While the Billy Boils · Chapter
Brummy Usen explained
An old swagman tells stories of bushmen who were reported dead but later turned up alive, including Billy Nowlett, Joe Swallow, and Brummy Usen.
What happens
An old swagman tells stories of bushmen who were reported dead but later turned up alive, including Billy Nowlett, Joe Swallow, and Brummy Usen. The tale of Brummy Usen involves a case of mistaken identity after a bushranger is shot and buried, only for the real Brummy to reappear and be disbelieved. The narrator and his companion are unsettled when the old man reveals a tattoo matching the one described in the story.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Memory
The central theme of mistaken identity and the unreliability of memory is explored through the story of Brummy Usen, who cannot prove he is himself after being declared dead.
Death and Mortality
The casual treatment of death and the frequency of being 'reported dead' in the bush underscore the precariousness of life in the outback.
Humor and Irony
The ironic twist that the old storyteller himself bears the tattoo of the story's key detail, and the narrator's final suspicion that he is 'an awful old liar,' adds dark humor.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
The narrator and a companion meet the old swagman and hear his stories.
- Bogan Bill
Mentioned as Billy Nowlett, a bullock-driver reported dead who later turns up alive.
- Joe Swallow
A young man found dead and buried, but later turns up alive, causing confusion about a ghost.
- Brummy Usen
The bushranger mistakenly identified and buried after a shooting; the real Brummy later appears but is not believed.
- The Old Man
The old swagman who tells the stories and reveals a tattooed woman on his arm.
Key passages
“there’s scarcely an old bushman alive—or dead, for the matter of that—who hasn’t been dead a few times in his life—or reported dead, which amounts to the same thing for a while.”
Nearly every old bushman has been thought dead at some point, and being reported dead is almost as good as being dead for a time.
The old swagman introduces the theme of mistaken death reports.
“All the same it wasn’t him; for the real Brummy turned up later on; but he couldn’t make the people believe he wasn’t dead.”
Despite the inquest and burial, the actual Brummy Usen later appeared, but no one would accept that he was alive.
The climax of the Brummy Usen story, highlighting the stubbornness of the community.
“He must have been an awful old liar, now we come to think of it.”
Looking back, the narrator realizes the old swagman was probably a terrible liar.
The final ironic reflection by the narrator after seeing the tattoo.