“They’re not like us. They keep moving. They don’t dig down into a place. They just move across it. Put up a decent fence and they’ll get the idea.” – William Thornhill The Secret River, originally a novel by Kate Grenville, has been adapted into a play by Andrew Bovell, a Caucasian Australian author, which was published in 2013. The story consists of an English settler who is transported to New South Wales in 1806. After he earns his freedom, his family travel to Hawkesbury to live on 100 acres of land, only to discover that it is occupied by the Dharug people. The play challenges the audience to think about how everyone is able to take responsibility for Australia’s violent history by acknowledging the barbarous actions of the past. I believe …show more content…
Being a white Australian male, Bovell doesn’t have the right to express the horrifying and gory details of the massacre of Indigenous people and the events that played out before. The play revolves around the white settlers of Australia pilfering land from the Dharug people, almost paralleling how Bovell is interpreting the struggles of the Aboriginal people. The director of the play, Neil Armfield, has even spoken about how difficult is was to tell the story that “respectfully mourns the genocide that occurred across the land” and one that “celebrates the survival of Aboriginal culture against all forces.“ For years, Indigenous characters have been featured in texts by white Australian authors and often have been characterised in ways that make them very stereotypical. An example of this is Jasper Jones, a novel by Craig Silvey where an “half-caste” is accused of a murder. Aboriginal people being seen as savage and murderous is an archetypal view. In The Secret River, the white settlers have been shown like this when, for example, Smasher Sullivan brutally rapes and enslaves Indigenous women. Bovell has tried to create an equitable play that is progressive, but because of his ethnicity, it is difficult to accurately represent the Dharug
This work examines the past and also imagines the future by using references of past racial murders and the way they coincide with the present context and explore Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous culture in the present-day. Ah Kee created this series of artworks in response to the apparent police cover up of the death of a young man in their custody, for protection of
Furthermore, Downey’s apt use of pathos, or emotional appeals, draws readers in and triggers an emotional response in them, keeping them engaged for the duration of the essay. To expand, he uses blunt phrases like, “permanent loss” (445) and “distant, angry aliens, lacking emotional bonds” (446) to create a severe impact on readers. Also, stirring examples of “descent into alcohol, drugs, and prostitution” (445) and “children committing suicide” (446) illustrate for readers the acute level of damage and suffering that Aboriginal victims experienced. Downey’s use of evocative and graphic imagery in his recounts of “residential schools” (446) and the physical, “emotional and sexual abuse” (447) that specific victims endured elucidates the turmoil and anguish felt by victims of the ‘Sixties Scoop’ in general. As such, this technique fully immerses readers in his essay. Downey creates both a sense of compassion and guilt in his readers through his mention of children who were “enslaved,
Have you ever needed easier access to the essential items to stay alive? This is specifically what the residents of the North-East thought around the year 1817. Carol Sheriff argues in her book, “The Artificial River” that the residents of the canal corridor actively sought after long-distance trade and therefore consumer goods that markets brought to their homes. The fact that people supported the Erie Canal at all "suggests that at least some aspired to engage in broader market exchange" (p. 11). The transformation of this region because of the Erie Canal is organized around six topics, each of which is covered by a chapter. They include the; Visions of Progress, the Triumph of Art over Nature, Reducing Distance and Time, the Politics of Land and Water, the Politics of Business, and the Perils of Progress.
Another reason it important to study and understand Australian Novels such as ‘Crow Country’ is that it can help fight racism. In ‘Crow Country’, it is apparent that racism is a key theme of the book, as it has shaped many of the actions and turmoils in the book. Even the main murder in the book is because of racial prejudice, and it is something that shouldn’t be an everyday action in the world. An example of racism in the book is referenced when it was revealed that David was left nearly dead by Craig Mortlock and his posse when they had lured and beaten him up by the family lake. This happened not only because of the love issues, it was also partly caused by racial prejudice. If we had clear knowledge on the backstory and culture of Aboriginal
Craig Silvey engages us with Jasper Jones in order to convey a certain moral message in hope to make us stop and think. No one in this novel is truly accepted into the community, which tells me as the responder, that in order for this society to succeed differences need to be tossed aside. Jasper Jones is a credible recollection of the injustice, racism and social exclusion that exists in the Australian society. It also tackles growing up, first love, family unity, and a sense of belonging in a community.
The story is a recount of bullying, told from the point of view of Davy Morne, who describes himself as one of the worst of the bullies. The victim is Herbie, the only indigenous kid at the school, who is brutally bullied for being noticeably different; because he has strong Indigenous features. He is described, “as black as a crow,” imagery which reinforces this difference, as does the language in words like “Boong”, “Nigger” and “Abo”, words which appear in the opening sentences, grabbing the reader’s shocked attention and compelling the reader to continue because how can anyone get away with such brazenly, racist language. Archie Weller excelled throughout the course of this story in his use of imagery: every sentence carried a vivid imagination, from the description of Herbie, his bullies or his torture and all this was cleverly done from the point of view of young Davy Morne.
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.
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.
Aboriginal women is sexualized, assaulted, and mistreated in today’s society, and the novel portrays this inequity. Lisa’s friend, Erica, was in Terrace, when Lisa witnesses her being harassed by a group of white men. The men were teaching Erica how to “fuck a white man,” when Lisa intervenes. The men call the girls “a squaw, “cunt”, and “bitch” (Robinson 250). The
Hollywood’s early depictions of Natives consisted of tribesmen and noble savages who are in tune with Nature. Films such as The Silent Enemy portray these stereotypes on screen with actors like Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance being shown as tribesmen who are very noble Natives. Although these stereotypes are positive, they are still stereotypes nonetheless. These stereotypes have caused
In the memoir The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the chapter titled: On the Rainy River has a central idea of resentment, embarrassment and eventual acceptance to change. The author creates this central idea with the use of a regretful tone, man vs society conflict, and dreary imagery. The theme of this chapter contributes to O’Brien’s intentions for the book because it demonstrates the struggle, shame, and or confusion each man drafted into the war experienced.
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
‘The secret River’ by Kate Grenville follows the story of a man named William Thornhill throughout the course of his life, beginning with a child in poverty to a man with power and money. Grenville describes his hardships and triumphs that led him to where he is today. In this extract, Thornhill’s is shown to be reflective and regretful and this is shown through Grenvilles descriptions of his development as a character as well as surroundings. The reader is able to see a change in the descriptions of Thornhill made by Grenville as he is normally seen as a strong and powerful man that is very sure of himself however here he is shown as lonely, regretful and reflective.
Theories of race and ethnicity have never been a high priority in society, and this is reflected through many narratives across the world and throughout time. Majority of narratives focus mainly on centralising the “whites” or Anglo’s as the focal point of each story, causing a distinguished imbalance or hierarchy, between the “whites” or Anglo’s and the “non-whites” or non-Anglo’s, Lucas (2014). This purpose of this essay is to research and investigate race and ethnicity, and how they are represented in the narratives of Tony Morrison’s Tar Baby and Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. The next focal point of this essay is to explore and identify how each narrative challenges the binary oppositions of centre and margin, which in this case, Tar Baby and White Teeth, challenges this binary opposition; centre and margin which is represented as whites and non-whites. The characters Jadine and Son from Tar Baby, and, Magid and Millat from White Teeth, must be analysed and used as examples, to be able to gain an understanding of how both of these concepts, race and ethnicity, and the binary opposition of white and non-whites, are represented or challenged.
This first example of the type of lies told by white people effected the earlier African American literary authors. They fell victim to these white lies in terms of their freedom of what they could and could not write. One example is that of Briton Hammon in his literary tale entitled “A Narrative of Uncommon Sufferings.” In his piece, he recalls different event he had experienced. One of these events was an encounter with a group of Indians. He noted them as “savages” which is very similar to how white people of this time period addresses the matter of Indians. This simple metaphor led some to believe this literary work of Briton Hammon was, indeed, heavily edited by a white editor. As a whole, different events throughout the story