In the four stories Mr. Van Gogh, Prince Valiant, Requiem in a Townhouse and The Spend Thrift, by Owen Marshall, the idea of ​​alienation appears in all four texts. In this report I will describe the techniques such as symbolism, characterization, and setting that Marshall uses to show alienation and connections across the four texts. Owen Marshall was born in Te Kuiti and spent much of his life in rural Timaru. This is reflected in many of his stories, which show his love and appreciation for the countryside and rural life. Many of his stories are set in a small town, where he would have grown up. His use of the theme of alienation could show what he experienced while growing up in a small town in New Zealand. The theme portrays the attitudes of many New Zealanders towards "different" people within our societies, which we experience as Plymouth Brothers. In the short story Mr. Van Gogh, the protagonist is alienated from most of the townspeople due to his obsession with the artist Vincent Van Gogh. The short story Prince Valiant focuses on an outcast shearer, who prefers his own company to that of other shearers . Requiem in a Townhouse is about a retired farmer who feels confined in the small spaces of the city and alienated from his surroundings, preferring the wide open spaces of his farm. The Spendthrift chronicles the alienation of a 24-year-old man who appears as a miser to realize his dream. Marshall skillfully uses symbolism to develop the theme of alienation throughout the lyrics. Symbolism is important in developing themes in short stories, as the theme must be developed quickly. In the short story Mr. Van Gogh, Marshall uses symbolism when he describes the house as "the original colors of the house had given up their difference... middle of paper... beautiful, but then ugly." The country breeds ugly people, I suppose." Marshall used this quote to show the story's ugly setting, confirming one of the opening sentences "There is an ugly country in New Zealand...". The bad setting is like the bad theme of the story, alienation. Marshall is referring to the ugly New Zealand society, as he obviously saw a lot of alienation within the communities he lived in. Alienation was a theme that Owen Marshall focused on in many of his stories, and it is portrayed effectively through his techniques and the way he writes stories. Symbolism, characterization, and setting work together to connect the main idea of ​​alienation in all four of Marshall's texts, Mr. Van Gogh, Prince Valiant, Requiem in a Townhouse, and The Spend Thrift. We may all be guilty of alienation, but Marshall's stories open our eyes to seeing everyone as unique.