Sorry if this reply is too late but hope this helps anyway!
You can take many avenues here (but ofc you're not limited to just these):
But definitely talk about Matron Neal for this prompt!!!!For example...
You can talk about external control as well (not just control ‘over their own lives’)- not your class/status that determines how much power you have
- compare this to the indigenous characters: who do you think has the least control? women or the indigenous? Perhaps women are the ones who have the least control since the society is run by MEN (if you think this is the case - find quotes to back it up). Or maybe women lie in the midst of the white guys with the authority & the indigenous australians
- despite Matron’s best efforts to help the indigenous she is ultimately powerless (due to her
immense suffering under the hands of the patriarchy - namingly, her husband)
- similar to the aboriginals, women (even white ones who are married to powerful men i.e. matron neal) don’t have a platform to voice their thoughts
by gaining just a bit of courage to speak out against the men, this alone shows that they have gained control and triumphed- so like, talking about how under this oppressive patriarchal government, if the women are able to find SOMEWHAT of a voice and generate courage to voice their opinions, it’s pretty impressive & shows inner strength
- you can talk about matron here again in that scene where she is super sassy and makes those smart ass comments to neal
- gran as the matriarch of the family + her rants at the police station showing her as the head of the fam
ultimately none of the characters find any sense of autonomy in a system so corrupted- talk about the white characters here - even they are almost forcefully conforming to this system because of all of these built in prejudicial norms
- the ending: jimmy finally acts out publicly and voices his (& all of the aboriginals’) opinions/emotions/truth —> control over their identity/lives, but then you know how it ends *i won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read no sugar*
Just some quick ideas - hopefully that helps