Rap point 3
Cover reproduced with kind permission of Hachette Australia.
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Rap point 3: Term 1, Week 5: week beginning 23 February
Remember to REGISTER for the Jeannie Baker video conference by 27 February, at the end of this week! View student worksheets and teacher’s guide.
This week’s blog task
Consider one OR both of these quotations:
… you’ll find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our own point of view. Obi Wan Kenobi, Return of the Jedi
… That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong. F. Scott Fitzgerald
Explain how the composer of your text positions the reader in relation to notions of belonging. Comment on:
1. To what extent does the reader belong, or not belong, to the text? What do you believe the author intended the dominant reading of your text to be? As a reader, do you feel positioned by the author to sympathise with one of the main characters, or not?
2. Is there value to be gained from alternative readings of the text? Is YOUR perspective on the text different from the one implied by the author? Which world view is absent from the text? Which gender, racial, family, socio-economic, religious or political assumptions are made? Are there other ways of seeing the world? Send us an alternative reading which does not take the same line the author has taken.
Use the Planning and programming activities and Different readings of texts to help you respond to Rap point 3.
Go to Comment or Leave a reply at the bottom of this page to post your response. You will need to log in, post a response and wait for moderation.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:30 pm
This week’s task is all about points of view, perspectives, interpretations, readings – and these are words which you can use when you are analysing texts for the HSC. I look forward to hearing about the DOMINANT reading you feel positioned by the author to hold – to finding out the MAIN messages which the author intends you to receive. In addition, I look forward to finding out which ALTERNATIVE readings you propose for some of the texts in this rap. In pointing out alternative readings, you will be drawing attention to perspectives which have not been covered in the text. This is not a problem – just a description of the world view which the author is attempting to communicate – and then a world view that you describe which you think is just as valid and has not been addressed. If we feel strongly as readers that an author has “got it wrong” then we may even go so far as to propose a RESISTANT reading – one which strongly takes issue with the world view implied by the author, often supporting those who have been silenced in the text because they are not part of a powerful group in society. In every case, it is important to use the evidence from the text to back up your readings and this evidence may take the form of noticing who is MISSING from the picture or who is in a PASSIVE or MINOR role…
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Hi, it’s Felicity again. I have chosen ‘The red tree’ by Shaun Tan. The dominant reading of this book is that we are struck by an overall sense of depression and loneliness/exclusion. We are given a message that sadness is overwhelming and shuts out all colour and happiness in the world – seeing through closed doors.
My alternative reading is that sadness or loneliness is a necessary part of change. Without some sense of exclusion, we can’t possibly know “who we are” or find out “who we are”. Without sadness or exclusion, we can also never relate to anyone or show empathy as we don’t know ourselves in the first place.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Flick
I like your point that in ‘The red tree’ the dominant reading is that the sadness the girl is feeling is something that is depleting and isolating the girl – something we are positioned to wish her to escape from. Your alternative reading is one which validates sadness and depression and sees them as being opportunities for growth and change. In your reading, the girl is not stuck – she is actually on a journey of sorts…
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Hi, Zeinab here. I have chosen ‘Requiem for a beast’. The dominant reading is the author wanting the reader to be moved by beauty, truth and the knowledge of their own humanity. I would like to hear other people’s ideas about this book – there are so many points of view in it…
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Hi – it’s Nick here. ‘The arrival’ links to a dominant reading about the migration of a man to a strange, new country – he has left his old country due to forces of evil or possibly war – the text positions us to feel empathy for this migrant. It shows the struggle of this migrant as he arrives in this new country. It also gives us an understanding that all migrants are brave just to be migrants in a new place.
‘The arrival’ does not show us how easy it can be to migrate or that migration can sometimes be for family reunion reasons not for war. Not all migrants experience migration in the way shown in this book.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Good day, it’s Lasi. I have chosen ‘Belonging’. The dominant reading is about a change and a journey the girl has had throughout life. My alternative reading is that Australia is a multicultural society – but I really agree with all the greenery Jeannie Baker has placed in her story and her pro-environment message. By adding a variety of people, this would help create that multicultural vibe that most people look for.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Hall, it’s Devoe. I have chosen ‘The arrival’ as my text about Belonging as it shows the hard working migrant trying to make a living, to maybe escape a refugee life for a better one, this is especially hard on his wife. My alternative reading is that Tan could have used more colour in the pictures so it would have been MORE emphasised in the pictures. Another method he could have used would be to put in a harder experience for the man to make his life even more understandable – it’s all a bit muted.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Hi everybody – it’s Rhonda. In ‘The red tree’ the girl feels a sadness and a depression that are overwhelming so that everything loses its colour. We are positioned to feel sympathy and concern for this girl and to remember hard times in our lives when this has happened to us too. The alternative reading is that sadness is a part of life – it is necessary.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Hallo everyone, it’s Brook here again. ‘Belonging’ is the text I have chosen which is about changes in the environment, “greening up” the environment and making it better. A dominant reading is the main intended perspective – in ‘Belonging’ the book depicts prosperity which brings benefits to this girl’s street – like a better, greener environment.
An alternative reading is the point of view the author has left out, or which isn’t very noticeable. In this book, the nuclear family is the one which is shown throughout. There are other ways of showing family though – extended families bring a lot of joy. Australia is a multicultural place, with a community gathering together, not caring where you come from. This book also includes gender stereotypes, like the teddy with the pink ribbon – pink is for girls – but there are other ways of being a girl.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Hi there – it’s Middian. I have chosen The Arrival. The dominat reading is that migrating is very hard and lonely – it illustrates the difficult circumstances people experience in a new environment – it takes time to belong and furthermore to feel safe. The purpose of the main character is to create empathy.
How do I ‘belong’ to this text as a reader? Very strongly – this is due to my family’s experiences with migration which included struggles with employment, shelter and food. This book shows the extent migrants go to in order to assist their families’ future and a better chance to survive through life.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:48 am
It’s Lochlan – I have chosen the book Belonging. It is about the change in the environment of a small town – from being an old decrepit town to a flourishing town with lots of greenery.
Dominant readings of this text are:
* prosperity bringing benefits to the town
* the greenery and gardens in the town are better than ugly buildings
* an anglocentric point of view by the author
My alternative reading of this text is:
* Australia is actually a highly multicultural country
* Although decrepit old buildings may LOOK bad, they may actually be there for a GOOD reason
February 24th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Hi, it’s Jerome. The dominant reading of The Arrival is a man’s struggle to migrate to a foreign place and find his place in this new world. The Arrival shows the obstacles – both big and small – being presented to the immigrant. Things such as finding a job, reading a map and asking for directions pose an obstacle for the immigrant to overcome.
My alternative reading is that the mood in the book is too level. Colour could also be used to emphasise the visual language. Just as different tones affect the mood of the story so can different colours present different moods.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Hallo – it’s Enrique. I have chosen “The Arrival” – the dominant reading of this text emphasises that migration is a huge ordeal to migrants as they arrive in a new land. Shaun Tan uses the text to imply how important it is to treasure and to treat our visitors with generosity.
An alternative reading is that migration is not as gray and dark feeling in real life as it is in the book.
A resistant reading would be taken by those who oppose migration and feel little sympathy for migrants or refugees. A blame the victim approach would say that many do not struggle and meet their new home with their pride up.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Hi, it’s Ramendra, the Flying Fijian. I have chosen The Arrival for my text. The dominant reading is that people find it very problematic to migrate to a new environment and get used to the people, flora, fauna and food of the new environment. However, as time passes, people actually get used to the new environment and find acceptance in society and belong.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Hallo, it’s Rebecca. The Arrival by Shaun Tan shows the hardship of migration to a new country. The dominant message is that, even if you find it hard to cope with so much change, if you want to learn and better yourself, with time this will happen.
Another dominant message in the Arrival is that leaving a country that imprisoned you is not a bad thing – by the end of the story, going to a new country and creating a new place to live is a positive thing.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Nik speaking. I have chosen to write about The Arrival. The dominant reading is that migrating to a new or different country can be hard at first because everything new is scary until its usefulness is found. Immigrants with bravery and will power will eventually call their new country home.
My alternative reading is that migration can be difficult but can also be easy – it all depends on the kindness and assistance which the population of the new country shows. Also – going to a new place and discovering new things can be exciting and make life easier.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Your viewpoints are very interesting – the way that you have READ these books is strongly linked to your own backgrounds and your personal perspectives. Remember that the personal becomes political – large groups of people make decisions about what is fair, just and generous for the population and the environment and this has implications for our society.
Every political and economic position held by people comes from perspectives they bring from their childhood OR from important encounters they have had with new ideas. At the end of The Arrival, the immigrant’s daughter reaches out to a new arrival because she knows how important assistance is when we reach a new place. She wants a stranger to experience the Belonging which she feels.
Shaun Tan and Jeannie Baker persuade very eloquently with their visual language – encounters with books such as these can be highly significant for people who have not come across these themes before.
We BELONG to the people and ideas that we have grown up with and WE ALSO FIND BELONGING through the IDEAS and CHOICES that we make when we are adults and the GROUPS that we belong to then. This is extremely liberating because it means that we can take the best of what we have experienced as children and also choose a different pathway if we need to.
That pathway can involve getting involved in something bigger than ourselves so that we can contribute to Belonging in a broad community sense – maybe as a sports coach, an environmental activist or a volunteer. Some people care so much about international issues that they join organisations like World Vision, Greenpeace or Amnesty International – because they won’t feel that their sense of Belonging is complete while the earth is being damaged or while other people are excluded from access to water, shelter, education or political safety.
Belonging is something we FEEL and something we CHOOSE – books, music and films are powerful ways to meet new ideas and bring about change in our hearts so that we redefine what it means to Belong as we go along.
March 1st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Once again there are some incisive comments from you rappers. It is interesting to read the different perspectives offered on migration. There are many reasons people choose or are forced to leave their homelands, often severing the links (to place, people, and culture) that enable them to belong. So as some of you have argued, people need to establish a new sense of belonging. Given your range of ideas and perceptions, it is clear that the notion of belonging is complex, that it is open to change, and that it requires communication, negotiation and tolerance. You have presented some carefully considered comments on these issues. Well done!