Mother and Daughter Sally Morgan Themes Essay

An important reason of why studying Australian Narratives is important because it teaches us about Aboriginal People’s beliefs. For example, this can be seen when Sadie and Walter have a conversation with to Aunt Lily and through Waa the Crow, “A man and a crow at the same time,’ said Walter. ‘A messenger from Waa, the Crow. A spirit shaped like a man. A man with a bleeding arm.’ Late in the novel, Sadie is told by Aunt Lily to find the clever man’s things but it was very important NOT to open it. Constable shows us that Aboriginal beliefs are important and are to be respected. Therefore, through studying Crow Country, we are able to know new, important reasons about Aboriginal’s beliefs and spirituality.

We saw prejudice and discrimination throughout the book. For example, when Lafayette’s was charged with a crime due to hi, been associated with who did it. When LaJoe lost her benefits from the state due to her on and off husband using her home address and when collecting unemployment benefits which LaJoe did not claim as income coming into the home. In both instances, the Rivers were treated as if they were liars and criminals. Because of Lafayette being from the inner city, there was this predetermine thought about any youth that lived in the inner city from the court system. LaJoe was treated with disrespect by the welfare office because of the prejudgment they had formed about people that lived in the inner city. Due to the location in which they stayed, the importance of healthy living condition was not a priority to the city. They were forced to live in the vicinity of garbage, broken sewer systems, dead animals, etc. Also, the children were forced to either stay in their apartments or play on the railroad tracks because the city had only a few areas for them to play. These areas had become run down and it was unsafe for kids to play in. It is unsure why the was such neglect for those areas of the inner city, but one could only think that it had to do with how this race has been treated for years.

Deadly Unna? (1998), is a book based on a true story that tells the tale of non-Indigenous boy Gary ‘Blacky’ Black and his friendship with Dumby Red. Set in Port Victoria in South Australia, Blacky’s evolving relationships with the Indigenous kids in the community inspires him to question the underlying racism that exists in society. In this essay, the author’s methods for conveying the theme of belonging to the reader will be evaluated. Subsequently, Gwynne’s generation of racial segregation in the community, followed by the contrasting types of racism demonstrated by the characters, will be analysed.

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.

Introduction Prejudice refers to the judgements towards a person because of their race, social class, age, disability or sexual orientation. (Cherry, “What is Prejudice?”) Prejudice was, and still is, to a large extent experienced by people all over the world. It is a theme that is presented in so many works of literature in a plethora of different ways. One of the most prominent ways in which prejudice is explored is through the use of characters that perhaps are a different nationality or have a different orientation to the majority of the other characters in the works. Two texts, in which the theme is presented in an admirable way , are ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, and ‘Jasper Jones’ by Craig Silvey. Through the use of the

The recent Australian film, Rabbit Proof Fence, similarly condemns the social, political and cultural mores of colonial and post-colonial Australia in relation to its past treatment of indigenous Australians. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, it too, is set in the 1930’s and reflects similar attitudes and values whites have to black people. The film is a true story based on the book by Doris Pilkington Garimara, the daughter of one of the half-caste children in the film who, together with two other Aboriginal girls, was forcibly removed from her family in Jigalong, Western Australia. These children form part of what is now known as the “Stolen Generation”. They, like many others who lived in the first part of the 20th century, were the victims of the official government assimilationist policy which decreed that half-caste children should be taken from their families and their land in order to be made “white”. The policy was definitely aimed at “breeding out” Aboriginality, because only half and quarter caste children were taken.

Claudia Rankine analyze racism to its core, bringing to surface that miniscule event are just as problematic as televised one. Her words are beautifully brutal, striking up emotions for anyone that reads it. As readers we are taken through a journey from past to present events of racial incidents experienced by different genders and ages. Above all, Claudia provides a strong indication that racism is far from over.

Racism is a big part of this book. It shows the absurdity of what people thought back then, which is an important lesson. It is important for us to learn what people’s views used to be, and how important it is not to go back to that mindset.

In contemporary society, interpretation is an institutional practice with readers consequently sharing assumptions; highlighting the concept of interpretive communities. Audiences often respond to ideas based on dominant contextual norms and ideologies. The biased recount of Australia's sullen and discriminatory past has led to a collective ignorance; with awareness and redemption of the true atrocities committed by British Settlers being a new concept. Kate Grenville's raw and accosting novel the Secret River confronts readers, positioning them to challenge the socio-historical doctrines of the 21st Century society. Analytical readers can respond actively to issues of racism by acknowledging the intertextuality of the text and contemporary actions, and by recognising and contrasting prevailing attitudes. This process evokes an emotive response to uncomfortable notions and influences a remorseful reaction towards the Aboriginal community and their hardship.

It is a natural part of human nature to long for the feeling of belonging, even if it means following a corrupt and unjust social regime. Craig Silvey weaves this idea into the novel Jasper Jones, in which the “half-caste” deuteragonist and protagonist Charlie Bucktin discover the death of the shire president’s daughter, Laura Wishart, and work together to find the culprit as to avoid the inevitable scapegoating of Jasper for this crime. Silvey’s implementation of the historical setting of the 1960’s introduces the themes of fear, racism within a social regime and scapegoating; these ideas relate to the racism present in Australia at the time, due to the reign of the White Australia Policy and the effect of the Vietnam War. By integrating these key ideas into the story of Jasper’s experiences with scapegoating, Silvey reflects on real-life examples of racism present in Australia during the 1960’s, as well as other developing nations, and how the need to impress others is the major drive for the wider

In a world in which abortion is considered either a woman's right or a sin against God, the poem "The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks gives a voice to a mother lamenting her aborted children through three stanzas in which a warning is given to mothers, an admission of guilt is made, and an apology to the dead is given. The poet-speaker, the mother, as part of her memory addresses the children that she "got that [she] did not get" (2). The shift in voice from stanza to stanza allows Brooks to capture the grief associated with an abortion by not condemning her actions, nor excusing them; she merely grieves for what might have been. The narrator's longing and regret over the children she will never have is highlighted by the change in tone

The loss of culture and identity crisis are two major factors affecting Janice’s life; furthermore, most of the indigenous children whom were adopted out during the Sixties Scoop will experience inner conflict due to a lack of sense of belonging because they cannot find acceptance within themselves and the world around them. For example, Janice tells Barb “Barb, think about it. I was born here, but I don’t feel at home here and Amelia Earhart does. She’s family and I’m not because the Children’s Aid Society took me away. Doesn’t all this seem a little weird to you?,”(Taylor, 82-83). This part can be described as ironic because even though Janice recognizes her roots, she feels Otter Lake is not her place to be. She never had the opportunity to

Maria Campbell’s autobiography Halfbreed is a moving story about a young Native girl’s battle to survive, in coming to terms with the past and in discovering a way to build a brighter future in an atmosphere of social abuse and viciousness. Campbell is the oldest daughter of seven children, and was born in northern Saskatchewan. Within the book, she points out the differences between the Native people and the whites, as well as those of status Indians with non-status Native people. Both whites and full-blooded Native people rejected her due to her designation as a non-status Native, otherwise known as Metis. Filled with a strong feeling of resentment and anger, Campbell’s search for self-identity and her struggle to overcome the poverty, discrimination, and cruelty experienced by Metis individuals are described within the novel. When Campbell was twelve, her mother passed away. As a young girl, she was forced to give up school and take on the role of the mother to her younger siblings. At fifteen years old, Campbell felt obligated to marry in order to prevent her younger brothers and sisters from being taken away from her and her father. Unfortunately, her diligent work and good intentions did not keep her family together. Her spouse, a white, abusive alcoholic, reported her to the welfare authorities, and her siblings were taken away and placed in foster homes. Her husband chose to take his family to Vancouver, where he abandoned her and their newly born child.

I have seen both her mother’s and her struggles with oppression, subordination and exclusion, their fights for services and funding and their struggles with day-to-day life. I was an involved member of their family and so their struggles touched me deeply, the fight for social justice and acceptance is one that will take a very long time within the Australian community; nonetheless, it is already a personal value of mine. My values are now ones of equality for all, social inclusion, respect, and dignity and worth, and social justice for all.

"The Mother," by Gwendolyn Brooks, is a sorrowful, distressing poem about a mother who has experienced numerous abortions. While reading the poem, you can feel the pain, heartache, distress and grief she is feeling. She is both remorseful and regretful; nevertheless, she explains that she had no other alternative. It is a sentimental and heart wrenching poem where she talks about not being able to experience or do things with the children that she aborted -- things that people who have children often take for granted. Perhaps this poem is a reflection of what many women in society are feeling.