Essay Sample about Ned Kelly: Victim Or Villain?

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. 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, first published in 2002. 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. Despite this, he is most certainly a victim. Ned was a loving man who cared for his family a lot. Ned Kelly and his family were led to crime because they were mistreated and wronged by the police . They also had a difficult life because they were poor and lastly Ned and his family were treated unfairly as selectors by the government.

Ned was mistreated and lived a very uneasy life. According to Carol Wilkinson, 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 (Wilkinson .C, 2002, P.105). 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. This is shown in the quote  where Fitzpatrick attempted to arrest Dan and made offensive remarks to 15-year-old Kate Kelly. (National Museum of Australia, 2021). Ned 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. Black Snake: The daring of Ned Kelly states that they were poor people and were victims of family poverty. The drought and floods ruined the land and the Kelly farm did poorly. Their father got into debt, so they sold their land, and lost money (Wilkinson .C, 2002, P.7). Another factual website on Ned Kelly states, 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 (State Library Victoria, 2021). 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 (State Library Victoria, 2021). This evidence also shows how bad police were and how disorganised the laws were. Therefore, he is certainly a victim. 

Ned and his family were treated unfairly as selectors. They had been wronged their whole lives. This includes - The Jerilderie Letter which explains how Ned and his family had been wronged was not read at the trial (Wilkinson .C, 2005, P.117). 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 (State Library Victoria, 2021). 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.

Overall, Ned Kelly may have committed crimes and seemed bad in others point of views, but he truly was a victim. Ned 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 of police who affected his life significantly. So was he, truly, a hero, villain, or was he a victim?