What is the significance of the title “True History of the Kelly Gang”?

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                Alex Chu

What is the significance of the title “True History of the Kelly Gang”?

There have been many different perceptions, views and accounts on the life of Ned Kelly.  The newspapers have also manipulated the character of Ned Kelly.  Ned Kelly writes the Jerilderie Letter to justify his actions and to show the public who he really is.  The Jerilderie Letter is Ned Kelly’s account of his own life.  “The True History of the Kelly Gang” is Peter Carey’s account of Ned Kelly’s life.  Peter Carey has cleverly chosen the “True History of the Kelly Gang” as the title for his book to make it seem as if it was written from the hand of Ned Kelly.  He uses this title to suggest that his account is the genuine account of Ned Kelly.  Peter Carey wants us to think that this is Ned Kelly’s account of his own life.  He attempts to do this by writing the story in first person to make it seem like it is Ned himself who is speaking, strategically constructs two newspaper articles to make the reader believe what he has written is true, includes a description of the parcels to make it seem like each parcel is authentic, includes the word “true” to reinforce the idea that the novel is a real account of Ned Kelly, and bases his character of Ned Kelly on the one in the Jerilderie letter.  All this is done to try and authenticate the “True History of the Kelly Gang”.

Peter Carey uses the title to suggest that “The True History of the Kelly Gang” is an authentic account of Ned Kelly.  The key words in the title are ‘true’, ‘history’, and ‘Kelly Gang’.  In a lot of cases, the ‘history’ we hear and/or read of comes from people in power; the kings, the police, the politicians, the authorities, but most people don’t know of the ‘history’ from the minor groups of society; the losers, the women, the criminals, the ethnic groups.  On the subject of Ned Kelly’s life, most of the reports we hear of are those from the newspapers and the police.  Not very often do we hear the story from Ned Kelly’s point of view.  Peter Carey uses the title to tell people that the novel is an account on the life of Ned Kelly, from his point of view, and that it is true and authentic.  Peter Carey wants people to think that the novel is the ‘true history’ on the ‘Kelly Gang’.      

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Peter Carey writes the “True History of the Kelly Gang” in first person, from the point of view of Ned Kelly.  It is written as if Ned Kelly is telling the story of his life.  Peter Carey also makes it though we are seeing Ned Kelly’s life through his eyes.  Peter Carey writes the novel in first person to give the impression that it is an authentic account of Ned Kelly’s life from his own point of view.  Even though Peter Carey may have injected his own perceptions and views and manipulated the character of Ned Kelly to suit ...

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