Stolen - Essat
Stolen sample essay
Topic: “When’s my mum gunna come for me?” (Jimmy). Discuss the significance of at least three mother-child relationships in Stolen.
Jane Harrison’s powerful play Stolen follows the lives of five Aboriginal children who are removed from their families by the white authorities. Some of these children, like Jimmy and Ruby, never recover from the damage that being removed from their mothers caused. Other characters, such as Shirley, are traumatised by their experiences but find comfort when given the chance to reconnect with their families. Ultimately, each of the characters shows us that the relationship between mother and child is crucial to happiness, identity and a sense of well being.
Jimmy is a naughty boy who lacks the love of his mother. He is taken away from his mother and never given a chance to meet her again. He always hopes that he will meet her again but the matron at the children’s home tells him that "she’s dead" so he has to grow up without love and care. He has to struggle with a lot of obstacles alone such as mental abuse from white people – “dirty black bastard” - and he eventually becomes "a thug and a thief". Finally he found his mother but he didn’t get to meet her because she dies just before they meet. This situation made him decide to end his life by suicide and hope that he goes to the "same place" with his mother. He doesn't want to be separated from his mother anymore. This shows how significant the love from a mother to a child is. If he had lived with his mother, his life might not end up like this. (adapted from Cherry’s paragraph on Jimmy)
Like Jimmy, Ruby is irreparably damaged by being removed from her mother. From a young child in the home, to an adult working as a servant, she can be heard crying ‘Where are you?’ to her mother. Lacking a mother’s love and protection, she is abused in the children’s home and continues to be mentally, physically and sexually abused in her adult life: “Scrub for me
Topic: “When’s my mum gunna come for me?” (Jimmy). Discuss the significance of at least three mother-child relationships in Stolen.
Jane Harrison’s powerful play Stolen follows the lives of five Aboriginal children who are removed from their families by the white authorities. Some of these children, like Jimmy and Ruby, never recover from the damage that being removed from their mothers caused. Other characters, such as Shirley, are traumatised by their experiences but find comfort when given the chance to reconnect with their families. Ultimately, each of the characters shows us that the relationship between mother and child is crucial to happiness, identity and a sense of well being.
Jimmy is a naughty boy who lacks the love of his mother. He is taken away from his mother and never given a chance to meet her again. He always hopes that he will meet her again but the matron at the children’s home tells him that "she’s dead" so he has to grow up without love and care. He has to struggle with a lot of obstacles alone such as mental abuse from white people – “dirty black bastard” - and he eventually becomes "a thug and a thief". Finally he found his mother but he didn’t get to meet her because she dies just before they meet. This situation made him decide to end his life by suicide and hope that he goes to the "same place" with his mother. He doesn't want to be separated from his mother anymore. This shows how significant the love from a mother to a child is. If he had lived with his mother, his life might not end up like this. (adapted from Cherry’s paragraph on Jimmy)
Like Jimmy, Ruby is irreparably damaged by being removed from her mother. From a young child in the home, to an adult working as a servant, she can be heard crying ‘Where are you?’ to her mother. Lacking a mother’s love and protection, she is abused in the children’s home and continues to be mentally, physically and sexually abused in her adult life: “Scrub for me