What are the motifs in The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin?

Cultural understanding is a recurring idea. In episode after episode as Chatwin moves through Australia, examples emerge of white people making up their minds about Aboriginal ideals and needs before taking the time to get to know them. Aboriginals, likewise, distrust the white people based on the actions of a few white people whose actions displeased them. One of the earliest examples is the white man Bruce nick-names the Gym Bore, who has appointed himself as guardian of Aboriginal knowledge because he has flown messages and supplies to and from Aboriginal tribes.