Quotes/themes

Question 1

1. Oppression/great loss and suffering governed indigenous people during the 1950s. (COLONISATION)

Answer 1

1. “Gladys: if they’d given us better houses… But hessian! Like a band-aid over a sore” = Gladys highlights the mistreatment of Aboriginals through the symbolism of the hessian and the simile which implies that the Indigenous community are an unwanted element of Australian society. “THE QUEEN’S VISIT” Real “radio is heard featuring a description of the Queen’s 1954 Royal Tour of Australia”. Used to immerse readers in the real setting during the time to enhance Harrison’s purpose of the play further. (RACISM + SEGREGATION)
2. “Nan Dear: (bitter, half to herself) They forced us to leave. Forced us to leave. Our home.” = The inclusive pronoun ‘our’ highlights the Indigenous belonging to their land and they in which the government disrespected that relationship = alluded to by Nan Dear, where the Aboriginal Protection Act of 1909 had placed the Aboriginal community under strict control with the excuse of ‘protecting’ and taking care of them. Paternalism, describes an infantilising view of Indigenous people as incapable of looking after themselves and thus needing the protection of white people or the government. (PATERNALISM)
3. The Rent Collector and Inspector are perhaps the most obvious embodiments of assimilationist values, and are both represented as threats to the Dears family; specifically, they always appear as a threat to the children (first Dolly, and then Dolly’s child), as the playwright alludes to the history of the Stolen Generation, one of the greatest consequences of assimilation policies between the 1800s-1970s. Gladys’ rhetorical question, “why do we have to prove we can live like whitefellas, before we get the same opportunities?,” further illustrates how assimilation forced Indigenous people to leave behind their culture to reap the scarce rewards offered by white Australian society.
   (ASSIMILATION)

Question 2

2. Does have a positive message. (COLONISATION)

Answer 2

1. Despite being physically absent for much of the play Papa Dear, is a symbol of hope, resonating with the family, capturing the spirit of a generation of Aboriginal individuals striving for improved community conditions. “busy doing good work. God’s work and hard work,” = Harrison confirmed basing Papa Dear off of Pastor Douglas Nicholls who was the first non-white person to serve as the governor of an Australian state and advocated for the rights of the Australian Aboriginal peoples.
2. Gladys’ speech: encapsulates the desire for autonomy and the removal of systemic economic constraints. She “demands” basic rights and to no longer be at the “whim”, the “mercy”, or the “vagary” of white authorities. Historical connection to “William Cooper” whose petition was refused he too fought for the “undersigned… to be the equal of anyone”.
3. Dolly Nurse/scholarship: despite her doubts thinking “it’s silly” she began her path to success “on a scholarship and all” to becoming “Nurse Dolly”. My girl, a nurse! On a scholarship and all!

Question 3

3. Ultimately just expresses the complexities of the time. (Despite this resilience paves the way for change through survival). (COLONISATION)

Answer 3

1. Nan Dear’s resilience is not just a personal trait but serves as symbolic of her community’s endurance. Statements like “Born [by the Murray River] and by crikey I’m gunna go back and die there” demonstrate her strong will to return to her roots despite the adversity faced. This return, for her, is associated with embracing the simplicity and beauty of her origins, like having a feed of swan eggs before she passes, signifying a connection to her birthplace.
2. Symmetry of Act One: Despite their humpy continuously being left in ruins, leaving everything “sodden”, “devastated” and “destroyed” they remain resilient as they “rebuild” restoring it back to “clean and homely”. = “AFTERMATH” “WATERS RISING” “THE FLOOD” (pathetic fallacy/personification) (SYMMETRY ACT ONE).
3. Sound of bulldozers: destruction of the family’s autonomy and the erasure of cultural practices that have allowed the Aboriginal community to maintain a sense of identity despite ongoing colonisation. “It’ll be wonderful, you’ll see. Dolly’ll love it. Just love it.” = “then come up on the new housing. It’s concrete, small, white and featureless. It’s anything but lovable.” = “Not quite the ‘new deal’” = “I’ll make curtains.”

Question 4

Oppression + does have positive message

Answer 4

1. Oppression
   - Racism + segregation (queen’s visit “hessian” “band-aid over a sore”
   - Paternalism Protection Act infantilising “forced us to leave. our home” (Cummeragunja)
   - Assimilation (stolen generation) (could also connect to motif of white)
2. Does have positive message
   - Papa dear symbol of hope “busy doing good work. God’s work”
   - Gladys’ speech “demands” basic rights and to no longer be at the “whim”, the “mercy”, or the “vagary” of white authorities.
   - Dolly Nurse/scholarship: “it’s silly” she began her path to success “on a scholarship and all” to becoming “Nurse Dolly”.
3. Resilience paves the way for change (survival)
   - “Born [by the Murray River] and by crikey I’m gunna go back and die there” demonstrate her strong will to return to her roots despite the adversity faced.
   - Symmetry of act 1
   - S\ound of bulldozers (“love it” - not quite the “‘new deal’” - “ill make curtains”

Question 5

To what extent does ‘Rainbow’s End’ show that the character’s optimism is justified?

Answer 5

1. Optimism is not justified as it is not a concrete means to prevent cruelties from occurring.
   - Paternalism of authorities
   - Emphasis on the colour white
   - Bulldozers
2. It is justified as it paves the way for change by driving resilience.
   - I’ll make curtains
   - Symmetry of act 1
   - Die there (Murray river) connection to culture
3. Ultimately optimism is not a definitive solution to atrocities endured although it allows for the survival of First Nations which promotes positive change.
   - Papa dear symbol of hope “busy doing good work. God’s work”
   - Gladys’ speech “demands” basic rights and to no longer be at the “whim”, the “mercy”, or the “vagary” of white authorities.
   - Dolly Nurse/scholarship: “it’s silly” she began her path to success “on a scholarship and all” to becoming “Nurse Dolly”.

Question 6

Discuss the role of knowledge in the lives of the characters in Rainbow’s End.

Answer 6

1. Western Knowledge:
   - Encyclopedias (white knowledge thought to be objectively superior)
   - Diagram
   - Ignorance “birthplace of the nation” - “encyclops boy and he knows nothing” - “its like your family’s from a another country or something”
2. Cultural Knowledge:
   - Biyala
   - Community family being interconnected through their ways of knowing = white family seems to be a transient unit which one grows up from in order to form their own family, rather than a community which spans across generations. (not including “cousins”)
   - “ocular contusion” Pick-a-Box “you mean Ester’s”
3. Ultimately despite its origin knowledge acts as a tool for empowerment:
   - Encyclopedias = “nurse dolly”
   - Learning to read = “demand rights for indigenous
   - Symmetry of act 1 learning to use what they have “magazines” to strive for survival

Question 7

Knowledge (tree).

Answer 7

“Tree? You mean the biyala? Spirit tree branches hanging low over the river?” Nan Dear’s reference to the biyala contrasts with Dolly’s Western-style family tree diagram — a linear, rational approach to ancestry. The biyala represents a more organic, interconnected understanding of familial and cultural associations. In this way, the spirit tree becomes a motif of the Aboriginal connection to nature and community as opposed to the more individualistic Western notion of lineage.

Question 8

Gender roles/expectations (bad).

Answer 8

• Male gaze (disempowering) = Bank manager “very pretty face” shapes his perception of Dolly’s worth rather than her skills.
• Leon forcing himself on Dolly with the justification that Dolly seems like the kind of loose woman who encourages men’s advances. “shes no lady”
• Errols mum “funny ideas” “she wants to get a job” “too delicate to work”
• Errol = “knight in shining armour” who wants to give her a “better life” = stereotyping Dolly as a damsel in distress categorising her and her family as inferior due to their “address”.