“White Fantasy—Black Fact” Discussion Questions- Answers
1. What is the bus driver’s erroneous perception of “his people,” the Australians? Where in
the story is it evident that his views may be widespread among whites in general?
Explain.
 He thinks everyone in his country is well-fed and white
 Thinks that there is plenty for all, nobody starved and everyone is equal
 He wouldn’t let the people on because they looked dirty or untidy, thought
they’d be violent
 He was glad he lived in a country that was white and everyone was equal
 But in the beginning it showed he didn’t mean what he said, when he wouldn’t
pick up the family because they looked dirty and sick
 The bus driver was quick to judge the family by the way they looked and
wouldn’t let them on the bus
 Above points lead to: THE BUS DRIVER IS RACIST
 We can infer other Australians may be racist because they don’t stop to help the
family after the little girl is bitten by the snake
2. Why do the distressed family members fear the approaching motorcyclists? What
causes them to change their minds? Explain.
 The family members thought the motorcyclists were a “pack of devils”
 Saw skull and crossbones on their jackets, so they made an assumption that they
weren’t good people
 The family feared the motorcyclists due to their appearance, 30 of them, black
jackets, skulls, crossbones
 The stereotype of biker gangs led the family to fear them
 They changed their minds when they started helping the little girl and took them
to the hospital
 Changed minds when they talked to them, bikers were concerned and wanted to
help them
3. What may be motivating the bikers to remain in the hospital with the family? Explain.
 They wanted to know the girl was okay after helping the family; the bikers really
cared.
 Big Red was in medical school for 2 years; after already being a doctor (almost)
he wanted to make sure he had saved her
4. Why, according to Slit Eyes at the end of story, did the bikers really get kicked out of
Northam? Explain.
 They got kicked out because they were judged by the stereotype about bikersdue to their appearance
 He says it was the “Upstair’s Guy’s fault” – Molly said they were sent by God on
chariots to come save them- saying they were kicked out of church to save them5. At what points does the story’s point of view shift? What effect does this create?
Explain.
 2 points- after the bus driver doesn’t let them on, the point of view switches to
Molly and her family; the POV switches to motorcyclists at the end- changes
from sad story to happy story- But not really- the family is turned away because
they were Aboriginal, Bikers were also turned away due to stereotypes. Yes, they
help each other, but are drawn to one another due to being turn away from the
rest of their society
 Gives sympathy for Molly and what the bus driver had done to them; shows how
hard the Aboriginal people had it
 Shows perspectives of both white and Aboriginal families and worries- effect is
sympathy for the Aboriginal family.
6. Explain what you think the title of the story means. What is the “white fantasy” and
“black fact”?
 White fantasy: everyone is equal, everyone has money and everyone is well fed
o White people thought they were doing good things; bus driver sent
money to people in Asia
 Black fact: Reality is different- people in their own country are homeless, starving
and poor
o People who were supposed to be violent (bikers) were actually the ones
who helped out and were actually the better people- (motorcyclists were
all decked out in black)
o The Aboriginal family was judged immediately, solely based on their
appearance. It prove that there is inequality and suffering caused by the
ignorance of people like the bus driver.
Essay: title of the story and how the different characters represent symbols for racism
Themes: racism/ also, don’t judge based on appearance