Tracks & Charlie's Country essay topics
Topic 1: "...as I walked throughout that country, I was becoming involved witth it in a most intense and yet not fully conscious way." (Tracks) "I'm free now! And this is my country!" (Charlie's Country). Compare the ways in which the two set texts explore the importance of a sense of belonging.
Topic 1 this side
Topic 2 this side
Western dominate society pushes the protagonist to feel a sense of lack of identity and belonging.
Topic 2: "...as I relaxed into Eddie's time. He was teaching me... about enjoying the present." (Tracks). Compare how the two texts examine the willingness to change.
CC: Charlie shows his unwillingness (justified) to change by choosing to escape to the bush with "a supermarket" like range of food on offer. This unwillingness to change to the coloniser's life represents the majority of how his community feel about the takeover.
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both protagonists are the minorities in their society, trying to find their sense of identity and belonging through nature
Looking into the quotes:
Both referring to connection of some sort. Showing how Robyn may have not been as "involved" or "connected" to the country originally until she does this trip. She doesn't really have to have to be "involved" in it or she is not really taught to, its not apart of her culture. Whereas for Charlie it is, his connection to his land is his connection to his culture. His sense of belonging. So therefore possibly for Robyn since its not really something she used to doing, appreciating the land could bring her a sense of belonging since she hasn't really connected to her own lifestyle, is an outsider. the land makes her feel a sense of belonging since it is so different from her old lifestyles?
In both text it's almost that to belong is to not belong in the normal ways in which we would think. Neither of the protagonists feel a sense of belonging within their society. They seem so feel more isolated in the society.Which leads to their journeys into nature where they can pursue a sense of belonging within themselves, without the constraints of the societal expectations.
CC: Robyn is an outsider to the Indigenous peoples that she wants to connect with
Charlie feels disconnected from the 'white' culture as well as his own (shown through his reluctance to teach the younger boys how to dance early on
Both explore the importance of finding a sense of belonging in shaping one's identity
both find connection/belonging in nature
Charlie goes 'back' to his mother countrty
connection to country reconnects Charlie back to his culture
Charlie seeks to escape the restrictive restraint of modern day society by escaping into the Australian bush to reconnect with his aboriginal origins to find his sense of belonging and identiy that was stolen from him. Similarily Robyn finds a sense of forfill ment when she engages with the aborginal communtieies wwhilst travelling
Charlie, an Indigenous man, Robyn a woman
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“…as I walked through that country, I was becoming involved with it in a most intense and yet not
fully conscious way.” - robyn
Why it's important and how shown in the texts
What are the implications of it lacking?implications include feelings of frustration and hoplessness within characters,
charlie tries to find belonging in what he already knows, his ancestr
"This is my country, I can dance with it."
Quote : " we need to teach them the traditional ways" -Charlies Country
Importance of a sense of belonginig?
Willingness to change links with environment; both characters need to adapt to their environment in order to survive / go about their everyday life
For charlie this isolation he feels within society is clearly stated when he is at the hospital and the doctor states ‘Do you mind if I call you Charlie? I have difficulty pronouncing foreign names.’ and charlie is response is,
‘Now I’m a foreigner?’.
"I'm eating well... I'm free now... And this is my country"
How does belonging impact on their sense of identity?
Charlie's belonging to country gives him strength/persistance to keep fighting government intervention by continuing to connect with his culture eg. hunting
Tracks: Davidson demonstrates her willingness to change in order to achieve her ultimate goal of crossing the desert.
both characters believe that by leaving behind their disliking's of the society around them, they will find a better place, a place where they can connect and feel like they belong
Their views and values change as their own story progresses. For Charlie, when he connects with his traditional way of life he tends to have more of a sense of belonging compared to the start of the film. For example: having his spear taken away or the buffalo compared to at the end when we see him dancing.
Nature to help them in their search for belonging, Robyn because it provides her with the solitude she wants and charlie because in returning to his “mother country” he is reminded of his values and where he wants to belong.
There is an unwillingness or inability to change in the societies of both texts, which drives both protagonists to seek a stronger connection to country and to 'find themselves'
Quote: "This was my first home, where i felt such a sense of relief and belonging that i needed nothing and no one" -Tracks
Charlie feels the changes pushed onto his country are damaging his community
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The texts are not about 'willingness' to change but more about the desire to change.
“I could never enter their reality, [I] would always be a whitefella tourist on the outside looking in.” (p. 146
Luke is an outsider to Indigenous culture and signifies government intervention meaning he has limited understanding/respect for Indigenous culture and their connection to the land. Simarily to Rick who sees the environment through a lense rather than personally connecting,
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Individually both texts have protagonists who change but they are making a change for themselves to escape and are not changing to comply with society's constrains but to actually get away from them.
Both texts, have an overall takeaway which is that we need to address the necessity of social/political change through the prism of the individual protagonists.
Rolf de Heer makes the main protagonist of his text 'Charlie' a vessel for this message as his character is meant to represent the aboriginal community as a whole.
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Robyn Davidson, in the post script of 'tracks' very clearly highlights the importance of the overall message of her journey its purpose, wherever there is pressure to conform (one person’s conformity is often in the interests of another person’s power), there is a requirement to resist.
“It was essential for me to develop beyond the archetypal female creature who from birth had been trained to be sweet, pliable, forgiving, compassionate and door-mattish.” Tracks (p. 34)
Robyn displays great willingness to break away/ change how society perceived her as a woman of the 1970s
“I wanted to… unclog my brain of all extraneous debris, not be protected, to be stripped of all social crutches, not to be hampered by any outside interference.” (p. 91)
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