Contact zones and how the Europeans and Aboriginal peoples interact has been one of the central storylines in The Secret River. Will often notes cultural differences between what he observes from the Native people and his own English customs, albeit mostly with a smug and superior tone. While Will gives his opinion on a number of cultural aspects, one that I want to highlight is on the topic of work/labor.
Will describes, "The Thornhill household sweated away under the broiling sun... and still had nothing but salt pork and damper. By contrast, the blacks strolled into the forest and came back with dinner hanging from their belts" (202).
Here, Thornhill has a begrudging and even jealous tone when comparing his own labor to that of the Aboriginal people. The use of the word "strolled" implies an ease that the Natives seem to enjoy which is in sharp contrast to the backbreaking work being done every day by Will and his family. I actually found this envy ironic, as it seems like he is jealous of a people who he feels superior to. He also complains about the fruit of his work, saying he has nothing but salt pork and damper. In other words, Thornhill feels he isn't receiving adequate compensation for his efforts, something that so many people experience in London. Will can't even fill his stomach after working all day while the Aboriginals can do so with minimal time and effort. I think Grenville uses this comparison to further highlight some of the injustices of capitalism. I would like to see the Aboriginal perspective on this same topic, as I think it would be really interesting to see how they view Will working all day.
I'm really glad to read your response to my groups blog post. It looked like you really took away from our discussion and added your own ideas with the capitalism portion.
ReplyDeleteGreat points, and I talked about this similar subject in my blog post as well. You bring up a good point at the end about how it would be interesting to see the Aboriginal perspective too.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that Will deems the nomadic way of life of the Aboriginal people as laziness.
ReplyDeleteI think that quote just shows how ignorant Will is to the situation of others because despite all the food they work for which also shows they are successful, he thinks they don't do any work still
ReplyDeleteI really liked this quote as well, and I chose a similar one for my blog post. Will seems to be really envious of the Aboriginals, and it's almost the same jealousy we see with the gentry in the boat scene.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting point about how Will 'envies people he feels superior too.' It's incredibly ironic as you pointed out, also great points aside from that!
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