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Racism and literature
Effect of American colonialism on native people
Effect of American colonialism on native people
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The poems ‘Ambrose’ written by Roberta Sykes and ‘We Are Going’ written by Oodgeroo Noonuccal both provide similar opinions on indigenous issues and white settlement in Australia using subject matter, poetic devices and structural elements. The poets both have similar negative views. Roberta Sykes ‘Ambrose’ is about an old friend of hers who grew up without love, support and passion. The poet’s purpose is to show that Indigenous Australians are treated poorly because they are from a different culture. The tone is overwhelming sadness and resignation. On the other hand, ‘We Are Going’ by Oodgeroo Noonuccal is about a white tribe who has taken the Aboriginals land. The purpose of this poem is to show a negative view towards the white society. …show more content…
In contrast, Noonuccal uses the poetic device of simile to highlight her negative view on white settlement. “White men hurry about like ants.” The poetic device shows how the white society has an ignorant amount of disrespect for the Bora Ring. The poets both use structural elements to underline their contrasting views on indigenous issues and white settlement in Australia. ‘Ambrose’ uses the structural element of first and last. “They say you took your life / with your own hand;” “But you died. By your own hand / they said.” The use of first and last shows that he took his own life because he was tired of the way he was treated by everyone. Whereas, ‘We Are Going’ uses the structural element of pace to portrays white settlement in a negative way. In the first stanza, “They came into this little town. A semi-naked band subdued and silent, all that remained of their tribe.” The pace is slow because of the specific use of words in the sentences. This further reinforces the theme of the lack of respect the white tribe has for the Aboriginals
“The more you know, the less you need.” The attitude from White Australians towards Indigenous Australians was extremely unfriendly, and due to the fact that Aboriginal Australians had knowledge about things the European settlers believed did not matter they treated as if they were uneducated nuisances. The aboriginal people believed that the land they had lived on for generations belonged to them; however the White Australians came and took the land. This also means that the Europeans took what the Indigenous people valued most, and that was their land. Authors and directors convey different attitudes, values and beliefs in different ways, however it still has the same impact.
In the poem “The White Judges” by Marilyn Dumont, the speaker is aware of how her and her Indigenous family are constantly being judged by white society. The poem juxtaposes the family with the encircling colonialists who wait to demean and assimilate the group. The family internalizes a sense of shame and guilt while being surrounded by the primarily white population. Consequently, the family faces the pressures of being judged for their cultural practices. Dumont’s use of prose and lyrical voice distinctly highlights the theme of being judged by white society. Her integration of figurative language enhances the Indigenous tradition and cultural practices throughout the poem. As well as her use of anaphora and musicality which amplifies the
Distinctively visual language and cinematic techniques highlight to the responder the particular literal and metaphorical experiences characters are faced with, within a text. Peter Goldsworthy’s novel Maestro, Don McLean’s song ‘Vincent’ and the intriguing film Australia by Baz Luhrrman, explore the ways in which the human experiences of an individual’s connection to landscape is fundamental in shaping one’s sense of identity, personal growth and development. Composers further explore the realisation that our lives can be enriched by an understanding and appreciation of art as well as a deeper understanding of the importance of love and lust. The depiction of characters is conveyed through distinctively visual images to highlight the subsequent development of courage and resilience leads responders to a deeper understanding of how human experiences can create a sense of individuality.
Reynolds, H. (1990). With The White People: The crucial role of Aborigines in the exploration and development of Australia. Australia: Penguin Books
Australian indigenous culture is the world’s oldest surviving culture, dating back sixty-thousand years. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have been represented in a myriad of ways through various channels such as poetry, articles, and images, in both fiction and non-fiction. Over the years, they have been portrayed as inferior, oppressed, isolated, principled and admirable. Three such texts that portray them in these ways are poems Circles and Squares and Grade One Primary by Ali Cobby Eckermann, James Packer slams booing; joins three cheers for footballer and the accompanying visual text and Heywire article Family is the most important thing to an islander by Richard Barba. Even though the texts are different as ….. is/are …., while
The case of Mabo and Others v Queensland (No.2) sparked an outcome on the people of Australia that presented many legal and political issues regarding land rights in Australia. The ruling of the Mabo case, known as the Mabo decision impacted many different Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian through their individual lawful rights, industry work and personal emotions. However, its sole significance sheds light on the extent of recognition and protection of Aboriginal people rights and interest in land through the Mabo decision and Native Title Act 1993.
Neil Diamond reveals the truth behind the Native stereotypes and the effects it left on the Natives. He begins by showing how Hollywood generalizes the Natives from the clothing they wore, like feathers
The characters of White Australian descent tend to speak with pompous language, disguising their evil deeds behind kind phrases. The most obvious example of this is the character Mr. Neville. He states, with refined language, in (Act One Scene Two), that: …"if you provide the native the basic accoutrements of civilization, you’re halfway to civilizing him." This reveals a belief that Whites are unquestionably superior and that any previous Aboriginal civilization was irrelevant. The pompous statement of the Whites are juxta-posed against the more crude and blunt comments of Aboriginal characters .to show the audience the belief that whites are superior.103
...derstand what they are and are going through. If the reader belongs to another minority or is a new emigrant to Australia will identify itself with the anger and frustration other readers might feel guilty just because they thing they belong to a privileged group. I felt the injustice of inequality that emerges form this poem collection and the uselessness. There were no suggestions how repair what was done . The author shows in the poem that the hurt and anger are part of the aboriginal identity.
The novel Lame Deer, Seeker of visions is a biography of a Lakota Medicine Man who lived in the 1900’s. this book is his personal views of the situation that Lame Deer’s people have been left in after everything that had happened as the “white man” immigrated to what they believed to be unknown land and theirs for the taking. through the story he speaks of the history of the desecration done to the Native Americans by the European invaders. as well as explaining to Richard Erdoes, through hours of interviews, the way of the Lakota People and their Rituals and customs. this depiction shows the vast spirituality of the Lakota as well as what they hold highly in their religion. It is explained how the “white Man” took over their sacred land and destro...
It is important to include cultural issues in the helping process to be more effective. We also need cultural competence because the U.S. is becoming more diverse. Therefore with diversity comes different beliefs, norms, and values. Eurocentric values dominate sciences and began cultural universals which puts the clash of dominate and non-dominate cultural behaviors in motion. In 1996 the NASW Code of Ethics increased the recognition of cultural competence. It is important to know diversity exist within ethnic and cultural groups because social workers need to know that relationships between helping professionals and clients may be strained. This happens because of the distrust between groups. Another important aspect is that the professional realizes their own values, biases, and beliefs. The reason for this is because they must value diversity to start with and understand the dynamics of difference. Culturally competent practitioners have to go through developmental process of using their own culture as a starting point to meet all behaviors. Striving for cultural competence is a long term process of development. The literature on cultural competence is theoretical and conceptual. They have not been evaluated in a systematic way. Roughly there are 2 million Native americans in the U.S. Which survive decimating disease, over-repressed in child welfare system, suffer from health problems, and are among the poorest people in the United States. Working with them clearly falls within the social work clearly mandate to serve vulnerable and oppressed clients. However, we do not know how many people from this group is actually receiving help from social workers. Even though it is important to train social workers to provide care in th...
The poem “We’re not trucking around” by Samuel Wagan Watson presents an Aboriginal perspective on Australian National identity, showing the audience that Australians still mistreat Indigenous people, expressing his perspective through the ideas that white men still mistreat Aboriginals and the marginalization of Aboriginal culture. Watson reinforces his idea through poetic and language
As majority of the narrative in this poem is told through the perspective of a deceased Nishnaabeg native, there is a sense of entitlement to the land present which is evident through the passage: “ breathe we are supposed to be on the lake … we are not supposed to be standing on this desecrated mound looking not looking”. Through this poem, Simpson conveys the point of how natives are the true owners of the land and that colonizers are merely intruders and borrowers of the land. There is an underlying idea that instead of turning a blind eye to the abominations colonizers have created, the natives are supposed to be the ones enjoying and utilising the land. The notion of colonizers simply being visitors is furthered in the conclusion of the poem, in which the colonizers are welcomed to the land but are also told “please don’t stay too long” in the same passage. The conclusion of this poem breaks the colonialistic idea of land belonging to the colonizer once colonized by putting in perspective that colonizers are, in essence, just passerbys on land that is not
That said, Dumont is fighting an uphill battle. The racism and hate started by the white settlers hundreds of years in the past has remained for ages, building into a veritable fortress upon which the ideals of white entitlement and power rest. To fight back against this, Dumont makes herself as loud as she can get in her compositions, acting as a proverbial cymbal to the ears of those above. Her poems are designed to be this way; they aggressively break the mold and rip apart traditional ideas of looking at natives. In turn, she gives her fellow aboriginals freedom to express themselves by allowing them to realize that they no longer have to conform to these generalizations. Simply put, by changing the status quo in how natives are generally viewed, she weakens the power that white society’s “small frame of mind” has and puts that power back in the hands of the
Specific elements of the storyline that display the theme racism include: the display of animalistic treatment, enforced religious practices, and historical comparisons. The film reveals the overarching government belief that the white race is smarter and purer, to the inferior, uncivilized and misguided, darker-skinned, Aboriginals. This belief is demonstrated throughout the film and signifies the government’s attitudes toward the half-caste race as: uncivilized animals that need a trainer to discipline them. For example, the film shows the girls being transported like livestock to th...