Australian Cultural Identity in Bruce Dawe

‘Life Cycle’ represents the proud and passionate nature of Australian people especially at sporting events. Life Cycle is obviously about Australian Rules Football and football team’s supporter

“Chicken Smallhorn return like maize-god in a thousand shapes, the dancers changing” Like race and ethnicity religion is forgotten on the football field, all players and supporters have one religion or aim rather to win the Grand Final and place their hands on the premiership trophy, the holy grail of football. Like a religion the supporters hope for salvation, whenever their team is losing and having a terrible season they hope their clubs season will change they remain optimistic. “Having seen the six-foot recruit from Eaglehawk their hope for salvation” The true supporters remain through the slumps of their club they believe in their club it is their religion.

Bruce Dawe in ‘Life Cycle’ represents the football as a culture, a religion, away of life for many Australian people. Sport in Australia is significantly more popular then in most places in the world as Bruce Dawe said when he commented on ‘Life Cycle’ “I think all Australians have something of a predisposition to treat sport as being just a bit more religious than in other places’. Just looking at the newspapers and it’s obvious that football dominates the sport section it is Australia’s national game an icon that only Australian’s know. Bruce Dawe recognises how significant sport in particular Australian Rules is to the average Australian it is away of life a culture. Chicken Smallhorn a former Fitzroy wingman that gained god like status among the Fitzroy followers for his exploits on the football field,

A clear image in ‘Homo Suburbiensis’ is of your typical Australian bloke, who comes home after work and relaxes in his backyard as the sunsets. This is part of the Australian dream to come home after work do a nice family and relax in the outdoors in a peaceful backyard in suburbia. Bruce Dawe himself was once portrayed as an ordinary bloke with a difference, an Australian ‘Ocker’ who believes in the simple things in life. Dawe maintains that there is one constant value in an unstable world where politics play a major role. The man is a suburban householder with an ordinary Australian life standing alone in his backyard on a quiet evening among his vegetables. Dawe understand the ordinary life of a man as when he was younger he didn’t hold a regular job and ‘knocked around’ giving him a rich experience of the occupations of an ordinary man. He also understands the language of the common man and writes in simple everyday language. The laco

Some topics in this essay:
Bruce Dawe, Grand Final, Dawe Shakespearean, Australian Rules, Dawe Australian, LAUGHTER” Dawe, Chicken Smallhorn, Carn Cry, Bruce Dawe’s, Rules Football, middle class, cultural identity, bruce dawe, ‘homo suburbiensis’, ‘life cycle’, australian cultural identity, average australian, australian rules, australian cultural, australian people, australian life, suburbia bruce dawe, ‘homo suburbiensis’ typical, middle class housewife, middle class suburbs,