A Literary Perspective of Ned Kelly and Justice
The bushranger Ned Kelly is certainly a divisive figure in Australian history. While a plethora of works dealing with the notorious outlaw have come into print, Peter Carey’s 2001 Booker Prize winning, ‘The True History of the Kelly Gang’, is certainly one of the more noteworthy. But what does the text have to say about Ned Kelly and justice? Oliver Friendship explains.
Published in 2000, Peter Carey’s ‘The True History of the Kelly Gang’ is a critically acclaimed historical narrative. Written from the 1st person perspective of the protagonist Ned Kelly, the text is a work of semi-fiction, and provides the reader with Carey’s perspective on the history of Australia’s most infamous outlaw. Carey
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The poor grammar and punctuation seen in this passage, and indeed throughout the work, is also used by Carey to create a realistic voice for his uneducated protagonist. This makes the character, and the injustices he describes, believable for the reader. Overall, it is clear within this novel, that the reader is invited to observe Ned Kelly, and his family, as the victims of many injustices perpetrated by the authorities. These injustices are also demonstrated to have profound impacts on Kelly’s …show more content…
These acts are also demonstrated to have forced Kelly to become a bushranger, a role that he is also shown as using in order to battle for his personal view of what constitutes true justice. The treatment that the Kelly family are seen to suffer within the work, from those in positions of power, can easily be recognized by the reader as degrading and unjust actions. Such conduct from the police and those in authority, especially surrounding the false claims of Attempted Murder, and subsequent intended lethal apprehension of Kelly, are also portrayed by Carey to have forced his protagonist into a position where to become a bushranger, and live outside of the law, was his only feasible option. Once outlawed, Kelly is also depicted by Carey as fighting for his own interpretation of what he views as truly just. Carey achieves this by foregrounding Kelly rebelling against the financial enslavement of the average settler by the banks and rich squatters; as well as the wrongful imprisonment of his mother. Kelly is also seen to view his understanding of justice, not monetary gain or bloody revenge, as the principle focus behind his actions as an outlaw. In general, this text provides a unique insight into the Ned Kelly story, especially with respect to
Edward Ned Kelly (1855-1880), an Australian bushranger, was born in June, 1855, at Beveridge, Victoria. He was the eldest son of John Red Kelly, an immigrant from Ireland, and Ellen, also an immigrant from Ireland. Ned Kelly was most known for stealing horses and robbing from banks. Some people think that Ned Kelly is a victim because he and his family were victimized by police. The Kelly’s were blamed for many crimes hey didn’t commit, Fitzpatrick abused Kate Kelly and got away with it and Ned’s mum (Ellen Quinn Kelly) was gaoled for a crime she didn’t commit.
The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey tells a story of Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of a mental institution, and the way her patients respond to her harsh treatment. The story is told from the perspective of a large, Native-American patient named Bromden; he immediately introduces Randle McMurphy, a recently admitted patient, who is disturbed by the controlling and abusive way Ratched runs her ward. Through these feelings, McMurphy makes it his goal to undermine Ratched’s authority, while convincing the other patients to do the same. McMurphy becomes a symbol of rebellion through talking behind Ratched’s back, illegally playing cards, calling for votes, and leaving the ward for a fishing trip. His shenanigans cause his identity to be completely stolen through a lobotomy that puts him in a vegetative state. Bromden sees McMurphy in this condition and decides that the patients need to remember him as a symbol of individuality, not as a husk of a man destroyed by the
On Page 66-69 of ‘The Black Snake The daring of Ned Kelly’ he took hostages but never hurt them and treated them with care. After the robberies, he took the hostages and treated them to tea and entertained them. He to treat them cruelly but chose not to out of his own will. This proves that Ned Kelly is a kind-hearted man and is very astonishing. he was also an entertainer and rode into the town with unbroken horses on pages 72-73 which shows his perseverance. Although Ned was a Hero he was also villainous.
If you think Ned Kelly was a bad guy, you’re wrong, so what if he killed a few people, he was just protecting himself! On page 52 it states that when Ned was hiding from the police, the police were looking for him and eventually they found Ned, The police started shooting at Ned and he would try to hide behind trees
He didn’t deserve to die, nor did he deserve any of the persecution or ill treatment that he ended up getting. He deserved a chance to say to the world that he was not an immoral man and to prove his explanations behind his movements. Ned was in fact a victim- and if only he had additional time to evidence that, perhaps the world would open up their eyes to the fact and possibly- just maybe they would be able to see what those 32,000 people saw in him. Sure, Ned Kelly’s surprises died with him but his story? It is clear to the world that Ned’s story will live on for forever. Ned Kelly`s had only wanted the good out of people and never even dreamed to have a career as theft. No child these days gives enough respect to their hard working parents who brought them up. This respect for elders only lasted for the 1990s and since then every child has no respect or discipline for their loving parents. Ned was only trying to help his parents out. The community only looks at the police`s perspective not
Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest explores the dysfunctions and struggles of life for the patients in a matriarch ruled mental hospital. As told by a schizophrenic Native American named Chief Bromden, the novel focuses primarily on Randle McMurphy, a boisterous new patient introduced into the ward, and his constant war with the Big Nurse Ratched, the emasculating authoritarian ruler of the ward. Constricted by the austere ward policy and the callous Big Nurse, the patients are intimidated into passivity. Feeling less like patients and more like inmates of a prison, the men surrender themselves to a life of submissiveness-- until McMurphy arrives. With his defiant, fearless and humorous presence, he instills a certain sense of rebellion within all of the other patients. Before long, McMurphy has the majority of the Acutes on the ward following him and looking to him as though he is a hero. His reputation quickly escalates into something Christ-like as he challenges the nurse repeatedly, showing the other men through his battle and his humor that one must never be afraid to go against an authority that favors conformity and efficiency over individual people and their needs. McMurphy’s ruthless behavior and seemingly unwavering will to protest ward policy and exhaust Nurse Ratched’s placidity not only serves to inspire other characters in the novel, but also brings the Kesey’s central theme into focus: the struggle of the individual against the manipulation of authoritarian conformists. The asylum itself is but a microcosm of society in 1950’s America, therefore the patients represent the individuals within a conformist nation and the Big Nurse is a symbol of the authority and the force of the Combine she represents--all...
People often find themselves as part of a collective, following society's norms and may find oneself in places where feeling constrained by the rules and will act out to be unconstrained, as a result people are branded as nuisances or troublemakers. In the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, the author Ken Kesey conveys the attempt McMurphy makes to live unconstrained by the authority of Nurse Ratched. The story is very one sided and helps create an understanding for those troublemakers who are look down on in hopes of shifting ingrained ideals. The Significance of McMurphy's struggles lies in the importance placed on individuality and liberty. If McMurphy had not opposed fear and autocratic authority of Nurse Ratched nothing would have gotten better on the ward the men would still feel fear. and unnerved by a possibility of freedom. “...Then, just as she's rolling along at her biggest and meanest, McMurphy steps out of the latrine ... holding that towel around his hips-stops her dead! ” In the novel McMurphy shows little signs like this to combat thee Nurse. His defiance of her system included
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The gross over representation of indigenous people in the Australian criminal justice system (CJS) is so disturbingly evident that it is never the source of debate. Rather it is the starting point of discussions centring on the source and solutions to this prominent social, cultural and political issue. Discourse surrounds not only the economic and social disadvantage of indigenous communities, but also the systemic racism and continuing intergenerational trauma resulting for the unjust colonisation of a nation which has profited whites at the detriment to indigenous people throughout history. In respect to the currently CJS, trepidations are raised by indigenous communities around the lack of culturally diverse laws and punishments within the system. The overtly western system does not provide a viable space for indigenous
The novel, which takes place in an Oregon psychiatric hospital, centers around the conflict between manipulative Nurse Ratched and her patients. Randle McMurphy, a transfer from Pendleton Work Farm, becomes a champion for the men’s cause as he sets out to overthrow the dictator-like nurse. Initially, the reader may doubt the economic implications of the novel. Yet, if one looks closer at the numerous textual references to power, production, and profit, he or she will begin to interpret Cuckoo’s Nest in a
The True History of the Kelly Gang is a fictional novel written by the Australian writer Peter Carey. The novel is presented as an autobiography written by the Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly, to his daughter. It portrays Ned’s life as a child and as an adult. The audience also reveals the struggles of discrimination he overcomes as an Irish in the Australian world. This novel is packed with many themes but the most obvious and eye-catching would be racism. We are also able to identify many quotes and passages used within the text to demonstrate this theme. Carey’s persuasive language and point of view plays a crucial part in promoting the theme of racism.
“The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson: A True Story of Love and Murder” is studied as a historical non-fiction novel, in which Lois Simmie shows the reader the actions of a man who sets his life up in a series of lies and betrayal. Her purpose is clear, to intrigue the audience with a true story of the murder of Polly Wilson, which had not yet been heard. Though not a lot of people had ever heard of John Wilson, the first ever Saskatchewan RNWMP officer who was found guilty of a crime, being that he killed his wife, and hung to his death. She writes her novel that is not only entertaining to her audience but also serves the purpose of educating fellow Canadians about the true life events that followed John Wilson and his fellow RNWMP officers.
Kappeler, V. E. & Potter, G.W. (2005). The mythology of crime and criminal justice (4th ed.).
White, R., and Perrone, S. (2009) Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice. Melbourne: Oxford University [Chapter 2 ‘Crime and the Media’]