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Deadly Unna and Redfern at Night


            The novel, "Deadly Unna?" By Phillip Gwynne and the poem "Redfern at Night" Stephen Clayton both explore the idea of discrimination which exists between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Both texts discuss the racial discrimination which has built up over generations due to the cultural assumptions held by members of both the Aboriginal and white communities and examine the tension which exists between the Aboriginal and white communities. This tension ultimately leads to conflict between the two races. Both texts show how the lack of understanding between two cultures creates a basic distrust between blacks and whites and often leads to a tragic outcome. However, the final conclusions of "Deadly Unna" and "Redfern at Night" are quite different.
             "Deadly Unna" and "Redfern at Night" both examine the divisions which exist between the black and white communities, inevitably leading to discrimination. The Aborigines in "Deadly Unna" are separate to the whites in many instances in the novel, due to the cultural differences and their position in society. For example, the novel is set in recent times on a peninsula in South Australia. Blacky and his family live in the 'the Port' where the whites, or Goonyas, live. Dumby lives out at 'the Point' with the Nungas, the Aborigines. Both communities lead a very separate and different existence. Even in a shared sporting activity in the change rooms, one side is segregated for whites and the other for blacks. This is explained by Blacky, "The Nungas got changed at one end and the Goonyas at the other. There was no rule or anything, it was just the way it was". .
             "Redfern at Night" which is set in an inner city location of Redfern also discusses the divisions between the black and white community due to the fear and hatred experienced by both. The Aborigines live in the back streets, a place where any white man is afraid to venture. In the poem, the structure contributes to the feeling of separation which exists between the white and black communities.


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