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Act 2, Scene 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in No Sugar, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism, Discrimination, and Colonial Violence
Government, Civilization, and Religion
White Australians vs. the Aboriginal Family Unit
Language and Culture
Summary
Analysis
Joe and Mary arrive at Government Well Aboriginal Reserve. The camp has been torched, and there is nothing left. Joe points out rocks where he and Cissie used to play, and finds Sam’s rabbit trap, Jimmy’s wine bottle, and the remains of David’s bike buried in the scorched grass. Joe is especially upset by the bike, and he tells Mary the police had claimed “they was gunna look after everything we left behind.” Mary urges Joe to walk away with her. He agrees and takes the rabbit trap with him.
Joe is devastated both by the destruction of his family’s precious belongings and by the betrayal of the local government. The Sergeant and Constable, who likely carried out the burning of Government Well, had no concern for the belongings of the people who once lived there, people who had left possessions behind assuming they would soon return.
Themes
