Try this Higher-Level, Paper 1 specimen. Then contact us for your free trial session.
Analyse, compare and contrast the following two texts. Include comments on the similarities and differences between the texts and the significance of context, audience, purpose, and formal stylistic features.
Text 1
Family's fifth generation in care of state
The Australian, February 20th, 2009
Caroline Overington
State Welfare workers have begun removing the fifth generation of Aboriginal children from their parents, meaning some indigenous families have an 80-year history with child protection services.
There are few signs the cycle will be broken, as more Aboriginal children are being separated from their parents than at any time in Australian history.
The Australian spoke yesterday to an Aboriginal woman whose daughter became the family's fifth generation to be raised by the state, when she was taken from her home in June 2007 and placed with white foster parents on the NSW central coast.
The NSW Department of Community Services removed the girl after an older sister, aged 14, tried to hang herself.
The girl's mother told The Australian: 'After the Stolen Generation Report, they said it would never happen again but it's happening. You don't want to tell child welfare that you need help, because they will come and take your children.'
'My daughter was seven years old when they came for her. My husband fell down on his knees on the lawn. She was screaming. The last memory I have of her is of her hand against the glass, (and her) saying, "Please let me stay."
The mother, who was born in 1967, was left on a railway line when she was three days old. She was sent to live with white foster parents until she ran away at the age of 12. When caught, she went to a Brisbane institution known as Wilson, where she stayed until she was 18. Her mother was raised at the Parramatta Girl's Home in Sydney in the 1950s.
Her father was born in 1940 on the Woorabinda mission, which was established inland of Rockhampton, in Central Queensland, in 1927. At the age of eight, he was taken by Childrens Services, Queensland (now Department of Child Safety) to live at the Nudgee Orphanage, in Brisbane's north.
His mother was also a state ward, taken into servitude on Palm Island at 15. His grandmother was raised at Woorabinda, under the care of the Aboriginal Commissioner.
The Australian revealed last year that there were between six and 10 times as many Aboriginal children in state care today than at the height of the Stolen Generations era. The most recent data, from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, shows 9074 Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children in out-of-home care.
Text 2
Then all eyes turned to the cause of the commotion. A tall, rugged white man stood on the bank above them. He could easily have been mistaken for a pastoralist or a grazier with his tanned complexion except that he was wearing kakhi clothing. Fear and anxiety swept over them when they realized that the fateful day they had been dreading had come at last. They always knew that it would be only a matter of time before the government would track them down. When Constaple Riggs, Protector of Aborigines, finally spoke his voice was full of authority and purpose. They knew without a doubt that he was the one who took their children in broad daylight -- not like the evil spirits who came into their camps in the night.
'I've come to take Molly, Gracie and Daisy, the three half-caste girls, with me to go to school to the Moore River Native Settlement,' he informed the family.
The old man nodded to show that he understood what Riggs was saying. The rest of the family just hung their heads refusing to face the man who was taking their daughters away from them. Silent tears welled in their eyes and trickled down their cheeks.
'Come on you girls,' he ordered. 'Don't worry about taking anything. We'll pick up what you need later.'
When the two girls stood up, he noticed that the third girl was missing.
'Where's the other one, Daisy?' he asked anxiously.
'She's with her mummy and daddy at Murra Munda Station,' the old man informed him.
'She's not at Murra Munda or at Jimbalbar goldfields. I called into those places before I came here,' said the constable. 'Hurry up then, I want to get started. We've got a long way to go yet. You girls can ride this horse back to the depot,' he said, handing the reins over to Molly. Riggs was annoyed that he had to go miles out of his way to find these girls.
Molly and Gracie sat silently on the horse, tears streaming down their cheeks, as Constable Riggs turned the big bay stallion and led the way back to the depot. A high-pitched wail broke out. The cries of agonised mothers and the women, and the deep sobs of grandfathers, uncles and cousins filled the air. Molly and Gracie looked back just once before they disappeared through the river gums. Behind them, those remaining in the camp found strong sharp objects and gashed themselves and inflicted wounds to their heads and bodies as an expression of their sorrow.
From Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington (1996)
No comments:
Post a Comment