The Secret River Analysis

The Secret River Extract - Oral Report

Introduction: There is one struggle in life that everybody, not only those in urban societies, but throughout history, has experienced. It is inevitable and the consequences are felt for generations. That struggle is known as conflict. The Secret River, a novel written by Australian author Kate Grenville, details the conflict between two incomparable societies. The dichotomy of the European and aboriginal cultures are foregrounded within Pages 90 – 92.

Body 1: Grenville’s incessant personification of the Aborigines’ appearance to match the land works to marginalize the nature of European culture, as “Humanising the landscape could be a way of showing the link between indigenous people and their
The juxtaposing cultural conceptions of ownership are foreshadowed by, “In the morning Scabby Bill could be found sleeping up against the wall as if he owned it.” Thornhill’s understanding is that this wall that a “naked black” man has “collapsed” across, is apart of his home, and therefor he holds all ownership. This may true, however to Scabby Bill, whose perceptions of ownership are not based around fences, walls or homes, this wall is simply a feature of the land he lives in, and therefore he has every right to sleep against it. Additionally, Scabby Bill’s perceptions of ownership are supported by, “later they always found him back again, leaning up against the wall.” It is evident that Scabby Bill persistently returns to the wall, and hence, never conforms to the European ideologies of ownership. Moreover, within the extract, Grenville marginalizes the Indigenous race whilst at the same time somewhat silences the culture of the European settlers. In doing so, Grenville manages to catalyse a balance in the struggle for power and dominance between the two races, even when the colonial Australians discourse leads a reader to believe they attain dominance and superiority. This notion is foregrounded through the negative connotations, metaphors and similes used to describe Scabby Bill, such as; “so black his skin swallowed the sunlight,” “hair frizzed as if singed.” Likewise, the tone of mockery used to marginalize the European culture is evident within, “a tattered ribbon hanging down over one ear, one hand closed around a silk fan gone to shreds.” Here Scabby Bill can be seen as copying the actions of a British woman with her materials. However the state of his “tattered” and “shred[ed]” items create a satirical tone and in turn suppress the European