The 2005 novel “Secret River” written by Kate Grenville is a historical novel detailing the life of 19th century Englishman ‘William Thornhill’ after his transportation to Australia as a consequence to crime. Originally Grenville’s novel was articulated entirely from William Thornhill’s individual perspective, however this outlook was changed in 2013 when “The Secret River” was adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell. In his adaption Bovell sought to present the indigenous Dharag perspective, he hoped to achieve this through use of costume, dialogue, characters and song. Whilst Bovell attempts to recognise the presence of the Dharag people he does not provide the Dharag’s actual perspective to a great extent.
Bovell’s attempt to embody the
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The opening of the play prologue is a Dharag scene, which could be Bovell’s way of acknowledging the Indigenous presence and perspective. The scene follows the Dharag family engaging in domestic activities to which the audience could relate to such as sibling rivalry, creating a fire and cooking of food whilst the audience cannot understand the language, the actions of the characters portray the perspective of the Dharag family. Throughout the novel characters such as Blackwood and Dick are introduced and are vehicles through which Bovell tries to present the Dharag perspective. Blackwood has a Dharag wife, which under English law in considered illegal, however, it is kept a secret and he manages to keep a peaceful co-existence and furthermore, in an exchange with his Dharag wife it becomes apparent that Blackwood has learnt some of the language “William Thornhill nanu. He’s made camp up river with his winangadyn [wife] and gulyangarri [children]”. Additionally Dick begins to play with the Dharag children much to his brother Willies disgust and is taught by Ngalamalum to create a fire without matches, Bovell illustrates this through his use of stage directions in which “Dick, Narrabi, Garraway and Wangarra are crowded around Ngalamalum as he works on striking a fire” Dick begins to look up to Ngalamalum and learns from the Dharag people. Through Blackwood and Dick the Dharag perspective is shown as both sympathise with the Dharag people and learn their language and hence attempt to try and educate Thornhill to no avail. The use of song throughout the novel by both the settlers and the Dharag people could be a means of drawing similarity and parallels between the two cultures, at the beginning of the play the songs sought to create
Follow The River by James Alexander Thom is about Mary Ingles gruesome but yet courageous tale of her remarkable 1,000 mile journey home after she had escaped form the captivity of the Shawnee Indians. Through Mary Ingles hard work and determination she proved that all obstacles big and small can be overcome.
Deadly Unna, a novel written by Phillip Gwynne, delves deep into the society of an Australian town in the 1970s when racial prejudice of the Aboriginals was prevalent. Writing in the perspective of Gary ‘Blacky’ Black who is white, Gwynne makes use of many themes in the novel, such as dysfunctional families, friendship, racism and prejudice. However, the most prominent theme that the book focuses on is racism. The author does an excellent job in developing characters and symbols to contrast the relation between the Nungas, the Aboriginal population and the Goonyas, the white population, showing racism.
To some this story might seem like a tragedy, but to Christians this is a beautiful story. Although young Harry dies at the end, he is accepted into the kingdom of God, which is far superior to anything on Earth. A non-religious family raises him and the first taste of Christianity he gets makes him want to pursue God. In Flannery O’Conner’s short story, The River, the allure of Gods grace and the repelling of sinful ways are shown heavily through Harry.
In the novel ‘Us Mob Walawurru’ Composed by David Spillman and Lisa Wilyuka we observe the life of a young Aboriginal girl and the dilemmas that she and the Luritja people must face. The narrative illustrates the significance of respect in the Luritja tribe. It is presented that respect is shown to all cultures and backgrounds which makes a very caring and joyful atmosphere. The Walawurru community honour their laws and guidelines, and use the land with great admiration. Although in times disrespect is shown by some of the Walawurru members, overall respect is an extremely important aspect in the Walawurru people’s lives.
Were Dash’s audience to return to the South Sea islands eighty years after “Daughters of the Dust” they might find the Gullah people and their lives similar to those of the Willow Springs of Naylor’s novel. Although nearly a century spans between them, these two people nevertheless share many traits. Many of the residents of Willow Springs answer to a nickname given them as a child; similarly, Viola Peazant reminisces about the nicknames given to children in Ibo Landing. Members of both communities, generations from Africa and steeped in “modernity,” still come to the traditional herbalist for help in matters of the body and spirit: Eula uses Nana’s medicine to contact the soul of her deceased mother; Bernice and Ambush come to Mama Day to heal Bernice when she becomes ill, and later for help in conceiving a child. Both Nana Peazant and Mama Day draw their knowledge from a life lived on their respective islands and their strength from their ancestors, whom they visit and tend at the village graveyards. And like Nana Peazant, Mama Day struggles to maintain a tie with her family members who have left the island and immersed themselves in the mainstream culture.
Moreover, Tayo's struggle to return to indigenous cultural traditions parallels Silko's own struggle as a writer who wants to integrate Native American traditions into the structure of her novel. Instead of simply following the literary conventions used by other American and European writers, Silko develops new li...
The fundamental characteristic of magical realism is its duality, which enables the reader to experience both the character’s past and the present. In the novel, Monkey Beach, Eden Robinson uses this literary device to address the the trauma and mistreatment of the Haisla community in Canada by unveiling the intimate memories of the protagonist, Lisamarie, and the resulting consequences of this oppression. Monkey Beach illustrates how abuse in the past leads to another form of self-medication in the future - a neverending, vicious cycle for the members of the Haisla community. Many characters in Monkey Beach are scarred from childhood sexual abuse and family neglect, and resort to drug and alcohol abuse as a coping mechanism. These appalling memories are an account of the impact of colonization on the Haisla territory which continues to haunt the Aboriginal community throughout generations.
Composers show how confronting and meaningful discoveries can be through how their characters and settings of their works are depicted. I agree with this statement, because the discoveries made within a text by the audience are there to piece together the picture of which is the texts underlying motive. Examples of this can be seen in the texts ‘Rainbow’s End’ a play by Jane Harrison and the children’s book ‘The Rabbits’ by John Marsden and Shaun Tan. ‘Rainbow’s End’ follows a family of three Aboriginal Australian females; Gladys - single mother trying to support her daughter and help her succeed in life, Nan Dear – Gladys’s mother and Dolly – Gladys’s teenage daughter, showing the struggles that they as an Aboriginal family face in a Anglo-dominant, 1950’s Australian society. ‘The Rabbits’ is an allegory, or retelling, of the British colonisation of Australia, with the British being represented by rabbits and the Indigenous Australians being represented by numbats, an endangered Australian native animal. Both of these texts display themes of discrimination and assimilation towards aboriginals, giving us the chance to discover and understand their struggles.
This powerful film takes us on a journey through the eyes and hearts of four young girls from the Yorta Yorta community. Cynthia, Julie, Gail and Kay shared a love of singing, before Kay was taken away by the government and placed in an institution to learn the ‘the white ways’. The four girls reunited as adults to embark on their own journey through Vietnam, singing as an all Aboriginal girl group
First of all, Indigenous people and Asian have different values and means to Australia. The Australian Indigenous people have lived Australia for long time and they have developed their own culture. However, when the British people started to colonise Australia, the British culture was brought into Australia. They have struggled under the pressure of White Australian. Therefore, whatever their identity can be a part of Australian. On the other hand, most of Asian people came to Australia as immigrants to seek better life. Ommundsen states that Asian Australian literatures made by the writer’s identity and life, for example (512). However, he also argues that “Asia”, “Australia” and “Asian Australia” are uncertain categories (512). In “Love and honour and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice”, there are no strong elements of Australia, and even the protagonist, Nam, lives in Iowa (Le 3), the United States. In “The boat”, Australia is just destination of the main character, a girl named Mai (Le 278). Thus, The Boat seems more Asian literature that Asian Australian literature. It is really difficult to find how Indigenous identity narratives affect to such Asian Australian literatures, because they seems really different from each other. If something must be said, Asian Australian literatures have to refer to Indigenous people. Most Asian immigrants regard Australia as a western country, white culture, and well-developed country. They do not think about Indigenous people so much, so but if Indigenous identity narratives’ increase of importance, Asian Australian literature must include them as
Throughout the text, the white colonists are very racist towards the Aboriginals. Even cattle, horses and white women are placed hierarchically higher in society than the black people. In response to this, Astley constructs all narrations to be written through the eyes of the Laffey family, who are respectful towards Aboriginals, hence not racist, and despise societal ideologies. By making the narration of the text show a biased point of view, readers are provoked to think and feel the same way, foregrounding racism shown in the ideologies of early Australian society, and showing that Aboriginals are real people and should receive the same treatment to that given to white people. “They looked human, they had all your features.” (pg 27) There was, however, one section in the text whose narrative point of view was not given by a character in the Laffey family. This instead was given by a voice of an Aboriginal woman, when the Aboriginal children were being taken away from their families. By giving voice to the Aboriginal society, the reader is able to get a glimpse of their point of view on the matter, which once again shows that society was racist, and Aboriginals were treated harshly.
All lives revolve around decisions and instances from ones past. In A River Runs Through It (1992), director Robert Redford uses this idea and applies it to a true story of two brothers from Montana, Norman and Paul Maclean (Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt, respectively). Based on the autobiographical novel by Norman Maclean himself, River uses Maclean’s metaphysical beliefs about life and nature to present its many themes. Using a longing score, various film devices, and a story line involving themes of youth, loss, and the pitfalls of pride, Robert Redford crafts a film about the beauty of the past.
1.) The natural process that has been occurring is the erosion of the earth between the Mississippi river and the Atchafalaya river. If the erosion and the flooding continue then the water will destroy the land and everything there. For years the head of the Atchafalaya river was blocked by a massive “raft” -a 30 mile log jam- that defined the efforts of settlers to remove it, In 1839, the State of Louisiana began to dislodge the raft and open up the river as a free flowing and navigable stream. The removal of the log jam provided an opportunity for the Atchafalaya river to enlarge, becoming deeper and wider and carry more and more of the Mississippi’s flow. The Atchafalaya river offered the Mississippi river a shorter outlet to the Gulf of Mexico -- 142 miles compared to 315 -- and by 1951 it was apparent that, unless something was done soon, the Mississippi would take the course of the Atchafalaya.
Confusion, embarrassment, and guilt can all be found throughout João Guimarães Rosa's short story "The Third Bank of the River." Rosa forces the reader to analyze his words and delve deeply into the hidden meanings behind them. Upon first glance, a story unfolds of a father who seemingly abandons his family and chooses to live out the remainder of his life rowing a small boat back and forth along a river. There are circumstances leading up to this behavior, which new insight to the author's psychological meaning.
Using dialogue, Davis again shows to the highest degree the amount that Aborigines were disregarded and marginalised in society. Because the reader knows that Aborigines are underprovided, and have to steal and hunt for sufficient food, they see that, as stated by Jimmy, A.O. Neville is "talkin' outa his kwon" and completely disregarding the Aborigines as citizens of Australia.