Part One of The Secret River

 In Part One of the Secret River, the main thing I learned was how hard life was for people back then. Without the luck of being born into a family with wealth, it was nearly impossible to work your way into the higher ranks, as you were treated like dirt and given no opportunities to prove yourself worthy. People were also forced to do dehumanizing acts in order to make money. The main one that comes to mind was when William Thornhill reminisces about times when he and his father would search the town for dog poop to collect in return for money. Clearly, now this would be seen as a cruel job and would never be expected of anyone. 

    Women were also treated poorly and seen as mere objects or means of offspring. However, Thornhill's story of him and Sal is refreshing to hear about. Furthermore, Sal's father's devotion to her mother is also inspiring. One of my favorite parts in part one was reading about their story and how when Sal's mother got sick, her father did everything he could to keep her alive and happy, constantly bringing her food from far away to cheer her up. These small moments of light in the story keep me wanting to read more. 

    In the upcoming part, I am interested to hear more about Australia and why they sent them there out of all places. It seems silly to me that they would spend time and money shipping felons to Australia on a journey that takes months. Why was that beneficial to them?