The Rabbits – Shaun Tan: Response
Revisionist texts allow an individual to understand a perspective or perception of reality that differs from the dominant one. A text which, through its construction encourages white Australians to re-interpret their ideology of the European discovery of Australia is the picture book, ‘The Rabbits’ by Shaun Tan, as it challenges the belief that if the Indigenous peoples had westernised themselves, Australia would be a greater nation.
When the first text is revealed – “many grandparents ago,” the viewer is immediately positioned to see the story in the style of a Dreamtime story aka from the Aborigines’ point of view. Throughout the whole picture book, Marsden utilises very minimal text and rather relies on
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In the book, the white rabbits are a clear representation of the European/British invaders whereas the marsupials represent the Indigenous Australians of the land. The rabbits being the antagonists in the book also symbolise the introduction of rabbits into Australia during colonisation which had negative consequences for the natural habitat. Rabbits are animals that breed rapidly and so Tan skilfully utilises this factual evidence to depict the overpopulation of European settlers through the characters of the rabbits in the book. This forms an allegory that portrays the impacts that the introduction of foreign flora and fauna had on the Australian environment and its natives. Tan reveals these impacts by gradually increasing the number of rabbits that appear on each page, foregrounding them and presenting them with an angular/rigid stance to symbolise power, arrogance and proud for their actions. In comparison, the marsupials become more challenging to view on the pages as they reduce in numbers and