Essay Sample about Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly was an outlaw, a bushranger, born in December in 1854, well known for all of his crimes but also his innocence and good deeds. He was also commonly known for his unusual armour now found in the National Museum of Australia . There have been many books based around him and his life, one of which is ‘Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly’ by Carol Wilkinson. ‘Black Snake is a very detailed book written about Ned Kelly and the life he was surrounded by. Some might say he was a Hero, some say he was a Victim, and some might say he was a Villain. Although there is no final answer as to whether he was a Hero, Villain or Victim, he was most likely a Victim. Ned was a loving man who cared for nil but his family. Came the day he got hanged in 1880, a replica of his head was made when he died which is now in the Ned Kelly Museum, also a part of Kate’s Cottage Gifts Souvenirs Museum. His family and him were mistreated and wronged their whole lives. He and many others believed he was led to crime by the police because they had been treated badly because they were poor and wanted to get back at them.

Ned was mistreated and lived a very uneasy life. As Ned said – If my life teaches the public that men are made mad by bad treatment, and if the police are taught that they may not exasperate to madness men they persecute and ill-treat, my life will not be entirely thrown away – Page 105 of Black Snake. “On 15 April Constable Fitzpatrick from the Greta police attempted to arrest Dan at the Kelly home. While there he also reportedly made offensive remarks to 15-year-old Kate Kelly” (Source 2).  Although Ned was innocent, he was treated very badly by the police force. He dealt with harassment towards his family by the police, one in particular – Constable Fitzpatrick - and he was kept in jail for crimes he didn’t do, making him a victim in most situations because of the treatment he received but didn’t deserve.

Ned lived most of his life being poor and unable to pay for a lot of things like food. “Poor people” – victim of family’s poverty. Drought and floods – Kelly farm did poorly, “father got into debt” – sold land, lost money - Page 7 of Black Snake - “The Jerilderie letter offers a valuable insight into Ned Kelly's personality. It tells the story of a young man forced into crime by situations beyond his control” (Source 1). Since Ned was poor, whenever he was put in jail, he could not afford the fines or anything else that had to be paid for, not even the stuff he stole. These pieces of evidence show that he was in-fact poor and seeing as he was treated badly, his family had to sell their land because the droughts and floods had ruined it and they were unable to afford to fix it. This evidence also shows how bad police were and how disorganised the laws were. Therefore, this makes him more of a victim.

Ned and his family had been wronged their whole lives. This includes - The Jerilderie Letter, explaining “How [Ned] and his family had been wronged, was not read” at the trial - Page 117 of Black Snake. Another piece of evidence that proves he was wronged is - “He justified his crimes and exposed what he viewed as unfair police persecution of himself and his family” (Source 1). These two sentences explain how Ned and his family had been wronged and misunderstood, and how much of a victim he was in these situations. Ned and his family were referred to as ‘selectors’, so they would not be able to keep or own land independently, making their life even more frustrating than it already was.

Overall, Ned Kelly may have committed crimes and seemed bad in others point of views, but he truly was a victim. He was poor, wronged, and treated bad, all fitting under the category of ‘victim’.  Caught in the act of bad crimes he had been pulled towards by police, seeking for revenge from the community police whom affected his life significantly.