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Symbolism In The Rabbit Proof Fence

Decent Essays

The movie, Rabbit Proof Fence, directed by Phillip Noyce, tells the story about three young aboriginals girls’ name, Molly, Daisy, and Gracie, who were taken away from their families and homes to be brought up in white society. The girls are related; two sisters and a cousin. The story reveals the struggles the girls encounters while trying to run away from Moore River, which is a settlement camp where half-caste native (children with both white and Native parents) children are educated on how to live with white population. The girls are taught to become servants, and they are prohibited from using any other language but English. The settlement camp where these girls are held is far away from their home, which separates them from their …show more content…

When planning the escape, Molly knew that the fence ran from the north to the south. Therefore, she was sure it would lead them back home. In this context, the Rabbit fence symbolizes a map that would show them the way home. Throughout the movie the girls’ use the fence as a guide for their journey home. The existence of the fence is of great importance to the girls’ escape mission. Although the fence was built to keep rabbits out of the farmland, it became a symbol of repression, as when it was built, it kept Aboriginal people form interacting with the white population. It was a way of dividing and repressing the Aboriginal people. This is true in other parts of the world as well. For example, the government of Belin built a wall that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The Berlin wall divided families who found themselves unable to visit each other. Many East Berliners were cut off from their jobs. The Aboriginal families find themselves unable to raise or visit their own children. The flying eagle is another symbol in this film that has been exclusively embraced. The bird first appears to Molly and her mother at the beginning of the movie. Her grandma points towards the bird and says to Molly, “See that bird? That’s a spirit bird; he will always look after you.” This scene shows the bird importance to the Aboriginal. The bird gave Molly the courage to escape Moore River. While in

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