the stole generation
...t without their respective families, and feels lost without them, as if they have no sense of identity, and are thus extremely unhappy with their current situations. They do not have a family to care for and to love in return. It seems that this is the case for Jimmy and Ruby, as they continue to fall and finally spiralling to a tragic end, committing suicide and losing touch with reality respectively. There is no denying that of course one’s family is an intrinsic part of one’s identity. However, essentially identity and family are mutually independent of one another. But for some, it is equally, if not more important to establish one’s identity first. This is evident by Anne. As Anne was adopted early on in her story by a white family, who gave her all the necessities she needed, and raised her from a very young age in a white society. Therefore she is shocked to find that her white parents have hidden her true Aboriginal heritage from her for so long, and that her biological parents are still alive. However, somewhat as a surprise, Anne doesn’t react in the way many readers predict she would to her new ‘real’ family, rather she is more concerned about “sun tanning, exams and Surfers”. she proves to be a contrast to Ruby, Shirley and Jimmy. Stolen deals with Anne’s loss of the identity she thought she had before she came across the knowledge of her real family’s existence, especially evident in “Am I Black or White?”, she is not in need of or in want in finding her Aboriginal family. She seems unimpressed with her Aboriginal family’s residence, maybe from shame or from shock that they have been placed in such a awful residence, “here they were in a Housing Commission flat, all crowded in”. it is not the loss of family that is imposing for Anne, but their insistence of “Who do you think you are?”. Anne is confused about her identity and her greatest need is for guidance to help her find who she really is, and where she belongs. In addition, Stolen demonstrates the need for some of the children involved in the stolen generation to find their homes. There are many variances in which home can be classified, mainly it is classified in 3 major categories; Home, House, and Institution. However, in relation to the characters in the play, each of them have a different perception of homes. Sandy, for example, believes home is not a physical structure in which he resides, it is much more of a geographical location - the desert where he and his ‘people’ are, like a natural or native habitat. Shirley, however, believes that home is “where the heart is” or a place where she is able to live with her daughter Kate and granddaughter Tamara. Homes for these children are associated with family, love, the wider Aboriginal community and culture. Ironically, these children were taken away from their real homes and placed in ‘homes’ or institutions by the “Welfare” who labelled indigenous mothers as unfit. Sandy’s definition of home differs from the other children in the way that it does not explicitly require family. Although he speaks of his mother through out the play, and especially when telling stories: “Desert Sands” - “My mother, she loved me… she sure had a sense of humour that one”, he makes no tangible effort to find his mother or family. Rather, it is home; “the desert”, “home of the red sands”, “the big red rocks” which Sandy longs for. For him, it is this home tha...