Seventy-Two Derwents

by

Cate Kennedy

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Seventy-Two Derwents makes teaching easy.

Tyler Character Analysis

A young Australian girl in Grade 6, Tyler is the protagonist and narrator of the story, which is framed as a series of entries in her journal. She has a conflicted relationship with her mother, whom she doesn’t trust to care for her, and fears her mother’s abusive boyfriend, Shane. She is particularly close with her older sister, Ellie, as well as her teacher, Mrs Carlyle, who gives her the journal as part of a class assignment. Tyler takes to journal-writing enthusiastically, recording intimate details of her home life, which is dysfunctional at best and unsafe at worst. Eventually, she elects to show her journal to Mrs Carlyle, thereby revealing the abusive and illegal aspects of Shane’s behavior, igniting a chain of events which eventually culminates in her mother kicking Shane out of the house and stabbing him in the stomach with sewing scissors for hurting her girls. Afterwards, Tyler continues writing in the journal, revealing that her life and her personal relationships change for the better after Shane’s expulsion from the house. She is normally a quiet, reserved girl, reluctant to express her needs and wants to others. She is a gifted artist, and spends much of the story dreaming of a set of high-quality artists’ pencils (the Derwents for which the story is named), which she receives as a Christmas gift from her sister at the end of the story.

Tyler Quotes in Seventy-Two Derwents

The Seventy-Two Derwents quotes below are all either spoken by Tyler or refer to Tyler. 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:
Relationships and Intimacy Theme Icon
).
Seventy-Two Derwents Quotes

Mrs Carlyle has two budgies, a boy and a girl, and they have built a nest. If they have baby budgies and if I’m allowed she will give me one. You have to wait until they’re old enough to leave the nest before you can take them away from their parents because they need special looking after. In my mind I can picture this ... after she says this, when I walk back into class and down to my desk, I feel my skin buzzing like someone stroked it.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Mrs Carlyle
Related Symbols: Mrs Carlyle’s Budgies
Page Number: 225-6
Explanation and Analysis:

Mrs Carlyle told us that when you are training your dog you need to say the same thing over and over until the dog gets it. He wants to do the right thing, he just doesn’t know it at first. She says it’s the same with training a bird to talk, you have to say the same thing again and again so they learn. That’s true and maybe it’s true for people too.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Mrs Carlyle
Page Number: 226
Explanation and Analysis:

In cartoons time passes really fast and sudden. Also, things happen that aren’t true. Like a cat will be running along and will go through the wall and there will be an exactly cat-shaped hole left behind in the wall. Mum’s old boyfriend Gary threw a bottle at the wall once and it didn’t leave a shape like that it just smashed.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Shane
Page Number: 229
Explanation and Analysis:

I said I love her, I love her crown, thank you. Aunty Jacinta leaned over and gave me a hug and she smelled so nice, not like perfume but just cups of tea and shampoo, and she said softly she doesn’t have to be Cinderella, Tyler, you can give her a new name if you like. Then my mum jumped up and said are we allowed to have a glass of wine or do we have to say grace first round here.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Aunty Jacinta
Page Number: 232
Explanation and Analysis:

When she and Mum fight Mum says set your sister a good example, and Ellie says I’m setting her the best example I can, which is how to get the fuck out of here.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Ellie, Tyler and Ellie’s Mother
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:

I didn’t know Ellie has bad dreams too. Sometimes I dream of a wolf. He’s coming for me and his eyes are on fire and he’s looking everywhere for me but he can’t find me. I don’t tell Ellie about this but I say sometimes I feel like I have a stone inside my stomach. Ellie doesn’t say anything for a while then she says, hey, what are those pencils called that you like? I tell her Derwents and she says we’ll get you those, you wait.

Related Characters: Ellie (speaker), Tyler, Shane
Related Symbols: Derwent Pencils
Page Number: 240
Explanation and Analysis:

Just before when I was going to bed Mum said let’s have a secret, you don’t have to go to school tomorrow, Tyler. I will ring up and tell them you are sick and you can stay here and help me finish the Plushies. It is the same as when Shane leans down and whispers, grown-ups can make their voices go all soft and excited like it’s a big special secret to share just with you, they know just how to make kids feel happy but it’s never what you think. I felt the stones in my stomach because I remembered that tomorrow is the first orientation day for Grade 6s to go over to the senior campus to visit but I just said yes.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Shane
Page Number: 243
Explanation and Analysis:

I said if I put my hand into the nest now would the mother bird bite me? And she looked so sad at me and nodded. We fed the birds and then she drove me back to the mall.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Mrs Carlyle
Related Symbols: Mrs Carlyle’s Budgies
Page Number: 257
Explanation and Analysis:

My pencils have student quality written on the packet but the Derwent pencils are for real artists and that is why they’re special. I would feel special and proud to have them, like when Aunty Jacinta wrote in her letter, we think you’re wonderful.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother
Related Symbols: Derwent Pencils
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis:

If your budgie’s eggs hatch please will you call one of the babies Alicia. One day I will get an aviary and then I will come and get her, Mrs Carlyle. That’s my promise.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Mrs Carlyle
Related Symbols: Mrs Carlyle’s Budgies
Page Number: 263-4
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Seventy-Two Derwents LitChart as a printable PDF.
Seventy-Two Derwents PDF

Tyler Quotes in Seventy-Two Derwents

The Seventy-Two Derwents quotes below are all either spoken by Tyler or refer to Tyler. 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:
Relationships and Intimacy Theme Icon
).
Seventy-Two Derwents Quotes

Mrs Carlyle has two budgies, a boy and a girl, and they have built a nest. If they have baby budgies and if I’m allowed she will give me one. You have to wait until they’re old enough to leave the nest before you can take them away from their parents because they need special looking after. In my mind I can picture this ... after she says this, when I walk back into class and down to my desk, I feel my skin buzzing like someone stroked it.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Mrs Carlyle
Related Symbols: Mrs Carlyle’s Budgies
Page Number: 225-6
Explanation and Analysis:

Mrs Carlyle told us that when you are training your dog you need to say the same thing over and over until the dog gets it. He wants to do the right thing, he just doesn’t know it at first. She says it’s the same with training a bird to talk, you have to say the same thing again and again so they learn. That’s true and maybe it’s true for people too.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Mrs Carlyle
Page Number: 226
Explanation and Analysis:

In cartoons time passes really fast and sudden. Also, things happen that aren’t true. Like a cat will be running along and will go through the wall and there will be an exactly cat-shaped hole left behind in the wall. Mum’s old boyfriend Gary threw a bottle at the wall once and it didn’t leave a shape like that it just smashed.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Shane
Page Number: 229
Explanation and Analysis:

I said I love her, I love her crown, thank you. Aunty Jacinta leaned over and gave me a hug and she smelled so nice, not like perfume but just cups of tea and shampoo, and she said softly she doesn’t have to be Cinderella, Tyler, you can give her a new name if you like. Then my mum jumped up and said are we allowed to have a glass of wine or do we have to say grace first round here.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Aunty Jacinta
Page Number: 232
Explanation and Analysis:

When she and Mum fight Mum says set your sister a good example, and Ellie says I’m setting her the best example I can, which is how to get the fuck out of here.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Ellie, Tyler and Ellie’s Mother
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:

I didn’t know Ellie has bad dreams too. Sometimes I dream of a wolf. He’s coming for me and his eyes are on fire and he’s looking everywhere for me but he can’t find me. I don’t tell Ellie about this but I say sometimes I feel like I have a stone inside my stomach. Ellie doesn’t say anything for a while then she says, hey, what are those pencils called that you like? I tell her Derwents and she says we’ll get you those, you wait.

Related Characters: Ellie (speaker), Tyler, Shane
Related Symbols: Derwent Pencils
Page Number: 240
Explanation and Analysis:

Just before when I was going to bed Mum said let’s have a secret, you don’t have to go to school tomorrow, Tyler. I will ring up and tell them you are sick and you can stay here and help me finish the Plushies. It is the same as when Shane leans down and whispers, grown-ups can make their voices go all soft and excited like it’s a big special secret to share just with you, they know just how to make kids feel happy but it’s never what you think. I felt the stones in my stomach because I remembered that tomorrow is the first orientation day for Grade 6s to go over to the senior campus to visit but I just said yes.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother, Shane
Page Number: 243
Explanation and Analysis:

I said if I put my hand into the nest now would the mother bird bite me? And she looked so sad at me and nodded. We fed the birds and then she drove me back to the mall.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Mrs Carlyle
Related Symbols: Mrs Carlyle’s Budgies
Page Number: 257
Explanation and Analysis:

My pencils have student quality written on the packet but the Derwent pencils are for real artists and that is why they’re special. I would feel special and proud to have them, like when Aunty Jacinta wrote in her letter, we think you’re wonderful.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Tyler and Ellie’s Mother
Related Symbols: Derwent Pencils
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis:

If your budgie’s eggs hatch please will you call one of the babies Alicia. One day I will get an aviary and then I will come and get her, Mrs Carlyle. That’s my promise.

Related Characters: Tyler (speaker), Mrs Carlyle
Related Symbols: Mrs Carlyle’s Budgies
Page Number: 263-4
Explanation and Analysis: