The Tall Man Passage Analysis free essay sample

The Tall Man’ published in 2008 tells the story of the 2004 Palm Island death in custody. She follows the lives of the families involved and the events that took place after the death. I will focus on a passage from the text on pages 182-185. This passage is about the inquest into Cameron Doomadgee’s death. A large proportion of the passage is spoken in the first person but also reverts to the third person at the end of the passage. Speaking in the first person is Tracy Twaddle, the now widowed wife of Cameron Doomadgee. In this part of the text Hooper has used a transcript from the inquest to show how Cameron Doomadgee’s wife’s presentation to the court resonates there is love and peace within the Palm Island community and is the depiction of who Cameron Doomadgee was but at the same time portrays the existence of goodness among the people on the island. Here the reader is presented with the first insight into Cameron Doomadgee’s life and at the same time offers an introduction and understanding into the contradictions that exist within life on Palm Island Throughout the book Chloe Hooper speaks to Cameron Doomadgee’s family but she never asks them anything personal about Cameron himself. This passage is the first time intimate details about Cameron are revealed and it seems strategic the author leaves this to the person who knows him most intimately – his wife. Tracy Twaddle’s speech at the inquest is a main feature of the passage. The passion and vulnerabilities are clear of a life so tragically lost that did not need to be lost so tragically and needlessly. It also offers insight that this death was not accidental. Chloe Hooper’s introduction of Tracy Twaddle to the reader immediately moves the reader’s emotional senses that here is a grieving wife. The previous year Tracy had ‘gone to hospital with pneumonia after sleeping a night on Cameron’s grave. ’ Throughout the book the reader only sees the abuse of women on Palm Island and nothing is devoted to understanding if love exists between couples on the island. For the first time the reader is introduced to the love a woman has for her husband and displayed through the grief she feels for his death. There is a strong use of imagery in the first paragraph which is used to show Tracy Twaddle’s anguish over losing her husband. Chloe Hooper makes an effort to make the reader feel sympathy for Tracy by describing in detail the way Tracy looks to her stating, â€Å"her large body was hunched in old clothes – widow’s black  with a print of white flowers. † In your mind you have this picture of her being hunched, in ragged old clothing and clearly distressed by the situation she is now in – that of a grieving widow who has lost the man she dearly loved. The reader is immediately moved to feel the same sorrow towards Tracy she is feeling over the loss of her husband. Tracy is very polite in the courtroom and asks the judge ‘can I sit down? ’ when previously in the book she had seemed much stronger, defending her Aboriginal rights and also Cameron. Here before the courtroom, the reader is faced with a broken woman – a woman whose heart has been broken and the vulnerability and fragility of her life are put in the spotlight. This is a stark contrast to the portrayal of Aboriginals being drunken troublemakers who are violent in the community but now Chloe Hooper shows the reader a person who has faced the same emotions as many white human beings before her. Here is the kind, loving side that is often hidden behind the wrong-doings of other people in the community. This is where stereotyping comes into play which often gives us the wrong impression of people. Where the negative actions of some form the view of the majority. In this passage we uncover Tracy Twaddle’s hidden personality and made aware of her human frailties which are the same as those of any race and culture– these are the emotions of every human being faced with the same situation. The transcript of Tracy Twaddle’s speech at the inquest is incredibly moving and surprised me. Never in the book do we hear of such love between a husband and wife within this community. We only ever hear of the abuse and the hurt that takes place on Palm Island. Tracy often repeats the phrase â€Å"simple but happy† to describe not only Cameron himself but also his life. Tracy Twaddle speaks fondly of Cameron but also speaks the honest truth. Cameron Doomadgee is described by Tracy Twaddle as being caring, kind, joking, ready for a laugh, an inspiration, a proud father and a real and genuine person. Although this seems hard to believe after everything we already know about Cameron, we have now learned more about the true Cameron. Many may think it is just a way to cover up all Cameron Doomadgee’s wrong doings but it is clearly evident that Tracy speaks from the heart in this speech and every word she says comes from the heart. Hooper supports Tracy Twaddle’s speech by adding: â€Å"Everyone on the island described Cameron as a happy-go-lucky, as the last person to look for a fight†. Here we are faced with two personalities and it is up to the reader to choose which side of Cameron they believe is the real Cameron. In this passage there are many contradictions explored. We are shown a side of Cameron Doomadgee that is a complete opposite to how he has been portrayed previously. Tracy Twaddle speaks fondly of Cameron Doomadgee emphasising the good in him but also not forgetting that he was not a perfect man. First we hear that Cameron Doomadgee is this lovely man who cared for his family and friends and tried his hardest to support his family which is all probably true but then we are reminded that he drank methylated spirits, that he had been admitted to hospital with knife wounds and alcoholic seizures. We are torn between these two different personalities and are unsure which one to believe. The two personalities of Cameron Doomadgee represent each side of the court case. The loving, caring side of Cameron Doomadgee represents how the Palm Island community see Cameron and is also telling the reader that family, relationships and love are just as strong here as they are in all communities. However, at the same time the reference to this being an Aboriginal person reflects the community bias viewing black as being subclass and without feeling and emotion. Aboriginals are stereotyped as being drunk, drug users and rowdy people. The Cameron Doomadgee that drank methylated spirits and was admitted to hospital several times represents the tragic situation of a marginalised people by the majority who don’t see past what has caused these people to lose their identity and place within communities and therefore with all sense of loss of esteem comes the viral spread of disorder as we see on Palm Island and the strong police brutality to control it. The last part of the passage speaks about the Palm Island community but also Aboriginal communities around Australia. In these last paragraphs Chloe Hooper is trying to show how the Aboriginal communities feel about the scrutiny they are put under by the white community. Hooper also makes a link between the different perspectives of Cameron Doomadgee to the different perspectives of Palm Island. Hooper says that Tracy Twaddle had â€Å"delivered a eulogy, and eulogies smooth away sharp edges – but this also seemed to be a question of perspective, or of degree. † This relates to Hooper also saying â€Å"From the outside, Palm Island often doesn’t make sense. From the inside, perhaps it does. † This is also a difference in perspective; to the Palm Islanders their island makes perfect sense and their way of life seems completely normal and fine to them but to outsiders it seems violent, scary and tough. This could be attributed to the fact that the stories that emerge from Palm Island are always those filled with loss, despair and tragic endings of a marginalised people. Here there is a link between how society view native Aboriginals and how they view the Palm Island community. Primary sources are used to give an outsiders understanding of the Palm Island community and what outsiders think of Aboriginals and their way of living. Hooper incorporates allusions to Aboriginal Dreamtime stories to show the Aboriginal people’s connection with the land and the issues happening around them. These Dreamtime stories are also something that is only understood by the Aboriginals and is personal to them. They accept the hardships they experience but embrace them and try to find joy in the things they do. Primary sources are used to give an outsiders understanding of the Palm Island community and what outsiders think of Aboriginals and their way of living. Hooper explains this further through her line from W. E. H Stanner describing the Aboriginal view of life as â€Å"a joyous thing with maggots at the centre† and then Hooper backs up the ‘joyous’ part of this statement with the line â€Å"there is the ongoing human attempt to find joy. † Here she has shown that there is joy and love on Palm Island, you just need the right perspective to see it. The title of Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man, already states the theme of contradiction that becomes evident in this book. Contradiction is what defines the perspectives in this book. The Tall Man is the story of a vicious and powerful being that has ruined the lives of a community, now marginalised and on the fridges of society. It clearly depicts that when you peel away the surface and the crust that has allowed to build in this community, despite how pot-marked and ugly it might appear on the surface, the fruit inside is still wholesome and full of goodness. Cameron Doomadgee was a good man to his wife and people knew him this way, but to the outside world he was a victim of the stereotypical attitude towards Aboriginal people and his death and subsequent understanding of him was a result of this racism and lack of understanding of a people who do have a good inner core but have become a victim of the society they have been forced to adapt to.