The Australian Native Markus Zusak

‘A Multi-Cultural Society’ is a factual recount in the chronological structure, started with an author’s impression of Australia and concluded with other people’s experiences, with sub-headings. The main theme of this related text is thankful, the author is being thankful to the opportunities herself and her families been given, “My parents just wanted a better life”. Her first impressions of Australia is a contrast to ‘Be Good, Little Migrants’, the author had a favourable experience, she like how Australia is a multi-cultural society with people from different countries. Australian society is diverse compare to India, her mother country. The author came over by an aeroplane with her parents when she was six years of age. She had an extraordinary

The identity of an individual is shaped by the experiences and interactions they face in their world. Peter Skrzynecki’s “Immigrant chronicle” highlights this with poems like 10 Mary Street and In the Folk Museum through how Peter interacted and connected to Australia's society while Tim Winton's “The Neighbours” establishes his sense of belonging when connections between him and his community form during their lifetime experience. From this, we learn that experiences and interactions shape our identity and from that, we form connections between communities and places.

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.

This view shows the shift from a fairly negative to positive attitude that migrant in the 21st century experiences and the changing relationships that the present migrant in Australia holds compared to a past migrant. The chance to express individuality is another form of the changing attitudes of the migrant experience in Australia. Fatima shows that here she is able to freely express herself and her opinions and is glad that she has left “Hell”; her country of origin (Pakistan) and a metaphor for a place that is torturous and evil. Referring back to “Migrant Woman on a Melbourne Tram”, the migrant revealed that her culture is different by wearing clothing that is unusual to the typical Australian woman. This established alienation and distance between her and the Australian people.

Melina Marchetta’s cult text ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ looks at many issues of growing up in Australia torn between two cultures. The main protagonist Josie Alibrandi was born in Australia into a family with strong Italian cultural links and her battle to ‘find’ herself and her ethnicity is one that I will explore further.

The ‘colonisation' of Australia by Europeans has caused a lot of problem for the local Aborigines. It drastically reduced their population, damaged ancient family ties, and removed thousands of Aboriginal people from the land they had lived on for centuries. In many cases, the loss of land can mean more than just physical displacement. Because land is so much connected to history and spirituality, the loss of it can lead to a loss of identity. This paper will examine the works of Tim Rowse and Jeremy Beckett as well as other symbols of identity that are available to modern Aborigines in post colonial Australia.

Cultural conflict is something that we will experience, sooner or later in our everyday lives. Both LFA and GUAIA depict characters that find their cultural backgrounds hard to cope with, but they each draw attention to different reasons for these difficulties. In the novel, “Looking For Alibrandi”, written by Melina Machetta and the anthology, Growing Up Asian in Australia edited by Alice Pung, we perceive similar reasons why the characters find their heritage subjugating within the broader Australian context. The protagonist of ‘Looking for Alibrandi’, Josie discovers her true identity and breaks free from her mother and grandmothers cultural boundaries, guidelines and strict expectations. The collection of short stories in ‘Growing up Asian in Australia’ depict characters that are facing cultural conflict due to having an ethnicity that diverges from the majority. Both of these iconic texts

Melina Marchetta’s Looking for Alibrandi compared and contrasted to Simone Lazaroo’s The Asian Disease exhibited in Alice Pung’s anthology Growing up Asian in Australia both explore the cultural expectations which subsequent to behaviours of detachment from tradition evidenced in the children of migrant families. Since complying to such unreasonable conditions is arduous for the protagonists in both texts, teenage girl Josie and the ill father are both victims to the loss of their individual identity in consequence to their traditional expectations. Such bereavement of personality is depicted throughout the texts when both characters undergo the harsh criticism of others which defines racism, the lowering of their self-esteem in result of the oppression they endure and the substantial struggle of Josie and the father having to establish a fulfilling life for themselves.

The first three books that he wrote, The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and When Dogs Cry, won many awards in Australia and the US. I am the Messenger won Australian Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in 2003, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Award the same year. It was awarded the Deutscher Jugendliteratur prize in Germany, for children’s literature(“About Markus Zusak”).

The structure of this piece is an expository essay, that is trying to send the message that identity may only determine where we belong. When the reader reads this piece my intention is for them to feel they are also in these positions and don't know how to react to these circumstances. When reading the section about Wild Cat Falling I hope that it sheds some light on the situations that a lost boy of aboriginal descent may feel when they don't know where to belong. This feeling should also be felt when reading the section about the Stolen generation there is some vivid images of what could happen if one was involved in the stolen generation and it opens people's eyes to the reality of the stolen generation. On a lighter note the use of the

However, there are moments where the Indigenous characters are inadvertently associated with the negative stereotypes which existed at the time. An alternate viewing of Australia could observe Luhrmann’s portrayal of Indigenous characters as condescending, their vulnerable nature constantly dependent on the actions of the Anglo-Saxon characters. Despite his best intentions, Luhrmann’s work could also be criticised for presenting the struggles of Indigenous identity as nothing more than a sub-plot to a romantic relationship, exploiting the issues of the Stolen Generation for his own commercial gain. However, the events which witnessed Daisy and Magarri sacrifice their lives for the benefit of others and Nullah’s strong stance against Neil Fletcher better exemplify Luhrmann’s interpretation of the selfless and loving nature of Indigenous

Today’s world presents instances of wealth beyond one’s dreams, and on the other side, poverty where each day is solely about the survival in this harsh environment. However no story is better appreciated than those that combines these two different “worlds”, also known as Rags to Riches. Underdog stories including Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and J.K Rowling, all take a huge leap forward from where they were, and now media even make these seem commonplace. Except, these stories still give the impression to the common man, woman, or child that the secrets of how to become a part of this elite group to be as hidden as, the secret of how headphones can always get tangled in the confines of a pocket. Markus Zusak employs his book I Am the Messenger, as a messenger quite literally, to help deliver these elusive secrets through his theme, the “wealth” of the lessons taught by Ed, and the creative, and the innovative plans of Ed to overcome varied conflicts. Through his simple message, Zusak helps show that underdogs are not these divine, angelic beings who have conquered obstacles insurmountable by anyone else, they are just a simple achievable goal.

The essay entails the first encounter of Aboriginals and the European settlers, “… the ‘discoverers’ struggling through the surf were met on the beaches by other people looking at them from the edge of the trees…” (Rhys Jones, 1985). The work serves as a timeless reminder of Australia’s history both before and after 1788. It makes viewers question the integrity of Australia’s past and future, encouraging them to ask themselves whether humanity has learnt from our mistakes and how much our society has actually changed. Fiona Foley and Janet Laurence have together created a timeless social comment that confronts the viewers with their own history, thus further establishing the truth of ______’s

In the novel, I Am The Messenger, Zusak depicts several thematic concepts which serve to inform the audience through an intriguing delivery. The most prominent concept being is the notion that an individual’s identity is shaped by one’s attitude and mindset. Such is exemplified in the character of Ed. Prior to Ed’s halt of the heist, Ed declared: “I’m typical of many of the young men you see in this suburban outpost of the city - not a whole lot of prospects or possibility” (6). It is evident that Ed firmly believes that he is an incompetent, irrelevant, and insignificant individual as he does not possess any determination or accomplishments in the span of his nineteen years.

The use of the first person narrative, such as “I don’t add it’s not the only thing” (Lukashenko 227) furthers the reader’s understanding of life as the protagonist, as they gain insight into her interpretation of her current situation. The protagonist’s internal monologue reflects an individual’s usual perception of life; as they experience events with only a singular perspective, rather than with an omniscient view, meaning that the reader is able to encounter the narrator's life in the same way they would their own. Similarly, Lucashenko uses character to establish a realistic interpretation of an Indigenous Australian living within a lower socioeconomic community. By approximating conversational Australian speech through use of slang such as “ambo driver” and contractions such as “she’s” (Lucashenko 229), Lucashenko gives her characters an authenticity, making them seem more natural within an Australian context, furthermore allowing readers to fully immerse themselves within a recognisable, modern, Australian