Bush Studies and Inside My Mother Essay Guide

Today, we’ll be looking at Barabara Baynton’s short story anthology Bush Studies (1902) and Ali Cobby Eckermann’s poetry anthology Inside My Mother (2015) in the updated HSC Syllabus. Below is an unpacking of the new syllabus description for HSC Module A and how we can compare the two texts.

Students explore the ways in which the comparative study of texts can reveal resonances and dissonances within and between texts. Students identify, interpret, analyse and evaluate the textual features, conventions, contexts, values and purposes of TWO prescribed texts. By comparing TWO texts, students understand how authors are influenced by other texts, contexts and values, and how these shape meaning. Through their comparative study, they explore common or disparate issues, values, assumptions or perspectives, and the ways these are depicted. By responding imaginatively, interpretively and critically to the comparative study, students explore and evaluate individual and common textual features, concepts, ideas and values.

Important things to note:

• comparative study of texts can reveal resonances and dissonances between and within texts
• analyse and evaluate the textual features,conventions, contexts, values and purposes of texts
• common or disparate issues, values, assumptions orperspectives
• individual and common textual features, concepts, ideas and values

Let’s explore how main ideas are explored in the two texts and their resonances and dissonances:

1. Repressed identity:

Baynton focuses on the repressed female identity due to her patriarchal context. In A Dreamer, Baynton presents the hardships of a female being disempowered by the harshness of the Australian landscape. In Squeaker’s Mate, Baynton presents a female who is initially physically capable and resilient, yet through an injury, becomes physically debilitated. Her husband is revealed to be exploitative.  In Billie Skywonkie, the female protagonist is revealed to be sent from the city to the country for sexual exploitation. In The Chosen Vessel, the female protagonist is brutally murdered by a male vagrant and her voice remains suppressed after death, being misinterpreted through an overzealous religious lens by a male passerby. 

 Meanwhile, Eckermann reshapes this through the lens of a Stolen Generation survivor by presenting the cultural dispossession experienced by Aboriginal Australians such as in Clay, Inside My Mother, Unearth, and Warriors at Salt Creek. However, while Baynton’s tone is more defeatist and pessimistic and does not show any hope of females retaining their agency, Eckermann presents more optimism in her message for Aboriginal communities to reclaim their cultural identity in Inside My Mother, Unearth, and Warriors at Salt Creek. This reflects Eckermann’s more progressive society which allowed for increasing voices to advocate for recognition of historical injustices inflicted upon the Aboriginal community. 

2. Female Oppression:

 Both Baynton and Eckermann present females who are oppressed by patriarchal figures. In A Dreamer, the female protagonist is oppressed by the natural landscape while in Squeaker’s Mate, Billie Skywonkie, and The Chosen Vessel, the female protagonist is subjugated by male figures in their family and society.

 In Eyes, Jacob and Nurture, Eckermann presents females restricted within the domestic sphere without anyone caring for their sacrifices. Yet, reflecting her more progressive context which witnessed successive waves of feminist movements, Eckermann presents the potential for females to be empowered in Eyes. Additionally, in Nurture, the female protagonist attempts to connect with her grandson through reconnecting with their cultural heritage.

3. Connection to the Australian landscape: 

Baynton presents the Australian bush and its inhabitants as callous and alienating. In A Dreamer, the female protagonist is repressed by the unrelenting Australian landscape. In Squeaker’s Mate, the female protagonist is physically incapacitated by the falling of a tree branch, even though she ironically seeks to protect the bush and its fauna. In Scrammy ‘And, the man feels increasing paranoia within the isolation of the bush which is exacerbated by the threat of another bushman. In Bush Church, the parson futilely attempts to connect with the bush community through his sermons, yet their priorities prove to be rooted in practical tasks rather than religious faith. 

Meanwhile, Eckermann presents the reconnection to nature as a remedy to cultural dispossession and familial reunification, reflecting her Indigenous belief that nature and humanity are intertwined in spirit. In Clay, she presents the corporeal entrapment within clay as alienating due to her cultural dispossession, instead presenting the unlimited natural sky as having the potential for her to reach transcendence. In Inside my Mother, the mother’s reintegration into the natural landscape assuages mortal anxieties. 

4. Family connection:

Baynton presents the importance of maternal connection in A Dreamer, yet ultimately presents that it is a futile yearning due to the mother’s death. Meanwhile, Eckermann presents a more optimistic view of familial connection, reflecting the Aboriginal idea of kinship. In Inside My Mother, she presents how the daughter’s grief for her mother’s decline is assuaged through a shared reintegration into nature’s spirit. In Key, despite the grandmother’s refusal to tell the girl the traumatic past, they ultimately share a kindred bond through cultural reconnection. 

Curious to learn more? At JP English, we provide Year 12 students with detailed notes on the prescribed text’s main ideas, context, links to the rubric and form, sample exam questions along with sample essay paragraphs written by state rankers. Additionally, Year 12 lessons are strictly text based and range between 3-6 students so that each student gets detailed support for their school assessments. School assessment help is provided both during class time and outside of class time through our free online marking service. We regularly update our materials so you get the latest exam tips based on our years of experience helping HSC students excel.