Techniques and Analysis

Idea about culture and identity

Example (quote)

Language, feature, technique and comment

Effect and impact (your analysis)

Affirm

Ignore

Challenge

Reveal

Disrupt

Resilience is a feature of Australian identity

“She fought a snake all night… she will fight a flood next.”

Repetition, symbolism

The repeated use of "fight" emphasizes bushwomen's ongoing struggle and resilience, reinforcing the idea that survival is a key part of Australian identity. The snake symbolizes constant threats in the harsh environment. 

This affirms the bushwoman’s strength and resilience but also reveals the emotional and physical burdens of isolation.

Australia has its characteristics (which contribute to the way we see ourselves as a nation)

• The Drover’s Wife

• Alligator

• Tommy

• Jacky

• The swagmen

• The Aboriginal men

Alligator, 

Tommy, 

Jacky, 

The swagmen, 

The Aboriginal men

Characterisation, symbolism

Each character represents different aspects of Australian society. Alligator (the dog) ssymbolisesloyalty and protection, Tommy represents youthful optimism, and Jacky (the Indigenous man) is treated as a side character, reflecting racial dynamics. The swagmen embody transient bush life. 

This reveals the diversity in Australian identity but also disrupts romanticized notions of mateship and unity.

Expectations of men

"He is careless but a good enough husband."

Juxtaposition, irony

The drover’s absence highlights the expectation that men should be providers, even at the cost of family connection. His carelessness is excused, reinforcing the challenge that bushmen are expected to be tough rather than emotionally engaged.

Expectations of women

“The gaunt, sun-browned bushwoman.”

Visual imagery, characterisation

This description emphasizes the physical toll of bush life on women. She is not romanticized but shown as worn down by hardship. 

Challenges traditional feminine roles, showing that women had to be as tough as men in the bush.

Culture as influenced by the landscape

“The bush consists of stunted, rotten native apple trees.”

Negative imagery, symbolism

The harsh, unwelcoming landscape mirrors the woman’s struggles and emotional hardship. The bush is not a place of opportunity but of constant challenge. 

This disrupts the idealised view of the Australian landscape as a place of freedom.

Individual’s sense of identity

• The Drover’s Wife

• Tommy

The Drover’s Wife: “She is used to being left alone.”

Characterisation, repetition

Her identity is shaped by isolation, reinforcing her resilience but also her emotional suppression. 

She is revealed as independent yet burdened by duty.

Representation of collective community or culture 

The lack of community support for the drover’s wife

Absence, irony

Despite the strong idea of "mateship" in Australian culture, the drover’s wife is left to fend for herself. 

This challenges the notion of a supportive bush community.

What aspect of Australian culture is absent or silent in the text?

Genuine mateship, emotional expression, Indigenous perspectives

Absence, omission

There is little evidence of the supportive mateship often celebrated in Australian culture. Indigenous characters are sidelined, and emotional struggles are ignored. This reveals a culture where individual endurance is valued over shared emotional experiences.

The idea about Culture/Identity

Example (Quote)

Language Feature/ Technique/ comment

Effect/Impact (Your Analysis)

Affirm

Ignore

Challenge

Reveal

Disrupt

Ritual and Religion are not meaningful to Australians

“Roman”

“Bushmen seldom grumble at an inconvenience of this sort”

“Devil”

“Heathens winced” 

“They went to church for weddings and funerals, and that was enough”

“God helps those who help themselves, mate”

“The departed was a Roman, but unionism is stronger than creed. Liquor, however, is stronger then unionism”

Religious identity, motif

Stereotypes of the bush and rugged bushman.

Cynicism

Absurdity 

Irony, Understatement

Irony, Juxtaposition

Minority, escapism

Priest referred as the devil = dislike for religion

Making the procession comical/humorous realities of living in the bush. 

Highlights a casual attitude toward religion in Australian society, where religious rituals are often only observed during major life events rather than being deeply ingrained in daily life. 

This highlights how religious affiliation is secondary to secular loyalties (like unionism) in the Australian bush. Even more, it shows that alcohol holds greater significance than both religion and union solidarity. 

This challenges the idea of Australia as a deeply religious nation. 

This disrupts the traditional notion of religion being a guiding force in society

Australia has its own characters (which contribute to the way we see ourselves as a nation)

“ Billabong across the river”

“Who looked like a drover”

“He was a stranger to the entire show”

“ He nodded at the…“

“He was a larrikin through and through, never afraid to have a go”

“Horseman who looked like a drover just returned from a big trap dropped into our dusty wake and followed us a few hundred yards.”

Australian vulculaur

Colloquialism, 

Colloquial language, Characterisation

Imagery, Colloquial language

Symbolism of aussie ways, Fear, danger. 

Australian identity 

Expected way of how we behave. Stanger and lonely. 

The term larrikin represents a uniquely Australian identity – cheeky, irreverent, and free-spirited.

Te drover is an iconic figure in Australian culture, representing rugged independence and the transient lifestyle of bush works.

It affirms the idea that Australia has distinctive characters who shape its cultural identity. 

The character reflects national identity rooted in hard work, resilience and an unspoken camaraderie among strangers.

Alcohol is a bond between Australian men 

“One was drunk – very drunk” 

“Liquor” 

“They didn’t say much, just nodded over their beers.”

“Next day, a funeral gathered at a corner pub and asked each other in t have a drink while waiting for the hearse”

Repetition 

Minimal dialogue, symbolism

Setting, Symbolism

Australian culture

Stronger than unionism

Reinforces the idea that alcohol serves as a social glue among Australian men.

The pub, a central place of social gathering, symbolises how alcohol acts as a unifying force in Australian male culture. Sharing a drink becomes a way to express respect and bond, even in the context of a funeral. 

Drinking culture is portrayed as a way to bond without needing deep conversations, affirming the stereotype of the ‘Aussie bloke’

This affirms the cultural norm of mateship through drinking. 

Australia has a class system

“He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, while the rest of us made up with a tin one.”

“Besides, the publican was grat and important pillar of the church, through an ignorant and conceited ass”

Metaphor, Contrast

Satire, characterisation

Suggests a division between the wealthy elite and the working class, challenging the myth of Australia as an entirely egalitarian society.

This line exposes the contraction of social hierarchy – where wealth and status (symbolised by the publican) trump genuine virtue. 

It reveals the existence of social stratification despite the national identity of being “all equal mates”

It challenges the youth of complete egalitarianism in Australian society by revealing that class privilege still exists even in the bush. 

Telling tall tales/spinning a yarn is a part of our culture

“I saw a coffin get stuck once”

“Some of us talking about the accident, and lying abut the narrow escapes we had ourselves”

Humor vivid imagery

Hyperbole, Humor

Lack of respect. Telling a story under these circumstances. 

The casual exaggeration reflects the tradition of storytelling as a way of bonding, distracting from grief and maintaining a sense of humor even in solemn moments. 

This affirms the Australian cultural tendency to ‘spin a yarn’ as a way of finding connection and resilience.