Belonging In The Play 'Rainbows End' By Jane Harrison

'Rainbows end' by Jane Harrison is a play set in a small town in northern Victoria. It focuses on many aspects of life in the 1950's, especially what life was like for indigenous people at the time. When reading the play many personal values and attitudes were challenged, maybe even changed. This play gives a real insight into what belonging really is and how it affects people differently.

The play focusses on three generations of Women, Nan Dear, Gladys and Dolly and where they felt as though they belonged. Nan Dear knew where she belonged and that was the humpy in the flats with her daughter and granddaughter. Nan Dear knows that she won't be accepted into white society just because she is an Aboriginal and those of a different colour or foreign country weren't accepted. Gladys and Dolly both wanted to be accepted into white society, they wanted to feel as though they belonged there.

Nan Dear wanted Dolly to stay at their humpy on the flats and become a fruit picker like the rest of the Aboriginal community. Gladys had bigger ambitions for her daughter. She wanted Dolly to get an education because she never did, a proper house and a real job. When the Queen came to visit Gladys got very excited and put on her best outfit to see her only to get to town to find out that they had out up a hessian fence to hide the flats and the residents. They hadn't even allowed the indigenous community to see the queen. The Hessian fence was '...Like a bandaid over a