Category: Australian Literature

Australia is NOT a Finished Product

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Summative Entry1 Comment

This unit has allowed me to deepen my originally very limited knowledge of Australian literature. These blogs encouraged me to analyse a variety of literary forms written throughout Australia’s complex historical and cultural context, thus resulting in a better understanding of my country’s history. In specific, studying the topic ‘Indigenous Australia’ evoked a deep sense of appreciation for Aboriginal literature and sympathy towards their experiences. However, despite my newfound appreciation for Australian literature, reading these works has also awakened me to realise that our country is flawed and essentially, an ‘unfinished product’. We must use past experiences to shape what our national identity will be.

The epiphany that Australia is not a finished product began with my first blog where I explored opaque and transparent poetry through an examination of Lisa Bellear’s ‘Woman of the Dreaming’ and Judith Wright’s ‘Niggers Leap, New England’. Wright draws attention to the exploitation that the Aboriginal people endured, whilst Bellear focuses on the crucial need for Aboriginal people to reclaim their ‘soul’ rather than focusing on their horrendous history. I found both these concepts interesting and applicable to a contemporary society as Wright forces us to acknowledge the problems in Australia’s history, and Bellear allows us to see how we can move forward from this in order to improve and redeem our incomplete country.

In my second blog, I decided to try something different and get creative by experimenting with writing a poetic stanza in the form of Banjo Paterson. I tried to mirror the style Paterson uses in ‘The Man From Snowy River’ through dialogue within the poem and the structure of my stanza. I also noticed how he talks about typically Australian concepts seen through his poem ‘Waltzing Matilda’, subsequently I talked about a personal experience I had hiking through the Australian bush with my cousins. I continued with this experiment in my third blog where I used ekphrastic writing to describe a John Glover painting. Both of these blogs inspired me to be creative and I realised that through writing my own poetry and prose, I was able to interpret these styles easier when doing the unit readings.

My fourth blog was a letter to Patrick White about my thoughts on his short story ‘Down at the Dumps’ which challenged me to be both creative and critical. I thought that his creation of Sarsaparilla incorporated a truthful insight into the state of our country. Characters embodied human tendencies to be shallow and caught up in matters that aren’t of import, such as reputation or materialism. Being caught up in these false ideals is unfortunately common in our society, proving that Australia is not a finished product. Therefore, other characters, like the Whalleys, represent qualities that our society should strive towards such as humility and optimism.

Finally, my fifth blog which I personally consider my best blog, unequivocally highlights the notion that Australia is not a finished product. I drew similarities between Both Eliza Dunlop’s ‘The Aboriginal Mother’ and Judith Wright’s ‘Rockface’ to show the racial differences and segregation that once occurred in our country, and how this is still prevalent despite being to a much lesser extent. I think that we as humans can always find ways to improve, and until we reach this full potential as a unity, Australia will remain an unfinished product.

Overall, Australian culture and identity is still being established. I think that our historical context needs to be recognised and learnt from before we can declare what it means to be Australian. There is no room for cultural segregation in a complete Australia, hence why it is such a prominent issue of concern in Australian literature.

Find similarities between two poems from the topic ‘Indigenous Australia’ and discuss why you think their teachings are still relevant today.

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Best Blog, Critical Blogs1 Comment

For my last blog I decided to go back to our first topic ‘Indigenous Australia’ and create a question that allowed me to analyse the writing from this time with great depth. Both Eliza Dunlop and Judith Wright wrote poetry that sympathises with the Aboriginal people and advocated their rights, despite being of European descent. I think this is a pivotal detail to note as it amplifies the need to overcome racial differences and support all people which is still a concept that needs further development in our modern society.

Eliza Dunlop’s poem ‘The Aboriginal Mother’ (1838) was written as a protest against the Myall Creek Massacre, thus making Dunlop one of the first Europeans to defend Aboriginal rights and appreciate their culture. This poem is a dramatic monologue of an Aboriginal mother trying to protect her child from the violence that Aboriginal people suffered due to the massacre, evoking an emotive response from readers as maternal instincts transcend cultural differences. This is made evident through, “now, hush thee – or the pale-faced men will hear thy piercing wail, and what would then thy mother’s tears or feeble strength avail!”. The exclamation highlights the persona’s desperation to hide from ‘pale-faced’ English men. Her maternal impulse to protect her child emphasises her humanity in order to condemn the mistreatment of Aboriginal people who are as equally human as white men. Another example of this that really resonated with me is the line “to bring thy people’s murder cry before the Christian’s God”. The religious allusion questions the morality of white people’s actions which do not align with their apparent religious beliefs. This critique of one’s morality is still crucial today as we continue to strive for justice and equality in a damaged society.

Dunlop’s empathy with the experiences of Aboriginal people is mirrored in Wright’s poem ‘Rockace’ through her acclaimed quote; “the mountain has its own meaning”. To me this line means that the mountain, symbolic of Aboriginal culture, obtains a quality that is valuable and should be preserved. This teaching is relevant today as discrimination, although to a lesser extent, still exists. Therefore, we need to allow for all cultures to co-exist, and to respect our differences rather than destroy another’s culture, metaphorically conveyed by Wright saying she does not want to “chisel things into new shapes”.

Overall, these two poets motivated me to seek change in our society that remains flawed. They both use the same context to establish a similar teaching about empathising with others and supporting cultural differences which is a concept that I believe needs to be reinvigorated.

A letter to Patrick White about my thoughts on ‘Down at the Dumps’

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Creative Blogs1 Comment

Dear Mr White,

I am writing this letter in regards to your short story, ‘Down at the Dumps’, as I have just read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. For this reason I would like to share some of my thoughts on your story.

First of all, I would like to commend you on your ability to create such an insightful piece of writing that is highly truthful and revolutionary. I think that the fictional Sydney suburb of Sarsaparilla is reflective of the mundane and superficial society in this present day and age containing people who are primarily focused on materialistic desires. This is exemplified through the juxtaposition of the characters Meg and Myrtle. For example, when Aunt Daise dies, Meg is in deep despair as opposed to Myrtle who is only concerned with what other people think of her. Myrtle embodies the shallow nature of humanity through her lack of empathy to the situation, but rather a care for reputation and appearance.

In my interpretation of your story, I gathered that there is a strong theme of prejudice and hierarchy between social classes. This is evident through the contrasting families, the Hogbens and the Whalleys. The Hogbens care about looking good to the rest of society, whereas the Whalleys focus on living a life that is exciting and happy. I think that people in a contemporary society can learn from the Whalleys humble outlook on life as this is what truly makes life an “extraordinary” experience.

I’d like to finish by thanking you for writing a short story that allowed me to recognise themes of materialism and prejudice that are not only evident in fiction, but especially in our society. I have realised the essentiality of looking beyond materialistic desires and focusing on appreciating the finer details in life.

Kind Regards,
Anna.

A photo of Patrick White

Take any single Australian painting that you saw at the gallery and write a description in prose – Ekphrastic Writing.

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Creative BlogsLeave a comment

Blue skies surround them, shining sunlight on their motherland that is one with them. The indigenous people desperately grasp onto every remaining aspect of the natural landscape. The refreshing water of the lake, glistening amid the green and brown grass. The trees tower over them, safeguarding them from the impending threat of intrusion. Long trumps of brown wood and leafy green hair populate the landscape, stretching so high, seemingly reaching for the sun to soak in her warm embrace. The people take comfort in the golden rays of sun on their skin and the fresh air in their lungs. They rely on the mountains that stand tall and large in the background to shelter them from any potential threat. Smoke from the fire they’ve created to cook their food and warm their hands, fades into the scattered puffs of misty grey clouds. The clouds are so faded as if they’re preparing to vanish into the wind, leaving nothing behind but the luminous sun to inhabit the pale blue sky. Under these skies, their surroundings are sublime. The sound of the beaming sun accompanied by euphonious nothingness brings serenity, knowing that this piece of land has yet to be polluted by loud men in peculiar clothing. Whilst the lake is overflowing with life and jubilance, they are aware that this tranquillity is only temporary. Simply waiting for the strange men to disturb more of what does not belong to them.

Glover, John. Natives on the Ouse River, Van Diemen’s Land. 1838

Write a stanza of a poem in the style of Banjo Paterson.

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Creative Blogs2 Comments

I gaze up at the sky, only to be met with the sun’s harsh stare,
“We’re lost!” I shout, but nobody listens, ignoring me and the cries of my aching feet,
I linger behind their stubborn footprints and hope, yet doubt, that we’re almost there
But when the moon rises and I’m proven right, the feeling is bittersweet.
The trees peer down at us, mocking our aimless walking
As we desperately try to remember our way back,
Beyond the sound of our childish squabbles, we are silenced by the euphony of water falling,
We smile at the waterfall and I can’t help but think, oh I’m so glad we lost our track.

Discuss what you think are the key differences and benefits of poetry that is “transparent” versus poetry that is “opaque”

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Critical Blogs1 Comment

In my second tutorial on Australian Literature, we were introduced to the concept of ‘transparent’ poetry as opposed to poetry that is ‘opaque’. Transparent poetry is much easier to comprehend as it is straightforward. We are able to gather the meaning behind transparent poetry relatively quickly as it is usually explicitly stated. This was evident when we read Lisa Bellear’s ‘Woman of the Dreaming’ which explores the notion of being unable to find the soul and our necessity to reclaim our spirit. The poem instantly addresses this idea as Bellear begins with “my sweet woman of the Dreaming, where is your soul, I need to surround your body with my spirit, the spirit of the embodiment of love, anger, pain…” elucidating how being open to emotions allow us to rediscover our spirit and soul. This message is further established throughout the rest of the poem, however, due to the transparency of Bellear’s writing, we were able to gather the meaning behind the poem within the first stanza. To contrast, Judith Wright’s poem, ‘Niggers Leap, New England’ was deliberately elusive and what we would call opaque poetry. Subsequently, I had to think a lot harder to gather what the poem was trying to convey. Wright brings attention to the exploitation and suffering that the Aboriginal people have faced through profound metaphoric and symbolic language. For example, “did we not know their blood channelled our rivers, and the black dust our crops ate was their dust?” refers to how the Aboriginal people were killed on the environment we eat and drink from, hence why she says that we eat their dust. Therefore, Wright’s poem is an explicit example of opaque poetry as we have to deconstruct the poem before we can be enlightened by it’s message.