A Novel about Two Juvenile Boys, The Inner Circle by Gary Crew

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“The Inner Circle”, written by Gary Crew is a novel based on two juvenile boys, Joe Carney and Tony Landon. Tony is a white teenager, ignored by his divorced parents and given money instead of love, whereas Joe Carney is a black Aboriginal teenager, who wants to overcome racism and social exclusion. Joe and Tony do not have anything in common except their age and emotional confusion, but they become friends after meeting in the old abandoned power station regardless of their racial difference. Gary Crew wrote the novel in Joe and Tony point of view, which a chapter for Joe and a chapter for Tony is given to provide the readers an understanding of how the European settlement has a big impacts of how Indigenous Aboriginal are treated in today’s society. The white settlers changed Indigenous lives forever, where now Aboriginal people are experiencing racism, poor living condition and unemployment because of their skin colour. Gary Crew showed this through Joe’s Carney point of view. This essay will analyse the issue of racism, social exclusion, racial discrimination, family and child relationship and the friendship that is conveyed between Tony and Joe throughout the novel. Through the character of Joe, Gary Crew demonstrates the themes of conflict and peace faced through racial discrimination, racism and social exclusion. Joe Carney is represented as a black Aboriginal teenager who left his country town to come down and take an apprenticeship in the city, as white people would describe him as a mixed blood. He had experienced many hardships throughout his life such as being discriminated against and bullied at Wolanga Primary School by his fellow classmates and his teacher. Joe quotes “I had been pushed, chased, punched… My shirt ... ... middle of paper ... ...The only thing wrong is the edge. It’s as if there’s a border we can’t cross, a sort of fixed boundary that separates what we know from the rest; the park is what we should be like, everyone, all together” (Gary Crew, 1986, P.50”. In conclusion, ‘The Inner Circle’ focuses on the harmony achieved by the two juvenile boys whose relationships developed through their own differences, experiences of conflict and misunderstanding. Through Joe and Tony, Gary crew represents the conflict between different racial background and the significance of this in Australia through the characters’ different point of view and cultural backgrounds. Gary Crew successfully explores the themes of conflict and understanding between the two boys by emphasising on the themes of friendship, racism, social exclusion, racial discrimination and family problems through the story of Tony and Joe.

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