Many Voices of Australia - the Drovers Wife (letter Form)

Dear Michelle,

How are you? I am glad that you're studying this topic too. In this topic you get to look at all the different voices in Australia and the main three voices are the colonial, Aboriginal and multicultural voices. We mainly focused on 'The Drover's Wife' by Henry Lawson and 'Dancing on the Carpet' by Christine Harris. Each author uses a storyline, language techniques, experiences and themes to convey the different voices shown in each text.

'The Drover's Wife' by Henry Lawson, which gives us a colonial voice, portrayed the difficulty of living in the Australian bush; one had to be strong in order to survive. The introduction gives us the image of an isolated, dry and lifeless bushland, and the tension was only raised when the snake appeared. The woman's dog tried to get the snake but it escaped so she stayed up to protect her children all night long. The danger of the snake reminded her of the tough challenges she had faced alone in the past and we learn about her experiences by the flash backs of her life. The vermin appeared again and this time the woman kills it.

The woman had gone through a lot of harsh experiences which she confronted alone. She protected her children from a deadly serpent and this shows the theme, protecting the younger generation. She fought a flood alone, drenched in the pouring rain, and she also fought a bush fire which threatened to burn her out. These two experiences show two themes, Australian Bush because of the natural disasters, and bravery, because her actions prove that she is brave in handling situations.

Other themes are the love for the family and responsibility. The theme of love for the family is present throughout the story. The woman loves her family and she is prepared to be on her own to take care of her children. Similarly Tommy, the oldest child, loves his family and wants to protect them. Responsibility is shown through the actions and behaviors of the woman, as she is a responsible mother and wife.

The language techniques used in this story is a mixture of colonial and colloquial language. Tommy uses a lot of slangs, for example, he said, "Shet up you little -! D'yer want to be bit with the snake?" this is an everyday slang that is used even today. He also said "Mother, I won't never go drovin'; blast if I do!" and nowadays people don't say that but during the colonial times people do. Onomatopoeia is also used, for example 'thud, thud'. These techniques make the reader's experience the event in the story better.

'Dancing on the Carpet' by Christine Harris, gives us a multicultural voice. The introduction shows us the two main voices of the story, Miki, a Japanese exchange student, and Joe, an Italian Australian. Miki experienced the Australian society and she fell in love with Joe. We learn