The chant of Thomas Keneally

Abstract

In this paper I want to examine the political consequences inherent in the genre of the well-made novel. I shall argue that a reading of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith may tell us, not only was Keneally's novel explicitly states, that there is a limit to the understanding white Australians can have of aboriginal culture, but also why Keneally was forced by the limits of the novel form itself to draw this lesson in politically conservative terms.