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Australia Day Analysis:
Recently the highly controversial date of Australia Day has been garnering much media attention after the decision by the Fremantle council to cease its celebrations on January 26th due to it being culturally insensitive. Supporters of having Australia Day on the 26th of January argue that it is merely a patriotic declaration of pride, whilst others condemn the date as a celebration of the massacre of a culture and its people.
In response to this issue, an opinion piece entitled ‘Australia Day - Celebration of the birth of a nation or a day of mourning for genocide?’ by Colleen Davis was published in The Fremantle Foghorn on the 26th of September. Using an proud and aggrieved tone, Davis compelled the residents of
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This can be seen when she opens her second paragraph, with her tone changing from pride to a more somber and regretful tone, which adds impact when she discusses how Australia Day ‘won’t be the same for my family’. This causes the statement to be emphatic, and the negative connotations that are implied by the tone shift enable the reader to see that Davis views the cancellation of the events as something to be lamented. Davis’s true stance on the issue is further reiterated when she discusses the ‘even lower blow’ of cancelling ‘our’ annual fire works, with the use of inclusive language encouraging the Fremantle residents to see that they personally are being affected, which makes the overall issue of the Australia Day date much more close to home. It further identifies how the residents are meant to have reacted to the cancellation of the fireworks, and positions them to feel that as they have been negatively affected by this one event, that they should oppose the changing of the date of Australia day completely. At this point in her piece, Davis counterbalances article by providing an expert opinion from the Mayor that supports changing the date of Australia Day. In this way, Davis builds up a cumulative effect of manipulating the opinions of her readers without expressly
December 11th is not a date many Australians want to remember. But why? Because Australians don't condone racism or because they don't accept it is a great part of their society and history?
In Stevie Cameron’s essay “Our Daughters, Ourselves,” she proclaims “ We tell our bright, shining girls that they can be anything: firefighters, doctors, policewoman, lawyers, scientists, soldiers, athletes, artists. What we don't tell them, yet, is how hard it will be. Maybe, we say to ourselves, by the time they’re older it will be easier for them than it was for us.” My parents raised my sisters and I very congruous with this view. They would always tell us that we could do or be anything we wanted when we got older. However, contrary to Cameron’s apprehension on the matter, my parents always told us how difficult it would be straight from the beginning. They told us how financially strenuous becoming a doctor would be. They told us how
Aboriginal soldiers returned to their country where they had no citizenship rights, controlled by the government policies which prevented them from living in towns, socialising with other Australians and voting. This is evident in phrases such as, “He returned to the outback, no mates did he find. If he had a beer he was jailed and then fined,” and, “Confused and alone he wandered around, Looking for work though none could be found. The Anzac marches he badly neglected, Would show to his comrades how he was rejected.” This informs the reader about how the Aboriginal soldiers did not receive the same benefits as the European soldiers did, even though they made the same sacrifices during the
Summary of Text: ‘The Redfern Address’ is a speech that was given to a crowd made up of mainly indigenous Australians at the official opening of the United Nations International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in Redfern Park, New South Wales. This text deals with many of the challenges that have been faced by Indigenous Australians over time, while prompting the audience to ask themselves, ‘How would I feel?’ Throughout the text, Keating challenges the views of history over time, outlines some of the outrageous crimes committed against the Indigenous community, and praises the indigenous people on their contribution to our nation, despite the way they have been treated.
Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy provides an insight into 1960s/70s Australia and helps reinforce common conceptions about Australian culture. One common conception Goldsworthy reinforces in this text is Australia’s increasing acceptance of multiculturalism. Maestro, set in the 1960s to 1970s, shows Australians growing more accepting and tolerant of other cultures. This shift in perspective was occurring near the end of the White Australia/Assimilation Policy, which was phased out in the late 1970s/early 1980s. An example of this shifted perspective in Maestro is Paul’s father’s opinion about living in Darwin:
I personally believe that Australia day should NOT be changed as, Australia Day is the official sthe arrival of the First Fleet of the 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788. However Australia Day for many Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people see as a day of sorrow and grieving.
“We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry. To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry. And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.”
However, what the Turnball supporters fail to recognise is that the days motives cannot be effectively celebrated by our first inhabitants on a date that coincides with pure heart ache. Hence, we need a day that still embodies these motives, however falls on a date that is also connected to this sense of unity we all desire. The first suggestion is a date that has recently appeared in the news, wattle day. The golden wattle is a symbol that has welcomed all of us over its 30 million year history, and also carries the colours that we have effectively branded as our own…the green and gold. Hence, wattle day can effectively celebrate our land, our people and of course our nation, therefore solving the conflict and sadness that surrounds our current date. Another alternative could be federation day, the day that our 6 British self-governing colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Maybe even the day that the White Australia Policy was created….a day that abolished all forms of racism in our country and also embraced diversity. Finally, the day that the Australia Act was formed, a day that terminated the British control of Australian legislature. It is true, as some argue, alternative dates will have their faults and draw criticism, however that is no reason not to consider new dates. Whatever criticism there is of the alternatives they will not attract the criticism of being based on race. The difference between these days and our current date is not in the values they celebrate, but rather the context of the values. The 26th of January is a date that coincides with the beginning of Aboriginal mistreatment, an embarrassing day for us as a nation. These supposed dates all celebrate events that have a positive connotation with our country and all of our
...at these several events in our nation’s history have demoralised our reputation to other countries globally. To make us known as a better country to other nations, we’ve completely abolished the White Australia Policy, gave back the aborigines their freedoms and we were also the first country in the world to give women rights. Australia today in present day is now one of the most multicultural societies on Earth, and we definitely follow our values of mateship, acceptance and freedom.
Anzac Day. On the 25th of April, 1915 Australian and New Zealand forces formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula. Anzac day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that commemorates the Australia New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) who served in all wars, battles and conflicts. Anzac day is an important day for many Australians and New Zealanders as it is a day where people take time to appreciate the soldiers who risked or gave their lives to represent and fight for our country in all the wars. Since Anzac day is celebrated so widely, there are many opinions that have developed over time. Some Australians and New Zealanders believe Anzac day shouldn’t be celebrated and others believe
In the first paragraph of Laurie Penny’s essay “What to do when you’re not the hero anymore” she tells the reader how she recently went to see the new Star Wars movie. To her surprise a female character, Rey, fought off a bad guy as an equal. Hollywood has incredible power in how messages are portrayed in books, TV shows, and movies. It is no secret that media representation normalizes the reality of white male power. Penny explores how it is becoming more common to see a women lead in books, movies, and TV shows, rather than the stereotypical male.
In the nineteenth century, the “History wars” became the fight between the most prominent historians revolving around the deception of frontier conflict between the labor and coalition. The debate aroused from the different interpretations of the violence that took place during the European colonization and to what degree. It became a crisis in history, emerging from the dispossession of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) that resulted in exclusion of their traditions and culture. The ATSI were the first people of Australia that brought along a different culture, language, kinship structures and a different way of life (Face the Facts, 2012). Post European colonization was a time where the ATSI people experienced disadvantage in the land they called home. With the paramount role as future educators, it demands proficient knowledge on the Australian history and one of the most influential moments in our history started from the first European settlers.
In its broadest sense ‘Reconciliation’ is the Australian term that refers to the unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. To support reconciliation means working to overcome the separation and inequality between all Australians (Australia, n.d.). In 1992, then Prime Minister Paul Keating, delivered the Redfern Park speech that publically acknowledged European soldiers were responsible for many crimes against Indigenous communities, "We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice (Government, 1992)." Since 1993, Reconciliation Week is a national event that celebrates a positive and respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It enables all Australians to close the gaps, and to achieve a shared sense of fairness and justice. The ultimate goal of the week is to build a strong and trusting relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and other Australians, as a foundation for success and to enhance national wellbeing (Australia, n.d.). However, this advocacy for Indigenous rights and recognition was advanced be civil right activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s. One significant activist from this period and until her death in 1993 was Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Oodgeroo Noonuccal has significantly contributed to the civil rights of the Indigenous people in Australia due to her tireless campaigning to educate non-Indigenous Australians and enact political change that would not only recognize Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander people within the census but further understand their rich and diverse culture. Noonuccal’s contribution can be seen through her significa...
Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.
Australia is a very unique place, along with our multiculturalism there is also a strong heritage surrounding us. At first thought of Australian heritage we think about such landmarks as Uluru, The Sydney harbour bridge and The Sydney opera house, The Great Barrier reef and other internationally recognised places. But our heritage goes much deeper than that; it is far more than outstanding icons. Along with these icons there are also unsung places like the old cattle stations, Aboriginal missions, migrant hostels, War memorials, our unique wetlands and the towns and cities we have built. Adding all of these things together, helps to tell the story of who we are and how we have shaped this land in the unique identity it has today.