Prejudice And Racism In Shaun Tan's 'The Rabbits'

Since the European settlement of Australia, the Indigenous people have been represented in a myriad of ways. The Rabbits (1998), an allegorical picture book by John Marsden (writer) and Shaun Tan (illustrator) and Rabbit Proof Fence (2002), a film directed by Phillip Noyce, are just two examples of this. Techniques such as music, changing camera angles and symbolism are utilised in Rabbit Proof Fence to represent the Aboriginal people as strong-willed and spiritual and in The Rabbits, exaggeration, different colour themes and perspective are used to portray the Aborigines as technologically inferior and overwhelmed against the Europeans. In both texts, the Indigenous people are represented as

Using the text alongside the illustrations engages in critical literacy, revealing the hidden power relationships and ideological assumptions that underline texts (Winch 2014, p.539), and strike in-depth discussions. For example, about being lost and how you managed to find your way again, what the differences are between your approach and her approach, what do you notice about where they live, how is it different from where you live, and what are all the amazing things you could possibly do if you lived there. The idea is helping to develop a child’s knowledge of their world and the knowledge about a world that is not their own (Winch 2014, p.536). Majority of Indigenous content learning occurring in the younger years found in the Australian Curriculum, is remembering, understanding and applying, in relation to Bloom’s Taxonomy (Lowe, 2015). This book can be used to unearth these cognitive processes but can further be explored beyond the elaborations of the curriculum with the grade ones to build a greater depth of understanding through analysing, evaluating and creating (Lowe, 2015).

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.

For my research project I chose the topic of Racism in Children's Literature. I chose this area of study because it is something that bothers me and I know as a child in school I was very uncomfortable with assignments that dealt with racism. One day I would like to make a difference to all the people who are affected by racism. My hypothesis states that if educators are better trained to deal with the delicate subject of racism in children's literature, books would not be banned, yet actually teach the lesson the authors of these books intended for all of us to learn.

The Rabbits, a picture book written by John Marsden and illustrated by Shaun Tan, is an allegory for the British arriving in Australia and the subsequent colonisation. From the perspective of the indigenous population, Marsden explores the impact of white settlement on the traditional aboriginal way of life. This is achieved through the symbolism, colours and language.

The Strongest Blood tells the story of two cousins in an Indigenous setting, living in the Northwest Territories. Anyone who has read The Strongest Blood knows how it centers in on the teachings of Indigenous peoples and the struggles and conflicts that they face involving their land, spiritual beliefs, and economy. Van Camp’s extensive use of literary techniques directs the spotlight on the two major themes of Indigeneity, and economical conflict while creating an interesting environment for the reader.

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.

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

Wolf whistle is based on a real life tragedy that occurred in 1955. Lewis Nordan, the author uses humor to alleviate the vicious tone that was given off from the violence and racism. During 1955 Jim Crow laws were in effect, so segregation and inequality was present throughout the whole novel. Jim Crow laws sparked a significant amount of unfair trials, where the guilty people were magically let go, unpunished. The Emmett Till case was one of the many unfair trials. It solely revolved around violence and racism, which still exists in our society today.

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

John Howard Griffin, a journalist from Dallas, Texas, spent six weeks in the Deep South of the United States masquerading as a black man in an attempt to learn about the racism that black people face in the 1950s. After his journey came to an end, critics of his story said that it is not a black man’s experience of racism, rather that it is “the white man’s experience as a Negro in the South, not the Negro’s.” They are entirely right. A white person can have for black people and their struggles, however, they can’t understand the racial discrimination a black person faces their entire life until they experience it for themselves; not pretending to be someone else. Some people argued that this experiment was ridiculous. To one, the intentions of the experiment were commendable, rather that it was the way that they were executed was the ridiculousness behind his experiment.

Reading and discussion of “Racism in Toyland” helped me develop my critical thinking skills. Namely, I started to think in terms of how race influences hiring decisions of American managers and this in turn reinforces inequality and limits opportunities for minorities. Furthermore, I questioned the answer that was given by the author, the fact that managers were biased towards workers. My group in class proposed an alternative, conceived by me, that it might be customers who want to see and interact with white workers and that is why managers select them for important duties at these stores. The author provided us with facts and her perspective on those research based facts; all the same, we are free to interpret the facts in other ways and

The two Australian texts, a short story published in 2006 titled Twenty Pink Questions by Fabienne Bayet-Charlton and the 2002 film Rabbit-Proof Fence directed by Philip Noyce, both explore the idea of the injustice of forced child abduction. Twenty Pink Questions, details an insightful conversation between an Aboriginal mother and her child who repeatedly ask questions about the history of the Stolen Generation in order to understand her personal story. In comparison, Rabbit-proof fence depicts the lives of three Aboriginal girls who were removed from their families and placed in the Moore River Native Settlement in 1931, whilst exploring the unjust policy enforced by the Australian government during that time period that led to the mistreatment of Aboriginal people. Contrastingly, both texts incorporate different language and

The Representation of the encounter between white settlers-invaders and indigenous peoples in Jeannette Armstrong’s “History Lesson” and Susanna Moodie’s Roughing it in the Bush differ greatly in a number of ways. Writing at different times, for conflicting purposes, from opposing points of view as well as utilizing different literary mediums- the resulting representation of the encounter between the white and indigenous groups are inherently contrasting. Depicted as a lesser, more savage race in Roughing it in the Bush as well as the victims of savagery and

One day as my boyfriend and I were driving to dinner, a conversation came up about what other people would think about our relationship. “People just won’t assume we are together, that’s all.” “But why?” I asked. “Because that’s just how things are I guess,” was his response. The conversation paused as I began to thinking over his last statement- that this is how things are.