Doppelganger Essay

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Doppelganger Essay ‘The Horror. The Horror.’ The idea that there is a darker side to humanity when it is placed under certain conditions underpins the novel Doppelganger by Michael Parker, a story of a young adolescent thrust into an alternate Sydney where rules do not apply. This concept is the definite ‘horror’ within the novel and is exemplified through the contrast between good and evil and the idea of a darker self. The concept of a darker side to humanity under certain conditions is the true ‘horror’ in Doppelganger. This is shown through the contrast between good and evil in this novel. The concept of good and evil is demonstrated through the juxtaposition of the protagonist and his doppelganger and also through the contrasting ‘real’ Sydney and alternate Sydney. The graphic imagery, ‘It looked like a morgue…there were four dead bodies that I could see…one of them had been split open from neck to groin,’ exemplifies this concept. This quote shows a scene of horror that would not normally be found in the so called ‘real’ Sydney but is common in the alternate Sydney. Parker uses images of a sordid and seedy world with other similes such as ‘a syringe still dangling from his arm like a puppeteers twine,’ to convey the contrast with Andrew’s world and his doppelgangers world. These images are reinforced with Andrew’s realisation of the conflict between good and evil within himself. This point is revealed in the anaphora ‘I am the leader of Inner Station, I murder boys, I hook a city onto drugs, I kill my best mate. I am Kurtz.’ As the protagonist begins to understand the evil within himself, his horrified tone furthers the conflict between good and evil. Parker uses persuasive language to further exemplify the conflict between good and evil. An example of this is found in the dialogue, ‘Come on Josh, either you’re in or you’re out,’ which conveys a scene in
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