Jack Davis No Sugar Analysis Essay Example

Jack Davis No Sugar Analysis Essay NO SUGAR (JACK DAVIS) Jack Davis’ â€Å"No Sugar†, written in 1985, is a play that highlights Australian racism and cultural destruction caused by British colonialism. It is set in 1929 (Great Depression) in Northam, Western Australia. The play explores the impacts of the European social and political philosophy of the early 20th century on Aboriginal society. The focal points of this play are the superiority of white people, racism, and the bond between Aboriginal families. These themes highlight Australian culture, and have shaped it into its many different forms for all Australian’s today. Jack Davis has used dialogue between the characters in this extract to privilege a postcolonial reading of the text. Davis uses dialogue in order to construct a world in which the aboriginal people can be identified to the audience as an ill-treated, oppressed race. Davis uses dialogue to represent how the colonized react to the social situations in which they were subjugated to, on a regular basis in the early times of colonization. â€Å"CISSIE: Aw mum, Old Tony the ding always sells us little shriveled ones and them wetjala kids big fat one. Through this dialogue the audience identifies that society at the time did not allow the colonized to be classed as the same standard as the colonizer. Davis lends this text to a postcolonial reading through the use of characterization. The use of characterization in the play reinforces the idea that the characters amplify a sort of submission to English culture displays to the audience the effect of colonization. Although the characters reta in many of their aboriginal attributes, such as living off the land â€Å"Come on, let’s get these rabbits. They have allowed themselves and their culture to be colonized by accepting many of the British attributes such as playing cricket â€Å"DAVID and CISSIE play cricket with a home-made bat and ball. † The aboriginal people have allowed themselves to colonized acquiring British aspects, which coincide with their aboriginal heritage. Through this extract the characters also begin to read the paper, the combination of the children playing cricket and the elder reading the paper appears from an outside point perspective a very British activity. Looking at the context, which surrounds the writing of the play, can also support a postcolonial reading. We will write a custom essay sample on Jack Davis No Sugar Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jack Davis No Sugar Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jack Davis No Sugar Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Another device used by Davis is stage directions principally used to invoke or create a rising dramatic tension, an example of this is â€Å"He nicks his finger with the axe and watches the blood drip to the ground. † This is symbolic of the Aboriginals manifesting frustration; they are inflicting pain on themselves because they know it isn’t possible to inflict pain on their conquerors. Jimmy’s character represents the rebellion of any marginalized race; he pushes the boundaries as far as he can. The fact that Aboriginals are â€Å"dancing† for the white Australians shows their power. This dancing is a form of service provided by the Aboriginals, they are expressing their culture but to the people who have destroyed it. It could almost be read as a child trying to get an adults attention by jumping around and holding out what they want. To Jimmy these dancing Aboriginals are jumping around and showing the White Australians that they want their culture back. This reach out to white settlers shows how much more dominate they are and their culture is. Through the use of dramatic conventions Jack Davis’ play No Sugar can be read as a postcolonial criticism. It presents a number of issues with colonization and the particular effects it had on the Australian Aboriginal people. First performed in 1985, the play deals with the struggles of the aboriginal people and oppression in which they endured by white Australian society. The play was set in 1929, a time when aboriginal people were not yet accepted as equals in society. The main ideas presented in the play are shown through the dialogue, characters and context. This extract uses techniques to set the basis for the idea’s that will be expressed throughout the entire play.

Moral and Gener in Antigone essays

Moral and Gener in Antigone essays As the course Athens to New York begins, four questions are drilled into our heads as the foundations of the course. These questions might as well be Greek to us, for many college freshmen have never been asked these questions before, not to mention required to take a course that is focused mainly on these questions. The questions force us to look deep within ourselves, to investigate what our beliefs and morals consist of and how they originated. The questions in relation to the readings also force us to compare our beliefs and morals to those of other civilizations. Two of these questions have a strong meaning in the book Antigone by Sophocles. These questions are how do individuals and communities respond to differences in race, class, gender and ethnicity and what does it mean to be moral, ethical or just. Not only do these questions pertain strongly to the book, but todays society can strongly relate to these questions and the impact they have in the book as well. In ancient Greece, women were inferior to men, for they were expected to stay home all the time and keep the house. In fact, the only women who were ever outside of their house were usually courtesans or hereartas. The families of ancient Greece were very strong, for the poleis consisted of many extended families. Gender issues are very apparent in Antigone, and these issues lead to why Antigone breaks Creons man-made laws and followed the divine laws that Antigone felt was moral and just. The gender problems in ancient Greek society and Antigones refusal to follow the man-made laws of the land are important aspects of the play, for the gender and class problems in her society were the reasons that she did what she felt was moral, ethical, and just and therefore lead to her death for the honor of being able to bury her brother. One of the questions for the course Athens to New York is how do individuals and communities re...