Reading & Responding - Unit 1
By Jane Harrison
Sample Essay 3 PROMPT "The characters in 'Stolen' are permanently scarred, physically and emotionally." Discuss this statement.
The detrimental repercussions of the Australian Governments Assimilation Policy destroyed the cultural, physical and social fabric of indigenous society. Jane Harrison's 'Stolen' explores the non-homogenous suffering of the 'stolen generation' through the characters of Jimmy, Ruby, Sandy, Shirley and Anne.
The detrimental effects of ideology to remove indigenous children from their families on the grounds they could readily assimilate into mainstream white society, left all individuals in 'Stolen' permanently scarred.
For Jimmy and Ruby, abuse is undoubtedly the foundation upon which their emotional instability is based on. Ruby from a young age at the Cranby children's home, is sexually, physically and emotionally abused as it is seen in the 'unspoken abuse scenes'. Their silence "I promised not to tell", is bought with small gifts. As Ruby grows, and begins to work as a cleaner she is again the victim of various types of abuse, "you dirty abo".
Ruby becomes so psychologically scarred and detached from her emotions that voices continue to reverberate in her mind, "Wash for me Ruby, clean for me Ruby", "don't need no trouble got enough to do". Due to her inability to re-establish family connections the severity of these scars is not able to be reduced.
Similarly to Ruby, Jimmy "don't even know what having a mother feels like." He was also a victim of "unspoken abuse" and "promised not to tell". Jimmy's misdemeanours are his attempts at attacking the society that dispossessed him of his family and identity.
However, Jimmy is also not able to re-establish family connections. "I'm all punched out"; "they stuck a knife in so hard". He is unable to continue his life due to the detrimental circumstances he incurs. He sees no reason to live thus commits suicide so he can finally go and meet his mother.
VCE ENGLISH UNIT 1&2
1
Reading & Responding - Unit 1
Jimmy and Ruby who were not able to re-establish family connections, suffered insurmountable adversity through physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Shirley, Sandy and Anne did regain some control of their lives. Although, they still suffered permanent physical and emotional scars, from being systematically removed from their homes, cultures and families and forced to endure sterile, institutional upbringings.
Anne, who once believed "life is full of tricky situations...to tan or not to tan," does suffer a crisis of identity; after she is told her aboriginal mother is alive and wants to meet her. She suffers emotionally as she doesn't "even know where [she] belongs anymore."
Shirley who also suffers permanent emotional instability due to her continuous and repeated separation from her families "I nearly lost the plot so many times in my life." Although she does regain control of her life, "Tamara has a mother and a grandmother and that's all that matters", the psychological trauma she endured "after being put on hold for twenty-six years" would remain a permanent scar for the rest of her life.
Similarly to Shirley and Anne, Sandy is able to move on with his life. Although he "is always on the run", at the end of the play he is able to establish "I've been everywhere except home," and begin his journey there. For Sandy his main connection was with the land, and to regain that connection, helped him to overcome the adversity he faced.
It is evident in all characters in 'Stolen' that the devastating effects of the Australian Governments Assimilation policy, left characters physically and emotionally scarred. However, through the non-homogenous suffering they endured, each characters emotional and psychological battle had greater repercussions and everlasting effects, where as the physical scars from abuse could heal.
VCE ENGLISH UNIT 1&2
2