Summary Of Into That Forest By Louis Nowra

THE MONTHLY
Nowra’s leap “Into that Forest”: Representing Indigenous Perspectives in Australian Literature
Do non-Indigenous authours have the authority to write from Indigenous perspectives? Joshua D’Souza evaluates Nowra’s empowering tale ‘Into that Forest’ and his courageous leap into the world of realism.

What is it like to witness your culture, your heritage, your native identity misrepresented for Australia to see? Ask Aboriginal Australians, and they will tell you a thing, or two about being ignored. It is undeniable that almost all non-Indigenous authours ignore Aboriginality in their novels. But being misrepresented degrades Indigenous people entirely. It is the responsibility of all authours, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to include

Nowra strives to represent and become inclusive of Indigenous people as a means of reconciliation. He states in 2008 that he “writes characters especially for them…”, to provide non-indigenous Australians with an understanding of what is happening to Australia’s indigenous population. While growing up in metropolitan Melbourne and having an Anglo-European ethnicity, his hope is that future generations recognise indifference of silenced minorities is callous and cruel. It is clear that his informed writing style, authorises him to write well-qualified narratives from the Aboriginal

The thylacines represent Indigenous perspectives to reconcile with Aboriginal people and allow them to see themselves throughout the novel. He enthrals young adult fiction readers through the wild child trope, the fight for survival, his reputable brutal imagery, and continual pull on ‘magical realism’ and ‘moral complexity’ to engage the teenage market. But through this, he forces his informed young-adult fiction readers to empathetically view and rethink the cultural stereotypes of Aboriginal people through Nowra’s window. Nowra’s informed approach, in turn, open’s doors to representing empowering Indigenous characters to catch public attention. And many authours are captivated to follow this