Document Type
Thesis - University Access Only
Award Date
2005
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department / School
English
Abstract
This thesis explores Mudrooroo Nyoongah/Colin Johnson's employment of the form of the novel as a means of negotiating identity. Mudrooroo uses the novel as his primary genre, even though this western genre seems to contradict his emphasis on his Aboriginal heritage, and his claim of identity as an Aborigine is further challenged by evidence that he may have no Aboriginal heritage at all. An examination of several accounts of Mudrooroo's biography demonstrates a cultural and personal struggle to determine the writer's identity. This study argues that Mudrooroo is able to successfully negotiate he interpretations of identity imposed by other voices and construct his individuality by employing the novel form. Mudrooroo's employment of the Aboriginal concept of the Dreaming in his novels-including Wild Cat Falling (1965), Doctor Wooreddy 's Prescription for Enduring the Ending of the World (1983), Master of the Ghost Dreaming ( 1991 ), and Wildcat Screaming ( 1992)--allows him to reconcile those conflicting interpretations of his identity and construct himself as an individual. Through the Aboriginal experience of the Dreaming, both the writer and his characters construct their individualities by resolving internal and external interpretations of identity.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Mudrooroo, 1938 - Criticism and interpretation
Identity (psychology) in literature
Aboriginal Australians - Ethnic identity
Dreamtime (Aboriginal Australian mythology)
Format
application/pdf
Number of Pages
99
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Recommended Citation
Biever, Nicole Leigh, "Wild Cat Dreaming: The Dreaming Experience as a Means of Constructing the Individual in Mudrooroo Nyoongah/Colin Johnson's Novels" (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1183.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd2/1183