The Early Settlers by Ken Chau

techniques: pun, alliteration, vulgar slang, ambiguous pronouns

The Early Settlers by Ken Chau

1. How does this title refer to two groups of ‘settlers’? Who are they? they are the early and late settlers

2. How is the first line of the poem successful at being ‘forceful’ regarding the Great-Grandfather’s presence in Australia? It says that he is there indicating that he is there

3. What action are the ‘early settlers’ doing that gives them equally a strong presence? That they are entrenched in something

4. How is the intention of the Great-Grandfather juxtaposed to the beliefs of the ‘early settlers’? Her Great-Grandfather is working while it says that the early settlers are nearly terrorists

5. What action does the Great-Grandfather do that ties him both to the ‘early settlers’ and to his own culture? He is a settler
6. How does this short poem highlight the irony of the hatred that immigrants experience when they come to a 'settled' land like Australia? They all treat each other with the same suspicion and the same xenophobia and they are all migrants.