Body 1 –Reynolds representation of Indigenous people (Victimised)
Henry Reynolds represents the Indigenous as being victimised due to his own political agenda. This is conveyed through the anecdote at the start of the memoir where he describes two Indigenous girls in jail due to them swearing at their teacher. The juxtaposition of the “…thick concrete walls and the little thin girls” emphasises the over-exaggerated reactions of the individuals to the two girls swearing. The juxtaposition clearly demonstrates the victimisation of the two little girls using two opposite epithets “thick” and “thin” to evoke sympathetic feelings for the two Indigenous girls. This is coupled with another anecdote where Reynolds talks about the head of DNA as being
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George Orwell’s short story “Shooting an Elephant” conveys Orwell as a police officer in Burma where he is asked to come and help deal with an elephant that has gone on a rampage. Initially, Orwell demonstrates the victimisation of the Europeans through the anecdote of him playing on a sporting field. In this anecdote, Orwell is tripped and the referee “looked the other way”, this event is shown to bring “hideous laughter”. The use of the epithet “hideous” evokes sympathetic feelings towards Orwell. He is also able to evoke sympathy towards the end through the metaphor “wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it” Orwell shows that he is only a “puppet” for the Burmese people when he goes to kill the elephant. The Europeans is seen as a performer through the epithet of “puppet” who is forced to undertake this role in society and act in as told by the Burmese …show more content…
During the first chapter, Reynolds use of colloquial language such as “ Migloos” and “Whitefellas “ shows that he sympathises with the two girls in jail. By sympathising with one side, he aligns himself to the side of the Indigenous and therefore loses objectivity. Reynolds also attempts to portray the director of DNA unfavourably using negative epithets such as “favoured” in the quote “dispensing charity to favoured families”. By portraying negative aspects of the director he again aligns with the aboriginals that don’t get as much help as the “favoured families”. By aligning himself with one side he portrays two separate perspectives which are opposite forcing the audience to also choose a side, this is portrayed in the argument of whether the taking over of Australia was an invasion or peaceful. By using two opposite epithets “invasion” and “peaceful” helps to show two different points of views. Reynolds is able to bring controversy into his text which influences opinion as well as being able to promote social debate, therefore, providing his work with
The compassionate novel Deadly Unna?, written by Phillip Gwynne, creates vivid characters and depicts race discourses experienced by Gary Black (also known as Blacky) in a fictitious South Australian coastal community. The novel portrays a typical coastal town of the 1970s and is set mainly in the Port: the local Pub, the Black family home and the jetty, where the local children play. The story explores the racism between the Nungas (the indigenous population who live at the Point) and the Gooynas (the white population who live at the Port). As Blacky is from the Port, he only begins to develop awareness of the racism around him as a result of his friendship with Dumby Red, a Nunga football player, and consequently stops making racist jokes and comments. Analysis of racist ideas in the town, the marginalisation of the Nunga community, Blacky’s changing beliefs and how it influences and empowers him to respond to the death of Dumby Red, reveals that Gwynne encourages the reader to reject the racist values, attitudes and beliefs of Blacky’s community.
Before we look at whether James Moloney effectively uses characterisation to convey Aboriginal issues we must look at the issues themselves. In Dougy, the issue of black and white prejudice is strongly present in the plot. The stereotyping of Aborigines and white Europeans play an important role in the events and the outcome of the story, as is individuality and the breaking of the stereotypes. The book also touches on the old Aboriginal superstitions that are still believed in by some today, though one of such superstitions plays an important role in creating the mood of the resolution. These issues impact most heavily on the character Gracey.
Throughout Australian history a racist attitude towards Aboriginals has been a significant issue. From the moment the early settlers arrived on our shores and colonised, the Aboriginals have been fighting for the survival of their culture. The Aboriginals haven been take in and dominated to bring them in line with an idealistic European society. These themes have been put forward by Jack Davis in his stage play, No Sugar, the story of an Aboriginal family’s fight for survival during the Great Depression years. Admittedly Davis utilises his characters to confront the audience and take them out of their comfort zone, showing them the reality of Aboriginal treatment. This is an element of the marginalisation that Jack Davis uses through out the play this starts from the beginning where he discomforts the audience by using an open stage. One character that Davis uses through out the play is A.O. Neville, Davis uses him to portray the issue of power, this is a very important issue that is carried through out the play.
The characters in Jack Davis' play "No Sugar" are characters that fit colonial stereotypes (both Aboriginals and Whites) although they seem to be exaggerated. Contrasting characters reveal Ideological ideas and attitudes through things like language, often through conflict.40
Last, The use of informal language and point of view played a major part in reinforcing the theme of racism in The True History of the Kelly Gang. In early Australian times, Irish were mistreated unlike the English. English actually dominated the Irish and discriminated them. The way Ned Kelly speaks to the reader (Carrey’s choice of language and point of view) connects to his mistreatment, his family’s, and all fellow Irish.
Throughout both texts, Perkins and Yousafzai aim to highlight the unheard voice, who need to be given empowerment to be heard. The disempowered voice of Aboriginals is highlighted through the carriage scene in One
"Shooting an Elephant" is one of the most popular of George Orwell's essays. Like his essays "A hanging" and "How the Poor Die", it is chiefly autobiographical. It deals with his experience as a police-officer in Burma. After having completed his education, Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police, and served in Burma, from 1922 to 1927, as an Assistant Superintendent of Police. His experiences as an officer in Burma were bitter. He was often a victim of the hostility and injustices at the hands of his colleagues and officers. Peter Stansky and William Abrahams in their book The Unknown Orwell write "He was friendless and inexperienced, not certain of what to expect and fearful of proving to be inadequate, a predictable failure."
These lines exemplify Keating’s constant reference to the non-indigenous group as ‘we’ and ‘us’, this coupled with the accusatory tone present throughout this section of the text ensures that the blame is being put on the white Australian’s of the population. The word choice and tone in ...
In this story ,Orwell is taking part in imperialism by proving his power and dignity to the natives presenting imperialism metaphorically through the use of animals. He is using the elephant as a symbol of imperialism representing power as an untamed animal that has control over the village. He uses a large and very powerful animal to represent a significant metaphor for imperialism.. In doing so he leads to the understanding that the power behind imperialism is only as strong as its dominant rulers. Orwell?s moral values are challenged in many different ways, ironically enough while he too was the oppressor. He is faced with a very important decision of whether or not he should shoot the elephant. If he does so, he will be a hero to his people. In turn, he would be giving in to the imperial force behind the elephant that he finds so unjust and evil. If he lets the elephant go free and unharmed the natives will laugh at him and make him feel inferior for not being able to protect the...
In George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant, Orwell suggests just that; one can form his own ideals, but they will either be changed by the media (symbolized in his essay by the Burmese natives) or constructed from...
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.
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...
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.
This quote from the poem found in stanza three describes how after many years of the invasion, white people started to feel sorry and remorseful for the impact which white settlement had on Aborigines. This relates to Judith Wright’s concern for the Aboriginal people and the land which human settl...
"Shooting an Elephant" is perhaps one of the most anthologized essays in the English language. It is a splendid essay and a terrific model for a theme of narration. The point of the story happens very much in our normal life, in fact everyday. People do crazy and sometimes illegal moves to get a certain group or person to finally give them respect. George Orwell describes an internal conflict between his personal morals and his duty to his country to the white man's reputation. The author's purpose is to explain the audience (who is both English and Burmese) about the kind of life he is living in Burma, about the conditions, circumstances he is facing and to tell the British Empire what he think about their imperialism and his growing displeasure for the imperial domination of British Empire.