Municipal Gum was written by Kath Walker in 1960. Municipal Gum is about the changes in society and the tendency of people to want to control everything. Kath Walker uses various techniques to convey this idea.
At the beginning of the poem Kath Walker is addressing the tree. This immediately creates empathy for both the tree and her people. By the last line she has emphasised this with the pronoun “us” to show that they suffer a similar fate.
Juxtaposition and personification are used in the first two lines of the poem. “Gumtree in the city street, Hard Bitumen around your feet”. The use of these techniques immediately gives the impression that the author is disapproving of the concept. The idea that a gumtree is in the city is, although not unheard of, the traditional …show more content…
One of the vast differences between European and Aboriginal law is that Aboriginal people did not believe in the ownership of land or of animals and plants. Municipal Gum is a reference to the Europeans assumptions that everything is theirs to own and control. Kath Walker disagrees.
The rhetorical question, “O fellow citizen, What have they done to us?” is the conclusion of the implications that have been made throughout the poem. Kath Walker, is advocating for her people and all things wronged by the controlling behaviour of the Europeans. Rhetorical questions are used to provoke thought and to stimulate a pre-determined response. “What have they done to us?” They have “castrated, broken… strapped and buckled” and ultimately changed things to a point that they cannot be fixed.
In conclusion, Municipal Gum is a poem about the constrictions and change that the European invaders forced upon the Aboriginal community and the environment. Kath Walker, believes that the Europeans have deemed themselves ever powerful and practice their power in a manner that is
At the beginning of the poem Kath Walker is addressing the tree. This immediately creates empathy for both the tree and her people. By the last line she has emphasised this with the pronoun “us” to show that they suffer a similar fate.
Juxtaposition and personification are used in the first two lines of the poem. “Gumtree in the city street, Hard Bitumen around your feet”. The use of these techniques immediately gives the impression that the author is disapproving of the concept. The idea that a gumtree is in the city is, although not unheard of, the traditional …show more content…
One of the vast differences between European and Aboriginal law is that Aboriginal people did not believe in the ownership of land or of animals and plants. Municipal Gum is a reference to the Europeans assumptions that everything is theirs to own and control. Kath Walker disagrees.
The rhetorical question, “O fellow citizen, What have they done to us?” is the conclusion of the implications that have been made throughout the poem. Kath Walker, is advocating for her people and all things wronged by the controlling behaviour of the Europeans. Rhetorical questions are used to provoke thought and to stimulate a pre-determined response. “What have they done to us?” They have “castrated, broken… strapped and buckled” and ultimately changed things to a point that they cannot be fixed.
In conclusion, Municipal Gum is a poem about the constrictions and change that the European invaders forced upon the Aboriginal community and the environment. Kath Walker, believes that the Europeans have deemed themselves ever powerful and practice their power in a manner that is