Australian Literature
Australia: She saves herself
Human beings have been born with an innate desire to be constantly surrounded by a buzzing and vibrant atmosphere of people and their companionship. If, for whatever relevant reason, this companionship is taken away or rather, was never present to begin with, a person is tremendously influenced. This influence could result in many psychological or social or even physical changes which could be for the better or worse. Applying this reality to a vast continent such as Australia which has been physically isolated from the rest of the world, has led to significant marks in the history of the nation along with, the main component of this essay, the literary works. The establishment of European communities amongst the early settlers caused in them a feeling of dislocation from their countries of origin and a search for the meaning of being ‘Australian’. These two factors, the geographic isolation coupled with the feelings of confusion caused by the people of the new world led to isolation, exile and relationship and alienation which soon became the recurring themes across the works in the literature of Australia and Oceania.
With the influx of the European settlers into the vast continent of Australia in the 18th century, the immigrants soon felt overwhelmed with a feeling of uncertainty and loneliness and began to search for a shred of familiarity which they could embrace whole heartedly. The barrenness of the continent which symbolized an impending emptiness only strengthened this strange feeling. The limited horizons prevented them from the beauty of the prairies, the rich heritage of the nation and space which was a call for freedom; a blooming, undiscovered terrain which was filled with possibilities. Richard Campbell wrote,
“But emptiness is not nothing; it is the uncanny limit of our self-assertion, a beyond, an ‘outback’ which indwells out existence, curbing any pretensions to absolute...
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