The Secret River

divulge the way in which oppression is represented in the novel, and how language and plots are manipulated to shape the picture of oppression. The texts which we are going to be scrutinising today are ‘The Secret River’ and ‘The Flowers’. These two texts communicate with the reader relying on the cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs. Nevertheless, before digging into the novels, let us first study the definition of oppression. Oppression is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as, “a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom”. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “The ultimate…

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…

founded on the European coloniser’s stories alone. Excluding the Aboriginal voice and views of the colonisation of their land. Recent texts such as The Secret River, have been produced to disrupt this traditional ideology and contributed to the undermining of these traditional ideas of colonialism. These texts can be interpreted and read in a number of different ways. The Secret River, a postcolonial novel, by Kate Grenville, has a range of possible readings. One of the reading of Grenville’s…

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be reworked, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” The acknowledgement of history is vital in an individual’s progression to remedy past mistakes. “The Secret River” illustrates a narrative about 19th Century Australia, whilst simultaneously making comment on the treatment of Indigenous Australian’s at the time. The racist attitudes of the white settlers in the story can also be seen as the foundation of contemporary-day Australia’s…

The effectiveness of the representation of particular groups in texts is often the source of much conjecture. The stage drama, The Secret River, adapted by Andrew Bovell and set between September 1813 and April 1814, is moderately effective in representing the Dharug people’s perspective of land ownership, inter-race relationships and their own cultural values. Such perspectives are conveyed by Bovell’s use of dramatic conventions in order to humanise the Dharug perspective and add a dimension…

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…

Literature is powerful and influences people of all ages, backgrounds and life experiences. As an audience, we are placed in these stories, thinking and feeling with the characters and experiencing as they do. The novel The Secret River by Kate Grenville, James McAuley’s poem Because, and the 2011 film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, all present strong symbolism and imagery which exceed the test of time. Classic and canonical texts transcend time through the aesthetic qualities…

Andrew Bovell’s stage adaption of Kate Grenville’s award-winning novel, The Secret River is “a stunning, shattering piece of theatre that goes to the heart of our history”. Audiences are emotionally and mentally challenged with the uncompromising story of cruelty and tragedy, presented through Australian and Indigenous realism style. This was accomplished through the this through the powerful and complex character representation, creating difference from Grenville’s narrative to the show and…

their horrid ways". Gender – the representations of gender in these texts are overtly patriarchal, men are ruling society, women have little to no say. In The Secret River, Sal is transported with her convict husband despite not actually having committed the crime herself. Women have stereotypical, traditional gender roles such as cooking, cleaning, sewing and making clothes and raising the children. Will’s wife Sal is the voice of moral reason among the ruthless men. In Heart Of Darkness,…

Worldview and Privilege Essay The film The Secret River (2015) provides an insightful outlook and perspective on privilege, power, communication difficulties, and differing worldviews. The film provides a view on privilege and power through the depiction of Settlers and Indigenous custodians of Australia. It offers an intuitive outlook on land ownership, highlighting the varying attitudes and relationships each group has with the land and the concept of racial superiority. Differing cultures…