Effective poetic form and language serve as a multifaceted tool for expressing the intricacies of culture and identity, as it embodies collective histories, societal norms, and individual experiences, facilitating the exploration and negotiation of cultural identities, and the distinction of human existence. This invites audiences to engage in prolific understandings of cultural history and develop deep connections and levels of empathy that provoke individuals to appreciate and celebrate indigenous cultures. Ali Cobby Eckermann’s “Inside My Mother” captivates her readership through the complexities engaged by the Indigenous Australian community; and it is through powerful complexities entrapped in the form of notable lines of verse that we …show more content…
Verse texts situate audiences in a prolific understanding of personal identity, and the identity of a wider indigenous community through symbolic representations. Leaves is a moving poem that captures the personal experience of the protagonist’s entrapment in a positive life experience with her adoptive father that doesn’t insight the need for reconnection with the symbolic tree of her father; prompting us to recognise a difficulty arising from reconciliation as a native identity is perceived as foreign and invites a need for one to recant from aligning with their biological kin. The metaphor of ‘leaves’ in “I crawled and sat in his shade, he did not know me yet he gave me leaves” implies “leaves” of knowledge and wisdom, although there is a sense of lost connection and the unknown, the spirit of kinship prevalent in the Indigenous identity is still being shared. This illustrates the story being passed on from one First Nations person to another, revealing the bond and values of togetherness and unionism First Nations people harbour. As there is a disconnect between the two, the connection with the father is entirely dependent on the desires …show more content…
“Unearth” acts as a call to celebrate the cultural traditions of Australia's first peoples, affirming the richness of Australia's Aboriginal history, while challenging the prevailing practice of celebrating predominantly ‘white’ achievements in Australia. The imperative verb of ‘dig’ used in “Let's dig up the soil and excavate the past" actively calls upon the audience to reflect on Australia’s disconnected history in regards to its treatment of First Nations people, highlighting the origins of the current generation of First Nations people from the effects of colonisation, thus illustrating a stultification on the development and shaping of indigenous identity. The sensory imagery in “boomerangs rattle in unison”, dwells on the cultural tensions arising from centuries of conflict to signify the intergenerational trauma experienced by First Nations people, further demonstrating the struggle of indigenous communities enjoying a true sense of identity. Furthermore, “there is blood on the truth” encapsulates an intense reflection on the harsh realities and painful truths inherent in Indigenous Australian experiences, serving as an effective reminder of the violence, trauma, and injustices endured by Indigenous peoples throughout
In today’s society, many struggle to freely demonstrate their identity in fear of potential backlash and disapproval from others. While examining the two poems within this assignment, "sturgeon" as well as "the same as trees," I distinguished the overarching theme of identity crisis, and the inability for individuals to effectively express themselves. The first poem being analyzed is “the same as trees” by Nicola I. Campbell. As a member of the Métis community, Campbell’s life has not been simple. Often, people of Métis origin have difficulty navigating their European and Indigenous roots.
Hooper’s compelling and strategically written text paints an Australian context where a distinct racial divide separates the country; one where racism is rife and where white supremacy is rampant. Hooper urges the reader to accept that in the context of colonial Australia, Aboriginals faced such extreme oppression that they resorted to summoning spirits to doom their cruel white colonisers. She recounts a walk to a cave in Cape York, where she intentionally selects paintings depicting destructive images of white colonisers being “doomed”, highlighting the rifles which the white troopers brandished. The marginalised Aboriginals resigned to using “purri purri” (sorcery) against the police, which emphasises the idea that in this context, the Aboriginals felt so oppressed that they resorted to conjuring spirits for protection. Hooper describes a painting in which under a white man’s shirt, “he was reptilian”, and the adjective “reptilian” allows the audience to understand that in this context, the Aboriginals felt so threatened that they had to draw the trooper as a snake.
The Brechtian convention of juxtaposition is again successfully employed, between Sheppard’s happy and positive tone and the seriousness of the mission camps, generating a humorous effect. This amplifies the alienation of the audience, meaning they think more objectively about the missions and how this impacted aboriginal identity. Through this alienation the audience is forced to think about the dramatic meaning, regarding the impact that the first settlers had on the indigenous Australians and the need for acceptance. Thus, through the use of movement and juxtaposition to create humour the performance effectively enhances the impact that the first settlers have on changing aboriginal identity and how acceptance needs to be reached, for both indigenous and non-indigenous
As this poem characterizes the view of a native woman expressing feelings of passion relating to her culture, it also criticizes society, in particular Christianity, as the speaker is experiencing feelings of discontent with the outcome of residential schools. It does not directly criticize the faith, but through the use of a heavy native dialect and implications to the Christian faith it becomes simple to read the speakers emotions.
The Sapphires is a film based on the McCrae sisters, four Australian Aboriginal singers, and their journey to Vietnam to entertain American troops in 1968. In this paper we will use the film The Sapphires to critically discuss the work of Stuart Hall (1997), Aileen Moreton-Robinson (2015), and Judith Butler (2013) and see how these scholars might analyze its relationship to social identities and difference. In the ‘Spectacle of the Other,’ Hall presents the idea of the ‘other’ and the fear and anxiety it creates. While in ‘I Still Call Australia Home: Indigenous Belonging and Place in a White Post Colonizing Society,’ Moreton-Robinson argues that Anglo colonization continues suppress Aboriginals and dominate Australian institutions. In ‘For
Trauma, abuse, displacement, and feelings of alienation have, and is still plaguing the Aboriginal community. Author Eden Robinson and playwright Constance Lindsay Skinner address the displacement, mistreatment, and abuse the indigenous population has faced, and still faces, in Monkey Beach and Birthright. Both Eden Robinson's novel Monkey Beach, and playwright Constance Lindsay Skinner's Birthright deals with characters who are struggling with trauma and haunted with scars from the past. The authors detail these events and bring the reader into the “shoes” of the characters through characterization, imagery, dialogue, and through revealing intimate memories of the characters. These literary techniques enable the reader to see the parallel between the cyclical, ambiguous state of nature, and the ambiguity in humans and how there is a perpetuating, intergenerational cycle of violence caused by abuse and the mistreatment of the Aboriginal.
So, on Australia Day we often neglect the very different experience of Indigenous people whose land was invaded and cultural integrity stolen by ignorant ideologies of white supremacy. Their perspectives expressed through literature powerfully protests the silenced voices. From evaluation, Dawe’s Beggars’ Choice elicits a colloquial and relaxed mood, as the message is indirect and addressed in a satirical manner, while Sykes’s Ambrose is direct; its shorter sharper sentences underlining its provocative tone. Ultimately, this alters the mood of the poems even though both share the theme of the loss of tradition, depreciation of life and the social ramifications foisted on our indigenous people by their white
I began a study of autobiography and memoir writing several years ago. Recently I discovered two poets who believe that recording one’s place in history is integral to their art. Carol Muske and Joy Harjo are renowned poets who explore the intricacies of self in regards to cultural and historical place. Muske specifically addresses the poetics of women poets, while Harjo addresses the poetics of minority, specifically Native American, writers. Both poets emphasize the autobiographical nature of poetry. Muske and Harjo regard the self as integral to their art. In this representation of self, Muske and Harjo discuss the importance of truth-telling testimony and history in their poetics. Muske says, “…testimony exists to confront a world beyond the self and the drama of the self, even the world of silence—or the unanswerable…” (Muske 16).
Most times in life we don’t appreciate what we have, but in some rare cases people do appreciate what they have because they don’t realize that there is anything better. In the poem “I Grew Up” by Lenore Keeshig-Tobias that is exactly what she is trying to put forth to the readers. Lenore Keeshig-Tobias is describing her love towards the native reserves and all the great memories she had their as a child. Born in 1950 Wiarton, Ontario, she was the eldest of ten children and a member of the Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation on the Bruce Peninsula. Much of Keeshig-Tobias’ work draws upon the realities of native life and
The novel Through Black Spruce is an incredible book that shows the real truth and real life scenario of the First Nation community across Canada, it shows the real hardship and struggles the community faces every day and how they overcome it. The presence of the symbolism does give the novel a whole new meaning to it, the symbolism of beaver representing family and how they stick together, this shows Will bird a bush pilot in the novel, his struggles. The symbol of a bear portrays protection and love, proving once again the hardships the characters face throughout the novel and seeking for protection. While the symbol of Gosse represents seeking freedom, taking on a long journey, and seeking someone is what both of the main characters in the novel try to do. In the novel Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden, reveals to the reader that symbolism is a self-reflection of the character’s struggles’ and culture which helps the reader understand their own way of living.
The novel “Through Black Spruce”, written by Joseph Boyden, details life of Native Culture and the corruption within its society. Will Bird and his niece Annie Bird alter narrations every chapter telling their individual stories of their struggles to remain pure in Native culture. Both characters experience a detachment from their roots and must learn to rely on each other for the livelihood of their culture. All characters in the novel show negative effects of being impacted by the white culture, seen through the use of drugs and alcohol leading to isolation from the community. Through detailed analysis of both Will and Annie’s narrative, their connections to their Native roots seem to be vanishing and the need to integrate the traditional
This quote describes how Louise Halfe uses all four common elements of native literature in her writings. I have chosen to discuss two of the elements she frequently uses, Spirituality and Orality in relation to three of her poems: My Ledders, She Told Me and The Heat of my Grandmothers.
Connie Fife is a Saskatchewan, Cree poet who writes using her unique perspective, telling of her personal experiences and upbringing. This perspective is revealed to her audience through the poems “This is not a Metaphor”, “I Have Become so Many Mountains”, and “She Who Remembers” all of which present a direct relationship to her traditional background and culture (Rosen-Garten, Goldrick-Jones 1010). To show the relationship of her experiences through her poetry, Fife uses the form of dramatic monologue, as well as modern language and literal writing to display themes about racism presenting her traditional viewpoint to her audience.
Australian indigenous culture is the world’s oldest surviving culture, dating back sixty-thousand years. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have been represented in a myriad of ways through various channels such as poetry, articles, and images, in both fiction and non-fiction. Over the years, they have been portrayed as inferior, oppressed, isolated, principled and admirable. Three such texts that portray them in these ways are poems Circles and Squares and Grade One Primary by Ali Cobby Eckermann, James Packer slams booing; joins three cheers for footballer and the accompanying visual text and Heywire article Family is the most important thing to an islander by Richard Barba. Even though the texts are different as ….. is/are …., while
This essay is about the observation and analysis of the technique/composition of the performance of the performers on the video provided which is, a netball shooting video. Just for a beginning, in netball today, two basic shots are used which are, Australian high release and Caribbean shot. Netball has a unique style: the ball is released high and is usually released while shooter is stationary.