Power and Race in The Secret River and Rabbit-Proof Fence Anonymous 11th Grade

“The problem of half-castes is simply not going to go away”

“The bodies lying like so much fallen timber”

Both the novel ‘The Secret River’ written by Kate Grenville and the film ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ directed by Phillip Noyce showcase themes of social and racial prejudice and powerlessness in a colonial Australia setting. The two highlighted quotes are indicative of the hierarchy prominent within the society, in which the caucasian race maintains control over the Aboriginal people, constantly utilising zoomorphism in their own dialect to dehumanise them and build apathetic natures that assist in their destruction of the aboriginal communities through violent means. These prominent themes are not only deeply interconnected but serve as the primary source of conflict in both texts; groups such as the Aboriginal people are left powerless as a direct consequence of the institutionalised racial prejudice induced by the caucasian settlers. In the film, it is the powerful Mr. Neville, ironically titled ‘Chief Protector of The Aboriginals’ that admits “The Problem of half-castes is simply not going to go away”, embodying the popular attitude at the time, the utter disrespect towards those born of mixed races, blatantly disregarding...