Grenville's The Secret River

Improved Essays
Show More
Grenville’s The Secret River resembles a form of historical interpretation that fictionalizes a point in history that is fraught with grief and indignation. The text exemplifies the different types of people of colonial Australia and their views towards the Indigenous people. By understanding the limitations history allows in exploring these views, Grenville was compelled to form her own interpretation of the past resulting in a fictional history of Australia. By undertaking this type of fiction Grenville was criticized in her work and her decisions were discussed regularly as to whether this combination in accurately represents history. Critics such as McKenna and Clendinnen explore Grenville’s work but are unable to conclude as to whether

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Who Owns The River?'
    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Who Owns The River?'

    In 1995, Robert Leo Heilman published his autobiography Overstory: Zero, and in his book there is a chapter named “Who Owns the River?”. Heilman uses a familiar tone to make his audience feel at home while reading his work, something that works exceptionally well for people who live in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, like Heilman did. A friendly atmosphere is made while reading Heilman’s chapter, something that is scarce in works of literature. Heilman also uses many strategic tactics to keep his chapter interesting and to keep his audience reading. In “Who Owns the River?”…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It
    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It

    In Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It, Norman seemingly does his best to help Paul escape a cycle of alcoholism and risky behavior. Norman continues to take Paul fishing in the hopes that Paul will change, yet in his heart, Norman believes “[he] could not help him” (Maclean, 6). This passage calls into question Norman’s method to getting through to Paul. In fear of overstepping his boundaries, Norman is never able to have a meaningful conversation with his brother in order to truly understand him. Instead, he is forced to make assumptions on what Paul wants; therefore, Norman assumes that fly-fishing is what Paul needs for his life to change.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Jasper Jones Quotes
    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jasper Jones Quotes

    Craig Silvey’s 2009 novel Jasper Jones presents the story of “a foal being born”; that is, it is the coming-of-age story of thirteen-year-old boy Charlie Bucktin. Set in 1965 in the fictional, rural mining town of Corrigan, Western Australia, it tells the story of Charlie’s development of morals and his recognition of the injustices of the world. It explores knowledge and its burdensome characteristics during his loss of innocence, and, additionally, delves into the idea of proving one’s self in the world; learning to stand up both for one’s self, and for what is right. In Jasper Jones, literary techniques, namely metaphors, personification and intertextuality, enable Silvey to illustrate the roles morality, knowledge and proving one’s self…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Abina And The Important Men
    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analysis Of Abina And The Important Men

    What the Meaning of the Word “Is” Is. Trevor Getz’s and Liz Clarke’s Abina and the Important Men takes place along the Gold Coast of Africa in the late 1870’s after the proscription of slavery in the British colonies. This graphic novel predominantly follows a court case in which the titular character Abina Mansah accuses Quamina Eddo of subjecting her to slavery. Through a misrepresentation of slavery and a misplaced sense of personhood, the court rules Eddo not guilty of the accusation of slavery. This decision not only exemplifies the era’s complacence with oppression, but also the ethically corrupted motivations underpinning British imperialism that would later influence racist policies in other Western countries and promote a false understanding genetics.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Henry Reynolds 'Why Weren' T We Told?
    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Henry Reynolds 'Why Weren' T We Told?

    Reynolds’ Why Weren’t We Told? laments the influence of a homogenous education system that preserves dominant discourses through the reinforcement of inherited racism towards Australian Aboriginals. Through Reynold’s extensive use of personal anecdotes that reinforce his participation in public education QUOTE? , he positions himself with his readers as a victim of systemic educational lapses. However, Reynolds laments the intentional proliferation of dominant views resulting from the Australian education system’s “innocence”, as his education created “Little awareness of Aborigines,” the inherent diction within “little awareness” highlights the marginalisation of Aboriginal Australians and ignorance of Australians to their plight as a result of homogenous education.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    The Secret River Chapter Summary
    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Secret River Chapter Summary

    A Review of the Secret River The Secret River is a sweeping story of the founding of Australia and the moral choices that created a nation. The novel is about William Thornhill, a poor Waterman from London, who is deported together with his family to New South Wale in 1806. The novel gives a vivid description of William’s first night in the convict settlement in Sydney. The state of conflict between the Aborigines and the settlers, which is the center of novel, is introduced when an Aboriginal man approaches William’s mud hut and yells at him ‘be off’.…

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Struggle In William Thornhill's Place
    • 2119 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Struggle In William Thornhill's Place

    Originally this colony was just another place for the Thornhill’s to struggle and make just enough to survive. William Thornhill had “been pulling an oar” his entire life and “it made little difference whether the water on which he did it was called the Thames of Sydney Cover” (Grenville 82). That swiftly changes for William Thornhill upon seeing what would eventually become Thornhill’s Place. As soon as he sets eyes on this particular piece of land a burning desire to own and possess consumes him; he becomes “intoxicated by the thought of owning land” (Pinto 194). This portion of land presented a new opportunity and a new beginning for him:…

    • 2119 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Indigenous Exceptionalism Analysis
    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Indigenous Exceptionalism Analysis

    This can coincide with Edward Said’s Orientalism but can further examine the notion of ‘revolt’ amongst Indigenous Australians. In the building campaign for constitutional recognition of Indigenous people, moving away from treating Indigenous people as a race must be replaced with the idea of ‘first peoples’. Problem not being race, but more racial discrimination. Indigenous people use self-determination; and express themselves according to their lineages and strong culture that connect them to places and ways of life that have existed long before colonisation. Additionally, by labelling an Indigenous Australians as a ‘race’ and determining laws around their way of life has only enhanced confusion of the Indigenous Identity within Australian society.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Ernest Hemingway's The Big Two-Hearted River
    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ernest Hemingway's The Big Two-Hearted River

    The conclusion of Nick’s development is shown in both parts of the short story, "The Big Two-Hearted River". These stories show the end result of Nick’s growth, but also show that he is still growing and trying to change into a better person. Nick chose to go camping and fishing to get his mind off the war and his life, but to also reflect on all the opportunities he’s given, the people he met, and the things he learned. Some of these include, Bugs, who had shown him to how to clean up his plate with bread, and Hopkins, who had told him how to make good coffee during the war. However, Nick made this coffee wrong, which shows that he still has learning to do (Hemingway 140-142).…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Stereotypes Of Aboriginal People
    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Stereotypes Of Aboriginal People

    Comparing some of Australia’s first definitions of aboriginal peoples, to the classifications used by countries all over the world, the audience can see that there are some overarching themes to these constructs. It is shown that aboriginal peoples were seen as ‘underdeveloped’, ‘backwards’ or ‘inferior’ than the colonisers which were concerned, in such representations as from…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    River Town Summary
    • 1643 Words
    • 7 Pages

    River Town Summary

    In River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze Peter Hessler chronicles his two-year stay in the Chinese city of Fuling, Sichuan province, as a Peace Corps volunteer, from 1996 to 1998. Fuling has stood on the banks of the Yangtze River for thousands of years, surrounded by mountains, in the center of Sichuan province. Hessler’s arrival in this place of continuity, however, coincides with a period of dramatic change. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam will flood parts of the city and drastically change life in Sichuan. While working as a teacher of English literature at Fuling Teachers College, Hessler witnesses how a group of students raised on the dogma of the Chinese Communist Party reacts to his American style of teaching and interprets Western classics such as Beowulf and the plays of William Shakespeare.…

    • 1643 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Edward Abbey's Down The River
    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Edward Abbey's Down The River

    In the excerpt from the passage “Down the River,” Edward Abbey ventures through Aravaipa Canyon in New Mexico, while writing of his adventure. Observing his surroundings and by comparing the nature to life, Abbey establishes an attitude of wonder while also being judgmental towards nature. The author had many attitudes towards the Canyon. One of his many attitudes included wonder.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Figurative Language In Walking The Boundaries
    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Figurative Language In Walking The Boundaries

    ‘The bush was something that was uniquely Australian and very different to the European landscapes familiar to many new immigrants. The bush was revered as a source of national ideals by the likes of Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. ’(Australian Government, n.d.). In the book walking the boundaries by Jackie French. French provides loads of adjectives, similes and metaphors to give the reader a insight of Martin’s journey around the boundaries of his great grandfather’s land.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Secret River Play Analysis
    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Secret River Play Analysis

    The Queensland Theatre Company’s famous Australian contemporary piece The Secret River was written by Andrew Bovell and directed by Neil Armfield. Adapted from the book, it can be viewed as a Gothic theatre piece through its use of conventions, setting and themes. The play follows the moral dilemma of the main character William Thornhill. Exemplifying the difficult adaption for both the European settlers and the aboriginal land owners. As both sides thought they were right, their actions justified, leading to a fight over land and ending with a massacre of the Indigenous people (played by Ningali Lawford).…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    In The Skin Of A Lion Michael Ondaatje Analysis
    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In The Skin Of A Lion Michael Ondaatje Analysis

    Many stories are told through the perspective of one omnipresent narrator, the perspective one character, or even an unreliable narrator. These styles emphasize the views and opinion of one character, one side of the story being told. In Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, Ondaatje uses an unconventional style of narration to tell the untold stories of the working class and immigrants who built the country, to give immigrants a voice they do not have in the past, and to recreate how certain memories have a major impact while some do not. Through this style, Ondaatje emphasizes the main topic of the novel, the perspective of immigrants and working class in the nineteen- thirties.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings