Writers use characters to manipulate the way the reader perceives the setting of the text. The world of a novel becomes the key element in shaping opinion in the reader using the medium, the characters view of the setting. Gaze and judgment on surroundings is the influence by which the reader casts opinion on the scenes set in the novel. David Malouf encourages readers to perceive the setting of his novel Fly Away Peter through the eyes of the characters, so that the reader is able to grasp a better understanding of character relations to their environment.

Fly Away Peter is a novel which contains two main contrasting settings, a bird sanctuary and the battlefields of France. The main character, Jim Saddler, is defined by his passion for birdlife and the sanctuary. He demonstrates a great love for his surroundings, as reflected through the words used in the...