No Sugar

No Sugar

by

Jack Davis

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No Sugar: Act 4, Scene 10 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Early in the morning, the Millimurra-Munday family gathers at Long Pool Camp. Milly gives Mary a sugar bag full of flour, a frying pan, mugs, onions, potatoes, and fat. Joe says he is going back to Northam, and Gran warns him to be careful. David offers Joe his pocketknife, but Joe turns him down. Sam gives Joe a homemade knife, and insists his son take it with him.
Although Milly and the family have very little, they give what they can to make Mary and Joe’s journey a little easier. Although the document Joe signed forbade him from returning to Northam, Joe feels it is his homeland and Neal has no right to tell him what to do.
Themes
White Australians vs. the Aboriginal Family Unit Theme Icon
Language and Culture Theme Icon
Quotes
Gran sings as Joe and Mary pack up and leave the camp with their baby. Her song is in Nyoongah, and goes “Weert miny, jinna koorling, weert miny. / Jinna koorling / Wayanna, wayanna, wayanna…”
Gran’s song translates to “Woe, woe, woe. / My boy and girl and baby / Going a long way walking…pity, pity, pity, / hungry, walking, hungry.” Although not particularly uplifting, it warns of the dangers ahead and also serves as a point of connection between the past and the present; many generations of Aboriginal Australians, carrying their history and culture with them into the future.
Themes
White Australians vs. the Aboriginal Family Unit Theme Icon
Language and Culture Theme Icon