No Sugar

Act I

Reading Check

1. To buy apples (Act I, Scene 1)

2. Because the family “got no meat for dinner or supper” (Act I, Scene 1)

3. A “luxury” (Act I, Scene 2)

4. Prison with Sam and Jimmy in separate cells (Act I, Scene 4)

5. “[S]ugar catches more flies than vinegar.” (Act I, Scene 7)

6. Their dogs (Act I, Scene 9)

Short Answer

1. The Sergeant tells Frank that it is against the law to give alcohol to Aboriginal people. The Sergeant assumes that since Frank spends time with Aboriginal people and concludes that Frank is responsible for a drunk Aboriginal person the Seargent saw last week. He tells him he will arrest both the intoxicated man and the perpetrator in the future. (Act I, Scene 2)

2. Jimmy uses the word “gaol” to refer to prison. In a conversation with Frank, Jimmy reveals that he has been in prison four times for “drinkin’, fightin’ and snowdroppin.’” (Act I, Scene 3)

3. In an inebriated state, Jimmy asks Frank if he is allowed to walk around the town after the sun sets. When Frank replies with “Yeah, don’t see why not,” Jimmy reveals that Aboriginal people are not allowed to do that and would be shot or arrested. (Act I, Scene 3)

4. As a judge, JP (i.e., “Justice of the Peace”) describes his duty “to protect natives and half-castes from alcohol.” As a result, he sentences Frank to “six weeks imprisonment with hard labor.” (Act I, Scene 5)

5. The official reason for the move from Government Well to Moore Settlement is that there is a scabies outbreak and Aboriginal communities must be moved for quarantine. Jimmy is immediately skeptical, and instead identifies the real reason is that the “wetjalas” who live nearby do not want to be close to an Aboriginal settlement. (Act I, Scenes 9-10)

Act II

Reading Check

1. Scabies (Act II, Scene 3)

2. That of the 89 new Aboriginal arrivals, only 4 have scabies (Act II, Scene 5)

3. Run away together to Northam and get married (Act II, Scenes 6-7)

4. She vomits. (Act II, Scene 9)

Short Answer

1. While down at the river, Joe, Cissie, and David meet two Aboriginal girls called Topsy and Mary. Joe becomes interested in the latter and asks her to meet him by the river the next day. (Act II, Scene 2)

2. Mr. Neal is Matron Neal’s husband, and he works on the Moore Settlement. Mary reveals that Mr. Neal “scares” her since he leers at the girls and threatens to hit those who do not obey him. In Scene 6, she reveals that Mr. Neal has moved her to help in the hospital, a sign that indicates that he “wants that girl […] for himself.” (Act II, Scenes 4 and 6)

3. Billy shares a story about his tribe in 1926. An Aboriginal man was killed by a mob after he killed a white man in a disagreement. As a result, most of Billy’s tribe was murdered by white men in protest. (Act II, Scene 6)

4. After Mr. Neal learns about Joe and Mary’s escape, he sends Billy to find the pair. Billy locates the couple, declaring that he needs to bring Mary back to the Moore Settlement. Billy and Joe begin to wrestle, with Joe choking Billy with his whip and then handcuffing him before escaping with Mary. (Act II, Scene 9)

Act III

Reading Check

1. It has been burnt. (Act III, Scene 1)

2. Arrest Joe and Mary (Act III, Scene 3)

3. Western Australia Historical Association (Act III, Scene 3)

Short Answer

1. Upon Joe’s question as to why Government Well was burned down, the Sergeant says they were “simply following orders.” He also says that with no more Aboriginal residents, Northam does not provide rations, and that the horses were either shot or “wandered” into other properties. (Act III, Scene 2)

2. Mr. Neville’s speech to the Western Australia Historical Association recounts the relationship between white settlers and Aboriginal groups. He emphasizes the importance of keeping relations with and treating Aboriginal people in a “civilized” manner. (Act III, Scene 5)

Act IV

Reading Check

1. That he “won’t touch her” (Act IV, Scene 2)

2. To marry Mary (Act IV, Scene 3)

3. That Joe be released from prison to attend Jimmy’s funeral (Act IV, Scene 6)

4. Jimmy (Act IV, Scene 8)

5. They choose to leave and start a life together. (Act IV, Scenes 9-10)

Short Answer

1. During their Sunday school lesson, Cissie and Topsy see Billy whipping David outside for not attending his own Sunday school lessons. They rush out to put a stop to the violence, to which Sister Eileen remarks that it is partly David’s fault for not attending the lessons in the first place. (Act IV, Scene 1)

2. In addition to asking about Australia Day preparations, Mr. Neal calls Sister Eileen into his office to let her know that she should stop lending books to Aboriginal people as “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” She protests, and he reminds her that she can be placed elsewhere. (Act IV, Scene 4)

3. In his speech, Mr. Neville makes the following comment to Aboriginal people: “[Y]ou are preparing yourselves here to take your place in Australian society, to live as other Australians live, and to live alongside other Australians.” (Act IV, Scene 5)

4. As the white Australians begin to sing “There is a Happy Land,” Aboriginal attendees begin to sing a parody version. Mr. Neville becomes disgruntled and Jimmy speaks out against the Moore Settlement officers, claiming that he knows about the real reason that they were transferred from Government Well. He then collapses. (Act IV, Scene 5)