Cassi's World Literature Blog!

 I think one of the most interesting characters in the novel so far is Dick. I remember earlier on in the novel being surprised at Willie's immediate adoption of the hatred Will had for the Aboriginal people, as seen in his language and his negative attitudes. I was expecting the children to behave more like Dick, so it felt a bit more balanced to see this perspective as well. In my mind, I was expecting the children to be more tolerant that the adults. In growing up, this world is all they know. The Aboriginal people are the only people they are able to connect with outside of their family, so I am surprised that none of the other children (Willie, Bub, Johnny, etc.) have expressed interest in the Aboriginal children as well. However, on the other hand, I can see how being surrounded by the Thornhill adults would diminish that desire. They are constantly emphasizing that the Aboriginal people are dangerous and something to be scared of, so the kids would have been indoctrinated wi...

 The lecture we watched was about the author and stage adaptations for The Secret River. I think this sparked a lot of interesting conversations in class, and I definitely think there is a lot more to be talked about. One thing that struck me most was the stage adaptation. The big wonder for me around this is: why did they feel the need to adapt The Secret River for the stage? Who was behind this? Similar to the questions we had around Grenville, what were the intentions of the creators who put it on stage? Were they aware that the Aborigines had no lines and using it as a statement, or was it something they had not considered until production? I think this could be an interesting topic to research, potentially for a research excursion although I'm not sure if there would be a lot of academic articles available on the topic.  We also got to see Grenville discuss her book. We dove into this a lot in class, so I'm not going to repeat those points but there were a few lingering q...

 Hey guys! In reading section 3 of the Secret River, something I found interesting were the different attitudes that the visitors display towards the Aboriginal people (for example, Smasher and Blackwood clearly have different strategies). In reading William's reaction to all that his visitors were saying and his attitudes in other places throughout the section (i.e how he treats his new workers), I found it difficult to predict what route he would go. What do you guys think? How do you think William will end up treating and interacting with the Aboriginal people on "his property"?

In watching the microlectures (the There There one again, and the Secret River one for the first time), I learned and was refreshed on a lot of historical knowledge. I think a common thread that runs among these novels is the idea of ownership/displacement.  In both scenarios, settlers arrive on the land and claim it as their own. They decide it is a place that is theirs, instead of the indigenous people who are already there. In The Secret River, this is especially outlined, as we see William Thornhill physically claiming a plot of land on his own. He arrives at "Thornhill Point" and decides 100 acres of it is his, even though there are people already living in the area.  One big contrast I noticed in the books is the obvious time difference. However, although glaringly obvious, I think it is something that can be important to analyze. In There There, Orange talks about colonialism as something that happened in the past. In looking at all the modern-day characters, we are se...

 Hi everyone! Welcome back to my world literature blog! I think in our discussion there was a lot we talked about that was new for me about late 18th-century London. I admittedly am not a super big history buff, so almost any historical knowledge is new to me! One of the first things that stood out to me was when on page 13, William was shoveling "pure" with his father to make money, "At five, William was old enough to go with Pa round the streets at dawn with a stick and a sack, gathering the pure for the morocco works" (Grenville 13). This surprised me because I never knew this was a way people would make money! I think, for me, it really showed how dire the situation was and the lengths people would go (and force their children to go) in order to make enough to provide. Other things that stood out to me was the apprenticeship process detailed on page 26 (getting "bound" and receiving a license), and how common hangings were at the time, even for minor c...