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Recommended: Colonial time and hardships

Our Country’s Good, a depiction of the first British penal colony in Australia in the late eighteenth century, not only displays the stagnating tension between officers and convicts, but also explores the struggle of living on land barely inhabitable within an already difficult time period. In this essay, I will dig deep into the ways in which female convicts pushed themselves just to live to see another day, while recognizing how the majority of men viewed women as sex symbols. Considering the contrasting themes of oppression and strength within the female convicts, I will back up my claims with a specific moment of dialogue between Mary and Dabby in scene eight, “The Women Who Learn Their Lines”, to exhibit these women’s means of survival in an oppressing atmosphere. As Dabby and Mary learn their lines for the upcoming play, The Recruiting Officer, Dabby expresses the urgency Mary needs in forgoing a relationship with Lieutenant Clark, claiming, “You’re wasting your time girl, he’s ripe for the picking.” Mary crossly responds to Dabby’s pushing remarks, recounting a previous occas...

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