The Early Settlers by Ken Chau

1. How does this title refer to two groups of ‘settlers’? Who are they? The title refers to the two groups of settlers as early settler, the two groups are the white settlers and the Chinese settlers.  

2. How is the first line of the poem successful at being ‘forceful’ regarding the Great-Grandfather’s presence in Australia? It tells the reader that The grandfather has arrived from China to come and live in Australia.

3. What action are the ‘early settlers’ doing that gives them equally a strong presence? the early settlers and the Chinese family are both farmers

4. How is the intention of the Great-Grandfather juxtaposed to the beliefs of the ‘early settlers’? The Great Grandfathers intention was to come to Australia in order to give his family a better life by farming crops, where as the white settlers had the intention of coming to Australia to take over the country and become extremely wealthy with no care about the land.

5. What action does the Great-Grandfather do that ties him both to the ‘early settlers’ and to his own culture? He swears to the early settlers in a way that they would swear at each other but he does it in his native tongue which ties him both to the early settlers and to his own culture.

6. How does this short poem highlight the irony of the hatred that immigrants experience when they come to a 'settled' land like Australia? Because of their difference in appearance compared to a white person, a white person may see them as a potential threat as they may not have seen a Chinese person before.