Biography
Oodgeroo Noonuccal was born as Kath Walker on the 3rd of November 1920 on North Stradbroke Island in South-East Queensland, but now refers herself as her Aboriginal name Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Her father, Edward Ruska, belonged to the Noonuccal people who were the original inhabitants of North Stradbroke Island(previously known as Minjerrinah). He was employed by the Queensland government working as part of a poorly paid Aboriginal workforce, thus leading him to start campaigning for better conditions for Aboriginal workers.
In her adult life Noonuccal became involved in the Communist Party of Australia, as it was the only political party a the time that did not support the ‘White Australia policy’*. Later in the 1950’s Noonuccal became introduced to protest poetry through the Brisbane arm of the Realist Writer’s Group. The 1960’s was the time of oppression for the Aborigines as well as when Noonuccal was developing her reputation as a protest poet and rights activist.
*A policy that describes Australia’s approach to immigration and the favoured applicants form certain countries, but this got abolished over 25 years ago
In her adult life Noonuccal became involved in the Communist Party of Australia, as it was the only political party a the time that did not support the ‘White Australia policy’*. Later in the 1950’s Noonuccal became introduced to protest poetry through the Brisbane arm of the Realist Writer’s Group. The 1960’s was the time of oppression for the Aborigines as well as when Noonuccal was developing her reputation as a protest poet and rights activist.
*A policy that describes Australia’s approach to immigration and the favoured applicants form certain countries, but this got abolished over 25 years ago
The DispossessedDedicated to Uncle Willie McKenzie, published in her first book in 1964 called 'We are Going'
Smilarities & Difference of the PoemsThe Similarities of the two poems are they both have similar ideas of the negative results of colonisation but they also differ in ideas, as in Noonuccal’s poem she clearly states the wrong done by the colonisers and in a matter of speaking thinks Australia would be better of without the colonisation but in Bhatt’s poem it shows disdain towards colonisation but excepts that it already effects and is normal towards the next generations. The tones of the poem are quite different as well because in ‘The Dispossessed’ the tone is one of constant anger and resent. Though the poems are different all poems will have use some of the same techniques such as alliteration.
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Context Reflected in the Poem's ConcernTo get a better understanding of ‘The Dispossessed’ it is best we know about Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s context. When Noonuccal was still quite young her father’s fight for justice played a very important role on her poetry and life choices, she was a very influential poet and was actually one of the first Aboriginal Australian in her time to have a book of poems published. Throughout her life she was an Aboriginal rights activist. Her experiences of being an dedicated activist for social justice and Aboriginal rights are reflected in the themes of her poems.
Key Poetic Devices Used in the Poem to Convey the ThemeIn the poem ‘The Dispossessed’, the poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal conveys the effects of colonisation in Australia through the use of repetition, language, particularly through the use of powerful verbs, and structure.
In this poem Noonuccal repeats the word ‘they’ to refer to the Caucasians who colonised Australia, if you take notice throughout the whole poem she repeats the words ‘you’ and ‘your’, writing in a second-person perspective. Noonuccal directs rage towards ‘the white man’ from the view point of an Aboriginal by repeating powerful verbs and adjectives. The language in this poem is quite literal in meaning, showing the before and after effect of colonisation. Near the start of the poem she addresses the issue of Aboriginal oppression by saying: ‘Till white colonies stole your peace’ and other phrases such as ‘They Brought… the gun’. These choices of words also reflect on the tone in which she expresses messages and ideas of anger and exasperation towards the colonisation. The poem is free verse and the structure could represent the emotions, particularly frustration that Noonuccal experienced while writing this poem. However, there still some identifiable structure as the poem is separated into start, middle and end with different topics; using the first part as pre-colonisation, the middle as the past but after colonisation, and the end is the present time. This is used to emphasise the injustice that Aboriginals have experienced over the years and that even if you attempt to perform good deeds in the present you it is impossible to change the past. A video about Oodgeroo Noonuccal's Ideas and the meaning of 'The Dispossessed'
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