Phoebe+Brennan

Aboriginal Perspectives


These images were chosen because they show two different perspectives of the colonisation of Australia in regards to the Aboriginals. The painting shows a negative viewpoint of how the Aboriginals were influenced by the white settlement. The chains around their necks are very prominent and imply that the Aboriginals have been enslaved by the white people. The photograph shows the opposite, with the three Aboriginal men looking healthy and free. They look quite serious, and slightly sad, but not as though their lives have been destroyed. Together, these images show two very different viewpoints on the white settlement of Australia, one very negative, and the other somewhat positive.

(Poem)
 * An Unhappy Race-Kath Walker **

White fellow, you are the unhappy race. You alone have left nature and made civilised laws. You have enslaved yourselves as you enslaved the horse and other wild things. Why, white man? Your police lock up your tribe in houses with bars, We see poor women scrubbing floors of richer women. Why, white man, why? You laugh at ‘poor blackfellow’, you say we must be like you, You say we must leave the old freedom and leisure, We must be civilised and work for you. Why, white fellow? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Leave us alone, we don’t want your collars and ties, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We don’t need your routines and compulsions. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">We want the old freedom and joy that all things have but you, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Poor white man of the unhappy race.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Analysis: __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">‘The Unhappy Race’ is an aboriginal poem by Kath Walker that was published in 1970. The intended audience for the poem is the white people of Australia as the author is addressing the white community. The intended purpose of the poem is to make the white community in Australia think about potentially change the way that they live their lives.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The dominant reading of the text is that the ‘white fellow’ lives a complicated life, as opposed to the aborigines, who lead simple, carefree lives. The author feels sorry for the white people and is saying that they are unhappy, but if they chose to be like the aboriginals, they would have a chance at a happier, simpler life. This gives a positive perspective on the aboriginals, as they are cultural and spiritual beings that can live more modestly. It does, however, give a negative perspective on the white Australians, portraying them as problematic, in that some of the things that they do unnecessary and often wrong.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">If the reader were to see the author as ignorant to the advantages of the white lifestyle, then this poem could potentially be read resistantly. However, the author cleverly positions the reader to feel guilty about their chosen lifestyle; therefore the vast majority of people would automatically take the dominant side. This text does not follow a stereotype, as stereotypically the lifestyle of the white people is seen as idyllic, while the aboriginals are seen as ‘poor blackfellow’. This poem depicts the complete opposite

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The author uses phases such as ‘We see poor women scrubbing floors of richer women’ and ‘You laugh at ‘poor blackfellow’, you say we must be like you’ to make the reader feel guilty about their lifestyle. Periodically throughout the poem, the author places questions such as ‘Why, white man, why?’ as if chastising the white people. This also contributes to the feeling of superiority by the aboriginals as there is the feeling that the Aboriginals know better and to them the white people seem foolish.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">This text gives a fairly negative perspective on Australian identity as a large portion of the Australian race is seen as arrogant, with extravagant lifestyles. It does, however, give a positive perspective on the Aboriginal race as they are seen as not only superior, but also as though they are trying to help the white Australians to get out of the mess that they are in. This text was very effective in meeting its purpose, because as a white Australian myself, I know that I felt guilty and ashamed that I live the way I do, compared to the simple life of an Aboriginal.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">[] media type="youtube" key="KV_0Mf9YcyA" height="390" width="480"
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Solid Rock - Goanna **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__Analysis:__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Solid Rock is a song that was released in 1982 by the Australian band Goanna. The intended audience for this song was the people of Australia, as it is sung by an Australian band about a piece of Australian history. The purpose of this text is to illustrate what life was like for the Aborigines around the time when the white settlers arrived in Australia.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The dominant reading of this text is that the Aborigines only had limited time in their country as the white settlers where going to come and change everything, not for the better. This is portrayed mainly through the chorus and the third verse. The chorus states that Australian land was sacred to Aborigines, it was their home, but they didn’t have much time before the settlers would arrive, bringing with them new ways that the Aboriginals weren’t used to, destroying their belief systems. The third verse runs through what happened when the white settlers did arrive. It states that the Aborigines witnessed the white sails of the settler’s boats in the distance, coming closer to their land. Soon the white men arrived, bringing with them their ‘white law’ and ‘white gun’, and the Aborigines ‘felt the sting’. This text is very one-sided and cannot be read resistantly.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">This text is very stereotypical, portraying the white people as the monsters, and the Aborigines as the victims. Other perspectives show the white settlers as the heroes and the Aborigines as the ‘savages’. Whose side is taken certainly depends on the perspective of the writer. In this text, it is very one sided towards the Aborigines.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The use of the didgeridoo at the very beginning of the song indicates that the song is from an aboriginal perspective. The language used in the song is mostly slang, such as ‘wanna’ and ‘standin’. These give a more relaxed and casual atmosphere, making you identify more with the singer. It also sounds more typically Australian.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">This text contributes to our understanding of the Australian identity in a negative way as it portrays the Aboriginals as weak victims who had their land taken from them. This text was, however, very effective in meeting its purpose. The purpose of the song was to recount what happened during the colonisation of Australia, which it did in great detail.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Tucker-Ian Abdullah __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Solid Rock’ and ‘Tucker’ comparison: __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Solid Rock, a song performed by Australian band Goanna supports the Aboriginal stereotype in several ways. Firstly, it shows the typical stereotype of the white settlers as the villains that came and destroyed the Aboriginals way of life. The Aboriginals are seen as the helpless victims that had to watch their land taken over by foreigners. This is strongly represented through the line ‘White man, white law, white gun’, meaning that the white man brought with them not only their rules, but also reinforcements. The second stereotype shown in the song is how important culture was to the Aboriginals and how they lived off the land. This is represented mainly through the chorus of the song. The chorus states that the Aboriginals were ‘standing on Solid Rock, standing on sacred ground’. This gives the listener the impression that the land was sacred to the Aboriginals and that they had a close connection to it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The second text is a picture book called ‘Tucker’ and is written by Ian Abdullah. This book shows a completely different perspective to the song, as it is about different times in Aboriginal history. While the song is about the colonisation of Australia itself, the story book is more about the way Aboriginals lived after the settlement. Although this book mainly supports the Aboriginal stereotype, with things like hunting for food, there are several parts to the book that subvert the Aboriginal stereotype. For example, the Aboriginal in the story talks about hunting a ‘gizzard’, and that if he/she was caught doing so by the white people, they would have been in trouble. Most people would assume that Aborigines were not influenced by white laws such as hunting a great deal. We see Aboriginals as carefree, doing whatever they please, but this perspective shows that they did have to be careful about what they did for fear of the consequences. The other example was that the Aboriginal from the story worked for the government. Most would assume from stereotypes that Aborigines did not like or agree with the government, or perhaps racial prejudice may have a hand in not allowing Aborigines to work for the government at that time. However, this shows that this is not true and if necessary, Aboriginals can and will work for governments.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Samson and Delilah Movie Poster: __

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Creative Writing Piece

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">The Invisible Boy <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The calming smell of freshly baked muffins washed over Elaine the way it did every morning. Combined with the aroma of brewing coffee, she thought it was the most magnificent fragrance in the world. After quickly shutting the cold out behind her, Elaine purposefully walked to her regular table by the window where her own muffin and coffee were waiting for her. She relaxed back into the comforting warmth of her chair and sipped at her drink. All around her were people. Inside the café there was a constant hum of chatter, as dozens of people bought their coffee before heading off to work. Beyond the glass window, as always she saw the hundreds of frantic people on their way to their day jobs, parents dragging their unwilling children to school and cars by the dozens polluting the city air. Beyond all of this commotion, Elaine could just make out the figure of someone lurking in the shadows of the old church on the other side of the road. She knew who it was; she had watched him from this exact position for many months now. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Throughout this time, Elaine had grown particularly interested in this young boy. She understood exactly just what he was going through. She watched as he timidly asked passers-by for money, and then shrank back into the shadows in fear if they actually bothered to acknowledge him. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">• • • <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Elaine darted down a dark narrow alley and stepped into one of the many old, scratched doorways lining the cobbled path. She clutched the sandwich in her dirty hands and carefully peeked around the corner. She breathed a sigh of relief; no one was after her, yet. The darkness was unwelcoming, but Elaine continued to shuffle further and further down the winding alleyway. After a series of complicated twists and turns, she finally reached Home. Being careful so as not to disturb the makeshift shelter, she swiftly crawled under the weathered tarp and crouched down, hugging her knobbly knees to her chest. Elaine then pulled out the delicious looking sandwich and did her best to tear it neatly in half. She placed the bigger half back into the paper bag and bit into the first half, attempting to make it last. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Just as Elaine was finishing her half of the sandwich, a small head popped around the corner of a nearby building. The skinny figure scampered unsteadily in Elaine’s direction and sat down next to her. Her face was gaunt and she had a chronic cough, but this did not stop her eyes from shining when she noticed the paper bag on the ground. Her tiny nose twitched and she looked at Elaine with a hopeful smile. Elaine nodded and pushed the bag containing the other half of the sandwich toward the girl. The girl devoured it, as if she had never seen food before. It was a starless night as the girls went to sleep side by side as they did every night. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Elaine was awakened by small droplets of water hitting her cheek. The tarp was sagging under the heavy weight of the water and the strings and sticks holding it up were straining. She felt around in the dark for the girl, but she wasn’t there. Elaine squirmed out of the tight enclosure and raced through the alleyways. Her clothes became soaked, and the wind was sharp and cold. After hours of fruitless searching, during which the rain did not let up, Elaine sat down in defeat. In one last attempt Elaine yelled out the girl’s name, which was met with no response. Feeling broken and alone she sat as the morning approached and the sun struggled to shine from behind the ever present grey clouds. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Elaine was snapped from this nightmare by the sudden gust of wind as another person entered the café. Once more she watched as the boy tried to attract some ones attention. She wondered whether there was someone waiting for him in the alleyways behind the city streets. Was there someone who had stolen a sandwich to share with him? Elaine drained the remnants of her coffee and pushed her chair back, where it hardly made a noise against the loud chatter of the crowded café. As she stood she smoothed her suit and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. As she walked towards the door, some people pointed and whispered, but Elaine just smiled at them politely and kept on walking. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The cool air was masked by the brilliant rays shining from the sun overhead. Elaine noticed the invisible boy across the road glance at her, as did many others. It was this that made up her mind, and she crossed the road and walked towards the boy whose life was about to change.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Phoebe Brennan 10V

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Macbeth Assessment Scene __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Act 5 Scene 3 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Lines 1 – 17 (I will take out the Servants part, I think). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">I have chosen the Macbeth’s speech in Act 5 Scene 3 because I think this is a big turning point for Macbeth in the play. We really begin to see him losing himself. It is after he has heard his fortune for the second time from the weird sisters, and he worries constantly about what their words might mean, repeating them to get a better understanding. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is sick, and it is around this time that the two begin to grow apart. He no longer cares for her as much, his only priority is himself. In this part we see a more vulnerable side to Macbeth, as he battles with his fate.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">Creative Writing-Issues __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">Haley walked into her bedroom and threw her pink designer bag onto her lavish pink double bed. She then sat before her vast mirror and studied herself intensely. She didn’t like what she saw one bit; in fact she thought she looked gross. Haley touched up her already very made-up face and glanced around her room. This made her smile. Dozens of certificates, trophies, medals, and expensive toys and games, bought with the excessive prize money. Haley was most proud of her wardrobe. She had the largest collection of designer clothes out of any of her friends at school, out of anyone she knew even, including her own mother. She walked toward the large double doors and pulled them open, and entered her favourite room in the house. She could spend hours in here, trying things on and parading outfits in front of the mirror. But today she went in with a purpose. Tomorrow was the annual state pageant, and Haley had to be prepared. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">The house next door presented a very different scenario. When Jane Rogerson got home from school, she took all of her school books out of her bag and immediately sat down to __pour__ over them. After she’d finished her homework immaculately, which didn’t take very long at all, she began to look for other things to do. She looked ahead in her maths book, but that was too easy. She tried doing some research about the topic they were doing in science at the moment, but she knew it all already. In the end, only out of complete boredom, Jane decided to wander down to the local library to get some more books, because she’d already read all of the books at home. On her way out, Jane looked back at her relatively empty bedroom, save for her bed, desk, bookshelf and a couple of vague merit certificates taped neatly to the wall. Jane sighed and continued on her way.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">When Haley’s mum walked in to wake her up the following morning, the two of them were excited to the point where Haley could barely talk. They lived for these pageants. There would be cameras, lights, music, and most importantly, big prizes. Haley’s mum would be with her through every step of the way, although Haley thought she was old enough to do it by herself now, especially considering she’d been doing this for as long as she could remember. But the rules stated that all participants under the age of 12 must have an adult with them, and there was no way Haley’s mum was missing out. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">When they arrived at the pageant, they immediately went backstage to begin the lengthy process of getting Haley ready. She had to get dressed and have her hair and make-up done. This was Haley’s favourite part of the pageant, apart from winning of course. She loved to watch how her face transformed, although she was never entirely pleased with the result. Some of the other girls looked much prettier, though Haley would never admit it to anyone. As the beginning of the pageant approached, Haley’s excitement grew, as all of her friends were coming to watch today. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">Jane was having a terrible day. It seemed as though the whole school had gone to watch Haley in some revolting pageant that she was participating in. The teachers were talking about it too, but Jane just wanted to learn something. The day continued in a very slow fashion. Jane sat there, the teacher talked, she did a worksheet, pasted it in her book, then the cycle repeated. All Jane could wonder was why there was nothing new the teacher could teach an 11 year old. At lunch Jane sat alone, like always. People found it hard to have conversations with her because she was just so intelligent. And besides, most of the people in her year wanted to be friends with Haley because of all the cool things she did. But Jane was felt content most of the time. She’d love to have a group of friends like Haley did, but she felt frustrated by people most of the time. Even her parents didn’t really give her the time of day, though if anybody, they’d be able to hold a decent conversation with her. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">Just as Jane was walking up the drive to her house after school, she saw Haley returning from the pageant. Haley was crying, although she was carrying the big trophy and everything. Jane didn’t understand why the normally so happy Haley would be crying after another win until later that night when she turned on the news. Sitting there, with her parents for once, Jane watched the feature story for the Channel 7 News, which was all about the pageant. Jane watched as Haley and the 49 other girls paraded around in their swim wear, danced provocatively and showcased their absurd talents. Ministers and reporters were talking about how disgusting it was that children could be objectified in such as a way as this. Jane was shocked. She had never thought that what Haley did could cause so much attention. Sure, she had always thought it was really weird, but people always idolised Haley, and Jane just accepted that fact. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, Haley was still upset about the events that happened earlier that day. She had won, but that had all been destroyed when the reporters began shouting mean things to her, and asking her mum weird questions. Her parents were watching the news broadcast, and she could hear her mum shouting at the TV. How naïve Haley had been to think that everybody thought beauty pageants were a perfectly respectable past-time. Haley thought of Jane next door, the quiet, shy girl who Haley never bothered to talk to. Haley surprised herself by feeling jealous of her seemingly perfect life. She wasn’t as pretty as Haley, nor did she have as many friends, but she was smart, really smart, and she could tell you the answer to any question you had. Haley suddenly wished she could be like that. Lead a simple lifestyle. People would look at her and be disgusted. They would secretly be jealous of her, rather than openly jealous, and Haley thought that sounded nice. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">Back in the Rogerson household, the news was coming to an end when Jane heard the words she never expected to hear from her parents. ‘We’re proud of you, kiddo. You’re an intelligent, responsible and modest young lady, not like those silly girls on tele.’