77 pages 2 hours read

Jack Davis

No Sugar

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1986

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Act II, Scenes 6-10

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Act II, Scene 6 Summary

Scene 6 takes place in a clearing at the pine plantation. Jimmy and Sam have painted themselves for a corroborree—an Aboriginal dance ceremony that can have a ritual purpose, or for an occasion as informal as a family get together. Billy and Bluey arrive. They also paint themselves. Billy explains the meaning of his body paint. Jimmy sings a song in his native language that reminds him of his grandfather fishing. Soon Bluey beings to play the didgeridoo and all the men begin to dance. 

Then the night turns somber. Billy tells a grim story about a farm in 1926. The owners of the farm saw some Aboriginal men resting under a tree and beat them badly as punishment. In retaliation, the men stabbed the owner of the farm and killed him. When the police found out what had happened, they organized a mob and began hunting the men who killed the boss. They indiscriminately killed men, women, and children from Billy’s tribe to send a message to the men who had dared to raise their hands against a powerful white man. Billy says that the plantation is now haunted, and no one will go near it because of the screams that can still be heard.