Essay Questions

The importance of family and family relations is well presented in Doris Pilkington’s Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. Show how the author achieves this in the novel.

The importance of family as well as family relations is very well presented in Pilkington’s Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence through characters who value family. The characters present an emblem of the importance that family holds. After the government takes away all children of mixed racial origins are taken away from their parents and families, they go through thick and thin to return to their particular families. Molly, Doris, and Gracie both escape custody through following a rabbit-proof fence so that they can be united with their families once again.

The theme of racial segregation is central to Doris Pilkington’s novel, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence. Illustrate the truthfulness of this statement based on the same novel.

The theme of racial segregation is portrayed though the particular actions of the Western Australian government to take the children of mixed racial lineages away from their parents. This act of separation was based on the ideology that these children from mixed parents were brighter and cleverer than those from the aboriginal parents and less smart than whites. Settlements for mixed-race children are thus founded to host these children after they have been separated from their parents. In this way, racial separation is presented in the novel.

Show the role that willpower plays in Pilkington’s Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Dotted with a lot of instances of utmost hardship as well as destitution, willpower is of central concern for the characters in this work. Willpower is just what the characters need in order to be successful in their escapade. For instance, when Molly gets into a fight with a wild cat, her willpower and determination play a major role in her success in fighting off the cat. In this way, willpower is pivotal in this work.