George Abbot Character Analysis

George Abbot is the settlement’s schoolmaster. Although he is only 19 year old at the start of the story, George intentionally gives an impression of being considerably older through his stern, humorless demeanor. Although George was a clever child with a wealthy benefactor, his young adult life has not granted him the success he feels he deserves, making him bitter and resentful of everyone around him, and he often takes out his frustrations by severely punishing his students. However, as George begins spending time with Leona at Mrs. Hutchence’s house, he learns to let go of his pretenses, care less about how others perceive him, and accept his place in life, which makes him considerably more personable. George even begins to feel a sense of admiration for Gemmy, whom he’d initially been repulsed by, because he comes to respect the manner in which Gemmy has endured such long years of suffering. When Gemmy arrives at the schoolhouse one day, looking for the pages written about his life, George realizes that they are with Mr. Frazer, 600 miles away in Brisbane. However, George recognizes that this is important to Gemmy, so he gives him several pages of student assignments, which Gemmy believes are the pages he seeks (since he cannot read) and which serve the same psychological purpose for him.