Sally_Morgan_Basic_Chapters

Chapter 11 1) This chapter reveals some of the more unique quirks of the family members personalities. For example nan’s obsession with fires or Gladys’s love of the new family dog. Chapter 12 1) Sally wins an award for citizenship from her school, however she believes it is due to Jill persuading the other children. It is the first award she has ever received. It is ironic because she won an award for citizenship, even though she is outcast and not accepted by the social groups of the school. 2) The may pole dance was a very humiliating time for Sally. Following the first dance she had developed some confidence and was trying very hard to perform well, however she tried too hard and ended up running off the stage. She had developed a sense of belonging over the course of the first dance, but this was ripped away from her afterwards and she felt isolated by her mistake. 3) Nan is very secretive about the family’s life, becoming very embarrassed when visitors are around to the house. She is ashamed both of her race, and her financial status. Chapter 13 1) The sexual assault by Sally’s “Uncle” leaves her incredibly paranoid as well as very protective of Jill. She keeps what happened to her to herself, as her own secret shame. 2) Sally suddenly becomes self-conscious in high school. She has become more aware of people’s opinions and is seeking the approval of the others in the school. 3) Sally is socially alienated in high school. This feeling of alienation is increased when she does Legacy as she feels inferior to all those around her. 4) Emotive language is used when sally is fighting with nan to emphasise the power she feels arguing with her. 5) Truanting has the social connotation of being naughty. Sally deliberately alienates herself from school life by truanting from classes. Chapter 14 1) The humour In this chapter expresses the joyous times the family experienced together despite the hard times they went through, and their alienation from the rest of society. 2) When the Legatee left, the family felt very betrayed and alone because they had been together for so long. Chapter 15 1) This chapter is filled with examples of cultural alienation: Nans outburst “you want a white grandmother…black” shows that she is alienated from the world and is ashamed of her heritage. Jill explanation of her heritage “A BOONG….we’re aboriginal” is extremely negative and shows that she is ashamed of her aboriginality. Chapter 16 1) Sally becomes involved in Sunday school and makes friends. One of the deacons of the church then alienates sally by calling her a bad influence and forcing her to stop being friends with his daughter. Chapter 17 1) Sally feels alienated from her culture “…I didn’t understand about them or myself…a very vital part of me was missing…I’d never belong anywhere” she is also socially alienated “You’ve got the most abnormal family…the way you all look at life is weird.” Nan also tries to hide her sense of alienation as she speaks with the rent man “and here are you and I, both white…” Chapter 18 1) Sally is unable to fit in as she dislikes her work, thus alienating her from it and her coworkers, which she has little in common. Chapter 19 1) In this chapter both mum and Nan’s eccentric nature come to light, from Nan’s checking the washing machine to Mum’s attempt at redecorating. The character of Cryil also adds humor to the chapter, with his own crazy habits. When sally’s friends are shocked about the shower heater it shows culture alienation. Chapter 20 - Nan’s eyesight weakens - Sally Began university - Bill gets a job after failing exams - Sally moves out, and dislikes uni - Falls in love with Paul and decides to get married. - Mother fuses over wedding Chapter 21 1) Nan is socially alienated at sally’s wedding, which is juxtaposed with the fact that it is a true sense of belonging for sally. Chapter 22 1) Sally is socially alienated from others at the university, once she receives an aboriginal scholarship. She is also alienated from her family. Responses from her friends at school are mostly negative, saying ‘you must get it for the money.’ Others react awkwardly, feeling embarrassed for sally. The family acts negative at first, but soon changes their views. Chapter 23 1) Nan speaking to him in her own language, allows her to feel her aboriginality and have a sense of identity. She finds a sense of belonging in Arthur. Nan is alienated in this chapter by her refusal to reveal her past, unlike the rest of the family. Chapter 24 1) Initially mum doesn’t believe that sally will actually persist in writing the book. Once it is conformed the family is against it. Mum then supports the idea as she is curious about her past. Sally and her mother are alienated about their truth about their family and are desperately trying to have a sense of belonging. They are also alienated from their culture. Glad is excited and enthusiastic to know who her father is after initial reluctance. ‘Oh god, I can’t believe it’ shows Glad’s excitement over the matter 2) This chapter reveals information of the family’s past and also historical information. Learning that Nan was a servant and lived in the times of slavery establishes context, and supports the concept of alienation, as it shows the cultural, social, emotional and physical alienation Nan went through. Chapter 25 1) Nan admits struggling with being illiterate and sally empathises with her. This relates to “My father’s hands” as the son empathises with his father who is also illiterate. Chapter 26 1) The new found information about Glad’s childhood is significant both personally and historically. It shows the history of aboriginal people and the stolen generation. Personally it shows why Glad is so secretive and against the government. This revelation shows the physical, emotional, and cultural alienation that Glad would have felt during her time at the home. 2) White man is shows to be the one to alienate in the chapter; it shows how badly the aboriginal people were alienated. 3) A sense of helpless finality is used to report Arthur’s death. There is no Euphemism, it is just simply put out as ‘He’s dead, he died a few days ago.’ Jill also reports ‘He went home to Mukinbudin’ the connotation of the word ‘home’ implies that he has a connection with that place was able to die in peace. Arthur Corunna’s Story 1) Arthur’s birth date is of little significance to him and he is unsure of his age. The implications of this are that date’s, numbers and age are unimportant in aboriginal culture. It also presents the idea that his birthday wasn’t important to his parents. 2) “Walkabout” is significant to sally as it would allow her to leave school and have adventures in the outside world. Sally’s interest in this can be interpreted as her expressing her aboriginality without her realising. “part of the reason i hated school was the regimentation” 3) The irony present in the story is that for aboriginals nature belongs to no-one and everybody shares what they have with each other. For Arthur ‘stealing’ the tomato is ironic because to his culture it is sharing. 4) The Childs home is described as dynamic and busy this expresses the opposite to alienation; belonging demonstrated with the use of descriptive language. 5) The police presence is ironic because it is a lawless place and white customs are not overly relevant to the majority of the workers. 6) Notions of racism and inequality are present in the story, an example being the unfair miniscule pay the aboriginal workers receive for the hard labour they perform. “Threepence, for all that work”. 7) Arthur not being paid demonstrates inequality of that time. 8) Arthur is confronted with him running away years before. He is also asked to take in daisy, but is disappointed when they change their mind. 9) “I was a hate man then, not black. It was a king’s life”. This quote shows the alienation experienced by the aboriginals in a society where white was superior and back shunned. 10) Throughout this chapter Arthur is alienated both socially and culturally to the rest of society. Although he is fairly successful he is treated differently because of the colour of his skin. He loses touch with his culture in his attempt to assimilate to white society. 11) The chapter reveals historical information about life in that period. It reveals racism and inequality during that time, adding to the theme of alienation. Chapter 27 1. Sally is happy that she knows something about her families past. She is saddened but also proud of Arthur’s story. She also realises how little she knows about her Nan and her life. Chapter 28 1) “It was real sad, people like you, wandering around not knowing where they came from”. This quote shows alienation from culture and society, it shows that those affected by the stolen generation suffer from loss of identity. They feel alienated from within themselves as they do not have a sense of belonging. 2) Sally’s life up north is in search of a cure to her cultural and personal alienation. As she meets her relations she starts to learn about her heritage. Through learning of her family sally feels a greater connection with her heritage. Sally feels that she finally has a proper family “I couldn’t help thinking of all the things we’d learnt about our family. Our family was something to be proud of, it made us feel good inside...” this shows belonging within her family and heritage. The trip also brings Sally a sense of inner peace, as she discovers her identity “had a sense of peace”. Sally also has a greater sense of self respect as she explores her aboriginality. Leading to a sense of belonging. 3) The aboriginal groupings are significant as they give them a sense of identity within the aboriginal community. They are recognised as part of these groups and are given a place within them. 4) In this page sally realises how deeply not knowing her heritage has affected her and that she would not have had a true sense of identity without knowing “how deprived we would have been to let things stay the way they were. We would have survived but not as whole people. We would never have known our place.” This shows the importance of her heritage and how much it has moved her life and given her inner peace.