Australian Society
Formative Task 1.2
Acceptance into Australian society has always been a struggle for marginalised groups such as Aboriginals and migrants. This has given Australian contemporary writers a voice to address the issue. An Aboriginal poet named Oodgeroo of the tribe Noonuccal wrote a poem titled “The Dispossessed” in which he talks about his struggles with the new multicultural Australian society. This is typified in this quote “Your tribes are broken vagrants now wherever whites abide, And justice of the white man means justice to you denied”. In this quote he talks about how aboriginal society has been destroyed and that aboriginals are being oppressed by the white man. The writer takes a clear stance on the issue and this is made evident in this quote, “Peace was yours, Australian man, with tribal laws you made, Till white Colonials stole your peace with rape and murder”. The poet does brilliantly to engage the reader by using compelling language and I have found a quote which I think justifies this “A dying race you linger on, degraded and oppressed, Outcasts in your own native land, you are the dispossessed.”
A migrant poet named Komninos addresses similar issues towards acceptance in his poem titled “Nobody calls me a wog anymore”. He voices his struggle for acceptance in the quote “I had to assert myself as an australian, as an artist stand up and scream it point the finger accusingly thump my fist demandingly assert my identity” He writes about having to assert himself to be accepted as an Australian. His point of view changes throughout the poem to one of being an outcast to being accepted into Australian society. The poem takes a turn when he writes “hey australia, i like you lots since you stopped calling me `me wog mate kevin' and started calling me `the australian poet, komninos!'” The poet uses engaging language to draw the reader and I think this is typified in the quote “yes, that's right, it's a greek name yes, that's
Acceptance into Australian society has always been a struggle for marginalised groups such as Aboriginals and migrants. This has given Australian contemporary writers a voice to address the issue. An Aboriginal poet named Oodgeroo of the tribe Noonuccal wrote a poem titled “The Dispossessed” in which he talks about his struggles with the new multicultural Australian society. This is typified in this quote “Your tribes are broken vagrants now wherever whites abide, And justice of the white man means justice to you denied”. In this quote he talks about how aboriginal society has been destroyed and that aboriginals are being oppressed by the white man. The writer takes a clear stance on the issue and this is made evident in this quote, “Peace was yours, Australian man, with tribal laws you made, Till white Colonials stole your peace with rape and murder”. The poet does brilliantly to engage the reader by using compelling language and I have found a quote which I think justifies this “A dying race you linger on, degraded and oppressed, Outcasts in your own native land, you are the dispossessed.”
A migrant poet named Komninos addresses similar issues towards acceptance in his poem titled “Nobody calls me a wog anymore”. He voices his struggle for acceptance in the quote “I had to assert myself as an australian, as an artist stand up and scream it point the finger accusingly thump my fist demandingly assert my identity” He writes about having to assert himself to be accepted as an Australian. His point of view changes throughout the poem to one of being an outcast to being accepted into Australian society. The poem takes a turn when he writes “hey australia, i like you lots since you stopped calling me `me wog mate kevin' and started calling me `the australian poet, komninos!'” The poet uses engaging language to draw the reader and I think this is typified in the quote “yes, that's right, it's a greek name yes, that's