Non-fiction prose (my place by sally morgan) persauasive /reflective response - Essay Example

Sally Morgan’s “My Place.” Order No. 233978 No. of pages: 2 Premium 6530 “My Place” is an autobiographical story, written by Sally Morgan, a young Aboriginal Australian girl, whose aboriginal roots were kept under wraps by her mother and grandmother. It is a heart-wrenching story of the betrayal which Sally feels upon learning the truth about her roots, but in the end she comes to terms with the reasons as to why she had been masqueraded as a child of Indian origin. Australia, in the mid 20th century was trying to integrate the indigenous population of the country into the mainstream and to further this end the government adopted some ruthless measures.

Among them, was the practice of taking away Aboriginal children from their parents and putting them in special schools, to indoctrinate the accepted norms of the time and subsequently eradicate the original Aboriginal culture. This led to the creation of a ‘Stolen Generation’, the children snatched away from parents to be “institutionalized.” This book could be said to be the predecessor for the inquiry and report on the Stolen Generation, undertaken by the Government in later years. Sally Morgan’s “My Place” could also be considered a tribute to her grandmother, who shields her own daughter and her grandchildren from the harsh truth.

Sally Morgan’s mother was a half-caste, fathered by the white landowner. Sally Morgan questions her grandmother’s motives in keeping their origin a secret, not realizing that the over-protective grand-mother went to such lengths to keep the children from being taken away. The author discovers many of the secrets which her grandmother kept from them, but her death left them with a lot of unanswered questions, which would always regrettably, remain with them. Sally Morgan makes each individual story special by narrating them as individual stories, which focuses on the trials and tribulations of the community.

Elsie, one of the people whom Sally met in her search for information, could give her some wonderful insights into the past life of her grandmother. These stories helped Sally to fill in the blanks in her quest for the truth. Sally’s mother Gladys felt like a complete person when the truth about her roots is laid down in front of her. Sally’s journey in search of her roots was an epic journey for her family, because if Sally had not insisted upon knowing her past, the family would never have been able to reclaim their rightful place in the new Australian society.

Sally Morgan’s work can be seen as seminal in the quest for self-determination, and an Aboriginal woman’s unflinching need to boldly proclaim her identity and claim her place in Australian history with pride. The book resonates with the author’s need to reveal to the world that what the government agencies paraded as a policy of assimilation which was nothing else but an attempt to erase the Aboriginal culture. Daisy and Gladys’ reluctance to admit to their Aboriginal roots, stemmed as much from fear, as it did from shame.

The unearthing of her roots brought Sally face to face with her real roots, and for a person living in the Australia during the mid and late 20th century, this was a perplexing discovery. Sally Morgan’s autobiography is not just a tale of discovery, but also a journey which rewards her with fulfillment at knowing her true roots and the rich heritage of her Aboriginal ancestors. In her quest for her roots, Sally Morgan met many of her relatives and past family friends who for so long had been blocked out of her life by her mother and grandmother.

The harshness of truth is difficult to face, but Sally ventured forth in her quest, aware of the greater ramifications that would eventually ensure. Raking up the past is sometimes the most unpleasant task which Sally undertook, because coming to terms with the reality of who we are and where we come from is most cathartic.REFERENCES:Living in Australia: A Journalhttp://cs.wheatoncollege.edu/~mleblanc/au/journal7.htmlSlashdoc - Journey Essayhttp://www.slashdoc.com/documents/79113