No Sugar by Jack Davis depicts how the Indigenous characters of the play suffer at the behest of racism, inequality, abuse and assimilation forced upon them by the white authority. The pain and suffering also stems from their lack of personal freedom and is shown by Davis throughout the play. Davis portrays the displacement and inequality forced upon the Indigenous characters. The white audience is exposed to the hypocrisy that Mr Neal and Sergeant Carrol can drink but Sam and Jimmy are not allowed and are thrown in ‘the lock up’ for doing so. Consequently, this shows how the Indigenous characters are treated unequally compared to other white characters. A way in which Davis depicts the displacement of the Aboriginal family is when the …show more content…
Davis intends the character of Gran to be emblematic of those who are torn between the loyalties to the old world and to the new. Gran is depicted as resourceful through the ways in which she uses traditional lore to care and nurture her family. She uses ‘tjeerung meear’ for Mary’s welts after she is whipped to ‘make [her] better’ and ‘fix [her] up quick’. Moreover, the decision to use ashes instead of baby powder reinforces the fact that traditional lore is still present. Also, the bilingual nature of the Indigenous characters, predominantly the older individuals, shows the fluency of their speech and depicts the connection to their heritage and the ways in which they too are torn between the new world and the old and most importantly, their heritage. Moreover, Davis presents character types of those who accept white authority wanting to lead a peaceful life and those who rage against it. Billy with loyalties to both the new and the old worlds shows why he is so accepting. This is to lessen the extent of the suffering that was caused at the hand of the ‘wetjalas’ when they ‘finished’ his ‘mob’. He remains loyal to ‘Mitjer Neal’ by obeying his orders to pursue Mary and Joe despite the fact that he is treated unequally of which is shown when Mr Neal ‘throws a stick of tobacco on the floor’ and Billy picks it up. Contrary to Billy is Jimmy. Jimmy rages
Jack Davis also allows Gran to be seen as self-sufficient and independent. Through the course of the play, the audience realizes that Gran is able to make flour using natural resources as well as aid in the birth of a baby. She is also knowledgeable in the using of medicinal leaves as seen in Act IV Scene III where she "fetches some medical leaves". The use of stage direction and dialogue thus shows that Gran is knowledgeable in the traditional female roles.
In No Sugar, Jack Davis presents the tension of relations between the Aborigines and the Caucasians through the use of dialogue, actions and the record of history on both sides. As witnessed in the quote “Native Protector, couldn’t protect my dog from fleas”, the sarcastic remarks of Aborigine Jimmy Munday contain a bitterness against the whites that etches deeper than their humour. The pithy honesty of his insights is then illuminated by Davis’s attribution of various actions by the white leaders in the play towards the Aborigines. Finally Davis turns to accounts of the past, both written and oral, which act as bedrock to the sands of the present plot unfolding on the
In their 2012 article, "The Toxic Truth about Sugar," Lustig et al argue that sugar, like alcohol, ought to be regulated by governments due to the harm it can cause to individuals' health and the public good. Their argument, at first glance, appears to be highly logical and virtually unassailable: alcohol is regulated because it is bad for health and causes other problems for society, and so sugar which is the cause of much greater and more pervasive health problems and is also detrimental to the social and cultural fabric of the peoples of the world in a variety of ways involving the agricultural industry and global development should also be carefully regulated and controlled. The researchers cite actions taken in other countries along the same lines as a further justification of their call for more control when it comes to sugar content and consumption, and clearly spell out some of the concrete harms that increased sugar consumption has had and will have on the world's population, not just in developed/industrialized countries but in all countries adopting similar diets. This adds up to a very compelling picture of the threat that sugar specifically and "junk food" (calorie-dense and nutritionally-lacking consumables) generally constitutes to the world population.
He displays them in such a way, attempting to draw attention and outrage by discussing real-world problems. In this novel, the injustice of the economic system is exploited, and the poor treatment of migrant workers is addressed constantly. The faulty treatment of the mentally unstable is also a common theme, present via Lennie’s continuous abuse, and lack of understanding towards his illness from others. Racism is also apparent when the sole African American character, Crooks, is visited or discussed by any of the other characters. He is isolated based only on his race, and referred to using profanities, and never by his name. These themes help make the book a powerful novel, and illustrate how an author can harness the power of his writing to help draw attention to controversial issues present in
Phillip Gwyne’s novel, “Deadly Unna?” explores how the main character Gary Black, a white boy from the “Port” also known as “Blacky” grows up by not agreeing to racism. Blacky experiences prejudice and friendship from both the aboriginal and white communities. Blacky begins to develop a greater tolerance for aborigines and their culture, and then he further attempts to apply this knowledge to the intolerant and prejudiced town in which he lives. The boy who helps him shift in his opinion of aborigines is a local aborigine named “Dumby Red”, who lives in the aboriginal missionary “The Point”. Dumby is of Blacky’s Football team and helps Blacky in various ways to become more tolerant.
Many tragic events happen in this short story that allows the reader to create an assumption for an underlying theme of racism. John Baldwin has a way of telling the story of Sonny’s drug problem as a tragic reality of the African American experience. The reader has to depict textual evidence to prove how the lifestyle and Harlem has affected almost everything. The narrator describes Harlem as “... some place I didn’t want to go. I certainly didn’t want to know how it felt. It filled everything, the people, the houses, the music, the dark, quicksilver barmaid, with menace; and this menace was their reality” (Baldwin 60). Another key part in this story is when the narrator and Sonny’s mother is telling the story of a deceased uncle. The mother explains how dad’s brother was drunk crossing the road and got hit by a car full of drunk white men. Baldwin specifically puts emphasis on the word “white” to describe the men for a comparison to the culture of dad and his brother.
It is a natural part of human nature to long for the feeling of belonging, even if it means following a corrupt and unjust social regime. Craig Silvey weaves this idea into the novel Jasper Jones, in which the “half-caste” deuteragonist and protagonist Charlie Bucktin discover the death of the shire president’s daughter, Laura Wishart, and work together to find the culprit as to avoid the inevitable scapegoating of Jasper for this crime. Silvey’s implementation of the historical setting of the 1960’s introduces the themes of fear, racism within a social regime and scapegoating; these ideas relate to the racism present in Australia at the time, due to the reign of the White Australia Policy and the effect of the Vietnam War. By integrating these key ideas into the story of Jasper’s experiences with scapegoating, Silvey reflects on real-life examples of racism present in Australia during the 1960’s, as well as other developing nations, and how the need to impress others is the major drive for the wider
“This scene not only expresses Billy’s rage, it visually represents his childhood. Billy is blocked by barriers of gender, class, and
The play No Sugar by Jack Davis has various themes and issues covered in it. My understanding of society helps with the meaning of this text, through multiple aspects. These aspects are shown in the text through various themes/issues. These themes portray society and help with my understanding of No Sugar. The themes/issues are as follows; colonialism, economic depression and the patriarchy society. All these topics were a big part of Davis time, and when he wrote the play. This is the reason that we can see these issues portrayed through his play. Racism is a big part of his play and in the era when the play was written as well, and it’s shown not as a separate issue but is portrayed
Granma is another Native American archetype as the subservient squaw. When Little Tree first describes seeing his grandparents, he describes his grandfather first and adds, “Granma stood behind him” (Carter 1). The next descriptor of the grandmother is just as submissive because she had, “kept her eyes to the
In Davis’ drama the character Jimmy serves as a voice of protest against the works highlighting of discrimination against Aborigines between 1929 to 1934. Jimmy is an Aboriginal man who despises the fact he is not equal in society to the white man and is not regarded as a ‘person’ by the government. Through Jimmy’s words and actions we see him openly stand up for himself and his people in they way they are treated by white people subsequently fulfilling his role as the voice of protest in the play. The most dramatic example of Jimmy fulfilling his service is when he argues with Mr Neville, the
“The Toxic Truth About Sugar”, written by Lustig et al. varies in their usage of rhetorical strategies to try to have their readers better understand that sugar, as common as it is, can be very dangerous when a big amount is consumed in one day. The numbers in our world don’t lie: A shocking statistic is that there are currently thirty percent more people who are obese than there are healthy. This discussion arose from the staggering facts that obesity is becoming more of an epidemic than ever before. The United States has a choice to make: Take the steps necessary to slow obesity or do nothing at all, like it feels we are currently doing. This can be a good or bad rush, depending on how you assess the situation.
The setting of the novel is a rural plantation in Louisiana in the Deep South. Most of the story takes place on Henri Pichot’s plantation. He is a wealthy influential man in Bayonne who can influence many decisions. Being set in the 1940’s before civil rights, the whites reigned supreme, and the blacks were still seen as inferior. Gaines uses characters such as Sheriff Guidry, Henri Pichot, and Mr. Joseph Morgan to demonstrate the white mentality towards African Americans (Poston A1). The white mentality causes many negative feelings. Folks says, “Part of Grant’s bitterness stems from his negative feelings about the black population in his hometown” (Folks B1). Grant is always mad and discouraged by the vicious cycle the blacks are put through. “The reader is able to gain insight into Grant’s thoughts and frustrations through his conversations with Vivian, his girlfriend. He feels trapped in his present situation” (Poston A1).
In contemporary times the Indigenous are stereotypically represented as being violent and aggressive. Sen is creating a stereotypical image of young Indigenous boys as criminals and dominative. An extreme close up of Vaughn behind jail bars show the separation between Vaughn and society. The stereotype of Indigenous Australians as criminals is shown in a negative light and acts as a false stereotype. The jail bars act as a physical and metaphorical barrier and the use of non diegetic music sets a mood of extreme sadness. Domestic violence is also suggested in the car ride. The women with the child is seen as submissive and this violence acts as usual practise. However, Vaughn does not appear to this stereotype of all males being dominative. Sen’s use of camera angles highlights the stereotypical nature of indigenous people and
When most people think about sugar, their first thoughts are not: heart disease, addiction, or slow and painful death; yet, unfortunately, these conditions are very real consequences of the unregulated and excessive consumption of sugar. In Nature’s article, “The Toxic Truth About Sugar” (2012), Robert Lustig, pediatric endocrinologist; Laura Schmidt, Professor of Health Policy at UCSF; and Claire Brindis, Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at UCSF, evaluate the world’s ever-increasing and toxic struggle with the substance sugar – also discussing counter measures to promote healthier diets amongst American’s and other societies. Lustig and his colleagues develop their argument using statistical evidence as they address the global impact of sugar, refuting minor oppositions, before dissecting each harmful aspect of the substance – even comparing it to substances more known for their toxicity. Eventually, presenting readers with possible routes of regulation, the authors firmly suggest government intervention in the production and sale of sugary foods. Although the argument is well executed, I remain unconvinced that government intervention is actually necessary.