The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Keneally
- First Published: 1972
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: c.1900
- Setting: New South Wales, Australia
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Satire
- Subjects: Language or languages, Politics, Racism, Colonies or colonization, Crime or criminals, Murder or homicide, Twentieth century, Rape, Violence, Death or dying, Australia or Australians
- Locales: New South Wales, Australia
Characters Discussed
Jimmie Blacksmith, a half-white, half- aborigine man bent on achieving social status and material success through land ownership. He murders the families of two of his previous employers. Educated by a missionary, the twenty-two-year- old is perceptive and intelligent, but he is snobbish toward his aborigine kinfolk and frustrated by expectations of failure from his white employers. After being cheated out of wages on several jobs as a fence-builder and after witnessing and participating in the brutal treatment of an aborigine murder suspect while working...
[The entire page is 1079 words long]
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