Black Digger's / The Longest Memory - Character Profiles, Summaries of English Literature

Download Black Digger's / The Longest Memory - Character Profiles and more Summaries English Literature in PDF only on Docsity! Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 31 CHARACTER PROFILES Major Characters Nigel Nigel is the little Indigenous boy rescued by the taxidermist in the first scene, however we do not learn that his name is Nigel until the fifth scene. In the fifth scene is it revealed that Nigel has been raised by the taxidermist, but he is also aware that he has aboriginal parents. In the fifteenth scene Nigel has been separated from his regiment and joins five other soldiers in their dugout. He is accepted by the men and he points out the irony of one of the men being called Darky. Nigel, who has been given the nickname Snowy, ends up captured by German soldiers in the nineteenth scene. We see Nigel in the Prisoner of War (POW) camp in scene twenty-nine. He has been placed in a camp for non- white prisoners. He says this is the first time anyone’s mentioned the colour of his skin since he joined the army. While in the camp, an anthropological professor seeks out Nigel so he can record his measurements. Nigel obliges and also sees it as an opportunity to help out the Indian prisoners for whom it is against their faith to eat pork In 1929 Nigel wrote a letter expressing his concer over the lack of outrage at the massacre of Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory last year. However, it is the opinion of the newspaper editor that is more resounding, the editor focuses on the fact that Nigel, while being Indigenous, is educated and articulate and therefore *... must be doing all right for himself.” (Pg. 89). Three years after writing the letter to the newspaper Nigel is working as an advertising sandwich board — his life is not going well and he is clearly drinking. At the end of the scene Nigel apologises to his dad. Ie is clearly embarrassed. At the end of the play Nigel is in a hospital for the insane. There will be a service tomorrow, but he does not want to attend because he does not feel he belongs. Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 32 Harry We first meet Harry in the second scene of the play, where he and a group of friends are given an “earful” from a retired schoolmaster about the risk of their country being overrun by foreigners if they do not join the fight. Harry points out the irony in the old man’s rant. After the rallying march Harry and his friends learn about how the war started from Harry’s Mate. In this scene Harry is again a bit of a larrikin and after his mate has explained the situation in Europe he states that, “Yeah, no-one knows what it’s about.” (Pg. 18). In the twelfth scene Harry is on a ship in the Indian Ocean on his way over to Europe. He goes to sit at a table to eat and is greeted by an aggressive private who does not see Harry as equal. When the private goes to pul Harry “in his place” the other soldiers step in defend Harry, beating up the aggressive private. Harry is left feeling confused. Harry articulates that he hopes life is different when he returns home and that the other white soldiers will have a drink with him. When begging on the street for money in 1949, Harry is recognised by Stan, a man who he served with. Stan helps Harry out by giving him some money to get back on his feet. This supports Harry’s hope when he returned home that the soldiers would still be mates. Ern Em is one of Harry’s mates from the second scene of the play, however we do not learn his name for another two scenes. We do not learn much about him in this scene either. In the sixth scene of the play Em is explaining to Norm and Bob how army pay is paid straight to the men instead of going to the protector first. In the seventh scene Ern is trying to enlist. At the first recruiting hall he is rejected for a “Deficient Physique...Reasan: Of Strongly Aboriginal Appearance.” (Pg. 23). He tries again and at a different recruiting hall and this time he is permitted to join. He passes the physical and is given a uniform, which doesn’t fit. In the ninth scene Ern, Bob and Norm notice that they are being treated differently now that they are wearing the Australian Army uniform. Em ends up talking to an Australian who was Irom the same town, Perce Hourigan. Perce’s parents owned the Antrim Arms and his father had kicked his father out of the pub a few times. Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 35 On ANZAC Day in 1932 Archie is refused entry into a pub. It is not until the RSL Secretary instructs the pub owner that any man wearing medals and rosemary is to be permitted entry to the pub that the day is about recognising the service, In 1920 Archie is trying to improve the working conditions for the workers on a cattle station. The overseer is not interested in making changes and is annoyed that Archie would even ask for them. Archie isn’t even supported by the other workers; they think that he’s changed. Laurie We first meet Laurie when he is on a boat landing in the Dardanelles. He points out the irony at his arriving ina foreign country without being invited. Laurie prays before he gets out of the boat. In the fourteenth scene, Laurie is on a reconnaissance mission with two other white soldiers. They believe he has extra skills and senses that make him able to see in the dark and track the enemy better. Laurie is surprised they think this, as he grew up in an inner suburb of Sydney. In this scene we see Laurie’s sense of humour. Laurie’s faith becomes apparent again when he is in Palestine. He recites bible passages with a British Captain. He is in awe of being in a sacred place and at the thought of walking the same places that the Lord has walked, When Laurie returns home he is barely recognisable, he has lost so much weight. However, his appearance isn’t the only thing that has changed. when he spcaks his mate doesn’t understand some of the words he uses — this indicates that perhaps it’s the soldiers who have changed rather than the people at home. In 1937 Laurie is working in a church, he is collecting the hymn books afier a church service. When he is recognised by a man as someone who served in the war he tells the man that he prefers not to remember that part of the world and instead focuses on a better one. Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 36 Mick We first meet Mick in the eighteenth scene. He is in the army and sees four West Indian ammunition haulers walking past. The haulers insult Mick, calling him an Australian nigger and accusing him of not washing, so he punches them all out. Mick kills five German soldiers after one stops walking to pick something up. He goes into shock, saying that he comes from a long line of warriors. When Mick arrives home from the war he is with Archie. Before they disembark the ship he asks Archie to shake his hand and to promise that things won’t go back to how they were before. In 1922 Mick speaks out at a public meeting from the Soldier Settlement Commission about how Indigenous returned servicemen are still fighting for equality even though they were equal while they served. He is clearly frustrated and disappointed. Bertie Bertie is only fifteen and wants his mother to lie about his date of birth so he can enlist in the army. We first mect Bertie in the twentieth scene when he is trying to convince his mother and grandfather that things have changed and that if he goes to war he will be equal to the white soldiers. When Bertie encounters his first dead Indigenous soldier he doesn’t know what to do. He is worried that the young man’s spirit will not be able to make its way home surrounded by foreign plants and animals. This highlights the importance of the land in Indigenous Australian culture. Bertic is starting to freak out about being in the war. He is in serious shock and is not coping with the situation. When Bertie is writing a letter to his mum we sec that he is still struggling with the war. He wants her to write to the protector’s office and tell them about his real age. When Bertie is discharged from the army, because his real date of birth has been discovered, he is unable to speak. He is clearly shocked and relieved. When he finally returns home he is still unable to speak. He docs not talk to his mum, instead he stands almost at attention holding the lock of Prank’s hair. 1 he war has clearly changed Bertie. Eight years after the end of World War I Bertie still is not communicating. He still stands to attention and docs not speak. He also still holds onto Frank’s hair. Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 37 Tommy An Indigenous soldier who is with Bertie when he sees his first dead Indigenous soldier. He cuts the lock of the dead soldier's (Frank) hair and gives it to Bertie to look afier in an attempt to get the young man’s spirit to follow him home. Tommy ends up buried alive in a pocket of air after a large explosion. When he is rescued the men don’t realise at first that his skin is dark and they continue trying to scrape him down. Tommy is buried in 1935. His service is not attended by anyone and the minister reveals that very little is known about the man. It was not until they recovered his possessions that they learned that he had served in World War I and that he had been buried alive for three days — perhaps explaining why he was no longer able lo sleep within walls. Minor Characters Settler, Boundary Rider, Stockman These men are all from the first scene of the play. They are responsible for the attack that has just occurred on an Indigenous camp. They have found a young boy, who they call a picaninny, and they are debating how to get rid of him. Taxidermist The white man who rescues the little Indigenous boy who was found after his mother had been shot. ‘The taxidermist raises the little boy, who has been named Nigel, as his own. Nigel calls the taxidermist Father. Retired Schoolmaster Decides to “give an earful” to a group of young Indigenous men about joining up to fight in the war. He fails to see the irony in his rant about how the boys will feel, “...if swathes of Mahommenan Turks or creeping armies of sausage-breathed Huns over-ran our country, imposing their foreign ways, interfering with our women.” (Pg. 16) Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 40 Indian Prisoner of War Does not understand that Nigel is not British. Third Indian Understands that while the Indian soldiers will only be British while they are under British rule, Nigel will always be an Australian. Discharging Officer Tells Bertic that they have received a letter revealing his real date of birth and that he will be transported home. He also tells Bertie that he has been “snatched from the jaws of death.” (Pg. 63). Bloke with a glass of wine The man with a glass of wine in scene thirty-eight is a returned soldier from World War I. Despite the horrors he experienced he is grateful for the war: it made him someone. The war allowed him to identify as Indigenous and as Australian. Laurie’s mate When Laurie returns home his mate doesn’t understand what he means when he says he’s been “wretched”. Cellarman Refuses to allow Archie to drink in the pub on ANZAC Day because he isn’t allowed in the front bar any other day of the ycar. RSL Secretary Convinces the cellarman and pub owner to allow all returned servicemen to drink in the front bar, regardless of their skin colour. Public Servant Speaking at a public meeting about the resettlement of land for returned servicemen. He is clearly there to deliver a message and does not understand the concerns of the locals or know the answers to their questions. Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 41 Manager (overseer) The overseer on a cattle station. Is not interested in discussing the improvements Archie wants to sce made to working conditions. Old Hand One of the workers at the cattle station. Does not support Archie’s fight for equality. He believes that Archie has changed and sees himself as being better than the others. Minister Delivers Tommy’s burial service. Stan Served alongside Harry in the war, Helps Harry out financially in 1949 when he is clearly in need. Has also obviously helped Harry before as well when he helped him find some work. Lis final sentence, “We that are left. grow old” (Pg. 86) an extract from The Ode, reflects that even those who survive the war still face challenges as they grow old. Churchgoer Recognised Laurie as a soldicr who served in Palestine. He understands when Laurie tells the man he chooses not to think about that world and instead thinks about a better one. Editor Assumes that because Nigel can write he “must be doing all right for himself.” (Pg. 89). Relationships between Characters The relationships between the characters in a play do not develop the same way as they do in a novel — ina play you rely on the information that is presented to you and there is little opportunity for the backstory to be told. In Black Diggers the play is structured as a scries of separate events, while they may be linked in idea they are not linked in content or character, and therefore it is difficult to analyse the relationships between the characters. In individual secnes we can see the relationships that exist between the characters, but the characters in one scenc may not appear together again in the play. Therefore, the relationships between the characters have been categorised and briefly listed, however this list does not contain every relationship, Black Diggers / The Longest Memory 42 Mateship Nigel is acccpted by a group of men, when he cannot find his regiment. He is accepted when they give him the nickname ‘Snowy’. Marry, Ern, Norm and Bob are mates from before the war and are still friends after it. Archie and Mick become mates while they are serving in the war. Bertie and Tommy become mates while they are serving in the war. They both experience a horrific incident where they see an Indigenous soldier killed and try to work out a way to bring his spirit back to Australia. Unequal relationships The aggressive private believes that he is above Harry, because Harry is Indigenous. Harry and Stan’s relationship is unequal because of the circumstances that the men are in. Harry has not been able to benefit from being a returned serviceman as much as Stan has. Harry is embarrassed when he meets Stan while begging for money. Stan gives Harry some money to help him get back on his feet, but this is his attempt at equalising their relationship. Ern’s relationship with Perce Hourigan (voice in the dark), priar to the war was unequal because Ern would not be allowed to drink in Perce’s parents’ pub. However, Perce tells Ern that he'll be welcome after the war, moving their relationship to being more equal. Norm identifies how when he was wearing the Australian Army uniform he was treated the same as every other soldier, but that once he returns home it’s like his colour has been painted back on. This demonstrates that it doesn’t matter what happened in the war, the inequality that existed before the war would return at its conclusion. Archic is disowned by his mates from before the war, because they think he’s changed. Archie is not permitted to enter the pub on ANZAC Day until the RSI. Secretary intervenes and convinces the cellarman and publican to allow Indigenous returned servicemen the right to drink. Laurie’s relationships with his mates has changed after the war, they don’t understand some of the things he is saying and think that he’s changed. In the eyes of the West Indian ammunition haulers Mick is inferior to them.