RPF Study Guide pgs 1-33

Rabbit Proof Fence Name:_____________________________
Study Guide #1

Pages 1-33

Introduction

1. Why was it so difficult for Doris Pilkington to tell this story? List specific difficulties she encountered.




2. Look at the map of Western Australia showing key places in the girls’ journey (in the book, before page xi). Using an atlas , calculate roughly the distance of the return journey & write a description of the landscape and climate of the area the girls passed through.



The First Military Post & The Swan Rivier Colony & The Decline of Aboriginal Society

1. Why, do you think, Dorris Pilkington included these chapters?



2. List five encounters between aborigines and white settlers/ explorers in these chapters & explain how the aborigines were affected by them.


3. What are your first impressions of the author’s writing style.



From the Deserts They Came

1. This chapter is replete with Aboriginal words and phrases. There is a glossary on pages 134-135. Check the definitions. Give several reasons why the author may have chosen to use so many Aboriginal words. How disruptive is it to you, the reader?



2. What is the significance of the passage on pages 24-26, where aborigines are taken to the station. What does the behavior of the earlier Aborigine settlers and the new arrivals tell us about the process of assimilation?