Mother and Daughter Sally Morgan Themes Essay
Sally Morgan’s Mother and Daughter themes essay
In the novel My Place, Mother and Daughter, Sally Morgan gives an account of how racism can impact on one’s family and Identity. The consequences of removing children from their Aboriginal families made the threat of racism all the more real and devastating to not just a community but successive generations as well. These themes are portrayed through an account of Gladys, Daisy, Sally and the Drake-Brockmans.
Family was very important to members of Sally’s family especially to Daisy and Galdys. At the beginning of Gladys’ story, she constantly says things like “I often prayed to God to give me a family. I used to pretend I had a mother, and a father and brothers and sisters…” (p 31) The impact of losing her childhood made her yearn to belong to a proper family. Growing up in a mission made Gladys feel that she missed out on an opportunity to have a family. Her views changed when she had a family of her own and she says “…I couldn’t believe that I finally had a family of my own.”(p 61). Daisy also had a similar change in attitude when she had her own children. She remembered what it was like to be a child again and to live with her family before being taken away. These memories made Gladys and Daisy very protective over their families.
The Drake-Brockmans viewed the meaning of family differently to the way Sally’s family viewed it. Even though Gladys and Daisy were apart of their family they were kicked out of the house multiple times. Despite saying to Daisy “we’re a family now” she was never welcome to eat with them which led her to eat her dinner in the kitchen by herself. This gives of the imagery of loneliness and isolation which is what Daisy went through when she lived at the Drake-Brockmans. This attitude portrayed by Sally Morgan shows us that she believed that the Drake-Brockmans were overpowering and had exploited the fact that Daisy had no family.
Another theme that takes place in the novel is
In the novel My Place, Mother and Daughter, Sally Morgan gives an account of how racism can impact on one’s family and Identity. The consequences of removing children from their Aboriginal families made the threat of racism all the more real and devastating to not just a community but successive generations as well. These themes are portrayed through an account of Gladys, Daisy, Sally and the Drake-Brockmans.
Family was very important to members of Sally’s family especially to Daisy and Galdys. At the beginning of Gladys’ story, she constantly says things like “I often prayed to God to give me a family. I used to pretend I had a mother, and a father and brothers and sisters…” (p 31) The impact of losing her childhood made her yearn to belong to a proper family. Growing up in a mission made Gladys feel that she missed out on an opportunity to have a family. Her views changed when she had a family of her own and she says “…I couldn’t believe that I finally had a family of my own.”(p 61). Daisy also had a similar change in attitude when she had her own children. She remembered what it was like to be a child again and to live with her family before being taken away. These memories made Gladys and Daisy very protective over their families.
The Drake-Brockmans viewed the meaning of family differently to the way Sally’s family viewed it. Even though Gladys and Daisy were apart of their family they were kicked out of the house multiple times. Despite saying to Daisy “we’re a family now” she was never welcome to eat with them which led her to eat her dinner in the kitchen by herself. This gives of the imagery of loneliness and isolation which is what Daisy went through when she lived at the Drake-Brockmans. This attitude portrayed by Sally Morgan shows us that she believed that the Drake-Brockmans were overpowering and had exploited the fact that Daisy had no family.
Another theme that takes place in the novel is