We Are Going They came in to the little townA semi-naked band subdued and silentAll that remained of their tribe.They came here to the place of their old bora groundWhere now the many white men hurry about like ants.Notice of the estate agent reads: ‘Rubbish May Be Tipped Here’.Now it half covers the traces of the old bora ring.’We are as strangers here now, but the white tribe are the strangers.We belong here, we are of the old ways.We are the corroboree and the bora ground,We are the old ceremonies, the laws of the elders.We are the wonder tales of Dream Time, the tribal legends told.We are the past, the hunts and the laughing games, the wandering camp fires.We are the lightening bolt over Gaphembah HillQuick and terrible,And the Thunderer after him, that loud fellow.We are the quiet daybreak paling the dark lagoon.We are the shadow-ghosts creeping back as the camp fires burn low.We are nature and the past, all the old waysGone now and scattered.The scrubs are gone, the hunting and the laughter.The eagle is gone, the emu and the kangaroo are gone from this place.The bora ring is gone.The corroboree is gone.And we are going.’ Oodgeroo Noonuccal Appreciating “We are Going” by Oodgerooo NoonuccalRead Oodgeroo’s “We are going” (p. 32) and answer these questions on it:
- Explain why they are “silent and subdued”.
They are normally pretty silent because that is there natural way of living and when there hunting they have to be silent and subdued
- How are white men represented? Why?
They are represented by ants because there was so many of them and they always were exploiting their land.
- What is a bora ring and explain why it is so central to this poem.
It is sacred to them and their people.
- Explain their reaction in line 8.
They are saying how the white people thought that aboriginals were foreign but actually they were the strangers to the Aboriginals.
- Lines 9-17 begin a ‘litany’. What is the effect produced?
They repeat themselves a lot to get the point across.
- Comment on the significance of metaphors used in the poem.
They are significant in poems, but I believe this poem doesn’t use them to their full potential.
- Comment on the structure and form of this poem.
There are different line lengths and they are very brief and concise.
- Why does Thunder have a capital letter?
Maybe to emphasize the word.
- Comment on the mood and atmosphere created here.
It is basically to make the white people to feel guilt about what happened in those days.
- Combine comments on its theme, title and conclusion.
It is based to make the white people feel bad and they are repetitive throughout. Also it is straight to the point. Stepping Out
I’m stepping out, don’t mess about.
Don’t tell me to be patient.
I’ve been wedded, enslaved, white washed, and saved,
But now, I’m liberated.
I’ve been patted, and moulded, and shaped, and scolded
And I learned real fast how to please `em,
I was cursed and damned,
And all for no good reason.
I’ve been put up, and I’ve been put down,
By folks who were black, white, yellow or brown,
Treated like I wasn’t human, just a puppet, a token,
But I healed my hurts, `cause for better or worse,
Black woman’s got spirit that’s never going to be broken.
Been labelled all my life,
Black, woman, mother and wife.
And their labels formed the bars of my prison,
But I’ve got to set free, this person who’s me.`Cause now I’ve got a vision,
Their myths and lies are dead,
Not heaped on my head,
And their history is all outdated,
Different sex, different skin, can’t change what’s within,
`Cause now, I’m liberated,
And I’m stepping out, don’t mess about,
Don’t tell me to be patient
No ifs or buts.
I don’t walk, I strut,
`Cause now, I’m liberated. Maureen Watson
This poem is about the frustration and pain that these people have gone through. The sentences are
short and concise and they are straight to the point. This poem is not in formal language and uses
some slang. They have repeated the same line sometimes, ‘Don’t tell me to be patient’. They repeat
this line to get the point across. The Aboriginal people have gone through alot over the past
generations and this shows some of their memories. They rhyme at times in the poem but not
consistanly. Over all I think this is a great poem and it is well written.
DYLAN MCKEOWN.
