One of My Best Friends by Peter Goldsworthy

This study guide will help you analyse the text “One of My Best Friends” by Peter Goldsworthy. We will show you examples of elements in the text that will be relevant for your analysis. In these notes, we will focus on the summary, structure, characters, setting, narrator and point of view, language, theme and message, and help you put the text into perspective.

Presentation of the text

Title: “One of My Best Friends”
Author: Peter Goldsworthy
Published in: “One of My Best Friends” (collection)
Date of Publication: 1994
Genre: Short Story

Peter Goldsworthy (b. 1951) is an Australian author of novels, short stories, and poems. He also works as a medical practitioner. He won several awards for his literary works, and his poetry is highly appreciated in Australia.

Excerpt

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Similes

The author relies on similes to show the way characters act and look like. For instance, Willy is physically depicted using two similes: “…the flattened nose, the brow jutting like a sun visor, the legs thin as spinifex.” (p. 78, ll. 5-7)

Another simile is used to describe the reaction of the football player the narrator hits on the field: “He flipped over like a shot rabbit.” (p. 81, l. 17)