The Interpretation on Nostalgia and Australian Traditional National Identity in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll uses “dolls” and “eagles” as the main nostalgic objects to convey the nostalgic protagonists’ longing and reluctance to let go of the good old days during the labor breaks. It also unites the Australian people’s love for the brave and fearless bush life and the companionship in times of trouble. It is also the nostalgia and attachment of the Australian people to the traditional national spirit and identity behind the brave life in the bush and the partnership in times of trouble. In order to maintain the continuity, stability and unity of self-identity, the nostalgic protagonist compensates for the lack of a sense of belonging in real life by employing the strategies of detachment, idealization and identification, and by constructing idealized social bonds in symbolic space and time far from reality.