We Are Going Oodgeroo Noonuccal Analysis

Our knowledge of the generic conventions used in poetry influences our understanding of the text. “The Firstborn”, a poem by Aboriginal author Jack Davis, enables the reader to determine the poem as a graphic protest about the extinction of and discrimination against the Australian Indigenous people, and the loss of their ethnicity, as their world collides with the Western culture. By focussing on my understanding of both generic conventions and author’s context, I am able to conclude that the poem concerns a tragedy within the Aboriginal community.

The poem ‘Then and Now’ by Odgeroo Noonuccal uses language techniques to explore the idea of the loss of culture due to the powerful destruction of land. ‘Then and Now’ conveys a story written in Odgeroo Noonuccal’s point of view. Odgeroo Noonuccal was part of the Noonuccal aboriginal people who were situated in Queensland. She lived most of her life during the time when European settlers were taking the aboriginals land and were forcing them to leave their culture behind.

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 phrase emphasizes the poet's view of the importance of this day in positive means, and also the negative attributes of the day. It suggests a new beginning and their possible achievements such as the possibility of uniting the two distinct cultures together, but negatively it also seems to be a deliberate provoke, reminding the Aborigines of their defeat, and their loss of land, culture, and identity.

Gray uses the images of an “Aboriginal, not attempting to hitch, outside town” to emphasise the discomfort and disconnection he feels with land and the environment around him. This image is very strong as it shows his disempowerment towards the environment. He feels lost in this town so he moves away from the foreign constructions.

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

The poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, draws the realistic image of the confronting realities of alienation and displacement of Indigenous Australians. It is because of such experiences that has empowered Noonuccal to express and advocate learning from experiences by positioning the audience to view the horrors that occurred, creating a platform for her poetry. Through the emphasis of identity, it allows the audience to deeply connect with the past, determining and illustrating a profound link between the ancient past and contemporary present. Oodgeroo’s deep connectivity with art and poetry highlights the importance of learning from experiences, for not only the Aboriginal culture but, for all cultures, and that colonisation does not destroy self-identity. Through the poems The Past and China…Woman, it has allowed the individual to promote change, encouraging the survival of cultures through learning from past experiences

For Aboriginal Australians, the land has a special significance that is rarely understood by those of European descent. The land, or country, does not only sustain Aborigines in material ways, such as providing food and shelter, it also plays a major role in their spiritual lives. As Rose put it, "Land provides for my physical needs and spiritual needs." (1992, p.106). To use Rose 's own term, to Aboriginals the land is a 'nourishing terrain '. (1996, p.7).

The following lines of the poem “Cookalingee” shows in the midst of all this privation, hardships bereavement and assimilation, the aboriginals have still retained the aboriginality. Showing the pride in their own race and color is very important for Aborigines and all the people who have been oppressed because of skin color. This reminds of cultural movement started in America around 1960s by African Americans to advocate the concept ‘Black is Beautiful’. It plays an important role in developing positive blackness and

Oodgeroo Noonuccal was an Australian poet, activist, artist and a campaigner for Aboriginal rights. Her poems ‘We are going’ and ‘Let us not be bitter’ conveys the loss of the Indigenous culture and how much they suffered because of this. Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s perspective on Aboriginal rights is impassioned, concern and worry for the loss of her family and home. She expresses these emotions using imagery, poetic structures and poetic techniques, such as inclusive language and symbolism, to strongly represent what she is feeling and how much the Indigenous people have suffered through.

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.

White Australians state “shame when [their] kids they die from colds or from sheer neglect. Shame when [they] live on the river banks. While collectin' [they’re] welfare cheques. Shame when [they’re] blind from trachoma. Shame when [they’re] crippled from blights.” The rhyming scheme in the stanza makes poem flow seamlessly constructing a conversational tone as if the narrator is speaking directly to the audience. This feature purposefully lulls the reader into agreeing with the white Australia’s arguments as it constructs an image that the Indigenous people are refusing to integrate themselves with modern society and suffering the consequences of those decisions. The mention of welfare cheques also contribute to the perspective that white Australians are attempting to mend the lives of Indigenous individuals, however this could not be further from the truth and message of this

Oodgeroo Noonuccul’s ‘The Last of His Tribe’ challenges the traditional values of society by displaying the loss of tradition and culture through the use of contrast, first person narration and truncated sentences. The poem contrasts and compares the sorrow and melancholy of the loss of the man’s tribe’s past with cultural disposition and the impairment of personal identity. This is presented when the poem says; ‘And think of the gay throng, the happy people,” and later says; “And I feel, the sudden sting of tears, Willie Mackenzie in the Salvation Army home. Displaced person in your own country”. First person narration is used to allow the audience to relate to the emotions of the last man of the tribe. The poem also uses truncated sentences to make the point of dispossession bolder and stronger. This is displayed in the sentences; ”I asked you and you let me hear” and “No more forever. For me.” The poem “Last of His Tribe” uses

This poem relates to Aboriginal Australian as it was written by the hand and views of one, and was written for the Aboriginals. The text itself is very emotive and powerful and I personally was unable to resist the emotions it reverberates however I cannot say whether it would be the same for anyone who could read it.

A little pondering suggests that the poem has a keen focus on the Australian environment. The poet is successful to grab our attention with descriptive explanation in the line in the