The tone expressed in The Dawn is at Hand and We are Going provides contrasting perspectives on contemporary Aboriginal society.

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The tone expressed in The Dawn is at Hand and We are Going provides contrasting perspectives on contemporary Aboriginal society.

The Dawn is at hand and We are Going written by Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal also known as Kath Walker, provides contrasting perspectives on the contemporary Aboriginal society. The tone in these poems is significant in allowing the reader to distinguish the different perspectives. Oodgeroo expresses the tone in these two poems by employing emotive writing, imagery and metaphorical writing. Therefore it is important to explore how Oodgeroo manipulates these literary devices to amplify the tone of her poems.      

Oodgeroo utilises emotive writing, focusing on the emotions of sorrow and hope to dominate both her poems, We are Going and The Dawn is at Hand. Oodgeroo approaches emotive writing by using repetition and rhythm to exemplify the tone and the contrasting emotions of the two poems. The last three lines of We are Going are short and sharp and represent the key message of the poem, “The bora ring is gone. The corroboree is gone. And we are going.” Readers with absence knowledge about the history of the Aboriginal society and also the contrary readers are able to feel the emotions of sorrow and anger that Oodgeroo creates. Oodgeroo creates these emotions by explaining that the most important and sacred assets of the Aboriginal society, the “bora ring” and “corroboree” are now “gone”. The Dawn is at Hand shows a contrasting perspective to We are Going, for the emotion of hope was presented in this poem. The poem, The Dawn is at Hand shows a rhyming couplet as it follows the pattern of AA BB. This pattern enables a steady rhythm and creates a lively tone for the poem. From the repetition of the line “Fringe-dwellers no more”, it is understood that the Aborigines refuses to be excluded from society and that “the future beckons you [them] bravely on”. (4, 26) By understanding this, the reader was able to accumulate the emotions of hope and confidence for the Indigenous society.

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Oodgeroo applies metaphorical writing to display the key themes in We are Going and The Dawn is at Hand. The key themes of the two poems are the defeat of the Indigenous community and the opportunities that still awaits for them. Oodgeroo uses the word ‘dawn’ in the title of the poem as a metaphor of a new beginning for the Aboriginal society. The reader was able to comprehend this symbolism from the lines “Sore, sore the tears you shed / When hope seemed folly and justice dead… Look up, dark band / The dawn is at hand”. (5, 8) ...

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