When We Are All Wogs Together

“My mother was born here so as far as the Italians were concerned we weren’t completely one of them. Yet because my grandparents were born in Italy we weren’t completely Australian.” (p. 7) “It makes me feel I will never be a part of their society and I hate that because I’m just as smart as they are.” (p. 8) “The room isn’t like the living rooms of my parents… but I like it. Because my mother and I are stamped all over it.” (p. 10) “Telecom would go broke if it weren’t for the Italians.” (p. 11) “We tune into each other very well. Maybe because it’s always just been the two of us.” (p. 14) “Sometimes I think he is a myth. As far as the world is

As one of their conversations comes to an end, Stephen thinks, “I remained silent. Unlike me, he doesn’t seem to need anything more. I guess all his years alone have left him comfortable with himself… Sometimes the house is so quiet I feel like the only noise that fills my mind is what I’ve created myself. Remembered conversations come back to me as if my friends and family were right here in the room” (17).

Present day Australia is met with the issue of outlining a sense of a nationwide community, after the breakdown of the British race patriot idea in the mid-1960s with the introduction of multiculturalism. The Euro-centric perception of Australia was annulled and it was incapable in playing a significant part in Australian policies and priorities. It triggered a calamity of national identity and meaning. The credence that Australian’s were apart of Britain, united by history, tradition and blood needed to be revised. A people who had recognized themselves so strongly with the British race now had to accede their race awareness and apprehend the notion of being a now multicultural society. The dawn of multiculturalism also provoked a quandary for balancing a respect of the British heritage with the abating relevance of the British connection and to construct a new language of community from the residues of the old British ways.

In the memoir ‘Pointing North’, Paolo Totaro finds that despite having barely any memories of Italy and having spent most of her life in Australia, “fitting in” is not easy. Paolo Totaro pointed out that many of her hardships originated in the schoolyard – “They too figured it was too hard to pronounce, so Greasy Wog became my moniker.” She noticed that throughout her child, many people overlooked her feelings and simply labelled her as a “hysterical Italian”. Paolo stated that she doesn’t “remember any other non-Aussie kids at school” and wondered whether she would have felt as if she belonged if she were not the only foreigner. She found that as others treated her as an outsider, she clung

Komninos in ‘Hillston Welcome’ exposes us to this voice through the repeated rhetorical question “what are ya?” depicting the typical Australian attempt to categorise an individual based on how they look. Note that she asks ‘what’ rather than ‘who’ - this reflects the rareness for an Australian to meet an educated individual, in this case a poet. This idea of stereotyping people is further depicted through Komninos’ use of Australian vernacular such as ‘bikie’ and ‘truckie’. Knowing that Komninos is of Greek origin, the cultural ‘White Australian’ mindset towards ethnic people is evident through the social and cultural stereotypical voice represented by the bartender. Therefore, responders are confronted and are forced to reflect upon their own ideals and values towards ethnic people, challenging themselves and considering perspectives of the world around

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.

“My Uncle’s breathing became thinner and drier until eventually it stopped”, pg 126. “They had found dad by the stables”, pg 148. After Murray’s dad died in a wild fire and his uncle from cancer and Murray’s brother Will had already left, Murray feels lost. “Did you know him?” , “No” said Frank.

One task she would constantly do is she would clean her family's houses. Giovanna was caring and loving to everyone and soon became a midwife. Giovanna's brother, Lorenzo, went to America because he wanted to help his family financially but knew he couldn't help them in Italy so he decided to leave and send money to them from America. Then Nunzio soon decided that it was best for him and Giovanna to immigrate to America. Giovanna was very upset with this news because she was scared for him, she really wanted him to stay with her and for them to create a family. Once in New York, Nunzio sees all the beautiful buildings and only has one person he wished was there to see them with him; Giovanna. With the help from his brother-in-law, Nunzio finds work. Nunzio learned new skills and met many interesting people at work. Everything was going great for Nunzio in America until tragedy struck. While working at Brooklyn Union Gas Company, Nunzio knew there was a way in which the steel heave had to be lowered but his boss didn't listen to him. Once Nunzio went under the steel heave he knew that it

The sun was beating down on Timothy’s neck, walking hand in hand with his younger brother walker and a stranger. Tim’s eyes stung from bawling the night before and his body was bruised from being roughed up by the mysterious man. One second enjoying the sights of Austin, Texas, the next being shoved into a back of a car and taken away. It’d been almost a day since he’d seen his parents and neither him nor his brother knew where where

This reaches an emotional peak with the words “I know just where he is,” followed by a ferocious orchestral interlude. The chorus responds with the words “light” and “love”—failing at first to stop the orchestra’s fury, but the music eventually subsides, and the work ends with long, quiet, and deeply touching epilogue. The last words we hear—“I love you. ”—are the best response of all to tragedy and

After the festivities end and the family members gather in the marquee for coffee, Mr. Sheridan broaches the subject of the fatal accident, saying how horrible it must be for the wife and children to cope. The family goes silent. Laura thinks, “Really it was very tactless of father . . . ,” but does not finish her thought. Her mother then decides to send a basket of uneaten sandwiches and pastries down to the Scotts. Whether she sincerely wants to help–or simply wishes to get rid of the leftovers or assuage a feeling of guilt about the Scotts–is arguable. At any rate, Laura agrees to take the basket. After walking down the hill from her home, she crosses a wide road and enters the environs of the common folk. Here, Laura faces a severe test:

The seen environment present when reading The Death of Ivan Ilych story is the way Ivan’s family lived and the way Ivan treated everyone with coldness. The unseen was depicted by the atmosphere present in Ivan’s’ room, making friends and family members uncomfortable to be there. The storied environment is when Ivan realizes that his life has been a mistake and he converts religiously, he finds God and Ivan repents from all his sins, it is not until then that he found peace in his mind.

Bob has a friend who is starting to hang around in the afternoon with him. I suspect for the “Paula show.” It seems harmless enough and Paula now has two helpers in the garden. The new friend, Phil, is more a talker than a gardener. Phil doesn’t look to be an athlete either, he is somewhat short, bald and a little pudgy. Paula is learning Phil’s whole life history, it is as if Phil hasn’t talked in years or at least to someone who will listen.

To begin, the speaker, in a very calm manner, describes a moment in time where she and a man called Death share a carriage together as if they were in a relationship with one another. Not only does the speaker leave with Death without any questions, but also states that she is obligated to leave her household to work for her new husband Death in lines five through nine. Due to the fact that the speaker so carelessly goes along with Death, shows just how strong her connection is with him. She is completely unaware and blinded at the fact that leaving with Death is something that is forever.

They have just learned about Ilyich’s death, and they outwardly react in the way expected of them. However, these reactions are only for show; internally, each man approaches Ilyich’s death with a slight air of annoyance at the inconvenience the death causes, speculations about what Ilyich’s death means for his own career and his friends’ careers, and relief in the fact that, once again, another man has died instead of himself. Along with this feeling of relief also comes a sort of denial; the men all recognize that Ivan Ilyich is mortal, but deny their own mortality, believing death to be some isolated incident that only happens to other men. They go through the motions of one who has lost an acquaintance, only doing what is socially acceptable and moving on from the death at the first possible