The assimilation policy occurred from the late 1800’s to the 1970s, where children were forcibly removed from their homes, becoming children of the state. (Context statement – establish the context for your discussion) These children are now referred to as the Stolen Generation, denied their true identity that was taken from them. “Stolen” written by Jane Harrison tells five different stories of children, each affected by this policy, each with a different story of pain and suffering. (Introduce text, author) Much of this pain is caused by various forms of denial; being denied the ingredients most children need to have the skills and knowledge to create a satisfying life.(Address the topic) The journey of these child characters reveals their experiencethat included the denial of a home, the denial of relationships, and the denial of their identity.(Set up your discussion)
The termination of the mother child relationship is a key point of suffering for various characters. (Topic sentence) Jane Harrison provides a narrative to these lost relationships, to display the distance and separation felt by these children. The character of Jimmy, who is taken from this mother at a young age and told consistently informed that his mother was dead(Explain)“Your mother’s not coming, she’s dead”(pg.16)(Quote, evidence, indicate the page number), is a painful example of the denial of the most important person to a child – their mother. Jimmy’s mother provides an idea of hope for him to hold on to; but the warden denies him of that hope. Similarly, the character of Ruby emphasizes a child’s need for a mother, symbolized through her doll. At the beginning of the text, Ruby nurtures her doll, as it represents the mother daughter relationship she has been denied. The necessity of this connection is accentuated through her dialogue, “I want my mummy, where are you?” (pg.2). (Evidence, example and explanation) As Ruby is continuously denied this relationship and the protection it offers, she endures the pain and suffering associated with physical and sexual abuse. Ruby throws away her doll, exposing the pain the deprival has caused. (Explain and evaluate) The author achieves the purpose of drawing the reader’s attention to the pain caused to both the mother and child, showing how the denial of this relationship caused trauma and continued suffering for the characters.(Link back to topic)
A home should be somewhere a child can feel safe, can feel warm, can feel loved; however the children’s home offered the characters in Stolen the complete opposite. (Topic sentence) The children’s home denied the children an environment where they felt love or support, as it was cold, strict, empty and full of sadness. Jane Harrison shared emphasized the environment and the associated feelings through many of her stage props, lighting and stage directions. She insisted on minimal props to be used which emphasized the denial of material objects. In doing so, the stage is used to project the same cold and empty nature of the original children’s home. The use of lighting that fades to black, displays the hopelessness the home created in the children’s lives, denied the opportunity to look forward to anything. (Explanation) The beds in which the children slept also add great significance to the home. “Our beds should be a place of security and relaxation, but… they were charged with uncertainty, fear and institutionalization.” (Evidence and explanation)The “five old iron institutional beds”reflected the strict and regimented way the children lived. The beds were also moved around to display the characters inability to settle and rest, denied the experience of feeling accepted or finding a place to call home. These children grew up in a building, not a home. The denial of an environment or a family that is the basis of the concept of ‘home’, denied the children the chance of developing trust, hope or a belief in themselves.(Link back)
Not only were the children denieda home, or possessions, they were denied their Aboriginal identity, as it was perceived by the Government to be valueless. (Topic sentence) The assimilation policy planned to “breed out” the Aboriginal gene from Australian culture, saw the removal of children from their homes. They lost contact with not only their family, but also the Aboriginal culture they were forced to leavebehind. (Explanation)Jane Harrison deliberately omits Aboriginal terminology throughout the play, illustrating that the children were forced to lose their native tongue. This also represents the children’s inability to contact their families or access their culture and heritage. This denial displays how the Indigenous people were treated as sub-humans, less than any white man or women. Within the children’s home, Aboriginal children were not allowed to share any dreamtime stories, so their culture was not passed on. (Evidence and evaluation) When Sandy begins to tell the story of the Mungee, he is discouraged by the other children, who say “But you’re not allowed to say that.” (pg.10). The children are injected with fear of the consequences to share or listen to this type of story-telling. The matrons forcibly erased all aboriginal identity from these children. In Anne’s case, her adopted family raised her in a white household, with white man’s values; and when she is told of her Aboriginal heritage, she is confused by her identity, no longer sure who she is. When Anne meets her true Aboriginal family, she is confronted by more pain and distress, in terms of guilt. “What do I want? I don’t know. I don’t know where I belong anymore…”(pg.34) (Quotes used to support the discussion) Anne was taken so young, she has no understanding of her identity and perhaps the majority of her pain and suffering emerges from being denied the truth. Stolen displays the deprivation these children experienced, causing significant suffering throughout their lives.Stolen is a powerful play that shares the pain and suffering of the indigenous children who were taken from their homes, denied their culture and often being denied basic human rights. (Link back)
Government policies that resulted in a ‘Stolen Generation’ produced a relentless cycle, destroying families and the lives of children. (Topic sentence) Over time, we have learned and understood the true happenings of this time in Australian history, although the pain and distress that will forever remain for many of the victims. (Explain) Jane Harrison incorporated a filing cabinet on the stage as a symbolic prop of denial. This cabinet holds within it the papers and legislation that controlled the lives of indigenous children. The stage directions, further accentuate the play’s feeling of denial, “He opens the drawer and slams it with an echoey thud” (pg. 32) (Evidence and Explanation)This gesture of locking away documents, captures the essence of this tragic time in Australian history, when we denied children their family, their childhood and their identity.(Link)
The pain and suffering of the children of the ‘Stolen Generation’ is reflected through the characters in Stolen. (Revisit topic) Jane Harrison has created a symbolic representation of the many voices that were silenced for a long time. Unfortunately, if children are denied adequate protection or support when they are young, the results are often devastating. The repercussions of history often continue to ripple through generations, causing enormous societal devastation and long term problems. (Sum up essence of essay) The statistics for Aboriginal Australians are not positive, as they are over represented in the prison system and the suicide statistics, a direct result of early childhood experiences – characters like Ruby and Sandy are all too real. (Connect to real world significance) The most important aspect of Stolen is that the characters provide a voice for those children, who were denied so many things, resulting in generations of pain and suffering for marginalized Indigenous Australians. (Final evaluation of discussion)