Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly and his gang are portrayed in two very different ways by two very different documents. ‘The Jerilderie Letter’ , as dictated by Ned Kelly, is an autobiographical “statement of fact and self justification”. As its title would suggest, ‘The Jerilderie Letter’ portrays Ned Kelly as the wronged party, victimised, threatened and set up by a corrupt police force, and whose actions are completely justified. The article, ‘Capture of The Kelly Gang” , on the other hand, depicts Ned Kelly and his gang as a “formidable alliance of criminals” , a group of “desperadoes” whose demise has caused huge excitement within society.

‘The Jerilderie Letter’ invokes a view of Ned Kelly that is a combination of sympathy, admiration and chivalry. One cannot help but feel that Kelly has been targeted by a corrupt police force who can find no better way to pass their time than to harass the Kelly family and fabricate misdemeanours so as to arrest Ned Kelly. If Ned is to...