The theme of Struggle in the Australian national identity and literature

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 notion of the contemporary indigenous identity and the impact of these notions are both explored in texts that have been studied. Ivan Sen’s 2002 film ‘Beneath Clouds’ focuses on the stereotypical behaviours of Indigenous Australians highlighting Lina and Vaughn’s journey. This also signifies the status and place of the Australian identity today. Through the use of visual techniques and stereotypes the ideas that the Indigenous are uneducated, involved in crime and the stereotypical portrayal of white people are all explored. Similarly the notion of urban and rural life is represented in Kennith Slessor’s ‘William Street’ and ‘Country Towns’.

The careful choices of literary devices Paterson had successfully conveyed his underlying purpose to the reader. This text also paints a picture of the mood of one of the facets of Australians in the war which is the main focus of this poem.

Humanity is but a facet of the sublime macrocosm that is the world’s landscapes. In the relationship between man and landscape, nature is perpetually authoritarian. In her free-verse poems, The Hawthorn Hedge, (1945) and Flame-Tree in a Quarry (1949), Judith Wright illustrates the how refusal to engage with this environment is detrimental to one’s sense of self, and the relentless endurance of the Australian landscape. This overwhelming force of nature is mirrored in JMW Turner’s Romantic artwork, Fishermen at Sea (1796). Both Wright and Turner utilise their respective texts to allegorise the unequal relationship between people and the unforgiving landscape.

Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree.

Many of Tim Winton’s fictional texts mirror moments in his own life, and with an understanding of Winton’s personal context, we can begin to discover the importance of these events and an understanding into why many of his text orbit around similar ideas. Through the insight given in his landscape memoirs, Lands Edge and Island Home, a more considered reading of his fictional texts; Breath, A Blow, A Kiss and Sand can be found. Specifically, these texts explore the role that landscape and place have had in shaping his perspectives and distaste of the expectations of Australian males. These texts each explore certain aspects of the expectations that men all over Australia are subjected to that Winton strongly opposes. Winton grew up in the 1960’s middle-class suburb of Karrinyup, WA, his working class Christian family’s beliefs and values, and events in his early life have evolved to form many of his present-day values towards landscape and masculinity.

Australian landscapes have long been used to place fear and anxiety in the Anglo-Australian’s psyche. This anxiety and the requirement for Indigenous peoples to negotiate white ideals is reflected in current Australian literature and cinematic identities. This essay will discuss the critical arguments of what makes the chosen texts Australian literature. This discussion will be restricted to the critiques of the film Lantana directed by Ray Lawrence and the novel Biten’ Back written by Vivienne Cleven. The will firstly look at the use of landscape as a crime scene and how this links to the anxieties caused by the doctrine of terra nullius and the perceived threats from an introduced species. It will then look at the Australian fear of a different ‘other’ followed then by a discussion around masculinity and the need for Indigenous people to negotiate white ideals. The essay will argue that Australian literature and film reflect a nation that still has anxieties about the true sovereignty of the land and assert that Indigenous people have a requirement to fit in with white ideals.

Joyful Strains is a collaboration of short memoirs written by a group of expatriates about their experiences moving to Australia, and the struggles they faced that shaped them into the people they are today. Deborah Carlyon moved to Australia from her birth country of Papua New Guinea when she was 12-years-old, and has written the story ‘Hidden by the Dream’. Paolo Totaro moved from Italy to Australia when she was only a child and has contributed to the book with her short story ‘Pointing North’. Joyful Strains follows the authors as they explain how they navigated the process of finding a sense of belonging in Australia and establishing their own identities.

There are many diverse interpretations of the words “Australian Identity”. The national anthem, as evidenced in Stand Up, is a primarily white interpretation of Australia and the Australian identity, with many of the lines ignoring the Indigenous people of Australia (Perkins et al, 2012). Another form of the “Australian Identity” was one presented by Prime Minister Paul Keating in his Redfern Address in 1992. He proclaimed that “Australia is a first-rate social democracy…truly the land of the fair go and the better chance”. This idea presented represents an egalitarian society, where every single human has an equal opportunity at life. Yet another, shown in the songs Paul Kelly sang, but especially in “this land is mine” is the difference between the identity of Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians (Kelly et al, 2001). Each of these texts addressed a major issue. Stand Up compared the relative value of tradition and the right to freedom of expression. Keating’s speech expressed the need for justice and recognition of both the stolen generation and the injustices done to the Indigenous people as a whole. Kelly’s songs represent the importance of the land to Indigenous people and why the “returning of the land” is so important. Although they each mentioned a major issue, the texts all gave solutions to these issues, from reiterating the importance of the basic human right of freedom of speech in Stand Up, to explaining the role and qualities of the Aboriginal

The land has a lot to do with Australia, the way that its identity may have developed might be through its isolation and our slow understanding and respect for it. Landscape pieces by other artists at this time depict the land in a much different light than Nolan. Lawson’s ‘The Drover’s Wife’ has a woman dressed in dull clothing, standing alone, highlighting her isolation in the Australian outback. Whereas Preston’s abstract landscape ‘Flying Over The Shoalhaven River’ depicts the land to be an inviting and welcoming place.

values, assumptions and voice of the poem and of Australia at that time, one that shows courage and

In the history of Australia, there are a variety of people in their respective areas have made outstanding achievements, made a contribution to the identity of Australia. Among these people, Anh Do is probably the most instructive and interesting person. As his book "happy refugees" implied, Anh experienced suffering in his early years. At the same time, he has maintained an optimistic attitude, this pain into an inspirational story, to share with you. At present, Anh has made achievements in various fields such as writers, films, television, artists, live performances and corporate speeches (Anhdo.com.au 2017). Anne 's story is sure to shape the identity of Australia. This report will analyze the achievements of Anhe and his

She was motivated to write this poetic critique by her experiences and observations of power relationships between ‘mainstream’ Australians and refugees. I found that the poem seemed to imply that Australia is trying to whitewash their society to make everyone adhere to what seems to be the Australian ‘norm’ by taking away their culture and

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.

Australia has always been centered around diversity and change, specifically with the vast multiculturalism and migrant culture throughout the nation. The specifics of Identity hold an important role in shaping our identity as students and as a nation. Australians pride themselves on being a land of the free and full of diverse culture. This is specifically referred to in our national Anthem; “For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine,”(McCormick, 1984). Displaying Australia’s open attitude towards immigrants and contributes to the diversity present within our society today. Even before this, much of Australia’s Identity was associated with caucasian culture (Originating from British Settlers). Which is the dominant perception of Australia through the media with australian representation being present through the stereotypes of Bogans, which was made popular through shows like Kath and Kim (ABC, 2007). Also, represented through the popular depiction of Australian people - the bushman made popular by movies like Crocodile Dundee (Faiman, 1986) and through famous real life bushman; Steve Irwin. An important aspect of Australian identity which is consistently neglected is the culture and representation of the initial owners of the land; the aboriginal people. Throughout history the constant mistreatment and neglect of the indigenous, has lead to a massive gap in privilege between the aboriginal people and our