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An essay on the use of language
Indigenous viewpoint essay
Indigenous viewpoint essay
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The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan is a simple but revealing picture book that satirically depicts the historical tragedy of the past aboriginals during the first and last settlement of the Europeans and ridiculing the Europeans behaviour using animal illustrations. The book is set in an indigenous point of view with the specific use of words and illustrations, as the story is told and viewed by the unexpected arrival of an unknown species called “The Rabbits.” This gives the readers an insight of what the story will be about and by using such illustrations that portrays the two as animals will position the readers into showing the emotions felt by the indigenous and the destructive prowess of the Europeans. The illustration of the book shows a vivid colour of the land with the array of indigenous symbols, but changed slowly as the arrival of the rabbits with is culture manifested in the land of the numbats. This gave the readers a sense of realism into the story as the destruction on the homes of the indigenous species has been clearly defined, illustrating not only the sorrow of the people but the …show more content…
Although the author’s words are simple, they create a mood into the illustrations that truly emphasise the emotion of the indigenous point of view. Viewers can than feel more of what they can see, an example of this is when the authors used different sized text in “stole our children.” This text with the illustration can truly create an effect on the way it is read and viewed by, making viewers feel empathy as the size of each words shrinks defining the children’s positon as they get further away from their parent. This attains the Europeans guilt on the choices they had made as the story is seen in the indigenous point of view on how they suffered due to the past horrendous choices made by the Europeans at that
Eckermann’s poem, ‘Ngingali’, conveys an Aboriginal link to the land and Country. Furthermore, Eckermann utilises the simile through the line, “my mother is a granite boulder”. This demonstrates that the connection to the land and Country as well as it being hard to shift. Eckermann using narrative perspective through “my mother” appears deeply personal and further depicts an Aboriginal connection to the Country. Additionally, through the line, “gulls nestle in her eyes” Eckermann conveys the utilisation of both, metaphor as well as imagery
In the book Bad Indians, Miranda talks about the many issues Indigenous People go through. Miranda talks about the struggles Indigenous people go through; however, she talks about them in the perspective of Native Americans. Many people learn about Indigenous People through classrooms and textbooks, in the perspective of White people. In Bad Indians, Miranda uses different literary devices to show her perspective of the way Indigenous People were treated, the issues that arose from missionization, as well as the violence that followed through such issues. Bad Indians is an excellent example that shows how different history is told in different perspectives.
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.
Malouf effectively uses images to reinforce attitudes, feelings and emotions. Though the descriptions are long and detailed, they are worthwhile and evocative. Many of the descriptions are symbolic, such as the descriptions of the garden. Malouf’s use of language is casual, which enhances the story, causing it to come alive. Through Malouf’s descriptions of each house he creates an atmosphere to reflect the characters’ feelings.
different styles of imagery and the diction, can change the way the reader interprets the
In Art Spiegelman’s comic series, MAUS, each race in the storyline is analogously depicted as a different animal. This essay will explore the various benefits, drawbacks and their counteractions, that are confounded with author’s choice of this illustration. It can be argued that choosing animals to represent humans, in an event as complex as the Shoah, dehumanizes victims even more. Humans conventionally see species of animals as collective entities rather than individual beings. Thus, by representing all the Jewish people as one type of animal, the reader might unconsciously generalize all the victims’ sufferings and discourses into one coherent image, in order to make sense of things. On the other hand, depicting each race as a certain animal
This book is appropriate for three-to-five years of age children as the story is very engaging and children are exposed to the Aboriginal culture. The book is illustrated in oil paint in impressionism and the whole story is in double-page illustration, which shows the landscape of Cape York and Aboriginal people. The pictures use vibrant colours including forest green and many shades of brown and the kangaroos and the snake people have red eyes. Educators can guide children to discuss the information in the image which can help children to understand how these details support meaning construction (Spence, 2004). For example, educators can tell children that the kangaroos and snake people who have red eyes reveal that they are evil, so that children can understand that adding more details in both writing and speaking can provide more information for audiences and the explicit language is very effective in constructing the meaning. Educators can use toy snakes and toy kangaroos and other materials to retell the story with children or make a small display that shows part of the
In this poem called “Creatures” by the author Billy Collins there are three examples of figurative language helps convey the meaning that the author Billy Collins is conveying. The three examples of figurative language that the author Billy Collins uses are a metaphor, enjambment, and imagery. These three examples of figurative language help illustrate Billy Collins” theme in this poem called “Creatures” that he is writing because these three examples of figurative language help emphasize the theme of the poem. These three examples help emphasize this poem called “Creatures” meaning because it makes the theme of this poem have a deeper meaning. The theme of the author Billy Collins poem called “Creatures” is that the reader has to imagine
What Yuxweluptun meant by “Its not a pretty picture” the history of the First Nations people the impact of historical traumas: colonialism, racism, genocide, government laws and other issues: environmental [clear cutting, global warming, water pollution and oil industry] facing the First Nations. (L. P. Yuxweluptun Introductory Video) Throughout his career Yuxweluptun has painted the reality of the discourse of the First Nations People within the dominant culture (Watson 881). By using art as a way to start the conversation or addressing difficult issues as well as a way to visually express your opinion Yuxweluptun blends the traditional form line with vivid colors makes it palatable (L. P. Yuxweluptun). Contemporary Northwest Coast artists such as Sonny Assu, Nicholas Galanin and Lyle Wilson use their personal experience, tribal identity and how the dominant culture impact them for inspiration and the means to ground them while expressing themselves through the multitude of art genres.
In “The Truth about Stories”, Thomas King, demonstrate connection between the Native storytelling and the authentic world. He examines various themes in the stories such as; oppression, racism, identity and discrimination. He uses the creational stories and implies in to the world today and points out the racism and identity issues the Native people went through and are going through. The surroundings shape individuals’ life and a story plays vital roles. How one tells a story has huge impact on the listeners and readers. King uses sarcastic tone as he tells the current stories of Native people and his experiences. He points out to the events and incidents such as the government apologizing for the colonialism, however, words remains as they are and are not exchanged for actions. King continuously alerts the reader about taking actions towards change as people tend to be ignorant of what is going around them. At the end people give a simple reason that they were not aware of it. Thus, the author constantly reminds the readers that now they are aware of the issue so they do not have any reason to be ignorant.
Composers show how confronting and meaningful discoveries can be through how their characters and settings of their works are depicted. I agree with this statement, because the discoveries made within a text by the audience are there to piece together the picture of which is the texts underlying motive. Examples of this can be seen in the texts ‘Rainbow’s End’ a play by Jane Harrison and the children’s book ‘The Rabbits’ by John Marsden and Shaun Tan. ‘Rainbow’s End’ follows a family of three Aboriginal Australian females; Gladys - single mother trying to support her daughter and help her succeed in life, Nan Dear – Gladys’s mother and Dolly – Gladys’s teenage daughter, showing the struggles that they as an Aboriginal family face in a Anglo-dominant, 1950’s Australian society. ‘The Rabbits’ is an allegory, or retelling, of the British colonisation of Australia, with the British being represented by rabbits and the Indigenous Australians being represented by numbats, an endangered Australian native animal. Both of these texts display themes of discrimination and assimilation towards aboriginals, giving us the chance to discover and understand their struggles.
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
Our American identity as we know it is a product of our past. How literature which reveals how we arrived at our society and culture today. Native American literature out of a respect for the indigenous cultures who were here before the European explorers as well as a respect for their cultural and literary influence throughout the years. In “ The Sky Tree” retold by Joseph Bruchac and “Coyote Finishes His Work” retold by Barry Lopez uses archetypes and figurative language to illustrates how Native American literature is, particular to tribal people, how the power of language could heal and guide, but it is also, like all American literature, in finding out what it means to be American.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Voices in the Park were published at either end of the twentieth century, a period which witnessed the creation of the modern picturebook for children. They are both extremely prestigious examples of picturebooks of their type, the one very traditional, the other surrealist and postmodern. The definition of ‘picturebook’ used here is Bader’s: ‘an art form [which] hinges on the interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two facing pages, and on the drama of the turning of the page’ (Bader, quoted in Montgomery, 2009, p. 211). In contrast with a simple illustrated book, the picturebook can use all of the technology available to it to produce an indistinguishable whole, the meaning and value of which is dependent on the interplay between all or any of these aspects. Moebius’s claim that they can ‘portray the intangible and invisible[…], ideas that escape easy definition in pictures or words’ is particularly relevant to these two works. Potter’s book is, beneath its didactic Victorian narrative, remarkably subtle and subversive in its attitudes towards childhood, and its message to its child readers. Browne’s Voices in the Park, on the other hand, dispenses with any textual narrative; by his use of the devices of postmodernism, visual intertextuality and metaphor, he creates a work of infinite interpretation, in which the active involvement of the reader is key.