Vocabulary
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Migrant [noun].- Someone that relocates from one place
(country, region) to another.
Oppression [noun].- The use of authority in a cruel or
unjust manner.
Gratitude [noun].- The quality of being thankful.
Faithful [adjective].- True to one’s promises; loyal.
Leisure [noun].- Freedom from work or duty; when one
can rest or enjoy hobbies.
Sunday School [noun].- A school were Christianity is
taught to children.
Summary
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1.-This poem is intended to portray the Australians’ point
of view on migrants and how they should behave.
2.-It implies that Australia has saved the migrants from an
otherwise terrible destiny and therefore they should be
grateful and behave in an ‘appropriate’ way.
3.-It says that migrants must keep their issues and violence
within their own culture to avoid ‘bothering’ Australian
citizens.
4.- This poems implies that for a migrant to be
fully accepted in this western society they must
be willing to betray their own culture and their
own people.
 5.-It also says that migrants can be successful
but only eventually and by shaping the next
generations in their families into the Australian
way of life.
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“Be good, little migrants We’ve saved you from
starvation war, landlessness, oppression Just display
your gratitude but don’t be heard, don’t be seen”
The author is implying that migrants come from a
disadvantaged background and that by coming to
Australia they have been “saved” and thus they must be
grateful and display their gratitude in a way that doesn’t
bother the Australian people (“don’t be heard, don’t be
seen”).
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“…avoid unions, and teach children respect for
institutions
Be good, little migrants You may fight one another,
but attend Sunday School, learn manners keep
violence within your culture…”
In this stanza the author is saying that for migrants to be
accepted in the Australian community they must adapt
to their way of life. It says they must teach their children
this way of life. It also says that they must attend to
Sunday School, so they can share the Australians’
religion even if this means abandoning their culture, as
long as it means becoming an accepted part of the
Australian community.
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“In time, you’ll reach excellence
Just waste a few generations.”
This quote is implying that immigrants can eventually
become an important part of the Australian
community; although the generation that first arrives
in Australia might not be able to do so.
These words also say that if you are an immigrant,
you might ‘shape’ your children into the Australian
way of life so they may one day become an
important part of the country, by abandoning their
roots and adapting to the Australian culture.
MIGRATION
-The main character (Oliveira) migrates
from Buenos Aires, Argentina; to Paris,
France.
-He becomes very involved in the
Parisian way of life.
BELONGING
-Although he is friends with more
Argentinian people, Paris becomes the
city he loves and the one in which he
belongs.
-When he goes back to Buenos Aires,
he feels like a foreigner, and doesn’t
feel the love for his home country he
once felt.
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IDENTITY
-He realises his identity
resides in Paris now, but he’s
had many troubles there so
he has to stay in Argentina,
feeling he doesn’t belong
there.
Sometimes we might
belong somewhere
different than our home
country.
Identity & Belonging
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It is important to embrace your culture and not to let
society’s pressure make you abandon it.
It can be hard migrating to another place where the
culture is different to your own, but it is important to
find a balance between your way of life and the one
from the place you’ve migrated to.
Sometimes our culture might have values that are
different to the culture in which we live. We must
respect other people’s values and other place’s codes
of conduct in order to achieve a social harmony.