The Massacre

The Massacre

1. Weapons

   • The blacks, despite trying to combat the attack of the whites, are powerless against them
     • "was beginning the coil of his body to launch (the spear), but there was a shot and he gasped like a man about to sneeze"
       • although the blacks may be more prepared to fight in terms of strength, the whites are more cunning on the way they fight, eventually leading all of the blacks to get killed
       • 'coil' creates the image of a tight spring, 'launch' highlights the explosive force required to launch the spear; when complemented with each other an image of the black mustering all the strength he needs to hurl the spear is created
       • conjunction 'but'

2. Tactics

   • The whites were more cunning in their battle techniques preferring to ambush the aboriginals instead of charging them head on
     • Alternatively, the idea of them being reptilian could point to them being like snakes.
       • Snakes are portrayed to be deceitful and cunning; they use stealth and strategy to get to their opponents
     • “In the first dim light, the men slid over the side of the Hope and waded to the shore… The blacks had heard them long ago on the river, in spite of all their efforts to be quiet.”
       • The adverb “slid” brought about a slimy and reptilian image of the men crawling over the boat to get onto shore. This adverb is effective in describing the movement because it uses imagery to convey an image of the men moving with stealth.
   • The movements of being undercover and evasion is also mimicked by the aborigines shown when
     • “Thornhill got the gun up at his shoulder but he was too slow again. The place where the boy had been was empty, only the trees looking back at him.”
       • The personification of the “trees looking back at him.” can be read by the audience as a suggestion of mockery where the trees are looking down at him as if he was a failure.
         • Culture clash implied as tactics are different: whites have original tactics and blacks use their tactics against them
   • However the whites were also charging straight and
     • “surround(ing) a humpy (and) were breaking it apart with the butts of their guns.”
       • The “humpy” which was a small temporary shelter made from bark and tree branches, was the place where the aborigines were residing within. The plain, blunt use of the verb “breaking” plainly displays their commitment to end the threat for which the blacks had posed by not moving away when asked. There was no difference when the two sides went face to face.
   • Both sides were
     • “Running with a spear up at (their) shoulder(s)” and “hit(ting each other) on the back with clubs.”
       • The imagery created by these quotes are barbaric where both sides have complete disregard for human life and just want to get rid of each other for good.

3. Social Hireachy