Discovery his blatant division from nature for

Discovery isinherently a challenging and transformative process that predicatespersonalised enrichment, broadening one’s perception of self and the worldgoverning them. This is evident in Robert Gray’s poetic anthology Coast Road: Selected Poems (2014), as “ TheMeatworks” (1982) and “ North Coast Town” (1985) congruently explore thetransience of nature in commercialised societies, and expose the abhorrentreality of industrialisation.

Similarly, Ursula Le Guin’s short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (1973)captures the culmination of humanity’s immorality in the provocative discoveryof human sacrifice, presenting substantial psychological and ethical dilemmas. Therefore, both texts reveal the didactic nature of discovery, wherebyadversity ultimately expedites our understanding of the human condition. 112 The transformativecapacity of discovery testifies to the indispensability of capitalizing onseemingly detrimental confrontations to refine discernment on social practices. The hellish setting of the “ Meatworks” is vicariously exemplified in thesynaesthesia of “ the hot, fertilizer-thick, sticky stench of blood,” denouncingthe industrial indifference to scruple shown in the degenerated standards, facilitating the confronting discovery of humanity’s culpability.

Graycriticizes the consumerism of the late 20th century as he delineatesthe extent of Australia’s flourishing consumerism and avarice, where “ workingwith meat was like burning-off the live bush for this frail green money.” Here, the simile captures the epiphany when the persona registers his blatantdivision from nature for materialistic bounties, altogether sacrificing hismorality. Consequently, the realignment of the persona’s values isengendered, prompting his efforts to relinquish his misdeeds as he “ scoops upthe shell grit and scrubs his hands,” the intertextually semiotic of LadyMacbeth’s endeavours to detach from guilt and find solace in introspection. Affirming this, Gray characterises the persona around his Buddhist sentiments andcommends that he “ usually didn’t take the meat,” the conspicuous juxtapositionwith the Meatworks expounding the persona’s justifications for his wrongdoingsand reconciliation with the natural environment. Hence, the persona’s discoveryof truth fosters a heightened understanding of society’s duplicity, rousingscrutiny and an aversion toconsumerism. 217 The value inrediscovering childhood to quantify development is accentuated in Gray’stableaux poem “ North Coast Town”, whereby the disjunction between culture andlandscape is disdained.

The persona’s idyllic preconceptions of “ North CoastTowns” are immediately subverted by the tactile imagery “ stepping about on mud… flushing in the urinal,” where the initial encounters with waterdistastefully contrast the beauty of the expected sea. Gray utilizes chromedescriptions of the environment as the persona “ eats a floury apple,” thebiblical allusion accompanied by the accusatory imagery of the “ bulldozedacres,” underscoring the dissonance between mankind and nature. Motifs ofshells are weaved throughout the poem in the “ Shell station” and the “ motel (stuccowith seashells),” manifesting the persona’s realization of the futility ofpreserving nature, rendered ineffective due to the significance of urbanisation.

The persona’s detachment from his home town is ironically portrayed by hisalienation shown in the “ locked” toilets and the “ closed hamburger stand,” elucidating that discoveries are fundamentally governed by context. This ismirrored by the culturally segregating nature of urbanisation asexemplified in the isolating proxemicsof the “ Abo, not attempting to hitch, outside town,” fixating on hisrecognition of the transience of his violated culture. Gray’s critiques of thedysfunctionality between the man-made and natural, portrayed through theAmericanization of coastal towns, thus provokes the revaluation of humanity’sburgeoning progress. Yet while surfacecorruptions can be easily distinguished and admonished, the unexpecteddiscovery of concealed immorality invokes a greater insight into humanity. LeGuin’s conceptualization of a utopian civilization in Omelas is reinforced by the cumulative listing of “ smiles, bells, parades, horses and orgies,” which capitalizes on the reader’s credulousnesspreceding their discovery. This Elysian notion is however diverted from andjuxtaposed with the realisation of the misery of a single child that predicatesand fuels the affluence of Omelas. Hence, the employment of the visceralimagery “ no calves … sits in its own excrement” induces “ disgust, outrage andimpotence,” the epiphany of the sacrifice and the façade of the utopianismrousing a dichotomous response. Either one of blissful ignorance or perpetualguilt ensues, where the ramifications pertaining to each augment a discretefacet of the human condition.

In this way, some reluctantly shed “ tears at thebitter injustice … begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and toaccept it,” as the metaphor demonstrates the restraint of discovery, enablingthe indulgence in the ecstasy of life. However, mirroring both the personasfrom Meatworks and North Coast Town, Le Guin pinpoints “ The Ones Who Walk Away FromOmelas,” the title highlighting theimpacts of the awareness of the Utilitarian paradigm and social impiety onthose who cannot bear the guilt. Indeed, the author’s depictions of moralturnarounds and the rejection of ultimatums that compromise morality serve ascriticism on society’s toleration of injustices, engenderingtransformations in readers. Therefore, it isthrough the amalgamation of Gray’s CoastRoad: Selected Poems and Le Guin’s TheOnes Who Walk Away From Omelas that discovery can be scrutinized Q. QGray’s altruistic concerns for society’s degradation due to greed and Le Guin’speriscopic outlook on the magnitude of concealed corruptions within society, allowing readers to vicariously discover and expand their human experience.