Previous
History, Memory, and the Archive
Find the Perfect Quote
LitCharts makes it easy to find quotes by
act,
character,
and theme. We assign a color and icon like this one
to each theme, making it easy to track which themes apply to each quote below.
Need another quote?
Need analysis on another quote?
Need analysis for a quote we don't cover?
Need analysis for a quote we don't cover?
Need analysis for a quote we don't cover?
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
Request it
Request it
Request analysis
Request analysis
Request analysis
Foreword Quotes
One purpose of Indigenous theatre is to write onto the public record neglected or forgotten stories.
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Wesley Enoch, the Indigenous director of Black Diggers who played a crucial part in the play’s conception in addition to its execution, opens his Foreword to the script with this statement about the work’s fundamental motivation. In order to supplement the dominant narrative about the Australian military as a white institution and World War One as a conflict fought exclusively by white soldiers, Black Diggers tells the stories of Australia’s roughly 1000 Indigenous World War One soldiers. So far, the story of World War One’s Indigenous soldiers has been preserved in two primary forms: it has been passed down in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo m
In post apartheid South Africa during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission there was a four-part definition of truth:
- Personal truth — the thing you believe to be true
- Social truth — what a group believe to be true through discussion and debate
- Forensic truth — the truth that can be proven through science and records
- Public truth — the value of telling the truth for the greater good
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In his Foreword to Black Diggers, director Wesley Enoch uses this four-part definition of truth to help elaborate on the play’s goals. It is relevant that he cites the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body responsible for holding accountable and granting amnesty to individuals who committed crimes against humanity under the era of apartheid (white supremacist rule) and during the violent period that saw apartheid’s end, because it shows that Australia’s horrible mistreatment of its Indigenous people and state-enforced racist policies fit within a historical precedent and can only be truly addressed if the government acknowledges, confronts, and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusa
Act One Quotes
Full-blood, too. Unusual. Perfect specimen. And if I’d been only five minutes later … it’s all chance, and fate. [To the baby] Look at you. Back from the dead, if only you knew it.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the opening scene of Black Diggers, a Taxidermist saves Nigel from sure death after a group of whites, clearing the remote region of Bellender Ker for settlement, slaughter the Indigenous people who live there, including Nigel’s parents. Even more disturbingly, the Taxidermist is traveling with them, and he only saves Nigel because he is a “perfect specimen.” The audience is meant to feel ambiguous about this act—while Nigel has been brought “back from the dead,” it is not because the Taxidermist sees anything inherently wrong with massacring other human beings, but rather because he sees Nigel as a potential Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitati
RETIRED SCHOOLMASTER: Think about what it might mean, if swathes of Mahommedan Turks or creeping armies of sausage-breathed Huns over-ran our country, imposing their foreign ways, interfering with our women. Imagine the horrors of what it would be like if we were to lose, and you wake up one morning and find us all under occupation.
HARRY: Yeah. Imagine.
They laugh. The old bloke moves on muttering under his breath. They join him, mimicking him at first, but one of them has a bass-drum, their parade of mimicry becomes a rallying march.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When a Retired Schoolmaster berates Harry, Norm, Ern, and Bob about joining the war, he seems to completely miss the irony in threatening Indigenous men that their land will be devastated by foreign invaders—this has already happened, and was continuing to happen, in Australia. Like many Australians as the time, the schoolmaster portrays the war as a means of defending white nobility and purity, which exposes both the racist underpinnings of Australian nationalism and his complete inability to imagine the boys’ relationship to their land. And yet the stage directions after the characters’ dialogue point to the ambivalent and nearly Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officii
NIGEL: Father, what happened to my aborigine parents?
TAXIDERMIST: You know that, little man. They died.
NIGEL: How did they die?
TAXIDERMIST: I’ll tell you one day. Look, a chimpanzee. They are our closest relatives.
NIGEL: Why not now?
TAXIDERMIST: Because you’re not ready yet.
NIGEL: Ready for what?
TAXIDERMIST: The world—the bigger, grown-up world—is a complicated, difficult place. You should enjoy every moment of your childhood. Plenty of time for truth later.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When the Taxidermist takes Nigel to the Australian Museum in Sydney, the audience realizes that he has adopted the boy as his own son after saving him in the wilderness of Bellender Ker. However, their relationship remains uncomfortably underlined by the Taxidermist’s motives; in this scene, the audience learns more about the Taxidermist’s work and its role in the colonial project. Namely, he seems involved in 19th and 20th century colonial science’s dedicated attempt to demonstrate that white people were more racially advanced by evaluating various human racial groups on a continuum from less evolved (closest to apes) to most Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Min
ERN: Soldiers. If you can fire a gun and stand in the sun, they might pretend to forget you’re …
NORM: What??
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In 1916, Norm, Ern, and Bob have signed up for the military (although the play does not recount their difficulty doing so until after this scene). Here, they wonder whether they will be able to have access to their pay or whether, like almost all Aboriginal assets, this pay will be appropriated by the Aborigines’ Protection Boards that are ostensibly tasked with promoting Aboriginal Australians’ interests (but, in reality, mostly serve to prevent them from advancing in society and challenging whites’ power in that society). Realizing that, for the first time, they might be seen as full individuals rather than Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit
I’m sorry, son, I have no idea what to do with this. With you. Wait here.
He goes and talks to a superior. There is much consulting of books and disagreements until a half dozen men are all scratching their heads and carrying on.
Anyone have the slightest idea what “Substantially European” means?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Norm, Bob, and Ern first try to sign up for the military, they are summarily rejected because they are Aboriginal: officially, only people of “Substantially European” descent are allowed to enlist. Later, however, they return to another recruitment center and try again, and the Recruiting Sergeant sees through the law just as they do: not only is “Substantially European” a vague and meaningless term, but the racist ideology that Australia is a white nation actually works against it in a time of war, when it can continue using the Indigenous population it has always exploited as soldiers so long Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicab
It needed to be seen; these extraordinary specimens, these gallant figures, resolute as they were silhouetted against a foreign sky, they had the toughness, the ingenuity of the land of their birth. They had come to the other side of the globe to defend noble ideals; to protect motherhood, the safety of law, the sanctity of liberty, to fight for their King and all His Majesty carries … truly, from some confused, even shambolic frontier, the Australian has arrived. Fair, clear of eye, the finest of the British race cast anew under a southern sun. These boys are us, those that remain; those that returned. The greatness of the White Man, rendered greater still by peril, fighting not just for God and Empire, but to define what it is to be a man, an Australian man, in this our young Commonwealth …
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the scene immediately after Norm, Bob, and Ern finally manage to sign up for the military, an old-timey radio announcer gives this speech, valorizing Australian soldiers and revealing the values that underlie the Australian war effort. The voice sees the soldiers’ positive traits as both inherited from “the land of their birth” and the product of their whiteness; needless to say, Aboriginals who have a true, intergenerational connection to Australian land do not count. Indeed, the speech implies that Australians are so valiant precisely because they have managed to conquer Indigenous land (the “shambolic frontier”) and so demonstrated “the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tem
Listen to us and you shall hear, news that’s been coming for a hundred years: Since Captain Cook, and many more, you’ve never seen the like before.
The white man needs us coloured boys now
Here in the shit every face is brown
You see the world’s turned upside down
See the world’s turned upside down.
Fellers — You see the world’s turned upside down
See the world’s turned upside down
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After he deploys out from Australia, Harry meets a belligerent, racist soldier named Jim on their ship heading for Europe. Jim berates Harry, claiming that it is a disgrace for blacks to be allowed to eat at the same table as whites and yelling that “the world’s turned upside down” before assaulting him. Fortunately, the other white soldiers on the ship come to Harry’s aid, beating Jim up first, and Harry affirms that “the world’s turned upside down” before this song plays and is sung by the whole cast. The world being turned upside down is a salient metaphor for Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debiti
VOICE IN THE DARK: Have we ever met?
ERN: Passed in the road. Your old man took his belt to mine a few times, when he went for a drink.
VOICE IN THE DARK: Why would he do that?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As they chat at nighttime, Ern and a white soldier reveal they are from the same town. But, because it is dark, the white soldier does not know that Ern is Aboriginal. In their mutual blindness, they have a heartfelt conversation as equals, but it is clear that this is only because the white soldier never imagines that Ern might be black. Beyond attesting to the severe discrimination and violence Indigenous people faced from whites (in addition to the state), this quote shows that the power dynamics surrounding the two soldiers’—the fact that the white soldier’s father used to beat Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. C
Australia. Never heard of it.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Bertie declares his intention to go to war for his country, Australia, his grandad—who has been living on their land his whole life and watched much of the process of colonization play out—retorts with this line. His (and some of the Indigenous soldiers’) rejection of the legitimacy of “Australia” is powerful because it demonstrates an entirely different way to think about people’s relationship to land, beyond the conventional idea of ownership and national sovereignty that became virtually universal in the 20th century. For him, the land is the land, and “Australia” is the construct of white invaders who wrongly Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium r
HARRY: If you blokes have a beer with me then that’s a start.
STAN: What are you on about? We’d always have a beer with you.
FIRST WHITE SOLDIER: You’re as good as a white man, Harry.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Harry begins to befriend white soldiers at the Battle of Polygon Wood, the group’s conversation ends with these lines that foreshadow the role of racism in the diggers’ fate after the war and point to the particular, partial way in which they were sometimes accepted as equals during the war. Harry’s request shows how progress toward racial equality must be founded on goodwill and personal connections—not only is the best way to dispel racist beliefs by simply learning to see the people one hates as human through personal connections, but different groups’ eagerness to interact can create a powerful Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias.
Seriously, this has gone for years and it could go for years. We lose a few mates, they lose a few, the whistle blows, we gain another cricket pitch worth of Belgium, the horn blows, they chase us out. But most of the time we sit here and we sing our songs. And they sit over there and sing theirs. And everyone, everyone hates the whole bloody stunt.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As they sit in a trench playing “I Spy,” Mick, Archie, Ern, and Stan begin to realize how much the reality of the war differs from their expectations, and especially how completely futile the whole endeavor seems from the perspective of the battlefield. Although they know that much of the world, major powers and major powers’ colonies alike, sees their fate as the most important question of their day, on the front lines virtually nothing happens, any progress feels meaningless, and it grows unclear why it matters whether one side or the other wins. Beyond confusing and meaningless, the war Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. C
Your folks do something, over in the West? [BERTIE shrugs] I wouldn’t know where to begin. His you know, his soul will be stuck here. You know what I mean. With all these trees, they will grow here one day all these—what do you call them? Elms and oaks and all that. And all these hedges and the flowers and we don’t know the names of any of them. And when they burn the smoke is different and will lead him a different way.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When fellow Indigenous soldier Frank dies at the Battle of Pozieres, Bertie and Tommy are both astonished to see a corpse that looks like them for the first time and completely unsure how to properly honor their fallen compatriot. They discuss traditional Aboriginal beliefs about death, noting that the fate of someone’s soul is intimately tied to the place where they die and the funeral ceremonies performed for them. Yet, in Europe, they are completely stuck: white soldiers do not understand or respect their traditions, and they do not have the proper materials to give Frank the kind of funeral Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beat
And the worst of it is that Ollie is still alive, he’s in the hospital and he hasn’t got a face but he’s alive Aunty May. But he hasn’t got a face Aunty May, he hasn’t got a face.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In his second letter to his Auntie May, Archie tells the story of their family friend Ollie Thomas, who simply sat down on a bench with some other soldiers and “shot himself in the face” in a suicide attempt. Like all his letters, the one in this scene points to soldiers’ immense distance from home but continued, intimate relationships with family members who love them and share in their suffering—both these dimensions also reflect the role of letters and related documentary evidence in this play’s production (although they crossed enormous gaps of space and time, they brought poignant, personal, emotionally Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantiu
You must all see now, having been captured, that you have been used and abused. You are victims of your oppressive masters, who brutally seized your lands and took from you your birthrights. You are little more than slaves until you rise up and throw off the shackles of your British masters. The time for being lickspittles has ended, this war and the inevitable defeat of Great Britain has washed it all away. The question is, who will acknowledge they have been made fools, have been kept children, have accepted their own slavery? It is Time to fight, to fight against your oppressors, for a free India, for free Africa…
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After he is sent on a dangerous mission because he is “shortest” (although clearly, in reality, because of his race), Nigel returns to learn that his entire unit has been killed by the Germans. He gets captured and taken to the historically unique Zössen POW Camp, the German camp designed for nonwhite soldiers from colonized territories. At Zössen, he is forced to listen to a German soldier pontificate about the evils of colonialism. The most disturbing part of this German’s lecture is that, although it is by the diggers’ enemies (and really designed to get soldiers to switch sides), it Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libe
Schwarzer teufel. Schwarzer teufel mit weiße Augen. Schwarzer teufel. Schwarzer … letzte, was ich sehe.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As he strangles a German soldier to death, Archie hears the man’s last words, which translate to: “Black devil. Black devil with white eyes. Black devil. Black … the last thing I see.” Beyond depicting the personal dimension of cruelty and violence that is often missed when talking about war in terms of statistics and generalizations, this closing scene to Act One also shows that the racism faced by Indigenous servicemen was not a uniquely Australian phenomenon. Indeed, if the allies and the enemy can agree on anything, it is their view of nonwhites as subhuman; in his dying breath, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem.
Act Two Quotes
It might have passed some of the less observant of you, but I happen to be aboriginal. My ancestors came up from Mackey river way. And I’m proud of it. But I have to say, thank God for the Army. Thank God for the uniform and the chance to serve. Because when I was a whippersnapper and first joined up I was just another woebegone failure. And in the army, you earn your way. You take on dignity. A dignity perhaps that no-one was going to let you have back home. But in the service, you are forged into something … not white, you’re not erased of your past, but it’s … it’s … incorporated into who you are, and you realize — maybe in those hideous moments in hell on earth, maybe on parade, maybe with mates, I don’t know — you realize, “I belong.” And I came back, and like you gentlemen I found myself identifying with Australia. It wasn’t for them or about them. It was for me too.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the first scene of Act Two, the narrative of Black Diggers jumps forward more than 30 years, to this speech by an unnamed Indigenous veteran after World War Two. This year, 1949, is also when the Australian government first gives Indigenous people the right to vote—but only Indigenous veterans, and all other Aboriginal people remain disenfranchised for 13 more years, until 1962. This speaker’s deep gratitude contrasts strongly with the experiences of the World War One soldiers profiled in Black Diggers; while this might simply be because this man is so grateful for the vote, more likely, this speech Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenet
For you the war’s over. What’s starting to dawn on me is that, for us, it’s never going to end.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After the war, veteran Mick goes to a public meeting of the Soldier Settlement Commission, the agency responsible for allotting land to World War One veterans, in the Western District of Victoria, where he lives. Instead of collecting a settlement like many of the returning white soldiers, Mick watches his own land—arid, fruitless land onto which his family was forced after they were driven out of their native territory—get appropriated by the government and given away to other soldiers. Although he and the farmers with him insist that the land is useless and that Mick is a war hero, the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam.
You listen to me and you listen to me nice and close. I don’t give a rat’s arse where you’ve been and what you’ve done. I don’t give a fuck what happened on the other side of the world. I don’t care for your airs and graces. As far as I’m concerned you’re still the boy who used to shut his lip and do as he was told. Ever since you came home you’ve been the worst kind of black, an uppity one. I suggest you get on with the job at hand and stop being a troublemaker. Or things might get tough for people you care about. Jesus, now you’ve gone and got me angry. Who put these bloody ideas in your head?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After he returns home from the war, Archie goes back to his job performing hard labor at a rural cattle ranch. Having seen the world and the morally outrageous violence that surrounded him in the war, he decides to say something about the ranch’s abusive policies towards its Indigenous workers, who are simply left to live on the streets when they can no longer work. This is the overseer’s response, and it demonstrates not only how the war itself does nothing to ameliorate racism, but also how threatening Archie’s willingness to claim his rights is to the overseer whose profits Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati
You know, even when the fires had been through, the little green shoots came up everywhere. Little tiny tender shoots, up from the bones. But that’s all lost now.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After Bertie returns home to Australia—virtually catatonic, unable to speak, move, or do anything but clutch Frank’s hair—his mother laments that she has lost him forever and his grandad remembers how the land used to be before the government’s irrigation destroyed it. Before, periodic fires used to cleanse the land and create the conditions for new life to grow; now, the land is always the same. This transformation in the land—which is stolen, destroyed, and paralyzed—is a clear metaphor for Bertie’s transformation through the war, which he imagined would allow him to grow and pursue a better life after the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectu
REPORTER: Surely the letter’s point is about the massacre up in the Territory?
EDITOR: No-one’s interested in payback in the back of Bourke. An Aborigine who can write like this is a much better story. He must be doing all right for himself, mustn’t he?
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After the Coniston Massacre—the 1928 state-sanctioned murder of at least 100 innocent Indigenous people by settlers and government forces—Nigel writes a fiery and brilliant letter to the editor of the local newspaper, condemning the massacre and hoping to provoke a public outcry. When the newspaper staff receives the letter, they are so fascinated by the quality of Nigel’s handwriting—which proves his level of education and contradicts their expectations about Indigenous people’s subhumanity. For the first time, then, Nigel is considered exceptional because he breaks rather than exemplifies stereotypes about Indigenous people; and yet he is still reduced to a spectacle, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Expli
Tarzan. At the Empire. Tarzan, man of the apes. The ape man. Tarzan. Ape. Man. Lowland Gorilla. From Zanzibar. Ape. Man.
He stops, has a surreptitious swig from a bottle. Stands still, watching people rush past him.
Sorry Dad.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the disturbing scene just after Nigel writes his letter to the editor, he walks down Sydney’s busiest street—George Street—wearing a sign that advertises the show “TARZAN THE APE MAN.” The implication is clear: because whites, following racist science, think Aboriginal people are evolutionary somewhere between apes and full men, Nigel looks like an “ape man” and is a perfect advertisement for a show about such a figure. This recalls all the other examples throughout the text when others treat him only in terms of his appearance, regardless of his desires or efforts—like when the Taxidermist (the “Dad” to whom Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostru
I reached round and felt just here under that scar and yep it was oozing that lovely rich black blood you know not the fairy light stuff close to the surface skin blood no this was that dark dark blood that comes from deep and has been there for ages, you know? […] You see, when there’s been a war there’s metal everywhere, just tons of it and it gets buried in the mud and the dirt and it gets forgotten.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
During a lengthy monologue set in the 1950s, Ern recalls moving on with his life after World War One, only to discover his old wounds beginning to bleed during World War Two and start finding old bullet shards buried in his side. As he pulls them out gradually, he begins to realize for the first time how deeply the war has impacted him psychologically as well as physically. He decides to give the 17 shards he finds in his side to his grandchildren—they serve as reminders not to forget his service or the war, many years after he has already Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non i
No matches.
