First, it changed how Australia was viewed by the global community; Australia was recognized as having the location, size, and resources to make it a global power, while lacking the size or might that would turn it into a threatening superpower. This resulted in Australia having a different diplomatic role after World War II. More significantly, World War II changed the domestic face of Australia. David Malouf uses World War II's transformation of Australia as a major element in his novel the Great World. David Malouf's images of Australia and Australians prior to World War II help portray the image of Australia as a frontier. Prior to the war, the novel's two protagonists, Digger Keen and Vic Curran lead very different lives. Digger grew up in a home with strong feminine and masculine influences. The fact that Digger's mother is portrayed as a strong feminine force is interesting because women are frequently marginalized in literature about Australia. Some have suggested that this reflects the sexism of Australian authors, while others suggest that it merely reflects the realism of these authors, who are confronting an inherently sexism in Australian society. Regardless of the reasons, Australian novels have tended to avoid the strongly feminine. The portrayal of Digger's mother as a character who is profoundly feminine and still strong reflects an Australia that is dependent upon its women, while, at the same time being dismissive of them.

The images of Digger's childhood also reinforce the idea of a hard-scrabble existence. During that time, many Australians were struggling financially, and the novel captures those struggles. Digger's family is incredibly impoverished, but they do not regard their poverty...

Vic's birth family was also impoverished, but, along with that poverty came other problems, such as alcoholism. Vic is adopted into a well-to-do family, but this sudden increase in financial fortune, because it is not accompanied by a change in other circumstances, does not make Vic happy. This reflects an appreciation of the self-made man and the notion that people are measured by who they are, not simply what they have.
However, Malouf's portrayal of Australia and Australians changes when he introduces readers to Digger and Vic as they are in a Japanese POW camp. Where Digger's childhood was strongly influenced by both the masculine and the feminine, it is the bonds of brotherhood that bind him and Vic while they are prisoners of war. They come together in a mutual fight, not against the Japanese who hold them prisoner, but against nature. The emphasis on the frontier is seen as Digger, Vic, and the other inmates fight against a series of diseases, a representation of the wild.

Finally, even after the war, though Australia is portrayed as being far more prosperous than before the war, Malouf demonstrates the same emphasis on the frontier attitude. Digger returns home and enjoys a happy and peaceful life, but does not acquire material wealth. Vic becomes very wealthy, but his focus on material things keeps him from enjoying his family. The contrast that was established between spiritual and financial wealth at the beginning of the novel is continued in the end of the novel.