Essay Questions

Why is the relationship between Blacky and Clarence forbidden?

Blacky is a white kid, while Clarence is an Aborigine. This makes their relationship forbidden because inter-racial dating is unacceptable to both communities. The Aborigines do not trust the white population and do not want to have anything to do with them. They are also intent upon keeping their heritage alive and maintaining their culture without any white influences whatsoever. Similarly, the white population consider the indigenous people to be inferior to them and are determined to marginalize them as much as possible. They also believe that they are more likely to be criminals than the white community and do not want their children associating with them, let alone dating them. Neither side likes the other, but it goes beyond simple like and dislike; neither side would accept a child born to a mixed-race couple, and so relationships are frowned upon because of this possibility.

What does the relationship between Blacky's parents tell us about his family and the community they come from?

Blacky's parents have a largely dysfunctional relationship that endures because they spend barely any time in each other's presence. Blacky's mother has raised seven children, leaving her exhausted on a daily basis and too busy to engage with much contact with her husband, and far too tired to get involved in an argument.

Blacky's father is a drunk who spends most of his time out of the house at the pub, drinking. He comes home for meals, and when the pub shuts, which tells us that he is an old-school chauvinist who expects his wife to have a meal on the table waiting for him. He is brutal in both word and action and not the kind of man whose mind would be changed by logical argument. They come from a community of peers who think and live in the same way as they do which discourages making a stand about anything even if they wanted to.