77 pages • 2 hours read
Jack DavisNo Sugar
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1986A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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.
Mary arrives, crying. She tells Joe that Mr. Neal intends for her to work in the hospital. When a girl is sent to the hospital, it is usually a sign that Mr. Neal desires the girl sexually. Joe is furious and Mary is barely able to calm him. He proposes that they go to Northam and get married. They run off to tell his family of the plan.
Act II, Scene 7 Summary
Joe and Mary arrive at the Long Pool camp and speak with his family. They tell them that they want to flee to Northam and get married, which will allow them to be together, but will also allow Mary to escape from Mr. Neal. Joe’s family is concerned that, even now, she is away from the compound without permission and might already be in trouble with Mr. Neal. They express their misgivings but agree to help once they see that they are determined. They give Joe and Mary supplies. Everyone says their good-byes and Joe and Mary leave.
Act II, Scene 8 Summary
Mr. Neal is reading a paper. He is angry to see that the candidate from the Labour party won the recent election. Matron enters and tells him that there are been two runaways: Joe and Mary. When he complains, she accuses him of trying to transfer Mary into the hospital for his own desires. He protests, but she persists, saying that he was only trying to help himself by transferring Mary to the hospital. Mr. Neal calls for Billy, tells him to bring his whip, and says they have to go find the runaways.
Act II, Scene 9 Summary
Joe wakes Mary. They have been sleeping in a clearing near the railway at Mooloombeeni. Mary vomits almost immediately after waking up. Billy appears, brandishing his whip and a pair of handcuffs. Joe refuses to go with him and they start to fight as Mary vomits again. Joe gets Billy’s whip away from him and begins choking him with it. Once he has the upper hand, he takes the handcuffs and snaps them on Billy. He puts some food (quandongs) in Billy’s pocket and runs after Mary. Billy walks away.
Act II, Scene 10 Summary
Billy returns to the Long Pool camp and walks with a limp towards Mr. Neal’s office. He is forced to listen to jeers and teasing from Cissie, Topsy, and David. As soon as he goes inside, Mr. Neal and the Matron confront him, demanding to know what happened. Mr. Neal makes no effort to release Billy from the handcuffs as they talk. Billy is evasive in his replies, which frustrates Mr. Neal. The Matron reaches into Billy’s pockets, hoping to find the key to the handcuffs. Instead, she finds the quandongs and takes a bite of one. However, it is both bitter and sour. It needs sugar.
Act II, Scenes 6-10 Analysis
Scenes 6-10 show the importance of the family unit. Each time there are new challenges—such as Joe and Mary running off, and the potential consequences of their scuffle with Billy—the family band together and help each other with the next steps.
The other key to scenes 6-10 is the gruesome story told by Billy. Billy, like Gran, is a link to the old ways of the Aborigines. The story he tells is an example of the importance of the oral tradition in preserving native customs and folklore. Being imprisoned, condescended to, and denied such basic materials as soap have been unfair and grotesque events for the family. However, Billy’s story demonstrates the horrific ends that meet any Aboriginal person deemed “aggressive”. The fear of a disproportionate response to Joe and Mary’s escape, combined with the notion of the plantation ghosts, suggest that the worst is yet to come.
