The Dons

Australia is country that is composed of a diverse society. The indigenous individuals have been involved in a wealthy set of cultures, languages and customs. The diversity has increased with time from a country that does not speak English. The population has come up by the help of immigration which has been upheld by the governing institutions. Part of the known changes in Australia from a white rule to a set up where there is no discrimination; there has been a transformation from assimilation, to integration and finally to ethnic mix.

The aspect of assimilation began in the 1960s and was based on the fact that Australia was wholly a white country, this cancelled out the non-Europeans. It ruled over the indigenous set ups, the forceful acquisition of the contemporary children into the white families as part of the assimilation aspect. Integration in a wider aspect did not bring up the thought of minority cultures being denied domination.

Multiculturalism has gone on to insist that the prior policies on social cohesion though take into consideration and accepts that Australia is and will forever stay to be a culturally diverse state. It similarly sets up guidelines for increasing social cohesion. It aims to state that diversity is positive aspect in the present society and recognizes that taking in of new groups of individuals into the Australian society more or less composes all parts of the community changing. The Australian multicultural acknowledges that there are several migrants and the children will decide whether to stay with their customs and cultural traditions or acquire the new ones. In short, the inclusion and involvement of the migrants and their offspring in Australia happens naturally and within the structure of the country.

The arising form of ethnic mix has brought about varied changes in the youth’s behavior and trends. The mode through which the youth attribute themselves and the set they acquire in the society is of relevance as a social fabric which is reliant on what they give the values and involvement. As the major clients of media, cultures and materials, the youth offer to the values and results of policies and life styles. The negative issues that they incur and coping device that they show are quite essential in the social aspect and organization. In the past, children and the youth have been taken considered as a troubled stage of life which is attributed to ritual and cultural practices. This aspect of the young has to be accorded a better understanding so as to be well taken it and helped in negotiation, prevention or handling of trends which are damaging. The engagement in positive happenings could have an impact on the brain’s working: music, and dance among others. In the past, the youth’s language, music and dressing has been taken up as a sense of identity. The trend of the youth to take up words and certain terms has been to be quite negative. The relatively elderly do not have a better understanding of them, the sharpening of communications elements helps people to acquire a sense of identity, acquire relationships and offer a basis for social activity. The media and the celebrities are able to bring about as well as reserve opinions about the youth. The images and the culture of the young individuals are more so changed through market forces that leave out the aspect of agency in these individuals and the issues they sell.

Similarly to a number of social institutions, the relationships in the social aspect vary based on the sets of race and ethnicity. Hence, the manner through which these sections of individuals note each other and places themselves in the environment changes quite widely. Social development brings forth that better opportunities in conventional activities and abilities bring about connection of the social set up be it a family member or peers.

The Don by Archimede Fusillo is a good reflection of the changes in the ethnic mix. A good instance is when Nonno, an old individual born in the seventies, who has a number of confused instances which is steadily getting worse. Paul on the other hand is fifteen years old and desires to have a feel of the new culture; he wants to get out of the setup of home (Fusillo, 2001). Paul is keeping himself up to date with the latest trends of life including dating the coolest girl in school. The past trend of life in Australia of babysitting Nonno as well as helping Rita his sister does not go down well with Paul. Paul considers Nonno as a bother and tries to keep away from him. Nonno’s past trend and believes are seen when Nonno is found in the cemetery looking for a way of giving dowry to Tracey, this was found in the Italian culture.

Nonno tries to give Paul an account of what had taken place in the past like his uncle getting shot as well as getting strung up by the Mussolini’s shirts; which he was punished for smoking. This made Paul to break Nonno’s valuable possessions. As the story comes to an end, Paul gets to understand many things about life. He is able to see Nonno as a person who was once like him; was after girls and got into problems just as him. Nonno and Paul are two people of varied times of life which came up to understand and respect each other.

Reference

Fusillo, A. (2001). The Dons. Victoria: Penguin Group Australia.