, it has not changed how Falk cared for Luke; rather, it only enhanced what he felt for his friend. Given this would be grief, it is unlikely that Falk would have grieved Luke before his death in any context other than in shame and guilt for the way their friendship had devolved and ended, especially about Ellie. This positions the audience to view Falk with a mature and kind attitude

“the rumors were fed well […] and grew fat and solid. They sprouted legs and heads, and they never died.”

narrative viewpoint, lexical choice and contextual metaphor — Falk’s internal monologue here illustrates his value - or lack thereof - for rumors, as well as his beliefs surrounding them in that they are monstrous. this is seen through Harper’s use of lexical choice with ‘they sprouted legs and heads’, not describing any particular animal, but rather a beast-like monstrosity. through Falk’s saying ‘the rumors were well fed’, this leads the audience to view Kiewarra with the typical cultural assumption of small towns, where gossip spreads fast and lasts long, which additionally positions the audience to view Kiewarra with the same disgust and disdain Falk let fester upon his leave.

“to [the blowflies] there was little difference between a carcass and a corpse.”

juxtaposition and personification - Harper leaves this line in the beginning of the prologue, as she is positioning the audience to view Kiewarra as a place of death and desolation. furthermore, Harper is also setting the tone of the novel through positioning the audience to view Kiewarra as indifferent and careless towards death, as supported by its climate.

“[fire] surged and jumped and gorged itself. it raced like an animal. it ravaged with inhuman efficiency”

personification, metaphor, and simile - Falk’s narration of fire here demonstrates his knowledge and experience with fire, which links to his ingrained fearful attitude towards fire because of Kiewarra’s climate and warnings as he grew up. additionally, the language chosen to picture fire as a physical being, where it “gorges itself” and “ravaged with inhuman efficiency” illustrates how harper is positioning the audience to view fire with the same gravity and unforgiving nature as the residents of Kiewarra do, as well as personifying fire as a predator that hunts and kills, further supporting the juxtaposition of humans vs nature.

“but we’re all in it together. you were gone, luke stayed. you got the blame”

dialogue, guild and shame, small town rurality - Harper uses Gretchen’s dialogue to explain Kiewarra’s cultural assumptions surrounding blame and loyalty. By saying ‘we’re all in it together’, this positions the reader to understand the town’s unwavering - even if sometimes toxic - loyalty to each other. it also implies that the town’s people are xenophobic and in their hunt for someone to blame, they will accuse outsiders before their own.

‘“how are things ‘round here?’ [Falk asked.

“awful.” the word was a full stop.’

metaphor, dialogue, lexical choice, and foreshadowing - this metaphor implies that the one word description ‘awful’ is the only way to describe the state of Kiewarra during the drought. it displays Gretchen’s shame in the town and contributes to Falk’s guilt over leaving. it also foreshadows the resentful attitudes surrounding the town that is confirmed when Dow speaks out at the wake.

“Dow looked straight at Falk. ‘he tracks [trouble] behind him like dog shit.’”

dialogue, irony, and characterisation - in this moment, dow is the personification of the cultural assumptions of Kiewarra surrounding blaming others; Dow is quick to place blame on Falk and accuse him of bringing trouble to other’s lives. however, it is later revealed that Dow knows the truth that Falk has nothing to do with Ellie’s death, which is both ironic and characterises him as dishonest.

“Dad hated Melbourne […] it absolutely sucked the life out of him.”

hyperbole and irony - despite the fact that Eric Falk was afraid for his and his son’s life while in Kiewarra, Aaron Falk explains that leaving to go to Melbourne had a far worse impact on his father than they had anticipated. Harper implies that Eric Falk thrived in the small town, rural lifestyle rather than in a city and needed to work on a farm. despite the fact that Kiewarra is portrayed in a negative light, Harper positions the reader to question whether there is a sense of comfort and security in an otherwise chaotic town.

“it’s a pressure cooker round here, mate. little things become big things faster than you expect.”

metaphor and irony - in this moment, Whitlam is inferring that the town of Kiewarra will believe what they choose to and their behavior will reflect this. Whitlam says this to comfort Falk after his car has been vandalized in an attempt to forge a friendship with Falk, ironically aware that he benefits from the small-town mentality of blaming others.

“a phone charger was plugged in on Luke’s side, next to a dirty coffee cup, hand painted, with the word ‘Daddy’ spelled out in spidery letters.”

imagery and irony - by emphasising a coffee cup that has clearly been handmade by Billy, Harper infers that Luke values his relationship with his son. Since the mug is still ‘dirty’ and on Luke’s bedside table, the audience is positioned to view this as a cup that Luke uses regularly, implying that this gift means a great deal to him. This moment contributes to the doubt in Falk’s mind that Luke murdered his family, as it would seem out of character for a man who clearly values his family so much to kill them, further proving the lies spreading in the town.

“you did enough damage with Ellie. you’re not going to take down me and my uncle as well. this is a witch hunt.”

metaphor, historical allusion, dialogue, and irony - while being interviewed by Raco and Falk, Grant Dow erupts after realising he is s suspect in the murder case of the Hadler family. by referring to the investigation as a ‘witch hunt’, Dow implies that Raco and Falk are overly paranoid to the point of hysteria and are actively accusing innocent people, alluding to a time in history when this was a social norm. Harper employs irony as Dow accuses Falk of Ellie’s murder and false accusations despite the fact that he is falsely accusing Falk since he knows Mal Deacon killed her.

“[Luke] could change his mood like flipping a coin.”

dialogue, simile, characterisation, and friendship - While discussing the potential of Luke murdering his family, Aaron Falk explains Luke’s sudden and quick mood changes that could lead to unpredictable behaviour. This not only characterises Luke – positioning the reader to view the character as someone who could be capable of murder – it also displays Falk’s friendship with Luke as it is clear he knows Luke very well. Similarly, this moment shows the guilt and shame that Falk feels as, up until this point, he has kept his knowledge of Luke’s mood swings to himself, which leads to Falk questioning the part he might have played in the murder of the Hadler family.