The Secret River free essay sample

Smasher is a vicious, cold-hearted man who shows no respect or humanity towards the Aboriginals. On the other hand, Blackwood’s character contrasts Smasher with his humanity and general respect to the original owners of their new home. The contrasting characterization of these two men allows readers to view the events and issues faced in the text from two completely different positions. One of the characters in the novel The Secret River is Smasher Sullivan. Smasher is a mean spirited man who has a profound hatred for the Aboriginals, and he states to have no problem ‘teaching a lesson to any aboriginal who sets foot on my land’. He kills, kidnaps and sexually abuses Aboriginal women and children. Readers infer Smasher’s horrid nature is due to oblivion and a lack of understanding and education about the aboriginals. Smasher believes the Aboriginals to be nothing but savages. This was a common viewpoint of the settlers at this point in white settlement. Many were ignorant and felt the Aboriginals were inferior to the whites. There was a great deal of hypocrisy among the whites and blacks in the early colonisation of Australia. This can be seen when Smasher demands that the Aboriginals should be massacred after killing his friend, although Smasher and the deceased Saggity were responsible for the death of a large number of Aboriginal people, including children and women. These double standards were in place because of the white dominance, and the ideology that the worth of a black’s life was far less than a white person’s, if it had any worth at all. This alleged superiority influenced the settlers to make little effort to understand the Aboriginal people’s way of live and culture. The harsh perspective allows the readers to comprehend the immensity of racism and brutality suffered during this time. Although Smasher dies during the brutal massacre of the Aborigines, the massacre itself symbolises his dominating, violent philosophy. If the characters were all as optimistic as some of the other characters such as Blackwood, readers would get an inaccurate and bias description of the events that Kate Grenville recounts in the novel. Smasher’s character is significant because he represents an honest portrayal of the ignorant, cruel and discriminating mindset of many settlers in post-colonial Australia. He challenges the values of many other characters in the text, and in many cases, our own values as readers. Thomas Blackwood is a character that takes a different approach to the native people of his new home. The moderate approach symbolised by Thomas Blackwood suggests the possibility to live side by side with the Aboriginals. The character of Blackwood is a moral, authoritive figure. He doesn’t worry about being greedy and rich, he just wants to make a decent living and live in peace. He is content with his life and doesn’t require tto inflict brutality on the Aboriginals. Of all the characters in the novel, Blackwood has the greatest appreciation and knowledge of the Aboriginals and their culture. He speaks the local language, and has a child to an Aboriginal woman whom he lives with. Readers are positioned by the author to see Blackwood as a positive character in comparison to Smasher, who he clashes with throughout the text due to his morality. He refers to his harmonious relationship with the natives to William where he says A man got to pay a fair price for taking. Matter of give a little, take a little. Blackwood’s general respect and empathy makes him frustrated and furious at the way many of the other characters in the text treat the Aboriginals. Unlike Smasher, Blackwood tries to convey to the other characters that the Aborigines were the ones with the power to decide whether they could stay on their land or not. Readers are likely to relate to Blackwood and appreciate how his understanding of the Aboriginal’s culture influences his attitude towards them. Blackwood is a significant character in the text because he contrasts the personality of Smasher, and represents a more passive settler. Without characters like Blackwood in the novel, readers would assume that all the settlers of this time were violent and dominant over the Aboriginals and their land, which gives a false historical retelling of these events. The inclusion of Blackwood gives us nother point of view to consider when making an understanding of the text. Characters in the text The Secret River all occupy individual thoughts and approaches towards the native people of Australia. The attitudes of some characters are extreme, and their actions, relationships, and in core, their lives, revolve around these personal beliefs. When readers contrast certain characters that possess opposing views, such as Blackwood and Smasher, t hey are able to take a more open-minded position when making judgement of the characters and events. Although readers may have preconceived ideas about Aboriginals or the settlement of whites in Australia, the characters force the reader to challenge or reconsider their personal opinions and beliefs. The issues in the text are commented on by characters that view them from easily differentiated perspectives. If the characters all shared the same view, the readers would be forced to side with that particular opinion, and the story would revolve around one single point of view. The significance of these two characters in the novel is not only that readers can consider the story from multiple positions, but also to show there is no favouritism of a certain opinion by the author. The novel The Secret River By Kate Grenville confronts readers with reprehensible, controversial and challenging issues, and an array of characters who react to these events with very different moral responses. One character, Thomas Blackwood, is an ethical man whilst Smasher Sullivan is an immoral individual. The two men signify two completely opposing outlooks in many aspects. The characters of Smasher and Blackwood are significant in the text because they represent two symbols of Australia’s future at this time. One, an existence harmonious with the Aboriginals, and secondly, a very different life struggling to oppress the natives. Contrasting characters are important to challenge the opinions and values of one another, and those of the reader’s. When we make an understanding of the text, we are able to take the opinions and beliefs of multiple personalities into consideration, giving us a more broadened perception of the novel.