Scribd
Upload
189 views2 pages

Indigenous Perspectives in Nanberry Analysis

Nanberry by Jackie French provides insights into Indigenous history and culture from the perspective of a young Aboriginal boy witnessing the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788. The text immerses readers in Nanberry's world by using Indigenous language and contrasting the peaceful natural world with the strange and frightening ships and white men. Jackie French uses vivid descriptive language and literary techniques to position readers to empathize with the sense of intimidation and confusion felt by Aboriginal people during the invasion and colonization of their land.

Uploaded by

Some1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
189 views2 pages

Indigenous Perspectives in Nanberry Analysis

Nanberry by Jackie French provides insights into Indigenous history and culture from the perspective of a young Aboriginal boy witnessing the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788. The text immerses readers in Nanberry's world by using Indigenous language and contrasting the peaceful natural world with the strange and frightening ships and white men. Jackie French uses vivid descriptive language and literary techniques to position readers to empathize with the sense of intimidation and confusion felt by Aboriginal people during the invasion and colonization of their land.

Uploaded by

Some1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Year 8 English Oral Presentation

Planning Sheet: Analysing an Indigenous Text

Introduction

Good morning members of the Mt Gravatt show society. Today I am delighted to


share with you a text which explores the fascinating history and culture of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people. The text I have chosen is an excerpt from
Nanberry by Jackie French. French is an award winning Australian author of
history, fantasy and historical fiction, as well picture books. In this novel, she uses
vivid descriptive language to bring to life the arrival of Australia’s first colony, from
the perspective of a young Aboriginal boy named Nanberry.

PARAGRAPH 1:
What does this text teach the reader about Indigenous history and/or
culture?

Nanberry teaches the reader about a pivotal point in Australia’s history: the arrival of
the First Fleet at Sydney Cove on January 26th, 1788 (now better known as ‘Australia
Day’) from the perspective of Indigenous Australians. For Nanberry, who is a young
child of the Cadigal tribe, it is a sight that is confusing, fascinating and frightening.
The reader gets a strong sense of Nanberry’s confusion when he describes unfamiliar
sights, “the creatures on them had white skin, like ghosts, but they looked for water
like men, and hunted with long sticks that went ‘baboom’. This gives the reader some
insight into how frightening the arrival of the first fleet must have been from the
Indigenous perspective. Additionally, This text reveals a lot about Aboriginal cultural
by immersing the reader in Nanberry’s world. Jackie French demonstrates how,
moments before the invasion, the Cadigal people lived a simple and peaceful life with
a strong connection to the land. Jackie French uses Indigenous language such as
‘dainya’, ‘murry nowey’ and ‘waragul’ to make the reader feel immersed in this
culture. It also helps us to appreciate the similarities and differences between
cultures. Nanberry is highly effective in communicating historical and cultural
perspectives.
PARAGRAPH 2:
How is language used to position the audience to feel?

Jackie French uses vivid descriptive language to position the reader to sympathise
with the Aboriginal people’s point of view. She contrasts descriptions of the serene
and peaceful nature in Nanberry’s world, with the strange and threatening
descriptions of the ships/white men of the First Fleet. This is achieved through
language techniques such as personification: “The ripples playing with the sun,” “The
water tickled his waist,” and metaphors: “Giant skins flapped on tall spears jutting
from their middles,” and referring to the Europeans as, “white ghosts”. The beauty
versus the frightening is highly effective in positioning the reader to empathise with
the intimidation felt by the Aboriginal people during the invasion.

CONCLUSION

It is estimated that between 1788 and 1900, the Indigenous population of Australia
was reduced by 90%. Nanberry by Jackie French gives us a new perspective on what
we currently celebrate as ‘Australia Day’. As readers, we gain an understanding of
how this event affected the lives of Indigenous Australians, who had lived on this land
for over 60,000 years.

Thank you for listening.

You might also like