The Rabbit Proof Fence - Reconciliation Letter to Aboriginal Australians

Dear all Australians,
The natives of a country deserve respect. They were the first to live there. They were the first to cultivate the land, raise children there, and survive its floods or draughts. The Aboriginal Australians did all this and more in Australia. Their civilization had set up clear boundaries of the different tribes and had thrived peacefully. Imagine what it felt like for them when the first fleet of British arrived. They were curious, but a little cautious. Then the British started to take over, clearing out the Aboriginal Australians’ sacred trees for their farmland. Imagine how the Aboriginal Australians felt when their spiritual lands were taken form them by a people that confused them. Their children were taken by the British to be turned into British servants. The British taught the stolen children English and the customs of English life. The children’s own Aboriginal culture faded. This way, after generations, the Aboriginal culture faded. The Aboriginal Australians deserve an apology. An apology for what was taken from them – their land, their culture, and even a generation of their children. The Aboriginal Australians deserve an apology and respect for what they used to be.

The Rabbit Proof Fence - Is Molly a Hero?

Describe the character of Molly and discuss whether you think she is hero or not. Give reasons to support your opinion.

I do think Molly is a hero. She is unafraid to stand up to those oppressing her. She does not only do this for herself, but also for those she cares about, her sister and her cousin. Molly sees that they can win freedom if they are smart enough. The staff at the compound tell the captives that there is nowhere better than where they are now, that they should be happy that they are privileged enough to live there. Molly is strong enough to have a mind of her own. Molly is strong enough to be a leader. She tells her sister and her cousin that they are going to leave the dump they lived in and find their way home. She is truly the leader of the group, keeping them from losing hope. She takes her chance to escape when she sees that everyone is going for roll call and that no one will notice them leaving. Molly holds their little group together and keeps hopes up.

Ethnocentricity

How did the ethnocentricity of the British and the First Australians cause conflict between the two groups?

The two groups that met in Australia, the Aboriginals and the British, came from very different backgrounds. The Aboriginals were an ancient race that had lived on their own land for hundreds of years. They had already set up a harmonious society, a society that held boundaries and rules. Then the British arrived, travel-worn but curious. But when they saw the dark-skinned natives, thought themselves superior. They thought that the natives’ customs, such as not wearing clothing on top and killing for revenge, were unrefined and barbaric. The British had conquered many lands before, so when Captain James Cook claimed the land for England, they thought that the land was all theirs. They started building on the land, not even bothering to ask the natives for permission. They viewed the natives, who worshipped animal deities and lived in the woods, as animals to be tamed. Animals weren’t asked for permission to build on their land. So the British kept arriving on ships and settling in Australia. But when the natives try to do something about it, they are killed and their rebellions squashed.

Julius Caesar Solo/Duet Acting

Act II, Scene 2, Lines: 58 - 108
DECIUS BRUTUS
Caesar, all hail! good morrow, worthy Caesar:
I come to fetch you to the senate-house.
CAESAR
And you are come in very happy time,
To bear my greeting to the senators
And tell them that I will not come to-day:
Cannot, is false, and that I dare not, falser:
I will not come to-day: tell them so, Decius.
CALPURNIA
Say he is sick.
CAESAR
Shall Caesar send a lie?
Have I in conquest stretch'd mine arm so far,
To be afraid to tell graybeards the truth?
Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come.
DECIUS BRUTUS
Most mighty Caesar, let me know some cause,
Lest I be laugh'd at when I tell them so.
CAESAR
The cause is in my will: I will not come;
That is enough to satisfy the senate.
But for your private satisfaction,
Because I love you, I will let you know:
Calpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home:
She dreamt to-night she saw my statua,
Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts,
Did run pure blood: and many lusty Romans
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it:
And these does she apply for warnings, and portents,
And evils imminent; and on her knee
Hath begg'd that I will stay at home to-day.
DECIUS BRUTUS
This dream is all amiss interpreted;
It was a vision fair and fortunate:
Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,
In which so many smiling Romans bathed,
Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance.
This by Calpurnia's dream is signified.
CAESAR
And this way have you well expounded it.
DECIUS BRUTUS
I have, when you have heard what I can say:
And know it now: the senate have concluded
To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar.
If you shall send them word you will not come,
Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock
Apt to be render'd, for some one to say
'Break up the senate till another time,
When Caesar's wife shall meet with better dreams.'
If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper
'Lo, Caesar is afraid'?
Pardon me, Caesar; for my dear dear love
To our proceeding bids me tell you this;
And reason to my love is liable.
CAESAR
How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia!
I am ashamed I did yield to them.
Give me my robe, for I will go.

2. Context
The scene is taking place in Caesar's house, on the morning of the Ides of March. Calpurnia has had nightmares about Caesar being murdered. Decius has come to Caesar's house. Caesar says that he will not come to the Capitol that day, because his wife begged him to stay home with her. Decius turns Calpurnia's nightmares into good omens, saying that Caesar is nourishing Rome. Caesar, swayed by the flattery, goes with Decius to the Capitol and gets stabbed by the conspirators.

3. Significance
This passage emphasizes Caesar's arrogance. It shows how much he really does love flattery, even though he is always saying how much he hates it. Also, if Decius had nit been able to convince Caesar to come to the Capitol that day, he would not have been stabbed and killed.
Shakespeare's attitude towards women is also displayed. Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, is the weak, worrisome woman that begs at Caesar's feet to stay home. Her wishes are ignored, her fears called foolish, and her worries dismissed. In the play, women are never dominant, always just the weak half of the men they are married to.

Learning Profile Reflection

1. I learn best when......

I am shown the details. I can't be given a big, vague picture of the assignment, I need the detailed instructions. I like when the information is in sequential, chronological order that I can read through before I begin the assignment. If the information is not listed like that, then I will put it that way before I begin the assignment.

2. I need to .....

I write down the instructions. I need the information in front of me to see.  I might also need some diagrams or pictures to go with the instructions. I can't visualize the assignment without that. I also need some sequential diagrams, too. I want to see things in chronological, sequential order. It's best for me to look at the project that way.

3. The strategies that would help me in my learning....

I might need help with the whole picture, seeing it and understanding it. I might not see the emotion in a piece, just the details. I might need to get up and move around, to help me with my imagination, creativity, and intuition.

4. I would like my teachers to know this about me....
I am a very visual learner. If we are doing lessons where the teacher is only talking and I don't have anything to look at other than my notes, then I won't be able to remember the information.