Analysis of Aboriginal Representation in Australian Literature

This essay analyzes the representation of Aboriginals in literature, primarily focusing on Tim Winton's work, particularly "Island Home," and its reception. The essay discusses the historical context of Aboriginal representation, highlighting how they have often been depicted as uncivilized or in ster...Read More

Running head: ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
Aboriginals and their representation in Literature
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
“pity the poor immigrant,
Whose strength is spent in vain
Whose heaven is like Ironsides
………………………………………….
Who falls in love with wealth itself
And turns his back on me”
The above quoted lines of Bob Dylan from the movie “Joan Baez: How Sweet the
Sound” provides a pertinent account of the aboriginals of not only the nation of Australia but
at the same time of the other nations of the world. The history of the aboriginals, therefore,
often represents a history of dominance, oppression, violence, injustice, usurpation of the
rights of the individuals and other facts (Schuerholz 27: 32). In addition to these, the
aboriginals have even been deprived of their basic right of adequate or proper representation
in the historical records and it is generally seen that the few works that seeks to undertake a
representation of them provide inauthentic representation of them and show them as
uncivilized, witless and stupid people who needed the European colonizers and their carrying
out of the act of the “white man’s burden” not only for the process of their livelihood but at
the same time for the process of their very existence (Schuerholz 27: 32).
Tim Winton’s “Island Home” is one of the most popular literary works which seeks
to offer an insight into the lives of the aboriginal people of the nation of Australia (Winton).
The best part about the literary work is the fact that it has been written by an Australian
aboriginal author and the author in his own way tries to describe the way of life of the
aboriginal people and the values as well as the beliefs held by them. For the most part of the
literary Tim Winton talks about the places which have breathed life into his literary works.

2ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
This becomes apparent from the lines of Winton in the novel when he says that “Few
landscapes have been so deeply known. And fewer still have been so lightly inhabited”.
However, this work of Winton should not be confused as a memoir since the work also
dwells into important aspects of the way concepts of culture, language, colonialism and other
factors have shaped the lives of the Australian aboriginal people (Hanson). Thus, many
scholars view this literary work of Winton as a manifestation of the cultural as well as the life
practices of the aboriginal people rather than just being a personal memoir of one individual
aboriginal writer about the way the various landscapes of his nation has shaped his literary
works over the years (Turner, Fiske and Hodge). In other words, this particular work of
Winton can also be seen as a love song for his beloved nation Australia and at the same time
a cry to save his beloved nation which holds a special place in his heart. The work at the same
time also describes the way the recent developments have affected the lives of the aboriginal
people in the words “The gospel of perpetual economic growth carries in its train the
salvation promise of a life bigger and better for everyone……..Even so, many adherents
cleave stubbornly, fearfully to orthodoxy. I guess it's what they know”. The works of Winton
and the author himself in particular in the opinion of Lucashenko “sees the country he lives
in. He relates to the country of his birth very intimately, physically and emotionally and
spiritually as well”.
Melissa Lucashenko in her essay titled “I Pity the Poor Immigrant” praises the
manner in which the writer Winton has tried to portray the native land of Australia in his
literary work. Thus, she talks about the various positive aspects of the work like the attitude
of the author towards the various aboriginals and more particularly towards the nation of
Australia itself, the author’s knowledge about the native culture of the aboriginal people
(Lucashenko 1:10). Lucashenko is all praise for the manner in which the author Winton tries
to show that the entity of language is the factor which has united the aboriginal people of the

3ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
nation and in a way has enabled them to hold together their native culture, identity, practices
and other aspects which form an important part of their lives (Lucashenko 1:10). However,
Lucashenko, on the other hand, is also of the opinion that “On the evidence of Island Home,
Winton knows and love the land, but he does so as a beleaguered individualist”. Thus, in a
way it can be said that Lucashenko is troubled and at the same time not happy with the way
the aboriginal people are being represented by this particular literary work of Winton and as
for that matter the representation of the aboriginal people in the other literary works of the
other authors (Lucashenko 1:10). For example, the most pertinent question that her essay
raises about the nature of the aboriginal people after going through the literary work of
Winton and others is the fact that the “Who do these Aborigines serve?” and at a more deeper
level who actually are these aboriginal people (Lucashenko 1:10). Therefore, it would be
appropriate to say that although the essay praises the literary work of Winton yet at the same
time Lucashenko feels that the work at some level fails to provide an encompassing image of
the aboriginal people.
The representation of the aboriginal people in the literary works and for that matter in
other kinds of media has been a topic of much discussion as well as debate in the recent
times. It is significant to note that most of the portraits of the aboriginal people in the
traditional literary and other genres of work have been duped as redundant and obsolete and
the authors generally present the aboriginals as stereotypical characters having certain
character follies as well as foibles which become the major source of entertainment in the
concerned literary work (Hanson). For example, the majority of these works depict the
various aboriginal individuals as the servants of the white shinned settlers. However, the
literary work of Winton “Island Home” is different in this particular regard since instead of
banking on the foibles as well as follies of the aboriginal people for comic plot and the
success of the literary work he seeks to provide an authentic account of the aboriginal people

4ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
(Hanson). Thus, the literary work of Winton revolves around the concepts of culture as well
as the language of the aboriginal people and the way these two entities have been used by the
various aboriginal people to keep alive traditions and also to unite themselves. Lucashenko is
of the opinion that this is particularly the fact which makes the work of Winton stand out in
comparison to the other works on aboriginal people (Lucashenko 1:10). Thus, Winton takes
the help of the characters of Chapman and David for the process of the narration of the lives
of the aboriginal people and the factors which affect their lives the most. However, the entire
literary work of Winton makes it clear that although his work is different from the other
literary works on the same topic and in a way it tries to raise the status of the aboriginal
people yet at the same time the work seems to be providing a rosy image of the aboriginal
people and dwells only on the cultural as well as the linguistic aspects. The work fails to
make any reference to the important concepts of colonialism, intellectual property,
dominance, suppression and other factors which have impacted the lives of the aboriginal
people in a significant manner (Hanson). therefore, it would be apt to say that although the
representation of the aboriginal people provided by the author Winton is slightly better than
the portraits of the same aboriginal people given by the other authors yet at the same time the
portrait provided by him fails to give an all encompassing image. The people who are likely
to benefit from this particular representation given by the author Winton are the aboriginal
people since the literary work tries to show the aboriginal people in the positive light.
However, at the same time the work because of its lack of focus on the areas or the factors
which has affected the lives of the aboriginal people in the most significant manner removes
them from the reality of their own existence and tries to present a pseudo-real image of theirs
which is not completely accurate (Hanson). Thus, talking about the hardships faced by the
aboriginal people Lucashenko says that “Maybe if you’re not Aboriginal, wonderful things
turn up, but for us mob in the past two centuries things have turned up that are a lot less than

5ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
wonderful. Things have turned up that decided the planet would be better off without us.
Things turned up that kicked the heads off Aboriginal babies buried in the sand that Winton
waxes lyrical about”.
The literary work “Island Home” in a way represents the philosophy of reluctant
activism on the score of the way it intends to represent the aboriginals in the novel. For
example, the argument which is being used by the majority of the experts against the literary
work is the fact that the work is written in an all inclusive male voice and does not takes into
consideration the viewpoint of the female aboriginals who have formed an important part of
their society (Cowlishaw). The exclusion of the female voice or for that matter the female
gender itself renders the work in a way somewhat incomplete and thus the experts are of the
viewpoint that the literary work fails a provide a summative image of the aboriginal people.
Another argument which has been used against the literary work under discussion here is the
fact that the work speaks the aboriginal people of the present times in the language or the
metaphor of the past cultures as well as language (Cowlishaw). Thus, the work shows the
aboriginal people as the inheritors of the past cultures which they have inherited from their
ancestors and does not offer an insight into the present lives of the individuals which has been
shaped by the influx of modern culture of the nation of Australia and also the cultures of the
aboriginal peoples of the other nations of the world and their cultures. About this particular
aspect of the work of Winton, Lucashenko says that “although many are keen to preserve
what they see as the treasures of antiquity, they’re far less passionate about the sacred power
and ongoing cultural roles these sites retain for living people, fellow citizens whose lives only
make sense because of them”. The literary work fails to these factors into consideration and
thereby fails to provide a concrete account of the aboriginal peoples of the current times. In
addition to these, the literary work uses the metaphor of family to portray the symbolic link
which the aboriginal people shared with the human beings as well as the nature which they

6ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
idolized (Cowlishaw). This particular aspect becomes clear from the comment of Lucaskenko
when in the article “I Pity the Poor Immigrant” she says that “His writing is well known as
full of sand and saltwater; fishing and driving on bush tracks, and always family, family,
family. Winton explicitly claims a familial relation with Western Australian country—it’s on
the back of his book”. Furthermore, the scholar Robert Wood in his article “On Identity”
notes that the majority of the works of the aboriginal people including the works of Tim
Winton depict a land belonging to the aboriginal people which has not yet been touched by
the concept of modernism. Wood furthermore describes this land of the aboriginal people as
the place which sleeps as serenely as a child. Thus, the inconsistencies of the work can be
summed up in the comment of Lucashenko when she says that “By halfway through Island
Home, I was beginning to feel a bit seasick. I was being mentally thrown about by the
inconsistencies in Winton’s outlook”.
The final chapter of the literary work “Island Home”, which is called by the name of
“Paying Respect” can be seen as an expression of protest against the injustices which the
aboriginal people have been subjected to since the traditional times. The author does draws
the attention of the readers to various historical incidences like “the confected sanctification
of Anzac Day”, “the politics of nostalgic regression”, the “nationalistic death cult” and others
to show the kind of treatment that has been meted out to the aboriginal people and the way
they have shaped the lives of these people (Winton). Thus, in a way it can be said that Winton
in the ending pages of his literary work seems to be reinforcing the “death race trope”, a
phrase which is being commonly used by the present day individuals to describe the
aboriginal people (Winton). Lucashenko, on the other hand, in the major part of her article “I
Pity the Poor Immigrant” speaks about the songs and the dance customs used by the
aboriginals and also by Winton for the portrayal of these people in his literary work
(Lucashenko 1:10). Therefore, it would be apt to say that although this particular work of

7ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
Winton seeks to give a representation of the aboriginal people which in a way is different
from the stereotypical image of the aboriginal people given by the other authors yet at the
same time the image provided by him is a rosy one and fails to provide an accurate one.
To conclude, the representation of the aboriginal people have been a topic of much
critical debate since the traditional times. It is generally seen that the aboriginal people are
represented as stereotypical characters in the various kinds of literary as well as other media.
In the majority of these works they are mainly seen as servants and witless people who need
the support of the white people not only for their subsistence but at the same time for the
proper performance of their daily activities. However, the work of Tim Winton, namely,
“Island Home” intends to give an image of these people on the basis of their culture as well
as language. The work, however, fails to provide an accurate image of these people since they
do not take into consideration the factors of violence, dominance, suppression and other
factors which have shaped their lives in a significant manner.

8ABORIGINALS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
References
"On Identity By Robert Wood". Mascara Literary Review, 2018,
http://mascarareview.com/on-identity-by-robert-wood/. Accessed 22 June 2018.
Cowlishaw, Gillian. "Australian Aboriginal Studies: The Anthropologists Accounts." Sydney
Studies in Society and Culture 4 (2013).
Hanson, Jamie. "Tim Winton's Island Home Isn't Memoir, It's A Cultural Call To Arms". The
Guardian, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/13/tim-wintons-island-home-
isnt-memoir-its-a-cultural-call-to-arms. Accessed 22 June 2018.
Lucashenko, Melissa. "I Pity the Poor Immigrant." Journal of the Association for the Study of
Australian Literature 2017.1 (2017): 10.
Schuerholz, Hannah. "Bodies that speak: mediating female embodiment in Tim Winton's
fiction." Australian Literary Studies 27.2 (2012): 32.
Turner, Graeme, John Fiske, and Bob Hodge. Myths of Oz: reading Australian popular
culture. Routledge, 2016.
Winton, Tim. Island home: a landscape memoir. Pan Macmillan, 2016.