Australian Identity
Australian Identity
Mateship. Adventurous. Loyal. Free. Proud. These are the typical words Australians use to describe themselves, to identify themselves as different from the rest of the world. But who is an Australian? Someone that was born in Australia? Only people we choose to call Australian? People with great achievements that we choose to take credit for? Only people that love sport and vegemite? Or maybe only people with ‘Aussie’ accents? The Australian population is a proud one indeed, proud of their nation, their achievements and their own independent way of life, but sometimes us Aussies, forget about the rest of the world and all those other people that make us, who we are.
The poem, Australia by Ania Walwicz, is told through the persona’s eyes and depicts an immigrant’s judgement of Australia. The persona contrasts our nation to the country from whence they came, examining our way of life, our values, our opinions, behaviour and the appearance of our cities and towns, small amongst the vast space we have available to us. The persona relays their opinion in a negative tone, placing harsh judgement and scrutiny on what we, as a nation, are so proud of. The second text, Nobody calls me a wog, anymore by Komninos, is, once again, a poem but this time told through the opinion of an Australian with immigrant parents. Komninos, was born in Australia to Greek parents. His poem speaks of his struggle to find acceptance amongst Australia’s disapproving society. The last text, Native-Born by Eve Langley shows an Australian’s perspective on immigrants and their ignorance towards the death of culture and the ‘turning of a page’ in Australian history. The poem also represents immigrants, as a new beginning, an inevitable event that can only be accepted, not changed.
The tone of the poem or text helps to aide our understanding of the meaning and message written in between the lines. In Australia, the tone towards Australia and Australian’s is quite
Mateship. Adventurous. Loyal. Free. Proud. These are the typical words Australians use to describe themselves, to identify themselves as different from the rest of the world. But who is an Australian? Someone that was born in Australia? Only people we choose to call Australian? People with great achievements that we choose to take credit for? Only people that love sport and vegemite? Or maybe only people with ‘Aussie’ accents? The Australian population is a proud one indeed, proud of their nation, their achievements and their own independent way of life, but sometimes us Aussies, forget about the rest of the world and all those other people that make us, who we are.
The poem, Australia by Ania Walwicz, is told through the persona’s eyes and depicts an immigrant’s judgement of Australia. The persona contrasts our nation to the country from whence they came, examining our way of life, our values, our opinions, behaviour and the appearance of our cities and towns, small amongst the vast space we have available to us. The persona relays their opinion in a negative tone, placing harsh judgement and scrutiny on what we, as a nation, are so proud of. The second text, Nobody calls me a wog, anymore by Komninos, is, once again, a poem but this time told through the opinion of an Australian with immigrant parents. Komninos, was born in Australia to Greek parents. His poem speaks of his struggle to find acceptance amongst Australia’s disapproving society. The last text, Native-Born by Eve Langley shows an Australian’s perspective on immigrants and their ignorance towards the death of culture and the ‘turning of a page’ in Australian history. The poem also represents immigrants, as a new beginning, an inevitable event that can only be accepted, not changed.
The tone of the poem or text helps to aide our understanding of the meaning and message written in between the lines. In Australia, the tone towards Australia and Australian’s is quite