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Uncle / Graham
Mum’s cousin, and the one relative May finds at the end of her journey. Living with his wife Dotty in a tidy suburban house and devoted to golf, Percy has moved away from his Aboriginal roots and is intent on assimilating into Anglo-Australian society. His lifestyle is a marked contrast to the thriving, traditional society May had hoped to find. Percy shows May that she can’t resolve her dissatisfaction with her own life and the situation of Aborigines in Australia by recreating the pre-colonial past; rather, she has to honor and preserve her heritage while moving forward into the future.
Percy Gibson Quotes in Swallow the Air
The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Percy Gibson or refer to Percy Gibson. 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:
).
18. Country
Quotes
There is a big missing hole between this place and the place you’re looking for. That place, that people, that something you’re looking for. It’s gone. It was taken away. We weren’t told, love; we weren’t allowed to be Aboriginal.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Percy Gibson Quotes in Swallow the Air
The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Percy Gibson or refer to Percy Gibson. 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:
).
18. Country
Quotes
There is a big missing hole between this place and the place you’re looking for. That place, that people, that something you’re looking for. It’s gone. It was taken away. We weren’t told, love; we weren’t allowed to be Aboriginal.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
