Gray’s work contains many varying and different values. The values reflected in the majority of his work can be seen as values acquired throughout his life and have been influenced by his experiences. Living on a banana plantation and a dairy farm on the north coast of NSW can be seen reflected in the ‘traditional pastoral’ aspects of his particular style of poetry.
  Robert Gray’s work reflects the values and beliefs which formed the basis of the ‘culture or social processes’ that he grew up in, values such as the conservatism which was challenged by the younger generation during the 1960’s, a period where Gray was beginning to write and form his own opinions and ideas about the world around him.
   For Gray there are a number of values that are evident and often reoccurring throughout his texts such as his affinity for nature, the sheer beauty that can be found in the natural world in contrast to the alien environments manufactured by man. Gray also presents social issues in his work questioning and challenging the accepted attitudes and practices of modern society.
   Gray’s poem ‘Meatworks’ (1973) is ‘An effective text  … one which clearly achieves its social purpose through the composers cleverly selected language and techniques.’ In the poem ‘Meatworks’ Gray makes the responders think about the slaughtering of living animals simply to provide humans with meat. Gray’s objective approach can be seen as evidence of his values. Gray has a love for all things in nature; he finds beauty in the minutest of details as well the most impressive vistas. Throughout the poem ‘Meatworks’ Gray’s aim is to arouse the emotions of the responders through his carefully selective use of powerful verbs and adjectives, verbs such as ‘pushing’, ‘grinding’, ‘chomping’ create animalistic and savage images of the slaughterhouse ‘as a frenetic instrument of destruction’.  The values expressed in this particular poem such as the humane treatment of animals and questioning our needs can be seen as reminiscent of the beginnings of the environmental movements that began during the 1960’s, the same period when this  poem was most likely written, it’s important to note Gray’s own context is an influence on the values and idea’s expressed in his work.
     ‘Journey: North Coast’ (1973 ‘JNC’) is another poem also written by Gray during the same period as ‘Meatworks’. ‘JNC’ reflects Gray’s love of nature through the intricate details and striking visual imagery conjured by Gray’s use of powerful adjectives and similes. This style of poetry is responsible for earning Gray a reputation as a ‘pastoralist poet’ and the Australian countryside as being an intrinsic part of what makes Gray. Different from ‘Meatworks’ ‘JNC’ is a visual poem which attempts to help the reader explore the countryside through the eyes of the poet, the poem possibly describing one of the many train trips Gray has taken between Sydney and the north coast. Throughout ‘JNC’ Gray’s values of love and respect for the environment are evident as the subject of the poem stands in awe of the passing vistas as the train ‘tears the wind apart’ winding across the countryside.
   Robert Gray’s later poem ‘Diptych’ (1983) published 10 years after ‘Meatworks’ and ‘Journey: North Coast’ differs in varying degrees from the aforementioned two poems. ‘Diptych’ is split into two parts, each exploring the traits of one of Gray’s parents which when combined forms a whole picture of what makes Gray who he is. The poem contains values about the importance of reconciliation and respect as Gray finds himself as an older person acknowledging the contributions and values his parents had passed onto him. For Gray ‘Diptych’ is a much more personal and reflective poem, it shows his maturation as a poet and changing values as the world moves onto new ideas and technology changes.