Summative Entry

Being my final semester at uni, there was perhaps no better way to finish then how I began, with one of Michaels literature units. I thoroughly enjoyed this unit, both the way it was taught, and the content itself. It was a pleasure to learn about the diverse history of this young nation through the eyes of the many authors that we looked at. At the conclusion of the unit, I can definitely concur that Australia is indeed an unfinished product which has through the years been revealing itself to us, most notably through the body of literature it has produced. It was so fascinating to read literature from early colonialists like Charles Sturt, who viewed the country with such fascination and curiosity. Or Louisa Ann Meredith, who captured the virgin beauty of New South Wales in the mid 19th century. Latter authors like Henry Lawson also captured my attention, conveying the plight of the working class man in a modernised society in “Faces in the Street” and of the bush woman in “The drovers wife”. Down the track, we studied literature that captured the immigrant experience, in Patrick White’s Tibby Szabo which was also fascinating, as it showed such a dramatic shift in the Australian experience. I would have to choose my best blog to be my very first one, as I believe it to be the most genuine and authentic. Only weeks after reading and learning about the different views towards the early Australian landscape, I went on a hunting trip in outback Australia. I got to experience the wild beauty and solitude the authors we studied in wrote about in their literature which was amazing. If I could choose a another favourite blog, it would be my fifth blog, which was a short poem I wrote in the style of Henry Lawson, inspired directly by his poem “Faces in the crowd.” I based the poem in modern day Australia and described the plight of young people getting caught up in the clubbing scene of Sydney. My fourth blog is also another favourite, and probably the blog I am most proud of, because I had the most fun writing it. I wrote a short creative piece inspired by the interactions of Tibby Szabo and Miss Slattery. In this blog, I humorously captured an encounter between a door to door salesman and an elderly Lebanese man, which for me summarises the beauty of the contemporary multicultural experience and is a testament to the diversity of this ever evolving place we call Australia. I also enjoyed writing my peer reviews in this unit, particularly I loved appreciating how people had such different yet talented writing abilities. For example, two blogs might be at a distinction standard and yet both be completely different. I loved how the uniqueness of the individual writer was present throughout the whole blogging process, be it in a creative or critical blog.
I would like to conclude by affirming the words of David Malouf, who made the profound statement that “Australia is still revealing itself to us.” Indeed, from the early indigenous inhabitants, to colonial Australia, to a post world-war multicultural society, Australia is constantly evolving and forming new shapes as the years go by. Undoubtedly it is impossible to put a name, title or label on this amazing country, it is too diverse, too colourful, too different, there are far to many contrasts. Rather then declare what Australia is, I would after this unit conclude that we should let it be, rather then tell it what it to be.