The Autobiography My Place By Sally Morgan Explores Sallys Experien Es

The autobiography ?My Place' by Sally Morgan explores Sally's experiences in her own life, growing up in surburban Perth in the fifties and sixties. Through the memories and images of her childhood and adolescence, vauge hints and echoes begin to emerge, hidden knowledge is uncovered, and a fascinating story unfolds-a mystery of identity complete with clues and suggested solutions. There were many influences in Sally's life, the main ones were people she knew, places she went and events that took place at that particular place with that person. These influences were all revealed through the author's choice of words. The two most important figures in Sally's life were her mother (Gladis corooner) and her Nan (Daisy Corooner). Since her father was not around at all in her teenage years, which were her most critical years for a role model, she looked towards her mother for every answer. Her mother was kind and loving. Although, when Sally's father died Sally's mother had to work, so Sally's Nan became her new rolemodel. Sally's nan did not stay Sally's rolemodel for long, because as Sally grew older she realised that Nan and herself had not much in common. The only thing they really had in common was their love for nature. Both nan and Sally had a soft spot in their hearts for nature. When Sally was a small child, Nan would wake her up in the crisp of the morning to listen for the call of wild animals. Nan and Sally would sit for hours listening and waiting to hear those beautiful sounds of the Earth. This influenced Sally's life because later on in her life she became very loving towards nature an d any stray animal would find a home in their house. This was revealed through repetition because Sally Morgan constantly talked about the asapects of nature and Nan. Now with Sally's mother finding a job she had more money to spend so Sally's life became much more luxurious. Sally and her family enjoyed their time spent together. Sally believed that a families closeness towards eachother was very important. Sally's mother was an influence in Sally's life because Sally's mother was really the only female Sally could look up too. She could look up to Nan, but Nan and Sally had their differences. So Sally's mother had an important role in Sally's life because she helped Sally find her place and identity in life. This was revealed through Sally's repetition of the events which occured between Sally and her mother. From a very young age of five years old, Sally had a feeling she was remotly differently. "I was a grubby five year-old in a grubby environment" (p.11). She felt this way as she walked through the hospital which she described with all the negative thoughts she could think of. Sally felt different because she was full of secret fears. Fears because her father was always sick, always being assured that he would get better when Sally knew he would not. As time progressed she was enrolled into school. School was a turn around for Sally, as it opened up a new world, and she began to look at the world with new ideas and thoughts. She learnt to read, and by far, was one of the best readers in her class. Reading also opened a new window for her, but unfortunatly, her teacher Miss Glazberg was prejudice towards her, and shut that window. When Sally's mother asked that Sally be given a new book, Miss Glazberg refused for no other reason than prejudice. Miss Glazberg was too short-sighted in Sa lly's reading ability to realise that Sally should be given a new book. Miss Glazberg was not very appreciative towards Sally's reading ability. When Year 2 arrived, Sally started to get more of an idea that she was different. Sally couldn't prevent herself from wetting her pants one day. "You dirty, dirty, girl" Miss Roberts took her and pushed her out the door. This influenced her life in a negative way. Her attitude towards school took an even rapid downhill turn after that incident. It made her feel different from the other children in her class. She felt isolated and alone. This was revealed that