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Laurie
Another Aboriginal soldier. Early on, he meets four Trinidadians in Ypres and beats them up after they call him an “Australian Nigger.” Later he kills a number of Germans and takes pride in his “warrior blood.” Back in Australia, he learns that the Soldier Settlement Commission is giving his family’s land away, even though his family was forced onto that land when settlers kicked them off their ancestral land. Meanwhile, he has no chance of getting a settlement through the Commission.
Mick Quotes in Black Diggers
The Black Diggers quotes below are all either spoken by Mick or refer to Mick . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act One
Quotes
Seriously, this has gone for years and it could go for years. We lose a few mates, they lose a few, the whistle blows, we gain another cricket pitch worth of Belgium, the horn blows, they chase us out. But most of the time we sit here and we sing our songs. And they sit over there and sing theirs. And everyone, everyone hates the whole bloody stunt.
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Act Two
Quotes
For you the war’s over. What’s starting to dawn on me is that, for us, it’s never going to end.
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You listen to me and you listen to me nice and close. I don’t give a rat’s arse where you’ve been and what you’ve done. I don’t give a fuck what happened on the other side of the world. I don’t care for your airs and graces. As far as I’m concerned you’re still the boy who used to shut his lip and do as he was told. Ever since you came home you’ve been the worst kind of black, an uppity one. I suggest you get on with the job at hand and stop being a troublemaker. Or things might get tough for people you care about. Jesus, now you’ve gone and got me angry. Who put these bloody ideas in your head?
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Get the entire Black Diggers LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mick Quotes in Black Diggers
The Black Diggers quotes below are all either spoken by Mick or refer to Mick . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act One
Quotes
Seriously, this has gone for years and it could go for years. We lose a few mates, they lose a few, the whistle blows, we gain another cricket pitch worth of Belgium, the horn blows, they chase us out. But most of the time we sit here and we sing our songs. And they sit over there and sing theirs. And everyone, everyone hates the whole bloody stunt.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act Two
Quotes
For you the war’s over. What’s starting to dawn on me is that, for us, it’s never going to end.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
You listen to me and you listen to me nice and close. I don’t give a rat’s arse where you’ve been and what you’ve done. I don’t give a fuck what happened on the other side of the world. I don’t care for your airs and graces. As far as I’m concerned you’re still the boy who used to shut his lip and do as he was told. Ever since you came home you’ve been the worst kind of black, an uppity one. I suggest you get on with the job at hand and stop being a troublemaker. Or things might get tough for people you care about. Jesus, now you’ve gone and got me angry. Who put these bloody ideas in your head?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
