The Divine Wind Analysis Essay Example

of what we call ‘The Stolen Generation’.

This is also referred to in the novel where Hart talks about Bernadette (the housemaid’s) childhood: ‘She’d been separated from her family when she was little and raised and educated at the Broome convent school’ (pg. 14). Here Disher shows the normality of such circumstances and hints that mistreatment of aboriginals was common. Disher not only demonstrates prejudices held against aborigines, but also those towards Japanese people. In 1941 all Japanese families living in Australia were arrested and taken to internment camps across the country, purely due to the fact that they were of Asian heritage.

This is documented n the novel where Hart refers to the government legislation brought in to intern the Japanese: ‘They interned single women, old men, children… They were marked people now, aliens in our midst’ (pg. 113). Disher not only includes factual information, he also creates spiteful characters through which detestable opinions are expressed. Through the character of Magistrate Killian, Disher expresses the controversial opinions held by many prominent men within Australia. Readers are positioned to loath Killian as he boasts a heinous personality and a derogatory attitude towards everyone except ‘White Australians’.

His discriminatory opinions are proclaimed more than once and each time he protests that the Japanese are enemies: ‘”That pig iron we’re selling to the Japs – it’s going to come back to us as bullets and bombs. You mark my words”’ (pg. 34. ) Through Killian’s character, Disher puts across the prejudices held against Japanese people during WWII. Though it may be thought that only men with authority held these biased opinions, Disher establishes that anyone is capable of these attitudes

under the right circumstances. The impending Japanese invasion places tension on each of the characters.

Evidently this is one of the reasons that forces Hart to succumb to his emotions and hold the Japanese residents of Broome somewhat responsible for the war. In the most relevant instance, Hart blames Mitsy, a long time friend and recent significant other, for his sister’s disappearance at war: ‘She’d [Alice] been reported officially missing… just days after we offered sanctuary to Sadako and Mitsy… I felt my face twist. I felt a spurt of burning tears, and said to Mitsy, “You bitch”’ (pg. 130). After the government had begun the internment of the Japanese, the public justified in discriminating against them.

Disher clarifies this when Hart talks about the changes in his day-to-day life: ‘As the war worsened in… 1942, people began to mutter whenever I passed them in the street. One of them even called out to me: “Hey Penrose, I hear you’re running a brothel. Got a pair of Jap whores” (pg. 120). Through these types of characters, Disher competently demonstrates that everyone is capable of embracing prejudice and fear. Overall, Garry Disher’s novel, The Divine Wind provides a confronting account of prejudice and fear. Disher does this by creating a variation in haracters and demonstrates how each of these has the capability to stoop to discriminatory behaviour.

Unfortunately though, considering the social gains made in recent decades to mend the relationships with non-indigenous and indigenous Australians, many people still hold prejudicial views towards aborigines. The Divine Wind serves as a cautionary tale for modern readers about the destructiveness of prejudice and fear. In his resolution, Disher reminds us that

the struggle against prejudice and fear is worth it, despite the fact that ‘It won’t be easy’ (pg. 151).