Belonging Robert Gray Analysis

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Different visions of Australia are represented through the poetry of Robert Gray and Jeannie Baker’s picture book. While Australia is often presented as a land of diversity, some texts also discuss the complex relationship between humans and the environment to be one of renewal, or in contrast, destruction. All three texts emphasise the strong connection between man and the environment, and…. Through the composer’s view of Australia we begin to understand the diversity and complex nature of Australian culture. Australia is a peaceful and diverse country with natural beauty, however man-made aspects can be a threat. Robert Gray emphasises the contrast of a man-made artificial train going through the natural world in ‘Journey: The North Coast.’…show more content…
The text ‘Belonging’ by Jeannie Baker, is seen through the perspective of a girl from her bedroom window. Baker uses illustrations to show a series of vignettes, which convey the development and transformation of the community over many years. This transformation is shown through the changing mood of the visual texts, which gradually change from grey to green. This colour change effectively demonstrates a positive transformation of the land. Additionally, America’s involvement in Australian culture is present in the community at the beginning with commercialised branded buildings such as “Coca Cola” and “Pizza Hut”, and this American cultural presence decreases over time as the environment becomes more natural. The decrease in American commercialised buildings is a sign the town is transforming to a more unique town. The window creates a border around the landscape and encloses the illustrations. A border is incorporated as it draws focus to the main aspect of the page, or focal point, which is outside the window. It is through the window that the advancements in the community are viewed. Baker uses these techniques to enhance the sense of positive transformation in the community. Baker demonstrates very powerfully in this visual text that Australians can take action to reverse the degradation of their environment, and that we do not need to sit back and allow our beautiful diverse natural
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