I examined both Aboriginal and British influences and how they affected the structure and the language of this book, which is in turn divided into two parts. Then I laid the ground for the above mentioned novel, which is the heart of my research. For this purpose, not only did I use Aboriginal novels, but also I used political speeches, articles and reviews, most of which have been written in the last few years. It is still present in Australia, and we will see to what extent it influenced the literary production of Aborigines, who felt the need of handing down their past for the reasons I will analyze below. Aboriginal culture has not disappeared after colonization even though it lost an important part, it found a new mode of communication in the passage from the oral to the written tradition. Nowadays, we can speak about post-colonialism: we have a post-colonial literature in English. The legacy of colonialism is a current and controversial issue, but everyone would agree that it changed the history of Australia forever.

In the first part of my dissertation, I found it necessary to introduce Aboriginal culture and history, in order to inform the reader about the past and the present of this fascinating island, especially in relation to the British colonization. The focus of my thesis is the Australian Aboriginal literature, particularly the novel Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington