White Australia By Henry Lawson Analysis

‘We’re all Australians now’ draws the reader to see the war from a positive Australia home front perspective. Texts from

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.

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.

Poetry is an effective way to display an individual’s attitudes, values and beliefs in words. A number of people in the 20th century turned to poetry as a way to escape from their emotions. Some of the poems written during this time were by migrants, which has contributed to the multifaceted nature of Australian society and culture; past present and future. The Australian poet, Peter Skrzynecki’s vehement attitudes, values and ideas about the migrant experience in 1950’s Australia, are evident in his poem, ‘Migrant Hostel’.

Furthermore, Keating employs the extended metaphor of “test” to further affirm the cultural devastation as it was “our failure…to ask- how would I feel if this were done to me?” the hypophora which he then answers “As a consequence, we failed to see that what we were doing degraded all of us.” The inclusivity sheds light on reality of the dispossession of Aboriginal people from their land. A factual report “The Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in custody showed that the past lived on in inequality, racism and injustice.” Appeals to our logos and enables us to reflect on the reality of our “failure” as well as authenticating the speech to give it textual integrity. Keating not only focuses on the mistakes of the “White” but also highlights the good done by Indigenous Australians. “…remind ourselves that Australia once reached

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.

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

Good morning and welcome to the Sunday afternoon poetry session. The alienation of individuals and groups within society is a tragic feature of Australian life. The despair and despondency experienced by those individuals allow for artistic endeavours that address issues that have left them outcast and marginalised from mainstream society. The isolation of minority groups such as migrants, Indigenous Australians or those deemed to be “other” from Australia’s dominant, white culture, provides an interesting lens through which our society can be viewed and examined. Two poems that explore and address the alienation of a minority group are Lisa Bellear’s Women’s Liberation and Uyen Loewald’s Be Good, Little Migrant. Through the use of the highest form of literature, although with differing emphases, the two poets put forth the harsh reality of the estrangement their own social and ethnic group face.

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

The representation of Indigenous Australians in fiction and nonfiction texts are influenced by a range of factors. In the contemporary world of multicultural Australia, there has been a variety of ways groups of people are represented in texts. The Indigenous population is often portrayed in ways that strengthen harmful stereotypes. However, there are also a variety of positive outlooks and portrayals expressing their strength and achievements. In texts studied in year 8 English, the representation of Indigenous Australians in Crow country are characterized as outcasts and reflect cultural distinction. Newspaper articles regarding “Adam Goodes” demonstrates how preconceived thoughts from many Australians destroys sporting stars outlook upon

This poem speaks of a fairer and brighter future for the coming generations of Indigenous Australians. This poem was also written at the same time as when the stolen generation period was almost over. Theme The theme of this poem is hope that the people of Australia including indigenous people will come together as one.

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

How would you feel to have a father, mother, sister or brother taken away because of the treachery war .Good morning Mrs Naidoo and fellow classmates, today I will be analysing Christopher Wallace-Crabbe’s Australian War poem Other people and how it highlights how it has impacted the reader in offering insights on the Australian context. This poem discuss the futility during the First World War and war in general. I find this poem ‘other people’ is interesting because it foreshadows the darker side to war.

This poem however can be indirectly confronting to those who don’t share the same viewpoints as Walker. The also poem has a degree of stereotyping in the sense where ‘love your people, freedom to the end’ takes place however there none that really strikes out as it. The white Australian perspective above all is silenced in this text, marginalized are her perspectives of the coming days which may well be shared by many like her.

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.