Australian Identity Essay

To what extent has your study of Australian poetry challenged your understanding of Australian identity?

My understanding of Australian identity is that we are a collection of migrants on a global scale who came together to form one nation, and that the people of Australian origin, meaning the aboriginals, have lost complete control of their nation due to this factor. I have lived in Australia for a year, through this time period, I have perceived it as a welcoming place, and a civilized country that acquires a well-balanced society. But after studying a range of Australian poems, I broadened my knowledge of how Australia is viewed by different types of people, by decoding their thoughts and opinions through their works of poetry.

The
poem “Ungrateful Mirant” by Ouyang Yu challenged my understanding of Australia being a welcoming country. Ouyang Yu is of Chinese descent, who moved to Sydney in 1991. The poem “Ungrateful Migrant” is about how Yu perceives what Australia is, with the identity of a migrant with peculiar culture and background in the context of complaining to the country directly, by addressing Australia as “you”. Yu perceives Australia as an unwelcoming country with unachievable expectations for its migrants. An example of Australia being an unwelcoming society is when Yu states that Australia “expects me to be integrated into mainstream”, “expect me to speak English”, and although he becomes a citizen, it isn’t to “strengthen your national identity as you like to think”. This shows that in Yu’s perspective, Australians expects its migrants to be one of their own. Evidence of this is shown when Yu claimed that Australians had a hidden message for people of his race “We don’t want you f*cking Asians, PERIOD!” This leads to a general idea of Australians not wanting immigrants coming into their country unless they are mainstream. This creates a great sense of irony because the majority of Australia’s population in consisted of immigrants, and although I am of Asian origin myself, I received the exact opposite experience of Yu.

The poem “Sydney cove, 1788” by Peter Porter challenged my understanding of Australia being a consistently civilized nation.
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
where
“The governor says we musn’t land a man
Or woman with gonorrhea. Sound felons only
May leave their bodies in a hangman’s land”,
Indicating that the government wants pure minds in its society, and that the corrupt are not welcome. Another example of how civilized Australians are is shown where Porter claims that “A seaman who tried to lie with a native girl”, showing us another example of uncivilized behavior regarding Australians. This also creates a dramatic sense of irony along with the occurrence of a convict selling a baby for a jug of rum still exists within this very society, in which the government demand a completely pure society. This challenged my understanding of Australia being a civilized country. Though I have not witnessed any major dysfunctions in Australian society, Porter has shifted my views into predicting that Australia is a prominent nation nearing the edge of a cliff.

After studying Australian poetry, my views on Australian identity has changed from it being a welcoming place, and a civilized country that acquires a well-balanced society, to a discriminative and racist society in some occasions, and a seemingly civilized country filled with flaws and corruption. Through studying this unit, I think it is evident that poetry, especially in Australia is frequently used as a form of expression towards the poet’s insecurities or complaints about a particular topic.