SOURCE: Gibson, Ross. “Savages and Slaves: Images of Aborigines.” In The Diminishing Paradise: Changing Literary Perceptions of Australia, pp. 140-94. London: Sirius Books, 1984.
In the following excerpt, Gibson documents European perceptions of Aborigines during the period 1770 to 1850, noting the prevailing double image of the Aborigine as either a degenerate barbarian or a noble savage.
This is a free excerpt of 56 words. There are 11,326 words (approx.
38 pages at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our The Aborigine in Nineteenth-Century Australian Literature: Critical Essay by Ross Gibson Access Pass.
