Australia Literature Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 685 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1

Page 1 of 2

Australian Literature: An Anthology of Writing From the Land Down Under, by Phyllis Edelson. Specifically, it will contain an analysis of "The Convict" section, and describe the reality of convict life in Australia two centuries ago.

THE CONVICTS

If the Aboriginal experience in Australia was terrible, then the convict experience in Australia was pure Hell. Some of them were not guilty of any crime, they were just sent to a prison colony because they were in the way of something, like a romance. The early convicts lived little better than animals. "I have taken grass and pounded it, and made soup from a native dog. Any man would have committed murder for a week's provisions" (Edelson 109). Once a convict, a man was no longer a man, he was simply a number. "A Thing - a Chattel - a Number - anything, rather than a man" (Edelson 116). This certainly makes it easier for the guards to treat them like animals, if they are not recognized as men. It also makes it easier to dispense with twelve at a time, as the officials do at the public hanging.

Stuck Writing Your "Australia Literature" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Australia Literature Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

If they were actually "men," there might be some regrets, but since they are only numbers, there is no worry, in fact, there is a carnival atmosphere to the entire affair.

The cruelties of the guards were impossible to believe, and it is a wonder more prisoners did not revolt to escape them. They were probably afraid of what would happen when they were caught and sent back to jail. The guards whipped people for just about anything, from having tobacco on them, to trying to get a little more to eat. "I've seen a man flogged for pulling six turnips instead o'five" (Edelson 109). Often, the guards punished the men just to see how long it would take them to break down. They even flog the executioner for not doing his duty when he refuses to hang the dozen men. Two hundred lashes and a sentence in jail for "gross disobedience….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Australia Literature" (2002, November 19) Retrieved June 4, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/australia-literature-139231

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Australia Literature" 19 November 2002. Web.4 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/australia-literature-139231>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Australia Literature", 19 November 2002, Accessed.4 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/australia-literature-139231
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example