Remembering Babylon Essay with feedback
Charis Bakirtzis
Mr. Poulus
English 11
17/1/2020
David Malouf – Remembering Babylon
Prejudiced Racism and being viewed as “other”
The concerning issues around racist prejudice and being viewed as "other", are portrayed by David Malouf in his best-selling (delete) book, Remembering Babylon. (here you must introduce the book, like a brief synopsis). More specifically, it is displayed in the very beginning of the book, during the iconic scene where (briefly introduced the characters – you only need a phrase or sentence for each) Lachlan and the two girls find Gemmy sitting on a fence. The author makes use of word choice and emotive language in the small dialogue between Lachlan and Gemmy, as well as in the Narrative voice, in order to draw attention to the issue of mistreating minorities.
This concept is a major one in the book and it is not only present in this scene but also throughout the entire text. For instance, in chapter 7, as the narrative point of view switches to (introduce him – who he is, what he does – role or persona) Barney, the reader finds out that “…[he]… was forever… looking for signs of trespass; except… the trespass might be no more than a shadow on [his] thoughts, and how could you deal with that?” For context, Barney never trusted Gemmy and the rest of the Aboriginal Australians, because he viewed the as “others”, people who were different than what he had seen before (re-word). But even the narrator adds that this distrust is nothing but an illusion, and also admits that it is hard for someone like Barney to realize that. The presence of racist prejudice in the book grows stronger with the introduction of new characters. Barney is one of those characters that remind the reader about the xenophobia settlers have towards the natives. Another event in the book related to the theme is when Gemmy is dragged into the woods and get beaten up by some settlers. The shifting point of view between Gemmy and Jock in that scene gives more importance to the event itself, as well as the message it’s sending about the theme of racial intolerance. Briefly, the view of Aboriginal Australians by the settlers as “others” and the prejudiced racism that they contain, is present throughout the entire book. (You must imagine that the examiner hasn’t read this novel or maybe has but years ago. So you need to introduce the overall novel, its characters and themes to put it into context).
Here you must introduce the passage that you will analyse. First, Malouf describes Lachlan’s instinctive reaction to seeing Gemmy for the first time. The boy’s first words were “A black!”, as the narrator comments “That was the boy’s first thought”. Just these words are enough to reveal that the boy was shocked when it saw an indigenous person. In continuation, Lachlan, who assumes that Gemmy is hostile due to his appearance, leads to him “…holding fast to the stick…”. Here, Malouf uses the stick as a symbol of power. This way, the reader can connect the pieces and understand how Lachlan’s first thought to turn to violence and threaten Gemmy with a weapon, is due to the prejudice that the boy has. Additionally, the stick works as a symbol of the colonial powers that overpower the colonized (good). Although, the narrator’s descriptive voice helps the reader why this prejudice exists. More specifically, the narrative voice is often characterizing Gemmy as a “…creature…”, “…it”, and even “…savage and fearsome”. All these descriptions of Gemmy’s appearance make it almost reasonable why the boy would be afraid and be willing to use force and damage “Whatever it was…”. To sum up, the combination of Lachlan’s instant reaction and the narrator’s description of Gemmy, creates an introduction to the book that is awkwardly filled with racist prejudiced, as Gemmy is being compared to a fantastic beast or at least being viewed as anything “other” than a human being.(please use the terminology of the subject – so discuss the ‘diction’ the ‘tone’ etc.)
Here you must introduce the passage that you will analyse. First, Malouf describes Lachlan’s instinctive reaction to seeing Gemmy for the first time. The boy’s first words were “A black!”, as the narrator comments “That was the boy’s first thought”. Just these words are enough to reveal that the boy was shocked when it saw an indigenous person. In continuation, Lachlan, who assumes that Gemmy is hostile due to his appearance, leads to him “…holding fast to the stick…”. Here, Malouf uses the stick as a symbol of power. This way, the reader can connect the pieces and understand how Lachlan’s first thought to turn to violence and threaten Gemmy with a weapon, is due to the prejudice that the boy has. Additionally, the stick works as a symbol of the colonial powers that overpower the colonized (good). Although, the narrator’s descriptive voice helps the reader why this prejudice exists. More specifically, the narrative voice is often characterizing Gemmy as a “…creature…”, “…it”, and even “…savage and fearsome”. All these descriptions of Gemmy’s appearance make it almost reasonable why the boy would be afraid and be willing to use force and damage “Whatever it was…”. To sum up, the combination of Lachlan’s instant reaction and the narrator’s description of Gemmy, creates an introduction to the book that is awkwardly filled with racist prejudiced, as Gemmy is being compared to a fantastic beast or at least being viewed as anything “other” than a human being.(please use the terminology of the subject – so discuss the ‘diction’ the ‘tone’ etc.)
Additionally, the scene contains one of the most important lines in the book, which is also considered Malouf’s most iconic sentence for a reason (needs a reference). That it because the complex meaning of this book, is beautifully described in just one line. More specifically, Gemmy, who is horrified, mistaking the stick that Lachlan is holding for a loaded rifle, exclaims “-Do not shoot… I am a B-b-British object!”. Gemmy’s line symbolizes to main concepts in the book. First, Gemmy is trying to make the boy understand that his appearance may depict an indigenous person, but he is in fact British, or in the context of the theme, he is human. Secondly, a reason why Gemmy mistakenly said “…british object” instead of “subject”, is because he does not remember to speak the English language fully due to the many years of staying away from England, and the structure of the phrase symbolizes how Gemmy’s character is cut in two parts, just like the phrase, half-English and half-Indigenous. In simpler words, Gemmy’s first line introduces the theme of racist prejudice and being viewed as “other”, as he has to describe with words who and what he is in order for someone to understand. (Link this to the difference in grammar between the subject and object)
To sum up, among multiple themes, the global issue of prejudiced racism and viewing different people as “others”, is portrayed persistently by Malouf through the words of the characters and the narrator, almost in way that makes it seems like he is the one speaking and stating his opinion on the matter.
Overall, you do make insightful points. You still need to structure this work more clearly. Please read the comments through the essay. First of all you need to introduce the text and the author. Then provide a clear argument (your global issue) followed by a paragraph on how the global issue is presented throughout the book. Then introduce your passage, what came before, what comes after, your passage and a brief summary. You also need to show greater depth in your analysis of the passage. Use the PEA structure and identify lots of techniques concisely with links to your thesis. Your analysis was interesting but more detail would improve the grade.
5/8 Analysis
5/8 Language
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