The Characteristics Of Aborigines In The Secret River By Grenville

In contemporary society, interpretation is an institutional practice with readers consequently sharing assumptions; highlighting the concept of interpretive communities. Audiences often respond to ideas based on dominant contextual norms and ideologies. The biased recount of Australia's sullen and discriminatory past has led to a collective ignorance; with awareness and redemption of the true atrocities committed by British Settlers being a new concept. Kate Grenville's raw and accosting novel the Secret River confronts readers, positioning them to challenge the socio-historical doctrines of the 21st Century society. Analytical readers can respond actively to issues of racism by acknowledging the intertextuality of the text and contemporary actions, and by recognising and contrasting prevailing attitudes. This process evokes an emotive response to uncomfortable notions and influences a remorseful reaction towards the Aboriginal community and their hardship.

The Secret River by Kate Grenville focuses on the characterisation of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians and social expectations each may have in the 19th Century. Throughout the entirety of the novel Grenville discusses characters and how each adjust to their new environments whether it be the Aborigines or the non–Aboriginal Australians.

Gilbert’s poem portrays many Aboriginals plight’s within Australia and conveys notions of despair, anguish and anger for his fellow Aboriginal comrades. Again, Gilbert uses strong visual imagery in “the anguished death you spread” which helps convey the persona’s feeling of horror and anger at the Europeans. This is further emphasised through the poet’s vehement and repetitive use of second person pronouns in “you” which conveys a sense of blame and accumulates into an accusatory tone and generates a strong sense of detachment between the author and the European settlers. Furthermore enjambment enhances the accusatory tone in “you pollute all the rivers and litter every road” because the lack of punctuation and pauses makes the lines sharp and quick, creating a sense of anger in the author. In addition the author’s use of metaphors in “humanity locked in chains” creates a sense of struggle and inability to escape the oppression the Aboriginals are in, whereby the word “chain” is symbolic for trapped and lack of freedom. Kevin Gilbert’s emotional poem brings light to the pain and suffering Aboriginals are going through, which is a stark contrast to the image of Australia, being a free and accepting

Characters in the text The Secret River by Kate Grenville represent a variation of attitudes and views towards the colonisation of Australia and the Aboriginal Australians. While many characters are indecisive about their opinion on the natives, some characters have a clear mind-set on how they are to be treated. The characters of Thomas Blackwood and Smasher Sullivan represent the two very different sides of the moral scale, and the other characters fit between these sides. Smasher is a vicious, cold-hearted man who shows no respect or humanity towards the Aboriginals. On the other hand, Blackwood’s character contrasts Smasher with his humanity and general respect to the original owners of their new home. The

I was inspired by the poem Municipal Gum and decided to write a short story about modern day Aboriginals living in urban settings and how the lives of Aboriginal people have changed since the first fleet arrived 1788, bringing with it so many changes to the Aboriginal lifestyle and living.

Over the past 230 years, Aboriginals have protested in many different ways to gain rights, which they believe they are deserving of. Through aims of what they wanted to achieve, the processes they went through brought them disappointment over the poor results of some actions and pleasure over the success of others. Over those years, very few periods of protest have been as revelational or effective as the protests occurring between 1938 and 1972. During this period many different groups of Aboriginals have fought for the common cause of being recognised as people rather than interferences caught in the midst of Australians expansion as a nation.

The novel The Secret River written by Kate Grenville and the film One Night the Moon directed by Rachael Perkins both use conventional features such as symbolism, characterisation and features particular to the text type to highlight the differing views between Europeans and Aborigines over land, conflict and tragedy which ensues due to these differing attitudes. Grenville portrays the European society eager for a fresh start in Australia, but conflict with the traditional land owners is ongoing. Both Grenville and Perkins present readers and viewers with the challenging question of why respective cultures had differing attitudes to the use and meaning of the land, urging us to remove ourselves from restrictions such as culture and tradition and view the issue objectively.

Truthfully, Canada has yet to come to terms with its Aboriginal heritage. Though steps are being made, our country still in a sense lacks the conviction to truly accept our Indigenous history. This essay will discuss the importance of three paramount pieces of Aboriginal history that we must come to terms with as Canadians in order to accept our Aboriginal heritage. Canada is struggling to come to terms with its Aboriginal history, and this essay will attempt to display what we need to understand in order to move forward and make progress. Canada is a melting pot of diversity, but our very earliest roots as a nation stand with the Aboriginal people. Therefore, it is clear that Canada needs to come to terms with its Aboriginal heritage.

Aboriginals or indigenous Australians are the native people of Australia. Aboriginals were nomadic people who came to Australia about 40,000 – 60,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. Religion is a great part of Aboriginal culture. The essay answers these questions: What do Aboriginals belief? What is a Kinship system? What is Dreaming and Dreamtime? What rituals does Aboriginals have?

As the world is becoming more industrialized, processed foods are becoming cheaper and easier to purchase. This shift in natural food availability is becoming a growing health concern for people around the world; however, Canadian aboriginal communities are feeling greater negative effects of food insecurity (FI). When people in a community do not have “physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”, they are considered food insecure (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1998). While FI affects the health of all Canadians, the Aboriginal Peoples have been reported to have consistently lower health than other Canadians due to the extreme

Aborigines are believed to have lived in Australia for between 60,000 and 40,000 years, their early ancestors coming from South-East Asia. Precise population details for the period before European colonisation are unavailable, but it is estimated that there were between 300,000 and 1,000,000 Aborigines in Australia when European settlers first arrived in 1788.

Through our exploration within class, Andrew Bovell’s adaption of The Secret River has shown us its righteous place as a remarkable Australian play. The various themes throughout the novel highlight issues revolving around ownership and dispossession as well as reiterating how important reconciliation amongst white and indigenous Australians is. Bovell’s adaption is captivating, poignant and opens the door for a conversation of our nation’s history that has been silenced on many occasions.

The word "aboriginal" means "the first" or "earliest known". The word was first used in Italy and Greece to describe the people who lived there, natives or the old inhabitants.

Australian Aborigines are thought to have the longest continuous cultural history in the world. Yet, within a hundred years, the near extinction of the Aboriginal culture almost occurred. This single event, the invasion of the Australian continent by European settlers, changed the lifestyle, the culture, and the fate of Australian Aborigines. Their entire lives were essentially taken away and they were forced into a white, European world where the lifestyle change could not have been any different. Aborigines in Australia today are struggling to deal with a past in which they lost touch with their culture and now are trying to regain some of that cultural identity.

The main theme which Wright has tried to imply throughout this poem is how badly Aborigines were treated when the white settlers took aver Australia and how they were forced to adopt different ways of living.