Remembering Babylon

by

David Malouf

Barney Mason is the McIvors’ closest neighbor and Jock’s closest friend amongst the settlers. Barney is a worrier by nature and constantly frets about Gemmy and the Aboriginal Australians trespassing on his land, demonstrating the absurdity of fixating on property rights in the midst of the Australian bush. After Andy sees Gemmy talking to two Aboriginal men and reports the transgression to Barney, Barney drifts further away from Jock. Although he plays a small role in the overall narrative, Barney demonstrates the value of good neighbors in a small, insular community such as the settlement, and eventually embodies the pain that Jock feels at the loss of his friends after he opposes them to protect Gemmy.

Barney Mason Quotes in Remembering Babylon

The Remembering Babylon quotes below are all either spoken by Barney Mason or refer to Barney Mason. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism and Xenophobia Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

Barney, in his anxious way, was forever out there pacing the line and looking for signs of trespass; except there was no line, and the trespass too might be no more than a shadow on Barney’s thoughts, and how could you deal with that?

Related Characters: Gemmy Fairley, Barney Mason
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

And the stone, once launched, had a life of its own. It flew in all directions, developed a capacity to multiply, accelerate, leave wounds; and the wounds were real even if the stone was not, and would not heal.

Related Characters: Gemmy Fairley, Ellen McIvor, Barney Mason, Andy McKillop
Related Symbols: The Stone
Page Number: 102
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“For God’s sake, man, when did ye ever tak heed o’ what Andy says? We’re no’ scared o’ stones. Ah thought that was the difference between us and them.”

Related Characters: Jock McIvor (speaker), Gemmy Fairley, Barney Mason, Andy McKillop
Related Symbols: The Stone
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

Something had been destroyed in [Jock] that could not be put right. [Lachlan] watched his uncle drift back after a time to his friends, to Barney Mason, Jim Sweetman, but the days of unselfconscious trust in his standing among them, and the belief that to be thought well of by such fellows was the first thing in the world, were gone.

Related Characters: Lachlan Beattie, Jock McIvor, Barney Mason, Jim Sweetman
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
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Remembering Babylon PDF

Barney Mason Quotes in Remembering Babylon

The Remembering Babylon quotes below are all either spoken by Barney Mason or refer to Barney Mason. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism and Xenophobia Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

Barney, in his anxious way, was forever out there pacing the line and looking for signs of trespass; except there was no line, and the trespass too might be no more than a shadow on Barney’s thoughts, and how could you deal with that?

Related Characters: Gemmy Fairley, Barney Mason
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

And the stone, once launched, had a life of its own. It flew in all directions, developed a capacity to multiply, accelerate, leave wounds; and the wounds were real even if the stone was not, and would not heal.

Related Characters: Gemmy Fairley, Ellen McIvor, Barney Mason, Andy McKillop
Related Symbols: The Stone
Page Number: 102
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“For God’s sake, man, when did ye ever tak heed o’ what Andy says? We’re no’ scared o’ stones. Ah thought that was the difference between us and them.”

Related Characters: Jock McIvor (speaker), Gemmy Fairley, Barney Mason, Andy McKillop
Related Symbols: The Stone
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

Something had been destroyed in [Jock] that could not be put right. [Lachlan] watched his uncle drift back after a time to his friends, to Barney Mason, Jim Sweetman, but the days of unselfconscious trust in his standing among them, and the belief that to be thought well of by such fellows was the first thing in the world, were gone.

Related Characters: Lachlan Beattie, Jock McIvor, Barney Mason, Jim Sweetman
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis: