Consider the power of the Inner Journey to challenge your thinking in Morgans 'My Place', Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and Attwood's poem 'Journey to the interior.'

Essay by esszed99High School, 12th gradeA+, February 2006

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The inner journey is one of such great significance that it has the power not only to affect the individual undertaking the journey, but those around them by challenging the way they think and view the world, reassessing various aspects of their lives, discovering truths and realities they never thought possible. Morgan's autobiographical novel My Place focuses on the journey of Sally Morgan, the author, and the ultimate influence of her personal journey in causing the other members of her family to embark on their own journey and break their silence. Similarly, Journey to the Interior and Heart of Darkness deal with the concept of an inner journey and its impact on the audience. While these texts differ in setting and purpose, all focus on a search for identity, in terms of self-awareness and in relation to the surrounding environment.

When Sally Morgan's "My Place" was first published in 1987 it was described as "the sort of Australian history which hasn't been written before, and which we desperately need"; as a "triumphant story" and "profoundly moving".

My Place exists as a powerful post-colonial text, confronting the injustices to her ancestors and publicly exposing the repeated atrocities that Aborigines have been subjected to. The text poignantly depicts the author's passage to self-awareness, spiritual healing and knowledge, simultaneously giving a voice to Aborigines and allocating them a role in contemporary Australian culture and it history. The inner journey explored in the text is so vastly influential that it has the ability to affect the audience. The text challenges the reader to question their own understanding of the relationship between Aboriginal Australians and white people, as well as their own identity. Sally states her reason for writing- "to let people know what has been done to Aboriginal people in...