Dirt/Mud in The Secret River

 


In The Secret River, there is a lot of mention about dirt and muck and mud. This theme comes up multiple times every few pages in the first portion of section 1. From when William and Sal lay in the mud (p18), to when William uses mud to remember his mother (p19), to when Lizzie protects William from the mud (p11), mud is mentioned quite frequently. It is even mentioned in the prologue to the work, when the narrator talks about how he is standing on dirt. Though possibly just a symbol to represent how dirty the town is, I think that mud could possibly represent a symbol of rebirth. Though I do not know where the book will go, I have a feeling that it will fade as the story goes on, insinuating that improvements to life have been made. Again, this is totally a guess as I have not read enough of the book to make a concrete suggestion as to the meaning of mud. Another thought I had was that mud is representative of the working class. On page 11, the sister, Mary, says, “Your name is as common as dirt…”. Dirt might simply represent the most plentiful thing on earth, making it the cheapest, which relates it to the working class. A third idea is that mud will represent ownership of land. We know that in London, they own practically nothing. However, when introduced to a world where they are not the “bottom”, the dirt they stand on might show that they own something. I really want to see if the theme of mud is taken further in the book.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2022 at 2:43 PM

    I never really thought of dirt and mud as a literary device for rebirth but I can definitely see it now. Going off of what you said, dust is on the same level of uselessness as dirt and mud but can be a symbol for birth such as in The Bible when God rejects Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, forcing them to be mortals who are born from dust and will return to dust.

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  2. Bailey BlackJanuary 9, 2022 at 2:59 PM

    I think your interpretation of dirt being a symbol of rebirth is a really interesting one. I wrote about how William throwing mud onto the stone lions was a sign of loss of innocence, but I also think that that moment could be described as a kind of rebirth, where William becomes a very different person. In the end it seems like there is a lot of overlap between our interpretations of this image.

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  3. Avery PiersonJanuary 9, 2022 at 8:36 PM

    I had not thought about mud being a symbol for rebirth before reading your post. But after reading, I totally see your point! I had noticed bugs and fleas appearing a lot in part 1, but I honestly had not even really picked up on how much mud and dirt came up. I am really excited to keep reading and see how this symbolism continues.

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  4. John FredericksJanuary 10, 2022 at 12:15 PM

    I can definitely now recognize how mud symbolizes rebirth. All the beautiful things in nature are all rooted in mud. Thank you for helping me understand this important symbol. Looking forward to reading more and seeing if we have any more mud references.

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  5. Jenna ChinnJanuary 10, 2022 at 5:05 PM

    Your point about rebirth is an interesting one. It reminds me of Hayy Ibn Yaqzān and how he was potentially born out of the mud, which made him parentless (like Will) and completely alone.

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  6. bella burleighJanuary 10, 2022 at 10:41 PM

    I saw this symbol a lot but did not think nearly as much of it as you did! I, like many others said, did not see dirt as a symbol of rebirth, but now that you said it, it makes a lot of sense. Mud and dirt re like the most natural state of earth, so in my opinion, it is not only about REbirth but about the "beginning" in general. It is where everything starts from.

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  7. Bianca DuarteJanuary 11, 2022 at 9:52 AM

    I also recognized the constant appearance of dirt and mud, but I only reached the surface level understanding regarding the true meaning behind it. You have a very complex understanding of this symbol! The mud/dirt is definitely a symbol of rebirth and I am excited to look out for more mentions of mud/dirt in the text.

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