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Qualified English Teacher, BA/BT UNE, Registered with VIT, located in Berwick Victoria 3806. Contact 0418 440 277, email contact@englishtutorlessons.com.au

Wilfred Owen War Poems: The Basics

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Margaret

This Resource is for students in Year 11 studying ‘Wilfred Owen War Poems’ in AOS1: Unit 1, Reading & Creating Texts, Analytical Text Response, in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

It can also be studied in AOS1:Unit 2, Reading & Comparing Texts along with ‘Minefields & Miniskirts’ play by Terrence O’Connell.

Poetry in Context of World War I 1914-1918

The literary responses evoked by the Great War were in many ways unique, particularly the writings that came from its immediate participants. The British war poets such as Owen, Sassoon, Brooke, Graves and Rosenberg are familiar to many, but it needs to be remembered that their work was but a small sample of the literature produced by soldiers at the front. Australian soldiers fighting on the Western Front from 1914 to1918 also generated poetry and stories that have been published.

World War I in Context of Why Men Enlisted

Many of the thousands of British men (and Australian men) enlisted for quite different reasons: they were spurred by the public propaganda campaigns, the rousing speeches of politicians, clergymen and headmasters, the call of adventure, family and civic pressure and, for those without steady employment, the lure of regular pay. Some would have enlisted as they feared being labelled as cowards; it was an era where social pressure could be intense. To receive a white feather was seen as shameful. It is also crucial to remember that formal religion underpinned life in WWI Britain more than it does now. Much of the propaganda encouraging young men to enlist in WWI included notions of personal responsibility to God as well as patriotism to King and Country.

Why did Owen Enlist?

Despite a view that Owen’s motives in enlisting may have been more self-focused than patriotic, there is no doubt that he did take his role as an officer and soldier very seriously in France. Owen enlisted in the Artists’ Rifles on October 21, 1915, and spent nearly fourteen months training in various places around the English countryside before heading to France in winter, 1916. It is worth noting that Owen did not actually spend a great deal of time at the Front compared to many soldiers. The battle experience on which his most famous poems are based was contained to about four months of which Owen spent no more than five weeks at the Front Line.

Battle in France 1916

Second Lieutenant Wilfred Owen arrived in France in late December 1916, right in the middle of the coldest winter of the war. He was sent to Beaumont Hamel on the Somme as one of 527 reinforcements sent out following heavy losses in the Ancre Offensive. His letters to his mother from this period reflect his shock at the conditions both in the trenches and behind the lines. He also speaks movingly of his pity for his fellow soldiers and their suffering, especially in the extreme cold of that particular winter, when men were known to freeze to death. His language, even in these simple letters, is evocative, making the reader truly understand the deprivation and hardship brought on by the war. ‘Futility’ and ‘Exposure’ are fine examples of poems based on these experiences.

In March 1917, Owen fell into a cellar suffering a concussion, which hospitalised him for two weeks. On his return to his battalion at the beginning of April, he found himself involved in heavy fighting near St Quentin. He was blown off his feet and spent several days in a shell-hole surrounded by the remains of a fellow officer. Owen was not physically hurt, but when his Battalion was relieved, it was noticed that his behaviour had become somewhat strange—his speech was confused and he seemed shaky. He was diagnosed as suffering from shell-shock and was sent to a Casualty Clearing Station. Eventually he was sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh, where he would remain for four months.

Owen Meets Poet Siegfried Sassoon at Craiglockhart

Whilst a patient at Craiglockhart, Owen met Siegfried Sassoon, a fellow patient, and the two became friends. Sassoon’s reputation as a poet and decorated war hero had preceded him. Sassoon perceived a natural talent hidden in some of Owen’s poems. Sassoon encouraged Owen, even offering advice on the manuscript of one of Owen’s most famous poems, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. His friendship with Sassoon gave Owen the impetus he needed and it was at this time that Owen wrote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, responding to the propagandist poems of Jessie Pope and others like her, who persuaded young men into joining up when they had little or no grasp of what was involved at the front.

Return to France in 1917

Owen left Craiglockhart in October 1917 to undertake more training and also used his leave opportunities to visit literary friends in London. By the end of August 1918, he was back in France, having been passed fit to return to the Front. Before leaving England, he had told his brother, Harold, of his desire to return to the front, despite sensing that he, like so many English soldiers, would be killed. He had also, encouraged by friends, started planning a volume of poetry for publication, for which the draft Preface is included in Stallworthy’s collection.

In October 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross. On the morning of 4^th November, while attempting to cross the Sambre-Oise Canal, Owen was shot and killed (only 7 days before War was officially ended on 11^th November, 1918. Owen is buried in the tiny Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Ors.

Owen and ‘The Pity of War’

The Preface written by Wilfred Owen in 1918 for the collection of poems he intended to have published after the war indicates his vision and aim as a poet. ‘Above all I am not concerned with Poetry/My subject is War, and the pity of War/The Poetry is in the pity’. He goes on to say that even though his poems will offer no consolation to those who suffered WWI, they may be of use to the next generation, particularly as a warning about the consequences of war: the real experience of it and what it does to people. Owen’s poems convey his genuine feelings for soldiers as they are caught up in the pity of war. Here are soldiers experiencing extreme destructiveness: destruction of civilization, destruction of the landscape, and very importantly, the destructive effect war can have on a soldier’s physical, spiritual and psychological life.

Most Famous of Owen’s Anti-War Poem is ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’

Owen wrote it as he was recovering in hospital after being shell-shocked and gassed. The title refers to a famous Latin patriotic saying ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’ meaning that it is sweet and noble to die for one’s country. However, Owen disagrees with this as he has been at war and seen the reality. In order to prove that there is no heroism in war, Owen recreates the reality very vividly with soldiers “bent double, like old beggars under sacks” and later “all went lame: all blind.” The imagery is one of physical despair, illness and ageing before one’s time showing us that this is what one reaps from war. The vivid contrast with the reality of “gas! gas! quick, boys!” confronts us with the reality of attack and the nightmare vision is surreal “as under a green sea I saw him drowning”. Onomatopoeia is used throughout the poem creating very clear and disturbing imagery “guttering, choking, drowning, smothering, gargling.” Owen builds up the reality of the men suffering and we cannot turn away from it. It is anything but noble and heroic, furthermore the dead are simply “flung”. In particular the reality of dead men thrown one on top the other on a carriage disgust us, yet we cannot turn away from the horror, “if you could hear at every jolt, the blood, come gargling from the froth, corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer…” which leads to the conclusion that only silly children would believe the Old Lie: ‘How sweet it is to die for one’s country’.

Major Themes in Owen’s Poetry & Only Some Poems Related
Theme	Poems
The pity of war	‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ * crosses over into many themes ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ / ‘Futility’
The horrors of war	‘Mental Cases’ / ‘Disabled’ / ‘Insensibility’
Protest against war	‘1914’ / ‘The Letter’ / ‘Soldier’s Dream’
Injuries in war	‘The Sentry’ / ‘The Dead Beat’ / ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’
Weapons of war	‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ / ‘The Last Laugh’ / ‘Soldier’s Dream’
Death and burial	‘Futility’ / ‘Spring Offensive’ / ‘Wild with All Regrets ’
Survivors	‘The Send Off’ / ‘Spring Offensive’ / ‘Disabled ’
Nature	‘Spring Offensive’ / ‘Exposure’ / ‘1914’
Love	‘Spring Offensive’ / ‘Strange Meeting’ / ‘Exposure’
Hatred	‘The Dead Beat’ / ‘S.I.W.’ / ‘Strange Meeting’
Anger	‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ / ‘Insensibility’ / ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’
Frustration	‘Disabled’ / ‘Wild with All Regrets’
Grief	‘Spring Offensive’ / ‘Sentry’ / ‘The Last Laugh’
Officers & Men	‘Inspection’ / ‘The Sentry’ / ‘The Dead Beat’
Brothers in Arms & Camaraderie	‘The Send Off’ / ‘Spring Offensive’ / ‘Exposure’
Parents & Children	‘The Parable of the Old Man and the Young’ / ‘S.I.W.’ / ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’
The Role of Women	‘The Letter’ / ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ / ‘The Dead Beat’
God, The Church, Religion	‘The Parable of the Old Man and the Young’ / ‘Soldier’s Dream’ / ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’
Making Sense of the Senseless	‘1914’ / ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ / ‘Strange Meeting’
Dreams	‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ / ‘Strange Meeting’ / ‘Miners’

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian Curriculum

Medea the Play by Euripides: The Basics

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Margaret

This Resource is for students in Year 11 studying ‘Medea’ the play by Euripides in AOS1: Unit 1, Reading & Creating Texts, Analytical Text Response, in the Victorian VCE Curriculum

Medea and Other Plays : Penguin Classics - Euripides

Context of the Play in Ancient Greece

The Greek civilisation which produced tragedies such as Euripides’ Medea flourished in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Politically, Greece consisted of city-states such as Athens (Attica), Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Megara and Argos. By 500 BC Athens was the artistic centre of Greece but Sparta was the major power and head of the alliance of city-states until Athens destroyed the attack fleet of the Persians in 480–479 BC. At the time when Euripides wrote Medea, Athens still represented the epitome of civilised, balanced culture and democracy. For that reason, it is pertinent that Medea is taken to Athens at the end of the play, in the Sun god’s own chariot.

Although the ancient Greeks are famous for establishing democracy, they restricted the role of women in society and enslaved other peoples. In the fifth century BC, the historian Thucydides wrote: ‘The greatest glory [for women] is to be least talked about among men, whether in praise or blame’. The play’s questioning of women’s subordinate position was a highly unconventional attitude and a reflection of Euripides’s own views that he used to raise an interest for his audience about women’s rights, duties and relationships.

Additionally, the family was extremely important in Greek culture, as was adherence to religious rites such as proper burial. While women in Athens were positioned as home-makers, mothers, with no voting powers or citizen rights, the men could take multiple sexual partners even though they were married. These are important points used by Euripides in the working-out of his plot. Not only is Medea isolated in Corinth, away from her family, she has exiled herself from both family and homeland through what she has done for love of Jason. She represents not only a wronged woman but the position of women in general in Greek society. Her ‘otherness’ is stressed from the start, as is her status as a stranger in Corinth.

Greek Theatre as a Public Educator

Greek dramatic spectacles were more than entertainment they were acts of religion, involving the population as an ongoing public duty. Tragic theatre both confirmed and questioned Athenian democracy because it was political theatre, staged for and by the ‘polis’ [city state] of Athens. One of the aims of Greek tragedy was to educate citizens in the practice of good citizenship. Plays like Medea articulated difficulties experienced by human beings trying to understand fundamental questions of duty and justice in situations of conflict, where the gods could be appealed to, but rarely gave direct guidance. All performances of the plays were male actors only, never females.

Who was Euripides?

Image result for Euripides. Size: 100 x 106. Source: classicalwisdom.com — Euripides

Euripides was born in 480 BC and died in 406 BC, he is one of the greatest dramatists who wrote tragic plays that were the most controversial against other great writers Aeschylus and Sophocles. All three competed in the Great Dionysia festival in fifth century BC that was performed in Athens each year at which the whole community participated.

Euripides was not popular with his contemporaries because he questioned traditional values. His ideas were considered dangerous and his dramatic technique was thought inferior. His plays were considered radical and departed from many of the established ideas of tragedy while treating the accepted mythological stories with less respect. His play Medea was produced in 431 BC challenged the audience by giving a voice to a woman in a deeply patriarchal society. He considered Medea’s concerns in a ‘battle of the soul’ between good and evil that tears a person apart psychologically.

His characters often questioned the gods’ sense of justice because they seemed sources of misery more than happiness. At times in his plays, Euripides suggested that chance ruled the world. His audiences found his plays confusing because he used gods to resolve conflicts and foretell the future and because characters’ speeches sometimes sounded like lists of evidence. However, Euripides’ interest in the psychology of his characters, his exploration of human motivation, and the topical and universal nature of his themes make Medea an interesting and relevant play to study in the twenty-first century. Most of Euripides’ plays insist that we must be aware of our own nature, and of our place in the universe, which entails an acceptance of the limits of human autonomy [independence].

Background Story to Medea the Play

Jason and the Argonauts, sailors of the Argo, sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. To pass into the Black Sea, Jason had to have the ship rowed quickly through the Clashing Rocks (Symplegades). In Colchis, Aeetes the king made Jason plough a field with a pair of fire-snorting bulls. Then he had to overcome the serpent that guarded the fleece within its coils. Medea, a sorceress [witch type person who used magic herbs and potions], helped him—he would have been unable to do it without her. She had fallen in love with Jason and her father pursued the pair. Medea killed her brother and scattered his limbs at sea to delay the king, who by custom had to bury his son before continuing his pursuit. They returned to Iolcus, where Jason’s uncle, Pelias, had usurped the throne. After restoring Jason’s father Aeson to youth by boiling him in a cauldron of herbs, Medea convinced Pelias’s daughters to cut their father into pieces and boil him, then refused to restore his youth. Pelias’s son drove Jason and Medea into exile: they fled with their two sons to Corinth. Jason deserted Medea to marry Glauce, daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. The play begins here.

Brief Summary of the Plot

In a nutshell, the play is about a wronged woman who dupes [fools] her husband and a king, kills her children and escapes with the help of her grandfather, the god Helios.

When the play opens, the Nurse reports that Medea has been deserted by her husband Jason. This comes as a double blow, because Medea has betrayed her own family in Colchis in order to help Jason steal the Golden Fleece, and had come with him to Corinth. Now that Jason has left her, Medea has no family to turn to in her plight. Jason plans to marry the Princess of Corinth to improve his position. Medea, in her passionate anger, plans to revenge herself on Jason, the Princes Glauce and her father, King Creon. Creon comes to tell Medea she is banished from Corinth because he fears her. She becomes the suppliant, assuring him of her innocence and begging to be allowed to stay a little longer. In reality, she needs time to carry out her revenge. She sends her two sons with poisoned wedding attire for Glauce, who is then burnt by the poison along with her father Creon when he comes to her aid.

Medea’s plan for revenge has since changed, she now intends to kill her two sons to that Jason’s suffering will be complete. She then plans to escape to Athens, where King Aegeus has offered her shelter. After much debate with herself, Medea kills her children. Jason discovers their bodies and curses his wife. Medea is unmoved, and leaves in a chariot drawn by winged dragons which her ancestor, the sun god Helios, has supplied for her escape.

Main Characters

Medea = Is the tragic protagonist of the play. She is passionate and arrives on stage with the history of having murdered to help her husband Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. She is a sorceress with magical powers, grand-daughter of Helios the Sun god. Medea loves Jason but appreciates her love has brought her exile and infamy [dishonour]. Jason is the father of her two sons, whom she does love, so killing them affects her own psyche. Speaking as a woman, Medea articulates her feelings on jealousy, frustration, childbirth, domestic isolation, submission to a controlling man, security, broken promises given by Jason, all subjects that would confront the Athenians at the time. Euripides seems to be on Medea’s side in this tragic play and lets her fly away safely at the end with the help of a chariot pulled by dragons.
Jason = Born a prince of Iolcus, the hero of the Golden Fleece legend, leader of the Argonauts expedition, Medea’s husband, father of two sons, Jason is presented as arrogant, selfish and narrow-focussed on material success through a marriage to princess Glauce, the King’s daughter. He dismisses Medea’s arguments against him and betrays her by breaking the sacred binding oath that had bound them together in a type of marriage contract (not legitimate). He has no conscience failing to comprehend that marrying Glauce will hurt Medea and is dismissive of the role of women in society, describing them as evil necessities only useful for reproduction. His arrogance allows him to be fooled by Medea’s greater intelligence and is reduced, emotionally destroyed and doomed to die as Medea predicts when his great ship, the Argo, collapses on him.
The Nurse = An old woman, loyal to Medea but conservative and cautious, expresses the views that the Athenian audience would recognise as correct and sensible that women ought to be obedient in marriage. She is supposed to stir the audience’s initial feelings of sympathy and pity for Medea and activate fears for the vulnerable children announcing that Medea actually ‘hates her children’ and is definitely ‘no ordinary woman’.
The Tutor = The old man expresses homely practical advice about making the best of life. He accompanies the children with Jason to Creon’s palace and acts as a preliminary messenger, innocently bringing what he thinks is good news to Medea about Glauce’s reception of gifts.
Creon = King of Corinth he is wise and family minded, but suspicious of Medea’s powers, especially over his daughter Glauce after her marriage to Jason. For this reason, he exiles Medea and her children immediately. However, Medea tricks him by appealing to the welfare of her children, he relents and lets her stay one more night to help them prepare to leave. This is his downfall, as Medea kills him shortly afterwards, along with Glauce.
The Chorus = Corinthian women represent the voice of the city, the moral heart of society and strongly condemn Jason’s oath-breaking. They make value judgements about action just passed, wonders to come and provide poetic asides that often foreshadow tragedy. They appear to be supporting Medea against Jason but do caution her not to go too far as they fear for the children. At the end they comment that the gods are responsible for all and are unpredictable.

Other characters = Glauce princess of Corinth / The Messenger announces eyewitness accounts of events happening offstage / the children Medea and Jason’s sons are heard only behind the skene door offstage but they do not speak onstage / Aegeus is the wealthy diplomat from Athens who offers Medea shelter and protection

The Gods

The Greeks believed in gods and goddesses, who they thought, had control over every part of people’s lives. They had to pray to the gods for help and protection, and if the gods were unhappy with someone, then they would punish them. The gods were included in many Greek tragic plays which were concerned with spiritual issues and how they interfered in human lives. There was a debate about how far mortals were free to pursue or avoid disasters of their own making within a cosmos [universe] that also had room for concepts of fate, right, revenge, justice, punishment in Greek society. Euripides was criticised for bringing the gods onto the stage then causing them to behave in outrageous ways. Athenians at the time thought Euripides was mocking the gods as if he either despised or disbelieved in them.

Is Medea a Heroine or a Tyrant?

An important task is to work out if Medea is a heroine or tyrant.

Some Ideas to consider:

Medea is a Victim & a Heroine – Euripides suggests that Medea also has a legitimate grievance presenting her arguments on behalf of “we women” and so is not solely responsible for the tragedy – So she is a passionate heroine fighting for the rights of women – She is also a victim having made significant sacrifices in helping Jason secure the Golden Fleece.
Euripides also suggests that she has been wilfully treated by Jason.
Euripides presents Jason as a cold-hearted husband who prides himself on being able to negotiate the tempestuous whims of others. Euripides suggests that one of his biggest errors of judgement is to misunderstand or downplay the depth of Medea’s passion and grievances.
Medea is Subjected to Extreme Passion Without Reason – Medea is motivated by her excessive passion for her husband, Jason that turns to excessive hatred upon his betrayal. Euripides shows the damage that can occur owing to extremes of emotion – both love and hatred. In particular, the playwright suggests that hatred festers and leads to shameful excuses on behalf of Medea who condones the suffering she inflicts on others.
Euripides also suggests that Jason’s phlegmatic and insensitive streak fails to anticipate the danger that lurks within. Only a very extreme action, it seems, can penetrate his barriers.
Medea can be just as Ruthless and Manipulative as Jason – She deceives both Creon and Jason.
Medea is Aware of her Actions – She is not insane like the Greek myth of Ino but a cold-blooded murderess – She admits that understands the “full horror” of what she is about to do , but “anger masters my resolve”.
Medea is a Tyrant & Child Killer – The Chorus suggests that Medea crosses the line by killing her children and turns herself into a despicable “child-killer”. By killing the children, Medea’s righteous cause tips into cold-blooded revenge; Euripides criticises her motives as she becomes obsessed with sparing herself the scorn of her enemies.

Themes

conflict	betrayal	exile & the individual
reason vs passion	notion of justice	revenge
parents & children	gender politics	women in society
order vs chaos	heroism & honour	family obligation & nurture
filicide [parents killing their children]	good vs evil	psychology of human motivation

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian Curriculum

Themes from Short Stories in ‘Like a House on Fire’ by Cate Kennedy

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Margaret

This Educational Resource is for Year 12 Mainstream English students from the Old English Curriculum Prior to 2024.

This resource material is covering the short story collection ‘Like a House on Fire’ by Cate Kennedy.

The “gift of ordinariness”

Image result for Like a House on Fire by Cate Kennedy

The collection of short stories catalogue moments that Cate Kennedy calls “the gift is the ordinariness, things that are well-used, unexpressed or taken for granted” from characters who experience dramatic events to the very mundane. Some characters in the stories expand their roles that they have fallen into with an understanding of their own humanity which allows them to view the humanity in others.

Symbolism on the Front Cover

Don’t forget to look at the cover of the ‘Scribe edition’ which uses simple visual symbolism that encapsulates the minuscule griefs and sorrows of the domestic stories. The household objects represented are all familiar mundane symbols of domesticity however, the objects are associated with a shattered domestic bliss that are unable to fulfill their potential. As such the objects are symbols of ideas and themes that resonate with the short stories within the collection. Many stories have personal tragedies that contain glimmers of hope or the possibility of better futures.

The All Important Themes, Ideas and Values

What is important studying the short stories is to consider the themes, ideas and values present in the whole text and noting, analysing and contrasting the themes shared by the whole collection. Look carefully at the age and narrative perspective of the protagonist in each story and how this impacts on your understanding of the key themes.

Major Themes from All Stories

poverty & disadvantage / financial & physical & mental challenges / isolation & loneliness / disappointment of reality / memories / despair / sadness / misery / isolation & loneliness / hope & tenacity / grief & triumph linked / resilience / possibility of change / ordinariness / intricate nature of things / humiliation / masculinity / communication / emotional & physical distance & lost connections / chaos versus order / intimacy / relationships with children / relationships with parents / relationships with partners / marriage / heroes & villains / conflict & unresolved differences / humour / families & relationships / domestic bliss shattered / manipulative people / false realities & disappointment / emotionally damaged people / incompatibility / disconnection / imperfections & dis-junctions that are the reality / homosexuality / accidents & their impacts / tragedies / events that shatter family life / birth & death / motherhood & fatherhood / miscarriage / waiting / morality & immorality / feeling of being trapped / strength in adversity / humanity / compassion / empathy / love / delicate optimism / survival / bleak endings with no hope

Lets look at the themes from the first story in the collection “Flexion”

3^rd person limited voice = from Mrs Slovak’s perspective / Frank is husband who has the accident

“Flexion” Story Brief Summary

A woman witnesses what she believes will be the death of her husband Frank as he is crushed under their tractor. He survives, a harsh man who is unable to show gratitude towards the kindness of others, unable to ask for help, unable to show weakness or to tolerate perceived weakness. His wife takes an almost cruel satisfaction in becoming the dominant one in the relationship, until a moment of genuine warmth and shared understanding happens. His wife cares for him as he makes a slow, stubborn recovery. Gradually they both accept their new reality of his limitations and dependence on her.

Themes from “Flexion”

accidents & their impact = the accident forces Frank to be dependent on his wife in a practical sense / power shift is a challenge for Frank but his wife likes the change as she feels ‘exhilaration’ at being able to force him into an action he is resisting

tragedy / family events that shatter life = the accident causes Frank to think “Now would be the good time to die” / the accident shows how clinging to an idea of what masculinity should be can end in destruction / “I’m not going to be a burden on anyone, is that clear?” he mutters to his wife

marital relationships = strained relationship between Frank Slovak and his wife made even more challenging by the accident / Kennedy suggests that the reason their marriage is particularly vulnerable at the moment is because they seem unable to communicate with one another effectively, and this impairs their ability to face challenges as a united team

birth & death = Mrs Slovak suffered greatly when she lost the unborn child and she resented Frank for pushing the tragedy away from public knowledge / irony Frank cheats death and has limited movement but has to relearn how to move again / yet people in the farming community help him

despair / humiliation / being trapped = Frank feels despair at not being able to run the farm like he used to / feels humiliated by his inability to work / farmers hate to be vulnerable and feels trapped by his lack of mobility / perceives his own physical weakness as unmanly / being a man requires physical strength, and that perception makes him feel useless to his wife or being a farmer

masculinity = humiliation is inherently linked to a sense of inadequate masculinity at his physical frailness not being able to provide for his wife and run the family farm / feels worthless and emasculated by the change of his life / as a farmer he feels that he should provide for his wife and the possibility he can’t, he suspects that he’s not a real man make him more angry / Kennedy suggests that conventional expectations of manhood can cause more harm than good in situations like these

disappointment with self / sadness = Frank is sullen and resentful he is now an invalid / used to be a strong farmer devoid of emotions / anger & loss of pride that Frank has to thank people who have helped on the farm while he has been in hospital

order versus chaos = Frank is a perfectionist type of man when his life is thrown into chaos after he sustains the serious injury from the tractor accident / he runs the farm ‘his way’ but the story illustrates how insisting on complete order can actually lead to increased chaos / some chaos, Kennedy suggests, is inevitable, and denying that fact only makes it truer / Kennedy depicts his need for control as overbearing and unhealthy

tenacity to fight on & survive = scowling face with a kind of ferocious, vindictive resolve to keep surviving despite the severe accident

humanity / compassion / empathy / love / delicate optimism = Mrs Slovak shows cautious expressions of affection and compassion for Frank when she reaches out to hold his hand as they lie in bed / despite her pure ‘loathing’ of him she finds herself determined to reach out and help ease his suffering / there is a small hope in a landscape of bleak acceptance as they face a difficult future together / a sense of delicate optimism in the conclusion of the story as the characters find a reason to carry on

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian Curriculum

Legacy and Message of Author Christine Piper in ‘After Darkness’

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Margaret

For Year 12 Mainstream English Students studying the VCE Curriculum ‘After Darkness’ by Christine Piper, these resources are useful as revision of ‘Legacy and Message of Author’ which is critical for you to include in analytical essays.

‘Historical Amnesia’

The two nations that figure in Piper’s novel, Japan and Australia, were enemies in WWII, yet the ‘war’ is merely a backdrop to the narrative’s ideas. Piper interrogates two cases of ‘historical amnesia’. In Japan, a national reluctance to acknowledge and investigate the cruel testing on live humans of biological weapons by its Army Medical College in China in the 1930’s. In Australia, a silence about internment of ‘enemy aliens’.

Atonement

When dark things have been done in the name of any nation, there is a national decision or choice to be made, either to acknowledge the wrong and reconcile with the victims, a form of atonement or contrition [remorse] that is likely to ‘release’ perpetrators from their sense of guilt. Or to keep silent and pretend that the immoral or unethical actions did not happen. In Germany after WWII there were the Nuremberg trials and a long process of acknowledging the nation’s dark history. However, in Japan there were no such trials, and authorities have been reluctant to acknowledge atrocities. The contradiction between Japanese memory of wartime past is a struggle between forgetting and remembrance, tradition and progression.

National Identity, memory, forgetting merge with individual identity and belonging

The novel questions national identity, memory and forgetting that merge with questions about individual identity and belonging. Piper suggests that this conflicted Japanese war memory is personified in Dr Ibaraki, whose psychological struggle with his conscience, his sense of duty and his memories about his time at the Laboratory in Tokyo echoes Japan’s wider struggle to reconcile its three wartime identities of atomic bomb victim, protector of Asia and cruel aggressor.

National pride and national self-respect

The larger idea here is that there is a difference between national pride and national self-respect. A self-respecting nation can acknowledge cruelty and violence perpetrated in its name, whereas an overdeveloped sense of national identity, national pride taken to extremes of insensitivity, indifference and sometimes contempt for the rights of the people of other states and nations, can generate, intensify and prolong deadly conflict.

Coercive notions of conformity, discretion & secrecy

Piper shows how coercive notions of conformity, discretion and secrecy can intensify and prolong conflict and cruelty, and how these can lead to shame and guilt for the perpetrators and rebellion or depression for the victims. Piper explores, how the bones of Shinjuku are still silent, waiting to reveal their truth. By not investigating the bones by Japanese authorities, is a failure to confront the truth about Japanese history, a denial of the past, a pretence, whereas investigating the bones is an act of coming to terms with the nation’s past, and an act of contrition and honesty.

Conflict of culture between personal feelings and public façade

Piper outlines in her novel the conflict between personal feelings (hone) and public façade (tatemae) which can lead to people being so restrained, reserved and discreet, that they do not have the courage and personal agency to speak up against corrupt superiors, nor to reconcile and forgive. We see this contrast between the Japanese character of Dr Ibaraki who is exhorted [urged] by his superiors in Tokyo to be discreet and to take the secret of the Laboratory “to the grave” so he keeps his inner feelings to himself throughout his time and aims not to bring shame upon his family. But the character of Johnny Chang, a half-caste Australian/Japanese, is a personable character ready to stand up for himself and his mates, with an assertiveness like rebellion, but he is honest and openly challenges the power, corruption and cruelty he sees in wartime Australia and at Loveday.

Piper’s play of light and darkness & the title

Piper’s descriptions of the light and darkness of Australian landscapes convey to the reader her ideas about the moral dilemmas that challenge both nation and individual. Australia’s silence about incarcerating people can be seen in the dead trees “I glimpsed the contours of a wide river, its surface glittering white. Dead trees haunted its edges, their limbs stretching skywards, as if begging for forgiveness (p.3). She also describes the threat of Japan’s moral compromise in “a thick bank of clouds” as an overcast day throws “sombre light on … Kimura’s face” (p.120).

The novel’s title seems to pose the question: What comes after the darkness? Piper implies that the light of truth, honesty, openness, reconciliation and forgiveness comes after the darkness. That to journey from one to the other, we must remember rather than forget, and share ourselves with others rather than withhold ourselves in secrecy or silence.

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‘After Darkness’ by Christine Piper a Brief Synopsis

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Margaret

Image result for after darkness by christine piper book cover

This Resource is ‘A Brief Synopsis’ only for Mainstream English Year 12 Students studying After Darkness by Christine Piper AOS1 Unit 3 Analytical Study in the VCE Victorian Curriculum.

Read my other Post on ‘Legacy and Message of Author’ as the two Posts link up.

Christine Piper’s historical fiction, After Darkness deals with suppressed fragments of the past and silenced memories. The protagonist, Dr Ibaraki attempts to move forward with life whilst also trying to hide past confrontations as well as any remnants of his past wrongdoings and memories. The novel chronicles 2 journeys – the first is Ibaraki’s physical journey from Japan to Broome, to South Australia and back to Japan. In the process, the young doctor undertakes a second, more private journey towards a greater understanding of self. What begins as escape from his past ends as an opportunity to redeem it.

Piper’s Message of Author is clear here – Ibaraki learns the notions of duty that have been inculcated [taught] from boyhood are less important than values such as empathy, forgiveness and the courage to speak out in the face of blatant immorality. The relationships Ibaraki forms during his exile, particularly at Loveday, are critical to this metamorphosis [transformation]. Therefore, the novel is a story of personal growth that charts the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist.

The text consists of three intertwined narrative strands

Ibaraki’s past in Tokyo in 1934
His arrival in Broome in 1938 to work in a hospital there, and
His arrival in a detainment camp in Loveday (South Australia) in 1942 after the outbreak of WW2.

The final chapter Tokyo 1989 concludes Ibaraki’s story, moving into the present tense to describe his life as an elderly man living in Tokyo. Now in his 80’s he has to face the guilt of his past by writing a letter to the media which resolves the conflict between his conscience and the cultural values that have silenced his voice for so many years. In a way everything in Ibaraki’s life has been leading to this moment.

Structure – Importance of Place

By moving between the 3 settings Piper emphasises the importance of place. Each setting plays a critical role in Ibaraki’s emotional journey. The chapters set in these different times and places are linked in that ideas or patterns of behaviour explored in one chapter, feed into the next. Within each setting, events move inexorably [inevitably] towards a climax that marks an important turning point in Ibaraki’s life. This structure enables the protagonist to look back on events with the hindsight imposed by time and distance, allowing Ibaraki to evaluate his choices and learn from past mistakes.

Historical Context of the Text

Piper draws on real events that occurred in Japan and Australia before and during WW2. The most infamous part of the historical context is Unit 731, a covert [secret] medical research branch of the Imperial Japanese Army. The young Dr Ibaraki is caught up in this research, where victims from Manchuria were injected with bubonic plague, typhoid, anthrax, cholera and other deadly pathogens, vivisections were conducted, without anaesthetic, to determine the progress of the diseases. For many years the Japanese Government suppressed the truth of these horrific crimes. It was not until 1989 that mass graves of bones were discovered in Shinjuku district of Tokyo. Local residents fought official attempts to shut down investigations but gradually the facts about the horror started to emerge.

Language Devices

Piper writes in expressive, controlled prose and uses imagery, simile, metaphor, personification, foreshadowing that not only establish context but also delineate Ibaraki’s relationship to the landscape. Often the imagery reflects his emotional state either directly or subliminally [subconsciously].

Language Devices Examples
Page	Language	Quote	Explanation
1	Sense of place & colour imagery of landscape	“The sun spread on the horizon, bleeding colour like a broken yolk”	Ibaraki abandons his customary restraint to describe what he sees around him evokes a strong sense of place
46	Colour imagery of landscape	“A pink spur of land crested with green rose out of the milky blue water”	At first sight of Broome Ibaraki is struck by the unexpected colours
46	Colour imagery of landscape	“a curve of rich red sand that bled into the azure sea”	Broome is a strange clash of colours nothing like Ibaraki had ever seen in Japan
125	Colour imagery & nature	“…the birds of paradise …spear shaped orange and blue petals perfectly encapsulate Broome’s hostile beauty”	Juxtaposing the open beak of a bird represented by the bird of paradise plant is both hostile and beautiful
3	Landscape imagery that delineates Ibaraki’s emotional state	“…. Haunted its edges, their limbs stretching skywards, as if begging for forgiveness”	Travelling to Loveday by train Ibaraki passes a river flanked by dead trees the image hints at the guilt that haunts Ibaraki
198	foreshadowing	“snow was falling as I walked home from the station – the first snow of the season”	Foreshadowing the storm about to come in his life
174	foreshadowing	“the rust coloured arc made me think of the transience of life. And how with just one ill wind, everything could change”	Foreshadowing trauma to come the fine red desert dirt is a reminder of life transience that everything can change & imminent crisis
13	Simile & Landscape imagery that delineates Ibaraki’s emotional state	“… like blistered skin”	Beside the camp Ibaraki sees a row of red gums with bark peeling from their trunks reminds him of the corrupted flesh of the victims in Unit 731 from Ibaraki’s past
204	Imagery of light and darkness	Plunged into “darkness”	Images of light and darkness are woven through the text, juxtaposing Ibaraki’s experiences in Tokyo with those in Australia. After his marriage fails, he is plunged into darkness
45	Imagery of darkness that delineates Ibaraki’s emotional state	“I was glad for the pocket of darkness that hid my tears”	Ibaraki does not share the nationalistic fervour of the other Japanese when Broome is bombed instead, he mourns the destruction of the town and concern for former friends left behind
274	Imagery of light and darkness	Broome is a “vivid wash of light”	Comparing to the darkness he felt in Japan, Broome is a bright light, suggesting that things have become clearer during his time in Australia
Title	metaphor	“After Darkness”	Darkness in the title acts as a metaphor for WW2 and the horror that affects nations and individuals alike. The darkness also suggests the moral darkness that implicated Japan of committing war crimes on innocent people in Unit 731 representing the depths of depravity they reached. After the darkness of war, the Japanese nation and individuals involved must make peace with themselves by coming to terms with their past. Ibaraki writing a letter to the press exposes the darkness of Unit 731 to the light. Moral doubt and secrecy are replaced by moral clarity.

In Piper’s novel issues associated with Identity / Culture / Place underpin dilemmas about Truth / Lies / Secrecy / Openness / Honesty / Discretion / Guilt / Failure / Forgiveness & Renewal

Race & Identity, Racism vs Nationalism

The fraught relationship between race & identity is seen at individual & national levels. Physical hatred, fear and paranoia of the Japanese interned in Australia is a clear result of the war. Other differences are characters who do not fit one race or the other as half castes. The fenced off divide in the camp between the Japanese, Italians & Germans highlights segregation.

Duty

Characters are motivated by a sense of duty, beliefs & misconceptions about what this entails provide the moral tension at the heart of the novel. Ibaraki grew up with the weight of family expectations on him to be a doctor.

During his time at the lab he faces a conflict between his conscience and sense of duty that has been underlined all his life. Saving face and not bringing dishonour and shame on oneself or family is the dilemma Ibaraki faces regarding the work in Unit 731. But his greatest betrayal is to himself, not speaking out against the evil.

Choices

The overarching context of war determines the destinies of many of the characters in the text, exerting a crucial influence on the ways in which personal stories are played out. Ibaraki understands many of his choices have been driven by fear and his notions of duty and honour over conscience or love and as a result all his personal relationships have suffered as a result.

Loss

The text highlights the effect of men who find themselves classified as enemy aliens. The text also explores the idea of displacement when Ibaraki loses his job and marriage, he also loses his sense of belonging.

Guilt & Atonement

Working at the research unit in Tokyo Ibaraki naively thinks he is working to develop vaccines for good purposes but the opposite is the reality. This horrific past remains a wound that is impossible to forget. By exposing the truth in the 1980’s he redeems himself.

Silence, Keeping Secrets & Loneliness

The theme of silence is prevalent in the novel. Kimura threatens Ibaraki never to talk about the work in the lab. He hides secrets all through his life leaving him lonely. Piper stresses that opening up to people you care about is the way to maintain healthy relationships with mutual trust.

Past vs Present – concept of time

The dichotomy of past and present is encapsulated through the passing of time in the text mirrored with the three narrative strands and transformations in the environment as well as characters. Piper alludes to the fact that the present is impacted by the past.

Friendship

Piper exults the power of friendships formulated in life makes undergoing bad circumstances much better. Friends understand one another on an emotional level and provide support needed.

Personal Conscience, Regret & Shame

Personal conscience is a prominent theme that humanises the regrets and mistakes one can make in their life. Ibaraki pushes people away in order to realise that it makes the feeling of guilt and pain return. Piper considers the necessity to speak your mind when a problem arises as the detriments that could occur afterwards can cause guilt and shame to last a lifetime.

Hope

Piper postulates that hope can be a significant guiding force for an individual when they encounter difficult circumstances in life. Some characters enable Ibaraki to be a better person such as Johnny and Stan and they give the support he needs to overcome obstacles in life.

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Suspense in the film ‘Rear Window’ Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Margaret

For Mainstream English Year 12 students studying the film Rear Window Directed by Alfred Hitchcock for AOS1: Unit 3, Reading and Creating Texts, Analytical Response Outcome. See below some of the suspense scenes along with film techniques to help when you write your Analytical Response Essays.

The question is “How does Hitchcock create suspense in the film Rear Window?”

Thorwald’s suspicious actions / limited information / close up / camera dissolves into black

Chapter 7 – Jeff wakes to the sound of thunder and rain / early hours of morning

See the source image

Jeff watches Thorwald leave in the rain with a suitcase / close up of his watch reveals it is 1.55 am / its early hours of the morning / Thorwald leaves the lights on inside his apartment but the blinds remain down / Thorwald walks down the street, the darkness of the alley he enters raises the sense of suspense / we want to know why Thorwald is acting suspicious / Hitchcock has purposely limited our information by confining our point of view to that of Jeff / Hitchcock has drawn us into to participating through intellectual participation / This builds the suspense and engages us more in the film and particularly what Thorwald is doing / Later a close up of Jeff’s watch tells us it is 2.35 am when Thorwald returns with his case / Thorwald goes out again and returns as the buildings dissolve into black / Jeff struggles to stay awake and finally he is asleep / The audience but not Jeff sees Thorwald leave carrying a suitcase leading a woman who is dressed in a black hat and coat leave the apartment

Lisa searching for clues in Thorwald’s apartment / parallel editing / cross-cutting / cinematography / sound / close-ups / point of view shot

Chapter 15 – Lisa’s risk to prove herself to Jeff / Miss Lonelyhearts attempted suicide / Thorwald’s impending threat

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Lisa has climbed up the fire escape onto a balcony and into Thorwald’s apartment via a window / She is rummaging through Thorwald’s apartment trying to search for clues / In this scene we have two views from Jeff’s point of view / One of these is Lisa searching the apartment and another of the hallway leading to Thorwald’s apartment / Thorwald had previously left the apartment after Jeff making a fake phone call to Thorwald telling him to meet him in a restaurant / Lisa finds Mrs Thorwald’s wedding ring / As we see this, we also see Thorwald coming up the hallway towards his apartment and we know that neither one knows the other is on the opposite side of the door / This captures the perfect parallel editing while building up suspense / We are helpless as an audience to helping Lisa / Jeff is watching in panic / Cross-cutting between Lisa’s search and Jeff’s agitated response heightens the suspense /

The drama also unfolds in Miss Lonelyhearts apartment as she writes her suicide note / cinematography shows both floors at the same time / Sound of music from the songwriter’s ‘Lisa’ ballad stops both Lisa momentarily from impending danger from Thorwald and Miss Lonelyhearts is distracted /

Thorwald then attacks Lisa / close up of Jeff’s anguished face as he watches helplessly / Lisa shows Jeff the ring behind her back / Thorwald realises he is being watched / Chilling point of view shot he looks directly at Jeff / Jeff tells Stella to “turn out the lights” in the apartment / The audience is warned of the threat Thorwald poses

Jeff waiting for Thorwald to enter his apartment / cross cutting /cinematography / close ups / high angle shot / sounds of footsteps & struggle

Chapter 16 – climax of the film

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Jeff does not know what Thorwald is doing and then suddenly Jeff’s phone rings / Jeff answers the phone and there is no sound on the end / the absence of sound builds up even more suspense / camera zooms into close up of Jeff’s face, eyes darting with horror / high angle shot as Jeff twists his face, before pivoting to face the door, highlights his vulnerability / Jeff is waiting helpless and immobile in his apartment / The camera cross cuts back and forth between Thorwald who is slowly getting closer to Jeff while Jeff is waiting as suspense builds / Jeff hears loud footsteps on the stairs, seconds later, the light under the door goes out / Jeff is fully a participant in the drama rather just a spectator /

Thorwald enters the dark apartment and asks Jeff “What do you want from me?” / the camera pans back and forward from Thorwald to Jeff as Thorwald continues to demand what Jeff wants & asking for Jeff to “get the ring back” / Jeff explains he can’t because “the Police have it by now” / Thorwald knocks over a chair and tries to lunge at Jeff and is temporarily blinded by exploding flash bulbs / The white light followed by a dull red circle expands the fill the frame / Thorwald’s final lunge at Jeff is filmed from below emphasising the mortal threat he presents to the defenceless Jeff / Jeff looks over at the window and yells to Lisa and Doyle to attract their attention to his predicament / sounds of struggle with Thorwald trying to strangle Jeff /

See the source image

As Jeff hangs from the balcony conveys the urgency of the situation / Camera cuts from Jeff struggling with Thorwald to shocked response of neighbours who come out of their apartments to see what’s going on / Police rush to the rescue as Doyle, Lisa and Stella run down to the courtyard / The Police grab Thorwald off Jeff / Jeff’s fall from the balcony is filmed with a high angle shot / Jeff hits the ground but he smiles with pride at Lisa protectively cradles his head in her lap / Jeff says to Lisa “Gee I’m proud of you” foreshadowing the start of a new chapter for them

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Gender Roles Love & Marriage in the film ‘Rear Window’

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Margaret

This Resource is for Mainstream English Year 12 students studying the film Rear Window Directed by Alfred Hitchcock for AOS1: Unit 3, Reading and Creating Texts, Analytical Response Outcome.

Gender Roles, Love & Marriage are important themes that Director Alfred Hitchcock critiques in the film Rear Window. These ideas should be included in essays as evidence of Hitchcock’s views of 1950’s American society.

Gender Roles in the 1950’s

Rear Window reflects the gender stereotypes of the 1950’s in a sexist era before the feminist movement made its mark; both men and women are constrained by cultural expectations and mores [customs & traditions] that were conservative.

Jeff’s own views on women are blinkered and he typecasts many of the women he observes: Miss Torso is viewed as a sexy single blonde / Miss Lonelyhearts as a middle aged spinster / Anna Thorward as a nagging wife.

Women are valued for their beauty and physical attributes rather than their skills or intelligence. When Lisa asks how far a woman must go in order to retain a man’s interest, Jeff responds “Well, if she’s pretty enough, she doesn’t have to go anywhere. She just has to ‘be’”.

A beautiful woman like Lisa has to continually fight the perception that her function is essentially decorative and that her value lies in the way she looks, rather than what she thinks, says or does. In this society women are objectified, viewed primarily through the lens of men’s sexual desire.

Gender Divide in Work Men & Women Do

The gender divide is exemplified by the contrasting work that men and women do which reflects a traditional gender bias. Men join the Army or Police; women become nurses or work in fashion. Jeff underrates Lisa’s job in fashion because his work expects an adrenaline rush every time he goes on a new assignment, while working on a fashion magazine as a model and columnist seems mere dabbling in the workforce. The magazine represents the established dichotomy [contrast] between the active masculine role and the more passive feminine role. Jeff’s publication company works for world of news while Lisa’s fashion magazine covers models and submissive women.

Jeff and Lisa’s Gender Dynamics

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Hitchcock has the ability to control our “gaze” of Lisa and the attitude he would like us to have towards her. It is apparent through Hitchcock’s Rear Window that he alludes to varying gender norms. Once Jeff is in his wheel chair after the accident, his life remained stable and unchanging in terms of scenery. However, Lisa took on the ability to walk in and out of the apartment as she pleased. This perhaps put a spin on their original relationship when Jeff frequently travelled on various adventures in order to pursue his career as a famous photographer while Lisa remained in her job in New York City. As Lisa tries to convey to Jeff that she can be the jet-setting girl he wants her to be, he frequently denies her that right to even try. He constantly pushes Lisa away and is hesitant to continue their relationship onward. He also pushes her away while he gazes at the window at his various neighbours because she is seen as a distraction.

It is only until Lisa becomes part of that scene and wears the wedding band of the murderer’s wife, that Jeff will accept Lisa as she is and fully accepts that they may soon one day get married. The ring on her finger would symbolically represent Lisa and Jeff’s trust in one another and their changing relationship. The role switch enables Jeff to trust in Lisa that she will always be there for him and he can bring her along on his adventures.

Another way we can see the gender dynamic is through the wardrobe of these two characters. Jeff is constantly wearing his pyjamas and Lisa is the one frequently changing her clothes. She transforms from wearing couture into wearing a pants, suggesting that she must change her appearance in order to please him and the lifestyle that he wants to live. The fact that Lisa works in fashion and cares about her appearance not only shows that she is a woman of class but also one of status and importance. She graciously tries to provide Jeff which a safer and practical job, the exact opposite of his current one, yet he blatantly denies the offer. He acts as if a job in what’s perceived to be a “female dominated” is not good enough for him and also is opposed to the idea of a woman providing him with a job and not the other way around.

The Thorwald Case Casts Lisa in a New Role – Gender Role Reversal

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The Thorwald case enables Lisa to successfully transition into Jeff’s domain. A reversal of gender roles follows. Confined to a wheelchair, Jeff has the passive role throughout the drama, while Lisa becomes his ‘legs’ and assumes the more active role, breaking into Thorwald’s apartment to look for evidence.

By subverting conventional male and female roles, the movie challenges the gender stereotyping of the prevailing culture. The lines polarising what men and women can and can’t do have become blurred. With 2 broken legs, Jeff’s emasculation [deprived of masculinity] is so complete by the end of the film that he is no longer in a position to object to Lisa’s presence in his professional life.

Throughout the film, Lisa never loses her femininity, even when she is climbing into a second floor window from a fire escape; she does it in high heels and a floral dress that billows gracefully over the sill. However, in the final scene Lisa is dressed casually in a shirt, jeans and loafers. The message here is that due to her physical activity breaking into Thorwald’s apartment, Jeff sees Lisa differently. In effect Lisa is literally ‘wearing the pants’ in the relationship.

In the past Jeff underestimated Lisa, misrepresenting her as a one dimensional Park Avenue socialite, but since she helped solve the murder mystery and put herself at risk to do so, Lisa demonstrates that women are more than capable of being both feminine and feminist. This is a prescient [prophetic & perceptive] message for Hitchcock to send out to his 1950’s audiences, male and female alike.

Love

Image result for Lisa getting in window in rear window

To an extent it is possible to see the movie as a film about love in terms of its importance to human beings as well as the catastrophic situations which come about when love fails. It seems that Hitchcock filmed the love scenes like murder scenes and the murder scenes like love scenes. We see this in the ‘kiss scene’ when Jeff becomes aware of Lisa’s presence when her shadow falls ominously over his face, and for one second the sense of threat reigns.

At the beginning of the movie Jeff has two problems, which are intertwined throughout the film, firstly, he has defined his life by impermanence, independence and disconnection and now he is encased literally and metaphorically so that he is stilled, dependent and reliant on others. Second in his relationship with Lisa, this seems to reveal him as both neurotic and childishly frightened of commitment.

The other occupants of the apartments can be seen as representing the various roles available to women, and also the possibilities of love and marriage which Hitchcock depicts as inextricably joined. As Jeff becomes increasing obsessive in his conviction that there has been a murder in the opposite apartment, we look through his eyes into the characters’ personal lives.

It is impossible to avoid the idea that Hitchcock is suggesting that the human need for love and for connectedness to others is essential to our existence. Jeff even objectifies characters as an indication of his own human inadequacy. He uses the clichéd title of Miss Lonelyhearts combined with our position looking from the window across the courtyard controls our response to the pathos [sorrow] of her situation. The film seems to suggest that her life is not worth living without someone to love.

Marriage and Lonely Characters

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If Jeff represents the emasculated post-war American man, Hitchcock’s female characters offer a range of possibilities for females in this era, though not necessarily a range of choices. Jeff’s sexist and childish fear of marriage is portrayed by Hitchcock’ as a refusal of life. To a great extent love and marriage go together in this film. Additionally out of this connection comes the idea that however difficult relationships and thus marriages are to maintain, so that they nourish and succour their members, the alternative is so painful that suicide might be the only choice.

Jeff is cynical about marriage is first revealed in the conversation with his editor Gunnison. If Lisa regards marriage as a partnership one that involves sharing and companionship, Jeff views it as a trap. Buried under his resistance is an element of guilt. He knows that Lisa loves him and a part of him also knows that it is unfair to string her along. However, using his career as the excuse for avoiding commitment, he would prefer to keep the relationship as it is. In weighing up his options, Jeff finds that his views on marriage are influenced by what he observes.

The Thorwalds mirror Jeff and Lisa. There is a superficial resemblance between the two women and each relationship has reached a crisis point. Mrs Thorwald and Lisa are also linked by their handbags and by the wedding ring. For Lisa the ring is a symbol of success, of knowledge achieved, and of hope for her own marriage. However it is also an ironic reminder of the failed marriage and the complete erasure of Mrs Thorwald.

Hitchcock also suggests that the newlyweds are on the way to a marriage like the Thorwalds. They are consumed by their sexual pleasure but by the end of the film are beginning to bicker. The film hints that there is more to understand about Miss Torso than Jeff’s reductive label conveys. The comical entrance of her husband Stanley reminds us that looks are not everything. Miss Lonelyhearts suffering is very real. Hitchcock makes it clear that her problem is the lack of love, synonymous with marriage. She is so lonely that she creates a fantasy dinner party guest, and she needs to drink to give her courage to go out in search of a man.

The composer is another lonely person. His attempt to compose his song is a thematic connector through the movie. Hitchcock links his unsatisfactory personal life with his frustrated professional life. It is his song, finally completed, that saves Miss Lonelyhearts and brings him success. Hitchcock hints at the possibility of a relationship between Miss Lonelyhearts and the composer with the song giving her a reason to live. She says “I can’t tell you what this music has meant to me”. He smiles fondly at her.

The movie ends with domestic justice – Thorwald is sent to jail, Miss Lonelyhearts finds a companion in the composer. Lisa metaphorically lets her hair down for Jeff by wearing jeans and attempts to read an adventure book. Both of the surviving women have reached their peak happiness in the prospect of marriage and both are seen in their male partner’s apartment, thus conforming to the man’s life instead of their own. With the final scene, Hitchcock imprisons the women in their endless quest to please men, with no indication of further ambitions or further capacities.

OR think of an alternative perspective on women (in particular Lisa) that Hitchcock has given viewers to consider. Why does Lisa put down the book on ‘The High Himalayas’ and picks up ‘Harper’s Bazaar’? Has she just won the gender race? Lisa is quite capable of being both feminine and a feminist. By subverting conventional male and female roles, Hitchcock challenges the gender stereotyping of the prevailing culture and sends a message to his 1950’s audiences ‘not to underestimate women’.

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Themes and Message of Hitchcock for the film ‘Rear Window’

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Margaret

This resource is for students studying the film ‘Rear Window’ in the Victorian Mainstream English VCE Year 12 Curriculum.

It is important to include Message of Hitchcock as Director in your Analytical Text Response Essays.

Below are Themes with Message of Director for Revision.

Themes: Voyeurism, Ethics, Morality, Looking, Seeing & The Male Gaze

Message of Director = Hitchcock does argue that voyeurism is in poor taste, but that it is also a natural aspect of the human condition to look and spy on other people. Hitchcock sends Jeff and the audience a message to choose carefully at what you look at because you might get involved in something more serious than you bargained for.

Themes: Community, Social Isolation, Loneliness, Alienation, Sights & Sounds

Message of Director = Hitchcock critiques the lack of neighbourly love for each other in the apartment block and the lack of trust which ultimately displays the apathy of the 1950’s society. Hitchcock demonstrates flaws in communal living between having a sense of community and looking out for one’s neighbours, but straying into voyeuristic territory.

Theme: Gender

Message of Director = Jeff’s perspective and male gaze allows males a measure of control and denies a female perspective in the film. Hitchcock portrays Lisa as embodying changes in the position of women in 1950’s, wanting the audience to consider women should not be underestimated.

Themes: Love & Marriage

Message of Director = Hitchcock suggests the need for love and for connectedness of others is essential in our existence. Hitchcock portrays relationships characterised by dissatisfaction and at times violent impulses. Cynically, Hitchcock suggests marital discontent is inevitable.

Themes: Confinement versus Expansion

Message of Director = Hitchcock demonstrates a society in which people are isolated in their own worlds without taking risks and living a narrow existence. He is somewhat pessimistic, though not completely hopeless, he challenges audiences to examine habits of their own especially in a world where sensitive information is at our fingertips.

Themes: Post-war Paranoia & Red Scare & Title Significance

Message of Director = Hitchcock critiques the notion of post-war paranoia by showing how the communist red scare pervaded 50’s society where neighbours spied on neighbours, the atmosphere of betrayal, lack of trust filtered down from HUAC to every part of American society. Hitchcock’s title ‘Rear Window’ also functions as a metaphor exposing Jeff’s repressed desires and fears but also the idea of a covert agenda, which is Jeff’s ethically murky voyeurism that uncovers a murder.

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian Curriculum

‘Montana 1948’ by Larry Watson a Brief Synopsis

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Margaret

This Resource is for Year 11 students studying Mainstream English in the Victorian Curriculum the text ‘Montana 1948’ by Larry Watson as a single text or as a comparative text with the play ‘Twelve Angry Men’ by Reginald Rose

AOS1, Unit 2 – Reading and Comparing Texts

Montana 1948 a novel by Larry Watson is a text that can be studied by Year 11 English students in Area of Study 1, Unit 2 – Reading and Comparing Texts. Students are asked to study 2 texts and produce an analytical response to a pair of texts, comparing their presentation of themes, issues and ideas. Students will be asked to investigate how the reader’s understanding of one text is broadened and deepened when considered in relation to another text. Students also explore how features of texts, including structures, conventions and language convey themes, issues and ideas that reflect and explore the world and human experiences, including historical and social contexts.

**Comparative Texts – the Novel Montana 1948 by Larry Watson with the Play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose**

The most obvious difference in studying/comparing these two texts is that Montana 1948 is a novel and Twelve Angry Men is a play. In a novel the plot is the sequence of events in the text where the characters experience:

crisis points
climax
turning points
resolution

In a play the acts and scenes are also structured so that the characters are exposed to:

rising tension
leading to a climax
then a resolution

Therefore both forms of text rely on placing credible characters in dramatic situations, often involving conflict, in order to build tension and explore ideas and issues.

Students should pay particular attention to how the authors position their characters in the sequence of events mentioned above and the common thread in the underlying ideas of both texts. Try to choose at least one main specific idea or issue that will allow you to discuss both texts in detail as well as to compare and contrast them. The ideas, issues and themes in a text are what give it wider meaning and relevance. The details of what happens when, where and to whom are all critical, but exist within the world of the text.

Stick to the Themes, Issues and Ideas in the 2 Texts being Studied

A word of warning: stick to the themes, ideas and issues in the 2 texts being studied only. Be discerning using your points of comparison in the analytical text response essay. The context of the text is important but students must work with the ideas represented in the text and the ways authors convey the themes, issues and ideas in these texts. It is not an opportunity to go beyond the ideas in the text or draw into your writing much broader concepts.

What does Theme, Issue and Idea Mean?

Theme = is the umbrella term for a key focal point in the text
Issue = takes an angle of that theme
Idea = presents a point of view on that theme

Texts being studied explore human experience so the themes, issues and ideas then become a vehicle for the human condition in the text and student’s exploration of that. Anchoring the notion of discussion to human experience and what we learn in each text and comparing those texts is important. In order to explore the themes, issues and ideas students might analyse:

the differences between the narrative voice of a text
or point of view
or structural features
or language features
or characterisation
or relationships between characters
or between different protagonists or antagonists
drawing on settings and key events that take place

Comparing Texts

When comparing the themes, issues and ideas in the texts, students need to ask “What is the authorial message coming through in the 2 texts? Look at comparing:

different quotes from each text to look for what words come up in regards to similar themes, issues or ideas
look at character comparisons, different values, reactions characters make and the different choices made
scene analysis – compare a key scene or a series of scenes from one text and the other text
look at tone, imagery and how the author is exploring this
think of how you would link the above comparisons to a key theme and idea
consider what ways this changes the way we see the characters, text, reactions and action of them
How are readers positioned to see the issues in the texts?

In the end of your analysis you need to able to answer the question “How does one text reflect the theme compared to the other text?

Comparing the Central Theme of Achieving Justice in ‘Montana 1948’ and ‘Twelve Angry Men’

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In comparing Montana 1948 and Twelve Angry Men an important theme which leads to a common thread of ideas and values is The Importance of Achieving Justice. The central theme in Montana 1948 is whether to choose justice or family loyalty. The central theme in Twelve Angry Men is the importance of a correct verdict that proves the justice system works. A common link between the two texts is prejudice that makes justice difficult to achieve.

‘Montana 1948’ is Set in a Small Town in Montana after WWII

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The novel Montana 1948 by Larry Watson is set in a small town in north-eastern Montana in the period just after World War II. Watson drew upon his background in North Dakota with his grandfather and father being the sheriff of Rugby, a small town similar to the fictional Bentrock in Montana 1948. Montana is the 41^st State of America close to the border of Canada with its countryside barren and windblown and where cattle and sheep outnumber people by 100 to 1. The significance of the setting of Montana in 1948 is that it is not like the Wild West movies where the Indians wear war paint and ride the plains brandishing spears and tomahawks. Montana in 1948 is where dispossessed Indians are marginalised and are forced to live on reservations outside of town. It is where the white community thought the Indians were useless, non-functioning members of society with their culture not acceptable by white westernised ideas and learning. It is where women were oppressed living subordinate roles in an era before women’s rights were recognised. It is where men have the kind of power that leads to corrupt behaviour which is at the core of Montana 1948.

The Structure & Narrator in ‘Montana 1948’

Montana 1948 is a novel which reconstructs the events of one summer in 1948 in chronological order told by an adult narrator, David Hayden, who recounts events from the perspective of himself as a 12 year old boy and an adult. It is a story of a boy on the threshold of adolescence, awakening to maturity and finding that the adult world is complex and not always fair or just.

The novel is divided into 3 parts with a Prologue and Epilogue. The Prologue foreshadows the action and contributes to the building of suspense before the story begins. The Epilogue closes with the adult narrator summarising the aftermath of the summer of 1948. The action is divided into parts which mark the progression of events and end at a crucial point of development in the story:

Part One ends with David aware that his father Wesley knows that Frank his brother is guilty of raping defenceless Indian women
Part Two ends with Wesley’s realisation that now Frank is guilty of murdering Marie Little Soldier
Part Three ends with the 12 year old David’s naive belief that his uncle’s suicide has solved all outstanding problems

Truth and Justice in ‘Montana 1948’

It is in a setting of racial prejudice that the dark coming of age drama is played out. It tells the story of how 12 year old David Hayden’s uncle is accused of the sexual abuse of Indian women and how the family must choose between loyalty and justice. Characters in the novel find themselves torn between finding and accepting the truth that Frank has sexually assaulted and killed the family maid Marie Little Soldier and then doing what is right. The decision by Sheriff Wesley Hayden to arrest his brother and uphold his duty to serve justice is at odds with protecting Frank and the family’s reputation. In fact truth and justice and acting with moral integrity present choices for the characters in Montana 1948. Each one deals with his/her own conscience in making these decisions.

Wesley’s dilemma of which master he should serve, family or the law is where much of the action of the novel revolves around. Should Wesley be loyal to his family versus justice for a minority group? The question readers need to ask is:- Would the town have reacted differently if the case of sexual assault had been against a white woman?

Gail Hayden is the one person in the novel who maintains the moral high-ground throughout. As a woman in 1948, Gail was on the cutting edge of her society because women were an oppressed powerless group at that time with a low status in society. Gail, however, is an intelligent, non-prejudiced, upright moral citizen who is a positive and protective role model for her family. In fact Gail is the only role model for David who does not appear to be racist towards Indians. The novel clearly shows that no white males in David’s world of Wild West Montana who are without racial prejudice.

Gail’s persuasion of Wesley that Marie Little Soldier has been sexually assaulted by Frank is at the heart of the story. She is the moral fibre that holds Wesley together when he begins to waiver and wrestles with his conscience. She is even willing to protect her family and justice when she waves a shotgun at Julian’s men as they come to set Frank free from the basement.

Complex Themes and Ideas in ‘Montana 1948’

Montana 1948 explores many complex themes that are aligned with particular characters. Below is a list of themes and ideas to help you:

the importance of family	prejudice	family feuds & disagreements	growing up / adolescence
abusing power	justice / injustice	suicide	opinions
guilt	sexual harassment	deceit	law and order
loyalty	bravery	trust	responsibility
racism	innocence	oppression	discrimination
truth / lies / secrecy	murder	favouritism	moral integrity

Is Justice Served?

Image result for justice images

We wonder whether justice is served at the end of the novel with the family feud. Frank committed suicide to save his reputation, however, Wesley and his family are left behind to deal with the reality of Frank’s actions. They are ostracised by the rest of the family, forced to leave their home and Wesley’s job as Sheriff. The real culprit has died and has been buried with all the honour that a hero would command. Justice has not been served and family loyalty has been compromised. There are no winners or losers when these two issues are opposed.

What Does this Novel Say About Society?

Some thought-provoking questions for students to consider when studying Montana 1948 are:-

It is better to keep your mouth shut when you know the truth will hurt?
When do you have to speak out against evil?
Does justice mean jeopardising your family and future?
Does power and influence wash you of your crime?
Should we ignore our moral obligation for a more convenient and easier life?
Is doing ‘the right thing’ the right thing after all?
How much does what other people think matter?
Is it worth it?
Look at history, are people who stand up for what they believe in rewarded for their efforts, or crucified by the crowd?

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‘Twelve Angry Men’ the Play by Reginald Rose: A Brief Synopsis for Year 11 English

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Margaret

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Area of Study 1, Reading & Creating Texts Analytical Response OR Reading and Comparing Texts as a Comparative Text

This Resource is for Mainstream English Year 11 Students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum the text Twelve Angry Men a play by Reginald Rose. NOTE TO STUDENTS: This Resource is based on the play and not the film version of Twelve Angry Men.

In Unit 1, Reading and Creating Texts students will be asked to produce an analytical response to a single text demonstrating a close knowledge with analysis and interpretation that includes the world of the text, its settings, characters, themes and ideas.

OR For Students studying ‘Twelve Angry Men’ with another Text/Film

In Unit 2, Reading & Comparing texts students will be asked to investigate how the reader’s understanding of one text is broadened and deepened when considered in relation to another text. Students also explore how features of texts, including structures, conventions and language convey themes, issues and ideas that reflect and explore the world and human experiences, including historical and social contexts.

**The Basics of the Case of Twelve Angry Men:**

At the beginning of Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, the jury has just finished listening to six days of trial proceedings. A 16 year old is on trial for the murder of his father. The defendant has a criminal record (and a lot of circumstantial evidence piled against him). The defendant, if found guilty, would receive a mandatory death penalty.

The jury is sent to a hot, crowded room to deliberate.

Before any formal discussion, they cast a vote. Eleven of the jurors vote “guilty.” Only one juror votes “not guilty.” That juror, who is known in the script as Juror #8 is the protagonist of the play. As the tempers flare and the arguments begin, the audience learns about each member of the jury. Slowly but surely, Juror #8 guides the others toward a verdict of “Not Guilty.”

The relationship between the 3^rd and 8^th juror is the central one in the play:

The conflict between the 3^rd and 8^th jurors is based not just on their different opinions of the defendant’s guilt, but also on their different interpersonal styles. The 3^rd juror is frustrated by the 8^th juror’s slow and patient approach and his willingness to re-examine evidence and his admission that he does not honestly know whether or not the defendant is guilty of the crime. In fact their conflict represents the broader conflict throughout the play. It also is symbolic illustrating the nature of their conflict. It foreshadows how that conflict will ultimately be resolved since the 8^th juror will not relinquish his position; the 3^rd juror is ultimately forced to step down, changing his vote.

The Characters in the Play:

Instead of organizing the jurors in numeric order, the characters are listed in the order they decide to vote in favour of the defendant.

Juror #8:

He votes “not guilty” during the jury’s first vote. Described as thoughtful and gentle, Juror #8 is usually portrayed as the most heroic member of the jury. He is devoted to justice, and is initially sympathetic toward the 19-year-old defendant. At the beginning of the play, when every other juror has voted guilty he is the only one to vote: “not guilty.” Juror #8 spends the rest of the play urging the others to practice patience, and to contemplate the details of the case. A guilty verdict will result in the electric chair; therefore, Juror #8 wants to discuss the relevance of the witness testimony.

He is convinced that there is reasonable doubt. Eventually he persuades the other jurors to acquit the defendant.

Juror #9:

Described in the stage notes as a “mild, gentle old man, defeated by life and waiting to die.” Despite this bleak description, he is the first to agree with Juror #8, deciding that there is not enough evidence to sentence the young man to death.

Also, during Act One, Juror #9 is the first to openly recognize Juror #10’s racist attitude, stating that, “What this man says is very dangerous.”

Juror #5:

This young man is nervous about expressing his opinion, especially in front of the elder members of the group. He grew up in the slums. He has witnessed knife-fights, an experience that will later help other jurors form an opinion of “not guilty.”

Juror #11:

As a refugee from Europe, Juror #11 has witnessed great injustices. That is why he is intent on administering justice as a jury member. He sometimes feels self-conscious about his foreign accent. He conveys a deep appreciation for democracy and America’s legal system.

Juror #2:

He is the most timid of the group. Juror #2 is easily persuaded by the opinions of others, and cannot explain the roots of his opinions.

Juror #6:

Described as an “honest but dull-witted man”. Juror #6 is a house painter by trade. He is slow to see the good in others, but eventually agrees with Juror #8.

Juror #7:

A slick and sometimes obnoxious salesman, Juror #7 admits during Act One that he would have done anything to miss jury duty. He represents the many real-life individuals who loath the idea of being on a jury.

Juror #12:

He is an arrogant and impatient advertising executive. He is anxious for the trail to be over so that he can get back to his career and his social life.

Juror #1:

Non-confrontational, Juror #1 serves as the foreman of the jury. He is serious about his authoritative role, and wants to be as fair as possible.

Juror #10:

The most abhorrent member of the group, Juror #10 is openly bitter and prejudice. During Act Three he unleashes his bigotry to the others in a speech that disturbs the rest of the jury. Most of the jurors, disgusted by #10’s racism, turn their backs on him.

Juror #4:

A logical, well-spoken stock-broker, Juror #4 urges fellow jurors to avoid emotional arguments and engage in rational discussion. He does not change his vote until a witness’s testimony is discredited (due to the witness’s apparently poor vision).

Juror #3:

In many ways, he is the antagonist to the constantly calm Juror #8. Juror #3 is immediately vocal about the supposed simplicity of the case, and the obvious guilt of the defendant. He is quick to lose his temper, and often infuriated when Juror #8 and other members disagree with his opinions. He believes that the defendant is absolutely guilty, until the very end of the play. During Act Three, Juror #3’s emotional baggage is revealed. His poor relationship with his own son may have biased his views. Only when he comes to terms with this can he finally vote “not guilty.”

Reginald Rose’s drama, Twelve Angry Men ends with the jury agreeing that there is enough reasonable doubt to warrant an acquittal. The defendant is deemed “not guilty” by a jury of his peers. However, the playwright never reveals the truth behind the case. Did they save an innocent man from the electric chair? Did a guilty man go free? The audience is left to decide for themselves.

The Triumph and Fragility of Justice in Twelve Angry Men

The play is, in one sense, a celebration of justice, showing the workings of the American judicial system in a favourable light. Although initially the jury is inclined to wrongly convict a man without any discussion of the case, the persistence of Juror Eight ensures that the right verdict is reached in the end.

The play is also a warning about the fragility of justice and the forces of complacency, prejudice, and lack of civic responsibility that would undermine it. Several jurors show that they are virtually incapable of considering the matter fairly and listening to opposing points of view. Juror #7, whose only desire is to get out of the room quickly, is clearly unfit for jury service. Juror #3 insists that there is nothing personal in his negative comments about the defendant and that he is merely sticking to the facts. He denounces the arguments put forward by Juror #8 as emotional appeals. But there is an irony here, since the truth of Juror #3’s position is the opposite of what he claims. He is dominated by his own emotions arising from his bad relationship with his son. Because of this, he cannot look at the case dispassionately. He harbours an unconscious desire to vicariously punish his son by convicting the defendant, who is of similar age. Juror #8, on the other hand, refuses to let emotions interfere in the case. Unlike Juror #3 and Juror #10, the bigot, he brings no personal agenda to the deliberations and is solely interested in ensuring there is no miscarriage of justice.

Whether the play is regarded as a celebration of justice or a warning about how easily justice can be subverted depends on one’s views about the likelihood of a juror similar to Juror #8 being present in every jury.

**Major Themes to Consider in Twelve Angry Men:**

Facts
Justice and the justice system
Compassion
Prejudice and stereotypes
Conflict
Human fallibility and memory
Reason and logic versus emotion
Integrity and courage of conviction

There are 2 sides to an Issue:

There are 2 sides to an issue for and against. In 12 Angry Men social justice could be seen as an issue because of the setting of the play in the 1950’s whether all people in society have equal access to justice.

Values in society to consider:

Honesty
Personal responsibility
Equality
Freedom of expression
Compassion
Tolerance
Justice
Loyalty
Trust
Honour

Each author reveals their own values through the characters in the text. Positive values are often associated with characters that hold a positive viewpoint that is more likely what the author thinks. Whereas characters that hold a negative viewpoint are often rejected by the author.

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About Margaret

This Resource is for students in Year 11 studying ‘Wilfred Owen War Poems’ in AOS1: Unit 1, Reading & Creating Texts, Analytical Text Response, in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

It can also be studied in AOS1:Unit 2, Reading & Comparing Texts along with ‘Minefields & Miniskirts’ play by Terrence O’Connell.

Poetry in Context of World War I 1914-1918

World War I in Context of Why Men Enlisted

Why did Owen Enlist?

Battle in France 1916

Owen Meets Poet Siegfried Sassoon at Craiglockhart

Return to France in 1917

Owen and ‘The Pity of War’

Most Famous of Owen’s Anti-War Poem is ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’

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This Resource is for students in Year 11 studying ‘Medea’ the play by Euripides in AOS1: Unit 1, Reading & Creating Texts, Analytical Text Response, in the Victorian VCE Curriculum

Context of the Play in Ancient Greece

Greek Theatre as a Public Educator

Who was Euripides?

Background Story to Medea the Play

Brief Summary of the Plot

Main Characters

The Gods

Is Medea a Heroine or a Tyrant?

Some Ideas to consider:

Themes

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This Educational Resource is for Year 12 Mainstream English students from the Old English Curriculum Prior to 2024.

This resource material is covering the short story collection ‘Like a House on Fire’ by Cate Kennedy.

The “gift of ordinariness”

Symbolism on the Front Cover

The All Important Themes, Ideas and Values

Major Themes from All Stories

Lets look at the themes from the first story in the collection “Flexion”

“Flexion” Story Brief Summary

Themes from “Flexion”

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For Year 12 Mainstream English Students studying the VCE Curriculum ‘After Darkness’ by Christine Piper, these resources are useful as revision of ‘Legacy and Message of Author’ which is critical for you to include in analytical essays.

‘Historical Amnesia’

Atonement

National Identity, memory, forgetting merge with individual identity and belonging

National pride and national self-respect

Coercive notions of conformity, discretion & secrecy

Conflict of culture between personal feelings and public façade

Piper’s play of light and darkness & the title

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This Resource is ‘A Brief Synopsis’ only for Mainstream English Year 12 Students studying After Darkness by Christine Piper AOS1 Unit 3 Analytical Study in the VCE Victorian Curriculum.

Read my other Post on ‘Legacy and Message of Author’ as the two Posts link up.

The text consists of three intertwined narrative strands

Structure – Importance of Place

Historical Context of the Text

Language Devices

Language Devices Examples

In Piper’s novel issues associated with Identity / Culture / Place underpin dilemmas about Truth / Lies / Secrecy / Openness / Honesty / Discretion / Guilt / Failure / Forgiveness & Renewal

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For Mainstream English Year 12 students studying the film Rear Window Directed by Alfred Hitchcock for AOS1: Unit 3, Reading and Creating Texts, Analytical Response Outcome. See below some of the suspense scenes along with film techniques to help when you write your Analytical Response Essays.

The question is “How does Hitchcock create suspense in the film Rear Window?”

Thorwald’s suspicious actions / limited information / close up / camera dissolves into black

Lisa searching for clues in Thorwald’s apartment / parallel editing / cross-cutting / cinematography / sound / close-ups / point of view shot

Jeff waiting for Thorwald to enter his apartment / cross cutting /cinematography / close ups / high angle shot / sounds of footsteps & struggle

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian Curriculum

This Resource is for Mainstream English Year 12 students studying the film Rear Window Directed by Alfred Hitchcock for AOS1: Unit 3, Reading and Creating Texts, Analytical Response Outcome.

Gender Roles, Love & Marriage are important themes that Director Alfred Hitchcock critiques in the film Rear Window. These ideas should be included in essays as evidence of Hitchcock’s views of 1950’s American society.

Gender Roles in the 1950’s

Gender Divide in Work Men & Women Do

Jeff and Lisa’s Gender Dynamics

The Thorwald Case Casts Lisa in a New Role – Gender Role Reversal

Love

Marriage and Lonely Characters

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian Curriculum

This resource is for students studying the film ‘Rear Window’ in the Victorian Mainstream English VCE Year 12 Curriculum.

It is important to include Message of Hitchcock as Director in your Analytical Text Response Essays.

Below are Themes with Message of Director for Revision.

Themes: Voyeurism, Ethics, Morality, Looking, Seeing & The Male Gaze

Themes: Community, Social Isolation, Loneliness, Alienation, Sights & Sounds

Theme: Gender

Themes: Love & Marriage

Themes: Confinement versus Expansion

Themes: Post-war Paranoia & Red Scare & Title Significance

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This Resource is for Year 11 students studying Mainstream English in the Victorian Curriculum the text ‘Montana 1948’ by Larry Watson as a single text or as a comparative text with the play ‘Twelve Angry Men’ by Reginald Rose

AOS1, Unit 2 – Reading and Comparing Texts

Comparative Texts – the Novel Montana 1948 by Larry Watson with the Play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose

**Comparative Texts – the Novel Montana 1948 by Larry Watson with the Play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose**

**The Basics of the Case of Twelve Angry Men:**

The relationship between the 3^rd and 8^th juror is the central one in the play:

**Major Themes to Consider in Twelve Angry Men:**