Q- "Or to build a wall to crouch and hide, to cry or sneer behind"
T - Metaphor
Davis is communicating a need to let go of your insecurities and differences and be proud to share
what you have with others. To stand up for what you believe is right, by breaking down walls instead of
building them up. This imagery gives us a more negative insight to the consequence of hiding from
these issues.
Evidence 1
M-The use of inclusive language such as ‘ours’ allows Davis to connect on a more emotional level
with the reader. This introduces the reader into the idea of being involved in helping resolve cultural
issues in order to rid the indigenous communities fear of losing their culture and identity to the
more “mainstream” white Australian culture.
T- Inclusive Language
Q-M-"You must lead the talk, talk for our race and help dispel our fears"
Idea 2
Equality is possible-Must be fought for
Evidence 1
M-Davis is referring to fighting until the equality is made a law in Australia. The victory hour only being
when the ink is dry and the law is enforced.
T-Metaphor
Q-"You were not born to walk on by or rest in sheltered bower, but fight until the ink is dry, until victory
hour"
Evidence 2
Q-"The door between us is not locked, just ajar"
T-Metaphor
M- This is implicating that there is possibility to open the door and for a relationship between white
and indigenous Australians to exist. There is still an opportunity for the two cultures to
integrate, hence the title integration.
Before the start of this poetry topic, I struggled to gain understanding of the meanings of Jack Davis' poems. I knew aspects about them but never realised how much thought and depth were put into them. For
example in Davis' poem 'integration' Davis suggests that "The door is not locked, just ajar". I could identify this phrase as a metaphor; but when it came to expanding on the meaning of it, i could never get much
further then the idea of possibilities. But possibilities of what? It wasn't until i started to learn about the indigenous history that everything started to make a bit more sense to me. Possibility of integration, or having
a relationship with the white Australians.
This task has allowed me to move out of my comfort zone and think phrases through with more depth. But most of all this task has been an eye opener to the history of indigenous culture and experience. This
has led me to personally connect to a poem for the first time and gain wider understanding and views on concepts such as; identity, culture, discrimination, land and so on. Because of the the knowledge i now hold
on the topic, i am able to understand the hardships that the indigenous community went through not all that long ago. I believe this task has helped my poetry skills and identifying and explaining techniques and
the meanings behind them.
Jack Davis played a significant role in Australian history and will be a name continuously used throughout the future. His contributions changed Australia for the better. Without Jack Davis’ contributions and
influence I strongly believe that the identity of Australia would not be as strong and special as it is today.