Jackie French's A Waltz For Matilda

Native Americans make up less than .9% of the United States population. With this trivial number, it is difficult to keep its culture and traditions alive as generations progress. In the short story “War Dances,” author Sherman Alexie morns the loss of Native American identity through a deprecating tone which illustrate a divide between generations.

Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history.

values, assumptions and voice of the poem and of Australia at that time, one that shows courage and

How each character’s relationship relates to native Australians grows for better or worse throughout the novel. The novel also shows how Grenville has incorporated each personal lifestyle and how it co-exists with the other. The novel incorporates past and modern views about each society and brings to attention controversial issues about Australia’s convict past and how Aborigines are being ostracized for their way of life and skin pigmentation.

The Lost Girl is a beautiful, humble picture story book created by Ambelin Kwaymullina and illustrated by Leanne Tobin. Kwaymullina, the author, is from the Palyku people for the Pilbar region of Western Australia and is an Aboriginal legal academic. Tobin is a decentant of the Dharug, the traditional Aboriginal people of Greater Western Sydney (Kitson, 2014). Both creators have actively employed their prior knowledge, values, beliefs and culture to put together this engaging and informative picture story book, perfect for young children. Tobin uses vivid colours to represent the red sandy appearance of the Australian dessert outback and the native flora, in an effort to craft a naturistic melody. Kwaymullina writes of sequenced events

A waltz is a song in ¾ time, meaning that there are three beats in each measure. Accordingly, the poem is written to sound like a waltz, making use of different spacing and separation of the lines. Certainly, this conjures up ideas of dancing and excitement. The way Roethke uses the exact word from the title at the end of the poem ties it together, giving it a sense of peace. Although “such waltzing was not easy,” the boy’s love for his father did not falter. In many cases, when something we truly love becomes difficult, we do not give up on it. In short, the flow the author uses emphasises the presence of his adoration for his father. The words he selects highlight the wonderful memories he has of this man who played an important role in his life.Notably, Roethke provides eye catching words that illustrate scenes that appeal to the same

Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree.

It is crucial that we study Australian Narratives as it creates insights into events we may have not explored. This is evident in the novel "Crow Country" written by Kate Constable. It teaches us about Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality, Australia's History and respect, as we experience what it feels like to live in rural Australia, creating an understanding about Aboriginal people. Therefore, through a close read and study of "Crow Country", readers are able to learn new and important things about our past and present, showing that it is crucial to study Australian Narratives.

The character of Supper Waltz is so strong and different that he is the kind of person who is very influential to those around him. When Hughie is discussing the girl he likes he talks about how he had asked Supper Waltz about why she had not agreed to go out with him, Supper Waltz then gives him advice which Hughie uses and the second time he asks her, she agrees. ‘“It’s the Fair Isle jersey,” he said. “No girl will make a date with you in a Fair Isle jersey” My mother had given me the jersey for my last birthday. I thought of it as part of my best clothes. “It’s a kids jersey, Hughie, see?” said Supper Waltz frankly ”Girls think a lot about that sort of thing.”. Supper Waltz was right of course’. This quote shows that Supper Waltz was an important person in Hughies life as he trusted him enough to ask about things that were very personal and involved his heart. This also shows how Supper Waltz helped Hughie to go after what he wanted and how he helped him to get it. Another way we are shown how Supper Waltz affects Hughie is when Hughie states that although it may look like Supper Waltz dominates their friendship, he really doesn't. “It might seem like Supper Waltz was always the leader, and that I was just tagging along all the time, but it really wasn’t like that. There were ways in which Supper Waltz depended on me. With adults, for example, Supper Waltz let me do most of the talking.”. This quote shows us that Supper Waltz and Hughie have a close friendship, which in turn shows us how Supper Waltz will affect the person Hughie grows up to be because friends are one of the most powerful influences on teenagers. Marshall has done this to help us understand that Hughie will be affected when Supper Waltz leaves to go on the ship. This is relevant to real life because the people we surround ourselves with

‘Swan Lake' was re-choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in1895, after initially being choreographed by Julius Reisinger in 1877. The musical score was composed by Pytor Tchaikovsky. ‘Swan Lake' was created towards the end of the romantic period, so the culture and style of romanticism was prominent, with glimpses of the beginning of the classical era. Because of this, it contains elements of both eras. Some of the romantic characteristics include the pursuit of the unattainable, romance, fantasy, focus on the female role, gas lighting and simple sets, pointe work, soft and feminine technique for females and the bell tutu. Some of the classical features include the length of the ballet, the classical tutu and more

In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, was a great poem that can mean many different things to many different people of this world. To me I think it was just a boy who just wanted to spend time with his dad before he has to go to bed. The boy probably does not get to spend time with his dad that much. The father probably works all day and all week and this is the only time the boy gets to spend with him. Roethke use of words in this poem is amazing. The use of the words in this story can mean different things to the reader. The first word to look at is the word waltz. In the dictionary the word waltz is a dance for a fast triple meter song. This is just what the father is doing with his son but his is drunk and dizzy. “But I hung on

Dorothea Mackellar’s ‘My Country’ is a poem expressing Mackellar’s deep passion and love for her country, Australia. The whole poem’s intention seems to evoke the sense of praising for the country and express Mackellar’s deep relationship and passion with her land. Mackellar attains this response from the audience by using numerous language techniques such as; Juxtaposition, personification, sound patterns including alliteration and assonance, imagery, and paradox. The use of first person throughout the whole poem suggests that the theme of this poem has been evoked by personal experience.

In “My Papa’s waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the narrator illustrates a horrendous situation in where a child is being beaten, as something blissful and joyful, through a metaphor involved with dancing called the waltz. The narrator goes around the house joyful dancing, setting the mood for relaxation and bliss but describes each step of the waltz violently, hence “pans” falling from the kitchen shelfs. The line speaking about “every step you missed” refers to all the mistakes the father made in raising the child. Every mistake the father made had a negative impact on the child, “beating time on his head.” The poem is made up of four quatrains, with each one escalating the experience, step by step, that the narrator had to go through until he

Kate Chopin is writing so many great stories about whatever she sees. Kate has many Wonderful stories such as, (The Storm, Desiree’s Baby, A Pair of Silk Stocking, A Respectable Woman, and The Story of an Hour). There is one story in particular that catches my mind which is “The Storm”. 0In Kate chopin's era, women are seen as nothing more than a wife and have to stay with their husband for life. Chopin shows a dramatic scene between Alcee and Calixta during the time of a storm that is passing by. Chopin states a non judgemental spot about refraining from morals about the purity of marriage especially calixta. Chopin drenches in “The Storm” a strong feminist and makes a good question about marriage.

Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.