Preview

English the New True Anthem

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
721 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
English the New True Anthem
English essay – the new true anthem

The poem “The New True Anthem” by Kevin Gilbert acknowledges the fact that there is more then a single opinion of what has happened to the lives of people both English and native aboriginal, also what has happened to the beautiful land once home to many native aboriginal tribes all over the continent of Australia. It also says that people of English descendent say that they do love Australia while in fact they don’t and are treating it as a land of their own as if nothing was there before the time of their arrival, as they are treating the native Australians without respect and are not treating them as the original owners of the land but rather as slaves.

In the poem Kevin Gilbert states “the scared black bodies writhing” this means that the native aboriginal people who were of a darker colour were treated unfairly and were criticized although they were traditional owners of the land called “Australia” as Kevin gilbert quotes in the poem. It also suggests that they were beaten until close to death in pain and utmost discomfort in the worst way possible. It may also suggest that these native aboriginals are scarred for life by all of the horrors they have witnessed occurring to their home and families in this war for the land. This quote also shows alliteration to make sure you empathise and understand all the anger and pain that they went through.

The quote “Australia oh Australia you could stand tall and free” uses repetition to make the reader know that this sentence is important to Kevin gilbert in a way that expresses his need for people to know that the land of his heritage used to be strong and beautiful in so many ways but after the first fleet settled upon the continent they have caused destruction wherever they went by doing things like cutting down trees, polluting the river and etc. as this land used to be beautiful and plentiful in so many ways, as the aboriginal people used their surroundings in their

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    ‘Australian spirit’ is a term often thrown around when discussing relevant social matters such as the global refugee crisis, immigration and Aboriginal issues. To many, it is synonymous with the concept of ‘mateship’, a laidback, friendly attitude. The significance of proposing to introduce recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI peoples) into the Constitution is that it embodies the ‘Australian spirit’. The Constitution is the foundation of Australian society, as it determines laws which affect all citizens. If the Constitution cannot recognise the owners of the land in a document that is so effectual, then the validity of the ‘Australian spirit’ must be questioned.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    'A Righteous Day' written by Mudrooroo Nyroongah on 26TH January (Australia Day), in 1988, is a poem set in the first person voice that has been composed in response to the depressing day of the Bicentenary of European Settlement. As the "righteous" day is reflected by the persona, this contrasts with the 'White' Australians celebrating a "successful" colonisation in high-spirited ways, because to the Aborigines it is a day of mourning as they view it as Invasion day. The poem underlines the fact that despite the hardships Aborigines have experienced as a result of White Colonisation, it would be ideal if they shifted from prisoners of society to proactive citizens of Australia who will stand tall with pride and win their internal battles in the face of adversity.…

    • 1476 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Australia’s attitude towards the rights and freedoms of Aboriginals has changed drastically from 1920 to the present. It is evident that Australia has made a greater effort throughout the years, to bridge the gap between the rights and of Aboriginals and the rest of Australia. This has been improved by the implementation of different policies such as the Protection policy, Assimilation, Integration, Self Determination and Reconciliation.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem “I am Australian” relates to the concept of belonging to and national identity. Repetition of 'I Am Australian' reinforces this, imagery of the environment and creates a link between the nation and the self, and thus the person is intimately connected to the country. The Poem is about celebrating diversity in Australia, between the people and the land.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Australian Aborigines were the first people to live on the continent Australia, being here longer than the White Australians. During that time, the Aboriginal people made a special bond with the land and their kinship to their families. After the invasion of the Europeans settlers, laws were introduced to take away the land traditionally owned. Protectionism was one of the first policies meaning that Aborigines and the European settlers were separated and ‘protected’ for their own good. This was failing and that’s when assimilation was introduced which meant…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Be Good Little Migrants

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The poem shows the Asian culture of being small and the Australian culture being superior. For example, “We’ve given you opportunity for family reunion, equality, and status, though your colour could be wrong”. Justice is about fairness and equality and the Asian culture are definitely not receiving the justice they deserve. The migrants were spoken to in a condescending manner, expecting them to not understand what they meant. An example of this is the technique of repetition; for example, “Be Good, Little Migrants” is repeated at the beginning of every stanza, insinuating the fact that the Asians could not comprehend Australians rules. This was imposed upon them to teach them to follow Australia’s lifestyle, ways and traditions.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Invasion or Settlement

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In 1788 before the first fleet arrived there were over 500 Aboriginal tribes or nations in Australia all in which had efficient and sustainable systems for living off the land. They achieved a balanced diet by hunting and gathering, they moved seasonally between camps depending on food supplies, had very sophisticated social relationships and trading links across Australia. This was all taken away from them without notice by the British invaders. In 1770 captain cook declared Australia to be ‘terra nullius’ meaning ‘no man’s land’ or ‘land belonging to no-one’ so that he could claim Australia to Brittan. When the first fleet arrived in 1788 the aboriginal people had no idea what was going on and they believed the British people to be ‘ghosts’, because they had never seen white people before. The aboriginals were kind and friendly to the British because they thought they were just visitors, but little did they know that 200 years down the track those ‘ghosts’ would have taken over the whole country. Contact between the locals and the Europeans was disastrous for the Aboriginal people, they brought diseases such as smallpox, colds, the flu and measles, these were fatal as the indigenous Australians had no resistance to such introduced diseases, so therefore these diseases plagued native populations. The Brittan population that were living in Australia at the time would take whatever land they liked pushing away all the aboriginals using forceful weapons which the…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Australian Identity Essay

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Peter Porter was a British based Australian poet, who grew up in Australia then migrated to England in 1951. The poem “Sydney Cove, 1788” is mainly about the culture of Australia, presented through poetic techniques such as personification and imagery. Porter portrays Australia as a seemingly well-established country, involving aspects of religious devotion, working environment, and a civilized mindset within the society. Evidence of Religion is found in the poem where Port utilizes imagery such as “hymns it with a unison of feet” symbolize a religious devotion regarding the process of getting to know a foreign land. Evidence of Australia’s over developed working environment is shown when Porter states that even “Genocide or Jesus can’t work on this land” and “A convict selling a baby for a jug of rum”. This shows that Australia was a developed country and is currently on the decline, having working environments with and overload of tasks and has started to corrupt the minds of its members of society. This poem indicates the ideal mindset that the government wants from it’s citizens. This is shown where Porter Personifies the country…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the European invasion in 1788, Aboriginals have been treated poorly by the Australian government and have struggled to retain their rights and freedoms. Conflict emerged as the British colony expanded and Aboriginal land was taken from them. Due to conflict between the Aborigines and the British settlers, they were treated poorly and were refused rights and freedom. They were at risk under unfair industrial relations processes where they were not awarded equal pay, poor access to housing and reasonable living conditions, and on-going discrimination in Australian society. Overtime, aborigines contested leading to the change unequal government policies allowing them to obtain land rights, the reconciliation after issue with the stolen generation and the 1967 referendum which resulted with the inclusion of aborigines in the Australian constitution.…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    America is known to be a melting pot which indicates that citizens here are all creative and different. “Nearly everyone is the product of immigration. With the exception of those who can claim Native American ancestry, everyone else in America is the Product of foreigners” as said by Natally Kelly, a veteran translator. Possessing an official language in a large diversify country would affect everybody living in it.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The poem “The New True Anthem” by Kevin Gilbert acknowledges the fact that there is more then a single opinion of what has happened to the lives of people both English and native aboriginal, also what has happened to the beautiful land once home to many native aboriginal tribes all over the continent of Australia. It also says that people of English descendent say that they do love Australia while in fact they don’t and are treating it as a land of their own as if nothing was there before the time of their arrival, as they are treating the native Australians without respect and are not treating them as the original owners of the land but rather as slaves.…

    • 257 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the British declared Australia as ‘terra nullius’ it impacted the Indigenous Australians as land belonged to the Crown and they lost all rights to their land. It was unjust as they were the traditional owners and guardians of the land who were to use, preserve and celebrate the land for future generations. The traditional custodians were forced to lose their land and culture and many died to new diseases brought by the Europeans. The doctrine of terra nullius meant that in the eyes of the law Indigenous Australians did not exist as citizens.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine yourself walking into a classroom where everyone fluently speaks Spanish. As one walks into the room, one might feel intimidated, lost, confused, or worried. Walking into a room full of one’s classmates, not speaking the language everyone was taught in English class can be frightening. In my opinion, English should be the national language because all can learn the same language if one is committed to practicing, one is fully educated properly, and one is fully discipline.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Invictus Identity

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On the 26th of January, since 1788 we have celebrated the day that the Australian Settlement happened. As we Australians are celebrating this day that whites invaded this country, aboriginals mourn this day, the day that they had their country, land and home taken away from them. It is the day where they lost their rights to Australia the day they lost their families and homes. As aboriginals had lost everything they were forced to come to terms with their change of identity and where they had to belong. Before the Australian settlement they knew who they were and that they belonged in Australia, but because of the Australian settlement they were aware they needed to find somewhere else they belonged. In 2008 Kevin Rudd gave a speech apologising to all the aborigines who had lost their families and everything throughout the stolen generations, which admits to the fact that the aborigines had to change. Stan Grant gave a speech about how his mother and grandmother were affected, explaining that they had to change who they were because they realised that if they stayed and kept their old identity that they would never be accepted. Through this hard time of the aboriginals being stripped of their rights, homes and families they became aware that they needed to change their identity and where they belonged to be part of this…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Indeed, the importance of english is related to its contribution on the improvement of education which is valuable for people’s professional growth, and the creation of friendship networks between countries through the intercultural communication. All of that makes this language as an important tool for people all over the world.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays