Smasher Character Analysis

     One character that I found to be very interesting is Smasher.  I am honestly disgusted with his character and his actions towards the Aborigines, but after analyzing him, I recognize what he represents. Smasher uses violence as a way to show he is superior and his culture and way of living is superior, but behind the anger and violence, he is truly scared. I also believe the dogs mentioned in the section are similar to Smasher and his evilness because they are trained to attack and be violent which symbolizes Smasher in the way they act and are trained to attack the Aborigines. Smasher’s perspective and actions represent the old and harsh mindset many colonizers had in terms of their views of the Aborigines. Smasher sees himself as superior even though what he is doing is disrespectful, disgusting, and unfathomable. Smasher represents the worst and most disgusting parts of colonialism. After thinking about Smasher’s character, I now understand that some colonizers wanted to acquire more land in order to feel superior and more powerful than others. This power mindset is very dangerous to the person with the mindset and others around them. It is also bewildering to read how much Smasher dehumanizes the Aborigines and treats them like animals he can mess with and control. We see this when he takes an Aborigine woman and chains her up, beating her and allowing men to rape her. Smasher ‘s character allows me to understand how far some colonizers were willing to go to feel powerful and in control. 




Comments

  1. Jenna ChinnJanuary 24, 2022 at 11:32 PM

    I like your point about how Smasher is scared despite the front he puts up. The dogs are a great example of this (training them to do all the violent stuff for him) as well as when he picks a fight with Blackwood but is shown to be weak against him. He likes the idea of having power, but he himself is fairly worthless.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2022 at 11:51 PM

    I think a lot of the book reflects this need for supremacy and a need for a difference between the natives and the settlers. It has to do a lot with mentality and how we need to almost prove to ourselves that we are right even we are clearly wrong.

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    Replies
    1. Michelle BJanuary 25, 2022 at 11:13 AM

      Good point, and by using the term supremacy it's clear that this is also the basis for white supremacy in particular, which the novel interrogates through the character of Smasher.

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