Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks
In 1980, Australian writer Robyn Davidson publishes her travel narrative Tracks, in which she describes her crossing of the central Australian deserts in the late 1970’s, on foot and by herself, being accompanied only by her dog and by four camels. The narrative became an immediate success after it...
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| Language: | English |
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Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Ilha do Desterro |
| Online Access: | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/44346 |
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| author | Magali Sperling Beck |
| author_facet | Magali Sperling Beck |
| author_sort | Magali Sperling Beck |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In 1980, Australian writer Robyn Davidson publishes her travel narrative Tracks, in which she describes her crossing of the central Australian deserts in the late 1970’s, on foot and by herself, being accompanied only by her dog and by four camels. The narrative became an immediate success after its publication, receiving the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, and been widely read both in Australia and worldwide. It has also become an emblematic example of contemporary travel narratives, mainly due to the fact that it is not only a book about survival or about a woman crossing a desert alone, rather elaborating on the implications between genre and gender; it is also a narrative that recuperates the political and ideological background of an important moment in Australian history. Thus, taking into consideration Davidson’s ambivalence in relation to writing about her travel experiences, in this paper, I argue that Tracks, more than celebrating the process of self-transformation in travel, lingers on the tension between its narrator’s search for freedom and her awareness regarding the responsibilities involved in engaging with cultural difference and in representing geographical crossings.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bbaa82616f254cf299fb6b3e8741d537 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0101-4846 2175-8026 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ilha do Desterro |
| spelling | doaj-art-bbaa82616f254cf299fb6b3e8741d5372025-08-20T01:50:11ZengUniversidade Federal de Santa CatarinaIlha do Desterro0101-48462175-80262016-06-0169210.5007/2175-8026.2016v69n2p9325529Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s TracksMagali Sperling Beck0Federal University of Santa Catarina In 1980, Australian writer Robyn Davidson publishes her travel narrative Tracks, in which she describes her crossing of the central Australian deserts in the late 1970’s, on foot and by herself, being accompanied only by her dog and by four camels. The narrative became an immediate success after its publication, receiving the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, and been widely read both in Australia and worldwide. It has also become an emblematic example of contemporary travel narratives, mainly due to the fact that it is not only a book about survival or about a woman crossing a desert alone, rather elaborating on the implications between genre and gender; it is also a narrative that recuperates the political and ideological background of an important moment in Australian history. Thus, taking into consideration Davidson’s ambivalence in relation to writing about her travel experiences, in this paper, I argue that Tracks, more than celebrating the process of self-transformation in travel, lingers on the tension between its narrator’s search for freedom and her awareness regarding the responsibilities involved in engaging with cultural difference and in representing geographical crossings. https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/44346 |
| spellingShingle | Magali Sperling Beck Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks Ilha do Desterro |
| title | Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks |
| title_full | Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks |
| title_fullStr | Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks |
| title_short | Traveling, Writing and Engagement in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks |
| title_sort | traveling writing and engagement in robyn davidson s tracks |
| url | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/44346 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT magalisperlingbeck travelingwritingandengagementinrobyndavidsonstracks |