Though he has been dead for 100 years, Ned Kelly is probably the best-known of all Australians. Through the use of text and original source documents, Ned Kelly Reconstructed shows how different versions of his story arose, reflecting the views of their creators rather than reality. Using Ned Kelly as an illustration, the book demonstrates how readers and viewers make their own, different meanings for the same text. It questions our acceptance of 'truth' and awakens readers to the power of text, whether it be in the form of stories, newspaper reports, poems, or whatever. Ned Kelly Reconstructed will be a welcome addition to both the English and the History classroom.

 

There are 168 pages in this book. This book was published 1994 by Cambridge University Press .

This book has the following chapters: List of illustrations. Acknowledgements. What this book is about: what it is not. A word to teachers. 1. Drawn from life; 2. The case of the constable: a liar and a larrikin; 3. The shoot-out at Stringybark Creek: 'We had no chance, only to die like dogs'; 4. 'Bail up!' Bushrangers into bank-robbers; 5. Their mate Aaron: police spy or double agent; 6. 'Game as Ned Kelly': the last stand at Glenrowan; 7. 'Mind you die like a Kelly'; 8. An empty helmet: reconstructing a hero and a legend. Afterword. Appendix: the Jerilderie Letter. References. Index.