Eckermann's Poem 'Circles, Squares And Redfern Now'

though he is the true aborigine. When a policeman pulls him over one night and asks him "where are you supposed to be?" (182), he clearly shows his alienation by thinking, "I knew there were plenty of places I wanted to be, but none where I was supposed to be" (182). He realizes he is "making people nervous" (183) because he doesn’t "fit the profile of the neighborhood" (183) in which he is driving. But it isn’t just that neighborhood, or any other nice neighborhood. He wants to tell the policeman that he doesn’t "fit the profile of the country," but he knows "it would just get [him] in trouble" (183).

Australian people and culture are often stereotyped in the media in different forms, one of them being film. The two films being examined, ‘Red dog’ (2011) and the ‘Sapphires’ (2012), are an example of the Australian identity but from different points of view. ‘Red dog’ shows the kind and positive side which exemplifies mateship and loyalty. The film ‘Sapphires’ ,which takes place in the 1950’s through to the 1960’s, shows a negative and racist view towards the indigenous people. Both the films show different aspects of the Australian identity, not all insights of the films accurately represent contemporary Australian identity as the Australian identity has changed by the evolution of people and their lifestyle.

The slowly widening generational gap between father and son and between cultures is explored in “Feliks Skrzynecki”. Although full of tender admiration for his father, who spent “Five years of forced labour in Germany”, the poet comments on his father’s strong need to focus only on his pre-war Polish culture, choosing to purposefully exclude himself from main-stream Australian society. Ironically, this caused a growing distance between father and son, as although his father feels he does belong and is content in his exclusion from Australian culture and society, Skrzynecki

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.

It is crucial that we study Australian Narratives as it creates insights into events we may have not explored. This is evident in the novel "Crow Country" written by Kate Constable. It teaches us about Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality, Australia's History and respect, as we experience what it feels like to live in rural Australia, creating an understanding about Aboriginal people. Therefore, through a close read and study of "Crow Country", readers are able to learn new and important things about our past and present, showing that it is crucial to study Australian Narratives.

Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.

In his essay, “Pretty like a White Boy: The Adventure of a Blue-Eyed a Ojibway,” Drew Hayden Taylor discusses his negative life experiences, and decides that he will no longer classify himself as either a White, or Native person, though he is of dual ancestry. Though he aims his essay at the Everyman, he assumes that the reader has knowledge in Native history. Taylor, the comedian mentions that he never knew his White father, and it is likely that he was raised in First Nations household. This assumption supports the ethos of his essay as a whole. While examining the thesis, Taylor makes jumps in logic that are difficult for the reader to follow, on the path to his conclusion. Taylor’s style is consistently lighthearted, and his essay is structurally sound, however, due to errors in logic, his essay appeals to the heart alone.

The episode Redfern Now: Stand Up by Rachel Perkins and the poetry of Alison Cobby-Eckermann explore the idea of belonging in modern Australian society using double consciousness, othering and identity. The main characters, Joel and Eckermann, have struggled with their double consciousness, are seen as the other and have an uncomplete identity.

These constant reminders of differences as well as stereotyping made it incredibly hard for Gouvrnel, Wei-Lei and all migrants to belong somewhere other than what their physical appearance may indicate. By Gouvrnel recalling this story to the readers it make us think and learn about the impact and implications migrants have to face when coming to Australia and the teasing, bulling and hardships they were forced to face. On multiple occasions she recalls being in tears and asking herself why she “couldn’t move back to Delhi,” difference in physical appearance and were we originate serve as indicatory of difference that can result in very stereotypical grouping, making assumptions purely based on looks as well as exclusion, preventing migrants from feeling as if they belong.

Charlie articulates how he “never understood why you would ever feel the need to shoot the fish in the barrel… (if) they’re in a barrel, you’ve already caught them… they can’t escape... why bring guns into it?” Silvey’s use of characterisation and first person point of view portrays Charlie’s realisation of the community’s racial prejudice towards ‘the other’. The “fish” is symbolic of Charlie and how he is different to the people of Corrigan; who are like vultures – constantly seeking the chance to attack those that are considered the ‘minority’. Charlie’s close friend, Jeffrey Lu, is a gifted and committed cricket player who persistently tries to get himself in the local team, however, due to his Vietnamese background, “he’s ruthlessly bullied and belted about by the boys at school.” The emotive imagery and alliteration of “bullied” and “belted” further depict Charlie’s internal conflict in addition to his realisation of the community’s racial prejudice towards the peripheral of society. The use of emotive imagery positions readers to realise the extent to which powerful words can have; causing readers to recognise how crude and harrowing humankind can be towards the marginalised. Thus, Silvey effectively conveys to the reader how the indigenous race were isolated from ‘white Australian’ society; how intelligent individuals were ostracised; and, how groups of people with racially different backgrounds were isolated from mainstream Australian society.

Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history.

The teaching resource selected to support diverse literacy and language learning in a grade one classroom is a children’s book ‘I’m Australian Too’ written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh (Fox, M. (2017) ‘I’m Australian Too’ Australia; Scholastic Australia). The book is available for purchase both online and at ‘Readings’ stores in Hawthorn, Carlton, Malvern and St Kilda for $19.99. It can also be accessed as an audio copy from http://memfox.com/books/im-australian-too/. The book details all the multiple cultural identities that can be found across Australia. It poetically details that no matter where our families come from, or the hardships that may have faced, we can all find a home in Australia. The resource is useful in

An individual’s search for identity is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong, thus not belonging consequently leas to a feeling of alienation and isolation. This notion is explored through May’s journey seeking to connect with her racial heritage, her idea of understanding and acceptance. The old man Graham, May encounters at the mission expresses an Aboriginal perspective on the contemporary relationship between the two societies. “no one to talk about it. And they die, kill em selves, than those governments just put another numba, nother cross in they list. They still trying to do it, kill us of, tell us that its always been they plan.” They hybrid vernacular communicates the hatred through the ethnolect strongly marked by the non –standard features of the pronouns in “they list,” “they plan.” Graham’s diatribe reflects him as an individual demonstrating the marginalisation of the minority groups. Similarly, Armin Greder’s picture book The island demonstrates the notion concerning the duality of belonging with its inherit prejudices and xenophobic attitudes expresses the majority’s deliberate exclusion of ‘the other’ outside

‘Australia’ also showed how the government controlled how children of Aboriginal descent were brought up with language used such as “The mixed raced children must be dislocated from their primitive full blooded Aborigine, how else are we to breed the black out of them”. This presented again the reason as to why the Aboriginal children were taken away from their own cultures to be raised in something completely different.

The representation of Indigenous Australians in fiction and nonfiction texts are influenced by a range of factors. In the contemporary world of multicultural Australia, there has been a variety of ways groups of people are represented in texts. The Indigenous population is often portrayed in ways that strengthen harmful stereotypes. However, there are also a variety of positive outlooks and portrayals expressing their strength and achievements. In texts studied in year 8 English, the representation of Indigenous Australians in Crow country are characterized as outcasts and reflect cultural distinction. Newspaper articles regarding “Adam Goodes” demonstrates how preconceived thoughts from many Australians destroys sporting stars outlook upon