Hi, my name is Mark. I did my VCE in 2016 and since then i've been writing study guides with LSG
strategy from LSG’s How To Write A Killer Comparative and at how ideas are developed
in similar or different thematic directions in these texts.
CONVERGENT ideas lead to similar conclusions and messages, while DIVERGENT ideas take us
to different conclusions.
If you’d like to learn more about this strategy which can help you build more insightful discussions
of the text by finding unique points of comparison, then I’d recommend you check out the LSG’s
How To Write A Killer Comparative study guide.
In the meantime, let’s start with some CONVERGENT ideas.
Power, Race and Oppression In both texts, we see racial systems that
take power away from Bla(c)k people.
In the play, settler-colonialism is a big one.
It’s depicted as a home invasion, a ship taking up a whole harbour, and as a process
of devaluing land and ignoring its custodians.
This trickles into contemporary institutions (widely understood patterns, rules or structures
within society) which perpetuate these dynamics of race and power, such as the police and
the media.
Oppression is similarly maintained in The Longest Memory, where physical violence, and
even just the threat of possible physical violence, is used to enslave African Americans.
Plus, all of this racial violence was justified by the socio-economic interests of enslavers.
Both texts see Bla(c)k people disempowered by a range of white institutions.
Family and Community On the other hand, family and the wider community
are depicted as a galvanising or healing force in both texts.
In The 7 Stages of Grieving, we see how death can bring together entire communities to commiserate,
dance and mourn collectively, drawing on one another’s strength.
Depictions of families in projections of photographs also outline how joy and solidarity can be
drawn from community.
In the novel, family ties are also important.
Whitechapel and Cook build a committed relationship to one another; she even says, “he proves
he loves me every day.”
At the same time, Cook also provides her unconditional love and support to Chapel, whose education
and eventual relationship with Lydia are facilitated by her.
Memory and Grief Both texts show how memory and grief are significant
burdens for Bla(c)k people and operate at multiple dimensions.
The play is sort of built around the five stages of grief but demonstrates how First
Nations grief isn’t neat or linear.
It can go from highly expressive to numb in moments.
It also has roots in Australia’s genocidal history such that the death of any First Nations
person—but especially elders—is felt widely.
In The Longest Memory, there’s a physical dimension to Whitechapel’s grief.
He earns the name “Sour-face” because of the worry lines that developed after Chapel’s
death.
He feels extremely guilty and only after Chapel dies does he realise why Chapel disagreed
with him so stubbornly in life.
He actually learned the tough lesson that he’d been hoping to teach Chapel.
What about divergent ideas?
Let’s break down two now.
Struggle and Resistance Both texts offer ideas about what the fight
against racism might look like, but at times these ideas are more different than similar.
In The 7 Stages of Grieving, the main struggle is to be heard and understood.
In the play and in real life even, we can see how the media is stacked against First
Nations peoples, so their fight is about cutting through the bias and making sure they are
fairly represented.
In The Longest Memory, the fight against slavery is portrayed quite differently.
In a scenario where physical violence was used the way it was in order to oppress, self-emancipation
was seen by many as the only path out.
Enslaved workers weren’t fighting to be heard, they were fighting to survive.
It’s also worth bearing in mind the history of abolition, which happened in Northern states
first.
This gave them a destination, as well as hope.
The Generation Gap The other thing that the texts diverge on
is the relationship between parents and children.
In the play, family is consistently shown to provide support and community.
As the woman speaks about her father and brother, the unconditional love and support between
them is palpable.
However, the novel depicts a bit more conflict— Whitechapel argued with Chapel based on his
lived experience, and the many young people he had seen be killed for trying to free themselves.
However, Chapel was far more committed to freedom than to survival.
There isn’t necessarily a ‘right’ answer either way, but this definitely isn’t a
tension that we see in the play.