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The Secret River

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“The Secret River” by Kate Grenville captivates and astonishes audiences through its brutally honest depictions of 19th century Australia. Grenville combines vivid imagery and propelling plot-lines with veracious representations of conflicting races to engulf her readers. Grenville also incorporates contrasting perspectives with relevant historical themes to add to the overall success of the novel. Kate Grenville infuses an array of different _____ features into her novel to capture the attention of the reader. Grenville’s immaculate eye for detail allows readers to watch the story in their minds, as they would watch a movie. The quote “The shadow had moved across the clearing and swallowed them into its chill, although the cliffs over the river caught the last rays, …show more content…

“The Secret River” skillfully manipulates the characterisation of European settlers and Indigenous Australians to present a historically accurate story relative to Australia and its origins. “There were no signs that the blacks felt the place belonged to them. They had no fences that said this is mine. No house that said, this is our home. There were no fields or flocks that said, we have put the labour of our hands into this place.” (p.93) is a passage from the novel that emphasises the European belief that land must show physical evidence to be owned. It is this European belief that leads to future conflicts and feuds between ethnicities. The quote “They spent time every day filling their dishes and catching the creatures that hung from their belts. But afterwards they seemed to have plenty of time left for sitting by the fires talking and laughing and stroking the chubby limbs of their babies” (p.229) displays several values and attitudes of Indigenous Australians as perceived by Europeans to the audience. These various character representations confront and intrigue readers due to their

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