They came in to the little town
A semi-naked band subdued and silent
All that remained of their tribe.
They came here to the place of their old bora ground
Where now the many white men hurry about like ants.
Notice of the estate agent reads: ‘Rubbish May Be Tipped Here’.
Now it half covers the traces of the old bora ring.
‘We are as strangers here now, but the white tribes are the strangers.
We belong here; we are of the old ways.
We are the corroboree and the bora ground,
We are the old ceremonies, the laws of the elders.
We are the wonder tales of Dream Time, the tribal legends told.
We are the past, the hunts and the laughing games, the wandering camp fires.
We are the lightening bolt over Gaphembah Hill
Quick and terrible,
And they Thunder after him, that loud fellow.
We are the quiet daybreak paling the dark lagoon.
We are the shadow-ghosts creeping back as the camp fires burn low.
We are nature and the past, all the old ways
Gone now and scattered.
The scrubs are gone, the hunting and the laughter.
The eagle is gone, the emus and the kangaroo are gone from this place.
The bora ring is gone.
The corroboree is gone.
And we are going.’
- Oodgerooo Noonuccal
Appreciating “We are Going” by Oodgerooo Noonuccal
Read Oodgeroo’s “We are going” (p. 32) and answer these questions on it:
Questions:
1. Explain why they are “silent and subdued”.
2. How are white men represented? Why?
3. What is a bora ring and explain why it is so central to this poem.
4. Explain their reaction in line 8.
5. Lines 9-17 begin a ‘litany’. What is the effect produced?
6. Comment on the significance of metaphors used in the poem.
7. Comment on the structure and form of this poem.
8. Why does Thunder have a capital letter?
9. Comment on the mood and atmosphere created here.
10. Combine comments on its theme, title and conclusion.
Answers:
1.) As the aboriginals enter the town, the town is “silent and subdued” because they are quiet but rather more feeling neglected for who they are Aboriginals, entering a white community.
2.)The term ”many white Men” lays emphasis on the people who go against the dark-skinned and like animals elaborates on the purpose activity which is not in favor of them, this is demoralizing them and as well as their land.
3.) The bora ring is a enlightening symbol in the aboriginal society, the ceremonial ground is nowadays thoroughly redundant. This is a deliberate action to exclude the bora ring from the aboriginal society because it is intended that the bora ring is not a part of the ceremony.
4.) When someone is new they are rejected as strangers but when they are at their house the person who comes is the stranger. They are absolutely confused and are deeply emotional about this, they can do nothing but tolerate till they become locals.
5) The fact that the author continuously repeats that there is a litany going on; our thoughts are then centralized on that litany here on.
6) Most of the metaphors used in this poem are depicted from one topic nature, a place where most dreamtime stories are related. The poet uses metaphors like natural disasters to place a scene of untangling discrimination.
7) The title is a satire, because it is favouring the whites “going away” (could mean aboriginals going away) but in the point of view from the aboriginals it is a message of never to give even in ‘those’ situations. The lines in the poem are long which go into depth of the subject while the short lines do the honours of pointing out key words. But the more important message is conveyed through the last 6 lines.
Thunder has a capital T because thunder is a supreme ruler in this case for example the thunder roars across the sky when a cloud of rain overpasses us.
9) The mood set in this poem is remorseful and at the same time the atmosphere creates a sort of a situation where you are convinced by what is going on. When you read the paragraph in the perspective of an aboriginal you feel furious while in the perspective of the Whites you feel there is regret.
10) The theme of this poem is a topic that all aboriginals were/are angry about which is to let the Europeans rule the country. The title creates a scene where regretfulness is taking place. The message of the title is echoed thoroughly throughout the poem. The conclusion basically wraps it all up, saying that the animals are gone, the values are gone and the people are now going.
Part 2: Analysing a Poem
Blame The Blacks
Outside a pub I sit
You claim is my home
Cos’ I’m pissed as
And
Wi’ black skin won’t roam
You say to the fella
I’m not worth two bob
Just black and worthless
A
Drunken slob
And dole day you say
Is my highlight each week?
You whites have your say
We
Blacks don’t speak
Sober we’re black
And drunk the same
You built the pubs
And
We’re to blame
By: http://paolospoems.com/poem-317/blame-the-blacks/
What is it about?
This poem is called “Blame The Blacks’ by an unknown poet but presumably it’s by the blog’s owner. The poem is about how a black man and another man white man are having a conversation in front of a pub about how the whites are in the aboriginals land and then how they are forced to be the nomadic in their own back-yard. The first person is also talking about how the white men think that the aboriginals are worth a dollar or two, and while he is drunk he says “Just black and worthless, a drunken slob”. The aboriginals also puts forward and argument which is relating to how the whites talk about what they do each week while the ‘blacks’ don’t even get heard they are like the background. And in the end to conclude it all the aboriginal says we’re the black and the drunk (sarcastically), you built the pubs but we’re to blame.
What Do I Need to Know About the Author?
About the author I need to find out who is he/she, where they were born, whether she is an aboriginal or not, how old they are, what nationality they consider themselves. Any information of the author is displayed on the website or any of the search engines.
What poetic features are noteworthy?
The structure is clearly divided in to 4 stanzas. The last words in each stanza are the antonyms of one another, E.g. Speak and blame. Poetic techniques are also used in this poem such as:
Ø Repetition- the words black, white and drunk are used very occasionally.
Ø Hyperbole- the aboriginals are always the ones to blame.
Ø Assonance- “You built the pubs” the same vowel ‘u’ is used frequently.
The poet has written this poem so good that it seems like he has been a casualty of this incident or has heard someone close tell this story to him, because it seems like he has put a lot of sweat and blood behind the writing of this poem.
What are the key themes in the poem?
How cultures interact, one culture enslaves another, the history of aboriginal
People brought into the western society, how cultural identity is maintained despite relocation, and culture is present through the current generations.
Do I want to use it in the exam?
Yes I want to use this poem for my exam because this is an excellent poem for beginners; it is also a poem that will be stuck in my head for many many years because it has an emotional impact on me. This is also a good poem because you don’t need a dictionary for it though it has big strange words it is understandable. This is a very touching poem
BY: Sharad Patel
8 social studies 2
Ms. Boshell & Mr. Hendry
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