Reading & Comparing Texts

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Margaret

This Resource is for Mainstream English students studying in the Victorian Curriculum in Years 11 & 12 for AOS 1 Reading and Comparing Texts.

Scope of the Task

In this area of study students explore the meaningful connections between two texts. They analyse texts, including the interplay between character and setting, voice and structure, and how ideas, issues and themes are conveyed. By comparing the texts, they gain a deeper understanding of the ideas, issues and themes that reflect the world and human experiences.

Students produce a written analysis comparing selected texts, discussing important similarities and differences and exploring how the texts deal with similar or related ideas, issues or themes from different perspectives to reflect particular values.

60 marks are allocated to this task with a suggested essay of up to 1000 words

What is the best structure for the Comparative Essay?

Before Writing the Essay

Read the prompt question carefully
Use your Dictionary to define strategic words in the prompt
If there is a quote or 2 quotes in the prompt work out who said it and in what context – you must refer to the quote/s in one of your body paragraphs and explain its relevance
Understand what the prompt question is asking you – is it Discuss / To what extent? / Do you Agree?
Never use 1^st person (I agree) always write from the viewpoint of the Author/Text = The author endorses the view that / The text supports the view that / These characters reflect the author’s view that

Comparative Text Essay Structure using TEEL

Introduction = Main Contention & Message of Author/Director
Body Paragraph 1 = Cause/Accept Prompt / Topic Sentence / Text 1 Evidence & Explanations / Transitional Sentence from Text 1 to Text 2 / Text 2 Evidence & Explanations / Link back to topic
Body Paragraph 2 = Response/Develop Prompt Further / Topic Sentence / Text 1 Evidence & Explanations / Transitional Sentence from Text 1 to Text 2 / Text 2 Evidence & Explanations / Link back to topic
Body Paragraph 3 = Consequences / Topic Sentence / Text 1 Evidence & Explanations / Transitional Sentence from Text 1 to Text 2 / Text 2 Evidence & Explanations / Link back to topic
Conclusion = Sum up briefly / Message of Author/Director

What is a ‘Transitional Sentence’ between Text 1 & Text 2 in Body Paragraphs?

Using the comparative texts of ‘The Penelopiad’ by Margaret Atwood and ‘Photograph 51’ by Anna Ziegler as an example, look carefully at the way the paragraph is constructed with a ‘transitional sentence’ that explains the similarity or difference between the two texts and enables a smooth transition from text 1 to text 2. This paragraph is a very brief example only and should be developed further with more evidence and explanations if students are writing this as a comparative essay.

Sample Brief Body Para 1 = Main Contention = Both Penelope and Rosalind’s subjugation result from a discriminatory patriarchal mentality

Transitional sentence is colour coded in Red Text

(Topic Sentence) The subjugation of women in The Penelopaid and Photograph 51 is caused by a discriminatory patriarchal mentality. (Text 1) When Penelope is 15, Icarius hands her over “like a package of meat” to Odysseus. Although he behaves as if he reciprocates her love, Odysseus also terrifies her by threatening to cut her “into little pieces” if she is unfaithful. This illustrates the power of men in ancient Greece to intimidate women into succumbing to their control. (Transitional sentence) While Penelope is threatened by violence and physical danger, Rosalind is exposed to more psychological forms of intimidation. (Text 2) Rosalind is barred from the “men only” common room where “scientific discoveries are made over lunch”. Furthermore, she is called “Miss” instead of “Dr Franklin” by her male colleagues which is intentionally belittling. The repeated word “beat” in the stage directions also signals the continual awkwardness and tension as Rosalind refuses to stay silent and submissive. (Link Sentence Back to Topic) While the patriarchy prevents Rosalind from attaining her “rightful place in history”, it does not render her entirely voiceless until the afterlife like Penelope.

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Poetry Analysis Step by Step

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Margaret

Why Read Poems?

Some people say they don’t like poetry, it’s boring or they don’t understand it. I think poetry is more like a song, the more you hear it the more you like it. The words are very similar to poetry; in fact we can break down the verses of songs and see the meaning as poetry.

Poetry doesn’t have to be boring; it can also be funny like limericks.

Start with a Step by Step Analysis

Have a look at this Poetry Analysis Step by Step Flow Chart in PowerPoint to show you the way to read and understand a poem. Follow it below as well with a full explanation of the Poetry Analysis Step by Step.

Poetry Analysis flow chart

1. Read a poem 2 or 3 times

Each time you read a poem you notice different things

When you read the poem a second time you pick up on ideas and themes that you may have missed the first time you read it. Also the poet can have ideas hidden just below the surface of the words and as you read it again, the new ideas can jump out.

2. Paraphrase the poem by stanza next to the original text

Writing it in your own words is a good idea to make sense of the poem, so you know what it means in simple terms

Stanza means the verses of the poem just like a song

How the poet organises the stanzas in a poem is often an important aspect of the poem’s structure. Nothing in a poem is by accident. Poets choose their words carefully as well as giving careful thought to the form and layout of the poem. You should ask yourself why the poet has done this or that because there will be a reason and there is an effect for everything in a poem.

3. Answer the 5 W’s

Who? Who is the poet referring to?

What? What is the poem about?

Why? Why is the poet writing about it?

When? When is the poem set, the time period?

Where? Where is the poem, the place the poet is taking about, the setting?

4. Identify the theme, message or topic

What is the poet trying to say? What is the poet’s message in the poem?

What is the point? Is the poet trying to make a specific point in the poem?

5. Identify and Highlight Examples of Literary Techniques

Simile

Definition: Simile is when you compare two nouns (persons, places or things) that are unlike, with “like” or “as.” “The water is like the sun.” “The water is like the sun” is an example of simile because water and the sun have little in common, and yet they’re being compared to one another. The “is” is also part of what makes this stanza an example of simile. “The rain falls like the sun,rising upon the mountains.”

Metaphor

When something is described in terms of something else, ‘her eyes are the stars in the sky’ is a metaphor as one thing her eyes is being described in terms of another thing the stars. Metaphors are comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way. Metaphors are a way to describe something. Authors use them to make their writing more interesting or entertaining. Unlike similes that use the words “as” or “like” to make a comparison, metaphors state that something is something else.

Imagery

Poets use words to create images in your mind.

Alliteration

This is the repetition of a consonant sound in the words. For example slippery slithering snake is alliteration.

Personification

This is where human qualities or emotions are given to non human things. The wind howled in agony all day. He gazed at the angry sea.

Tone

The overall mood of the poem, the emotions can be sad, optimistic, solemn.

Point of View

From what point of view is the poet writing.

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Poetry of Robert Frost

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Margaret

Robert Frost

Frosts poetry is a Metaphor for the ways in which we make sense of our lives

The ways in which people develop their imaginative landscapes, their attitudes and values and how they respond to the world around them are influenced by their sense of place. In analysing texts the landscape may be seen in literal or metaphorical terms. Places where we have lived and people we have lived with contribute to our outlook on life and how we respond to particular situations. For some people these memories stay with them throughout life. The imaginative landscape derives from the diversity of these experiences over the years. The physical landscape of a person’s life forms a literal and metaphorical yardstick with which to measure the passage of time and the acquisition of personal characteristics. The physical becomes intertwined with their imaginative landscape.

Robert Frost’s Imaginative Landscape

Encompasses both the beauty and dark side of the land and of human nature. While his love of the natural world is evident, inspiring him as a poet and a person, he does not romanticize it, rather he imbues it with strong moral tones, reflecting in his love of rural America.

As well as describing the physical world, Frost is also preoccupied with how the human figures are placed in the landscape and in time. His characters are aware of where they have come from and their history. They move in time from the past but also encompass the future. Frost’s imaginative landscape helps us to construct versions of ourselves by exploring where and who we have come from and who we might become.

‘The Road Not Taken’ Poem by Robert Frost

See the source image

The speaker stands in the woods, considering a fork in the road. Both ways are equally worn and equally overlaid with un-trodden leaves. The speaker chooses one, telling himself that he will take the other another day. Yet he knows it is unlikely that he will have the opportunity to do so. He admits that someday in the future he will recreate the scene with a slight twist, he will claim that he took the less-travelled road.

One of the attractions of this poem is its archetypal dilemma, one that we instantly recognise because each of us encounters it numberable times, both literally and figuratively. Paths in the woods and forks in the roads are ancient and deep-seated metaphors for life, its crises and decisions. Identical forks, in particular, symbolise for us the nexus of free will and fate. We are free to choose, but we do not really know beforehand what we are choosing between. Our route is, thus, determined by an accretion of choice and chance, and it is impossible to separate the two.

The Fourth Stanza Holds the Key to the Poem with 2 Tricky Words

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference”.

Those who interpret this poem as suggesting non-conformity take the word “difference” to be a positive difference. There is nothing in the poem that suggests that this difference signals a positive outcome. The speaker could not offer such information, because he has not lived the “difference” yet.

The other word that leads non-discerning readers astray is the word “sigh”. By taking “difference” to mean a positive difference, they think that the sigh is one of nostalgic relief. However, a sigh can also mean regret. There is the “oh, dear” kind of sigh, but also the “what a relief” kind of sigh. Which one is it? We do not know.

See the source image

If the the sigh is one of relief, then the difference means the speaker is glad he took the road he did. If the sigh is one of regret, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. The speaker of the poem does not even know the nature of that sigh because that sigh and his evaluation of the difference his choice will make are still in the future. It is a truism that any choice we make is going to make “all the difference” in how our future turns out.

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Brief Synopsis of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Margaret

What is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens about?

Set in the 1840s on Christmas Eve, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens chronicles the personal transformation of the protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, the proprietor of a London counting house. A wealthy, elderly man, Scrooge is considered miserly and misanthropic: he has no wife or children; he throws out two men collecting for charity; he bullies and underpays his loyal clerk, Bob Cratchit; and he dismisses the Christmas dinner invitation of his kind nephew, Fred. Moreover, Scrooge is a strong supporter of the Poor Law of 1834, which allowed the poor to be interned in workhouses.

As he prepares for bed on Christmas Eve in his solitary, dark chambers, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley. In life Marley was very similar in attitude and temperament to Scrooge: remote, cruel, and parsimonious. In death he has learned the value of compassion and warns Scrooge to reform his ways before it is too late. Marley announces that Scrooge will be visited by three more specters: the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to his unhappy childhood, revealing that the young boy’s experiences with poverty and abandonment inspired a desire to succeed and gain material advantage. Unfortunately, Scrooge’s burgeoning ambition and greed destroyed his relationship with his fiancée and his friends.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is represented by a hearty, genial man who reminds Scrooge of the joy of human companionship, which he has rejected in favor of his misanthropic existence.

Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears in a dark robe and shrouded in mystery. Silently, the ghost reveals the ambivalent reaction to news of Scrooge’s own death. Scrooge realizes that he will die alone and without love, and that he has the power and money to help those around him – especially Bob Cratchit’s ailing son, Tiny Tim. Scrooge begs the ghost for another chance and wakes in his bed on Christmas morning, resolved to changing his life by being generous and loving to his family, employees, and the poor.

Classifying A Christmas Carol

For some readers A Christmas Carol resonates as a gothic ghost story, at times chilling and terrifying and at other times, extremely funny. Other readers see the story as a time travel narrative. Dickens in effect blended realism and the supernatural to create a world in which the gothic and the mundane sit side by side. Dickens himself said he was here taking old nursery tales and “giving them a higher form” (Stone, Harry 1999, ‘A Christmas Carol: Giving Nursery Tales a Higher Form’). With its dark, chilly setting and its supernatural visitors, A Christmas Carol draws on elements of the gothic novel when Scrooge’s door-knocker turns into Jacob Marley’s face. The narrator provides a number of descriptions in which gothic elements are interwoven with freezing, icy imagery to emphasise the atmosphere of mystery and to remind us of the protagonist’s icy heart.

A Christmas Carol as a Cultural Myth

According to Juliet John, A Christmas Carol has become a “cultural myth” providing “a parable for the modern, commercial age” (John, Juliet 2011, ‘Dickens and Mass Culture’). As a morality tale, in which evil is exposed, virtuous characters like the Cratchits are rewarded, and everyone celebrates at the conclusion. However, there are issues raised in A Christmas Carol that remain unresolved at the conclusion of the novel. The sinister children of Want and Ignorance, do not go away just because Scrooge has been reformed, but the narrator tells us nothing of their future. Their role is more allegorical than that of other characters. Dickens uses them as an important warning to his readers and to Scrooge as the frighteningly ugly face of 19th century poverty. Unless social reform takes place urgently, Want and Ignorance will grow into hungry, resentful predators. The fact that Dickens even raised the issue of the miserable lives of street children at all marks an important attempt by him to make his readers ponder their own social responsibilities.

Historical Context of A Christmas Carol

While A Christmas Carol is primarily received as a ghost story, it is also a damning expose of social inequality in 1840’s Britain. Dickens was deeply agitated by what he perceived as the inertia of the British government and wealthy middle classes to help those less fortunate than themselves. A Christmas Carol was written at the beginning of the ‘Hungry Forties’ a period that encompassed the catastrophic Irish potato famine, as well as intense suffering for the English working classes. Dickens uses A Christmas Carol to not only attack the Utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham, who justified the centralisation of Poor Relief in workhouses, but also to lambast the work of Thomas Malthus in his Essay on the Principle of Population. Whilst in abstract these principles might seem logical, when applied to suffering individuals, their underlying brutality becomes obvious.

Ebenezer Scrooge

For most readers Scrooge represents the worst charactertistics of his society. Fixated with material goods at the expense of all human connection, particularly with his clerk Bob Cratchit, Scrooge is an allegorical embodiment of the forces of capitalism underpinning Britian’s economy in the 1840’s. For Dickens, he represented everything that was wrong with society in an increasingly industrialised world where human relations took second place to profits.

Dualism in Dicken’s Writing

The world of the early Dickens is organized according to a dualism which is based in its artistic derivation on the values of melodrama: there are bad people and there are good people, there are comics and there are characters played straight. The only complexity of which Dickens is capable is to make one of his noxious characters become wholesome, one of his clowns turn out to be a serious person. The most conspicuous example of this process is the reform of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol shows the phenomenon in its purest form.

We have come to take Scrooge so much for granted that he seems practically a piece of Christmas folklore; we no more inquire seriously into the mechanics of his transformation than we do into the transformation of the Beast into the young prince that marries Beauty in the fairy tale. Yet Scrooge represents a principle fundamental to the dynamics of Dickens’ world and derived from his own emotional constitution – though the story, of course, owes its power to the fact that most of us feel ourselves capable of the extremes of both malignity and benevolence.

Redemption in A Christmas Carol

Can A Christmas Carol be seen as a tale about redemption in a man who has ostracized himself from his society? While the narrative is focused on Ebenezer Scrooge’s learning experiences and his reintegration into the community, his story also forms part of a broader allegory through which Dickens invites his readers to consider Christmas as a time of renewal and hope and to think about how they themselves might redeem and be redeemed.

The ‘Scrooge Problem’ – the Questioning of Scrooge’s Transformation

Elliot L. Gilbert’s essay: ‘The Ceremony of Innocence: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol’ addresses ‘the Scrooge problem’, that is, the critical tradition of questioning the sincerity of Scrooge’s sudden transformation from being mean-spirited to kind-hearted. Gilbert admits that his support for Scrooge’s change of heart is not free from doubt, as similarly to House and Johnston, he feels that the ease of Scrooge’s alteration is questionable. Furthermore, to accept the overnight metamorphosis of a man who has spent a lifetime bullying clerks, revelling in misanthropy and grinding the faces of the poor, is ‘to deny all that life teaches in favour of sentimental wishful thinking.’

Gilbert’s essay provides a new hypotheses to explain the reader’s misgivings regarding the plausibility of Scrooge’s radical conversion; he is merely returning to his childhood innocence. He explains why he views A Christmas Carol to be metaphysical; it is because it portrays the journey of a human being trying to rediscover his own childhood innocence. Such innocence Gilbert claims is evident in Scrooge’s encounter with the ghost of Christmas past, when Dickens has Scrooge’s fiancé break off their engagement, because the man she sees before her is not the man she first knew. Here, he reveals that Scrooge was not always bitter and mercenary, and therefore not so different from the man we are shown at the end of the novel. Thus, Scrooge’s new self is believable as it is in part his old self.

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ORAL & POV CRITERIA YEARS 11 & 12 MAINSTREAM ENGLISH

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Margaret

This Resource is for students studying Mainstream English in the Victorian VCE Curriculum. The criteria is a check list for students about to undergo an Oral Presentation or write a Point of View (POV) Essay.

See the source image — Follow the check list below to help prepare for your Oral or POV

KNOW THE ISSUE’S CONTEXT
- Have a clear understanding of the BIG ISSUE
- Why do you feel strongly about this particular issue?
- Select carefully your focus from the big issue
- Your Main Contention should be clear and easy to understand
- Do not have an ambiguous contention
THE AUDIENCE
- Decide who is your intended audience
- Make sure your target audience is appropriate for the issue
- The target audience will be connected to the public forum you choose to write your article in
WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
- What exactly do you want to achieve through your arguments?
- What are your aims for positioning your audience?
- Are you wanting to:
  1. Shock
  2. As a Call to Action
  3. To effect change
  4. To ridicule
  5. To demonise someone
  6. To attack
WHAT IS YOUR FORM OF PRESENTATION / PUBLIC FORUM?
- A speech
- Opinion piece for a newspaper / online media such as ABC News Online or The Conversation or Crikey or Mamamia
- Letter to the Editor of a newspaper
- A debate in Parliament
- Guest panellist on a current affairs program
CONSTRUCT YOUR ARGUMENTS
- Clearly state your Main Contention
- List your arguments with evidence to support your reasoning
- Consider a Rebuttal & your Counter Arguments
USE PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES
- Opinions need emotive language to persuade
- Use Idioms as figurative language
- Consider your tone – are you forceful enough
- Don’t ‘tell’ with boring information be able to ‘show’ with descriptive language
STRUCTURE OF POV/ORAL
- Introduction / Hook / Main Contention
- Body Paragraphs – at least 3 + a Rebuttal
- Use single sentences or rhetorical questions in between body paragraphs to change structure and make it more interesting to read
- Conclusion

Unit 3 Reading & Creating Texts Year 12 English Analytical Text Response

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Margaret

Image result for pictures of people reading books

This is an educational resource for Mainstream English Year 12 students who are studying Unit 3: Reading and Creating Texts: Analytical Text Response.

This resource material assumes year 12 students have read their Analytical Text or in some cases watched the movie related to this unit.

Most English classes discuss either the Creative Task or Analytical Task in their year 11 ‘Transition Classes’ to year 12 English (some schools call this ‘Head-start’) before the end of Term 4 in 2019.

If you have not read your texts for either the Creative or Analytical Tasks or watched the movie, then please do this over the school holidays so you are ready for Term 1 in January 2020.

What are the Task Requirements for Unit 3 Analytical Text Response?

The Analytical Task is worth 30 marks for Unit 3.
The analytical text response must be in written form (an essay that responds to a prompt).
Approximately 800-1000 words in length, completed under SAC conditions, set by your respective school.
In this area of study students identify, discuss and analyse how the features of selected texts create meaning using textual evidence to support their responses and how they influence interpretation.
Students identify and analyse explicit and implied ideas and values in texts.

What does a High-level Analytical Response Include?

Students must show a detailed knowledge and understanding of the world of the text.
Look carefully at characters, events, settings, narrative, language and other textual features.
Support their interpretation of arguments and statements about the texts with evidence, including quotations that are integrated into the discussion.
Be able to discuss and analyse the values expressed by the text, especially the ‘Message of the Author’ in a text or the ‘Message of the Director’ in a film.
Clearly show that your response links to the text and essay topic given.
Structure the response logically using TEEL, with an Introduction / Body Paragraphs / Conclusion that develop your ideas and reasons why you support your interpretation of the essay prompt.
Use high-level metalanguage appropriately to discuss textual features which should include narrative voice, imagery, stage directions (if text is a play), cinematography (if text is a film) and explain their significance.

See below an Example Introduction Analytical Text Response for a prompt on After Darkness by Christine Piper. The Introduction has its Main Contention and Message of Author Colour Coded.

Prompt: “What else, through my misguided loyalty had I failed to see?” After Darkness shows that loyalty is not always a virtue. Discuss.

Introduction / Main Contention / Message of Author

The historical novel After Darkness, by author Christine Piper, explores how the limits of loyalty and discretion are tested by a protagonist who is motivated by a sense of duty, subsequently, his beliefs and misconceptions about what this entails provides the moral tension at the heart of the novel and proves that loyalty is not always a virtue. As a result of his misguided loyalty Ibaraki chose to be guided by spurious notions of traditional duty instead of loyalty to his own conscience and as a result love, connections with people, empathy and his personal relationships suffered. Piper highlights that Ibaraki failed to see or realise the greatest importance of his betrayal of self and that his true loyalty was not to maintain silence but to speak out against evil, which in turn informs his decision 50 years later to write to the press publicly revealing what he knows of Unit 731. Ultimately, by expressing the truth of the heinous crimes performed in Unit 731, Ibaraki redeems himself and acknowledges the past sins of Japan as well as his own darkness that he carried within him.

Moral Integrity Essay of the Natives in ‘The Lieutenant’ by Kate Grenville

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Margaret

For Mainstream English Year 12 students studying the novel The Lieutenant written by Kate Grenville, AOS1: Unit 3, Reading and Creating Texts, Analytical Response Outcome. See below an Introduction with clear Main Contention and Message of Author colour coded and a brief Plan of Body Paragraphs with Conclusion.

Prompt: “Grenville’s characterisation of the natives in The Lieutenant suggests that they have greater moral integrity than the British”. Do you agree?

Define moral integrity = following your moral or ethical convictions & doing the right thing in all circumstances

Introduction / Main Contention / Message of Author

The moral decay at the heart of the British settlement of NSW in 1788 was destructive, immoral and self-perpetrating [committing]. In Kate Grenville’s novel The Lieutenant she ensures that the arrival of the British on Australian shores is to be interpreted not as one of history’s memorable moments but also as a scene of farce [mockery] and arrogant assumptions imbued [infused] with an implication of violence towards the local native men, who are assumed to have the mentality of children. An inauspicious [unfavourable] first contact, throughout which it is the natives who maintain dignity. In fact, the novel pivots [hinges] on the notion of moral integrity. How the young Daniel Rooke comes to harbour a mature and moral outlook that defines him as an adult is the central driving force of the narrative. Yet for all his dominance, Rooke is not the only character to display worthy values. Grenville surrounds her protagonist’s tale with other ethical characters, in particular the natives, who serve to throw Rooke into relief [respite]. This not only illuminates Rooke’s progress as a character but gives the natives a moral autonomy and certitude [assurance] of their own. Above all Grenville highlights how the relationship between Rooke and the natives Tagaran and Warungin shows a more hopeful perspective of possible harmony between two different cultures when patience, tolerance, understanding and moral integrity are valued instead of conflict.

Brief Plan of Body Paragraphs and Conclusion

Body Paragraph 1 Rooke’s journey towards moral integrity is born out of understanding the might of the British Empire

Body Paragraph 2 Warungin – proud leader and protector of his people – intelligent and intuitive – shows dignity & simple friendliness – feeds the troop fish echoing the biblical miracle of Jesus – he is compassionate even though the British intended harm – symbolism of the hatchet & bags nearby and the possibility of violence

Tagaran – has unique qualities – is intelligent and fearless – her connection to Rooke reminds us of the central theme of language as a mode of communication which is essential in all human relationships

Body Paragraph 3 Rooke’s crisis of morals in the punitive expedition – his ethics are compromised – he considers his participation in the mission to mark him with the same moral stain he believed the Governor had shown in ordering the be-headings of the natives

Conclusion / Message of Author

Unfortunately, the first settlement of the British on native land in NSW in 1788 contrasts sharply with any attempt at harmony when a British Officer shatters a native shield with gunshot. Yet as the narrative unfolds Grenville paints a picture of the British as terrifying, unthinking and powerful against the natives who are rendered powerless but showing more moral integrity. Certainly, the character of Rooke is represented as admirable and moral, who saw the natives as not so different from himself, which underlies the adage of treating others as you would like to be treated yourself. By demonstrating Rooke as an admiral character the text argues that human commonality should be respected. More importantly, the novel suggests that friendships with people who have strong morals, goals and interests can make for bonds which reward both parties. It is through the native characters of Warungin and Taragan that Grenville highlights the importance of searching for common ground and understanding rather than submission to a greater force and conflict.

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Analytical Essay on Belonging in Peter Skrzynecki’s Poetry

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Margaret

For Mainstream English Year 12 students studying the poetry collection ‘Old/New World’ by Peter Skrzynecki, AOS1: Unit 3, Reading and Creating Texts, Analytical Response Outcome.

This task requires the students to synthesise poems in the ‘Old/New World’ collection by Peter Skrzynecki of ‘Black Cockatoos’ / ‘Immigrants at Central Station’ / ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ / ‘Seeing my Parents’ and put together an analytical response essay on the prompt.

The Analytical Prompt Topic is ‘Belonging is not about geography, but about family’. Discuss.

Belonging is tied to a sense of identity and the groups we choose to belong to and the ways we connect with others to help form our own identity. Together these issues go to the heart of who we are and how we present ourselves to the world. We share a human quality in the need to belong yet sometimes we question both ‘who am I?’ and ‘where do I belong?’. In ‘Old/New World’ poetry collection by poet Peter Skrzynecki, he shares with his readers a sense of ambivalence in his relationship with his parents, but at the same time, he acknowledges and honours their sacrifices they made for him. Therefore, in analysing Skrzynecki’s poems it is important to see not only his connection to family but also to place, practices, language, heritage and geography that are all interconnected and tied to his sense of belonging and sense of identity.

In the poems under review “Black Cockatoos”, “Immigrants at Central Station”, “Feliks Skrzynecki” and “Seeing my Parents”, Peter Skrzynecki writes about connecting the old and new worlds of his poetry together in his search for belonging. Through his poems Peter discovers the ways in which he can come to terms with the multi-faceted nature of his identity and the interaction between belonging to his family’s old cultural Polish heritage and the new world as an Australian with all its promising future.

Synthesising the relationship of the birds in “Black Cockatoos” who represent freedom in the new world, they express themselves clearly against the old domesticated species of pigeons in “Immigrants at Central Station” who represent the old world from Europe. The cockatoos easily belong and make themselves heard with brash and screeching voices so that they can be heard “above the boom and crash of the waves” yet the pigeons just “watch” and are voiceless. The pigeons, representing the immigrants, have sad and negative thoughts about belonging to the new world and because they cannot speak English and there seems to be no way for them to counteract the noisy cockatoos (Australians) who literally take over the place.

As the old-world birds, from devastated post-war Europe, have difficulty in belonging to the place they are in, such as the train station, it represents a transit place and part of their dislocation from their country of origin. In terms of freedom to belong, they are limited by language differences, experience, loss of culture and an expectation of what their futures will be in the new country. This is shown as the immigrant journeys are controlled by time “while time ran ahead” but their sense of belonging is impacted by an unknown future “along glistening tracks of steel” to a place they do not know. In contrast, the cockatoos in “Black Cockatoos” are totally in control of their lives as they “swept down the cliff” and “whistled, broke formation, chattered” taking over the whole beach.

In some of Peter Skrzynecki’s poems related to family and belonging there is also a sense of paradox where Peter’s optimism for the future in the new world clashes with his sense of sadness about his past and even regret that at the end of his poems he has not received closure about who he is or where his identity comes from. In the poem “Seeing my Parents” there is a sense of regret that the poet wanted to thank his parents for all the sacrifices they made as immigrants to help his education and way of life in the new country but he is unable to tell them how he feels in the present day because they are dead. The poet wants to catch up with them and “touch them – thank them for everything they did for me” yet he cannot reach for them “out of yesterday and into tomorrow”.

Similarly, Peter wants the readers to appreciate his sense of pride and belonging to his father Felix in the poem “Felix Skrzynecki” when he begins the poem “my gentle father” is Peter’s tribute to Felix’s dignity. However, the young Peter also feels a disconnect with his family and does not belong to his heritage in his inability to accept his Polish past he is in fact alienated from Felix and his friends and does not understand why “His Polish friends always shook hands so violently”. Peter does not want to learn the Polish language and even puts up “Hadrian’s Wall” to disconnect himself from belonging to his Polish heritage.

Peter Skrzynecki’s poetry is deeply rooted in family and cultural awareness and he writes about the importance of belonging to not only family but also to place, language, heritage and geography. However, his poems clearly show a divide between the interaction of belonging to the past and the new world that represents the poet’s future as an Australian. There are however, paradoxes in his relationships with his family that, as an adult poet, Peter has tried to honour his parents by paying tribute to his heritage and staying connected to them in his poems. Yet, many poems end without closure and as readers, we have to respect his feelings and the notion of something that is not finished. May be Peter is asking us readers to question whether he did finally belong to one world – the old world or the new world?

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Construction of Meaning in Invictus the Film

Posted on September 15, 2018 by Margaret

Image result for pictures of invictus the movie

Why is Construction of Meaning in Invictus the Film Important?

When reading/viewing texts to construct meaning, readers/viewers increase their understanding by recognising the craftsmanship of the writing/film and the choices the authors/directors made to portray the topic in a certain way.

In order to achieve a high mark for essays students need to interpret the texts analytically which includes understanding the implications of:

how the author constructs meaning and structure in a text and
then explain what the author’s purpose or agenda was in writing the text

If you just write about the narrative only you are NOT answering the key criteria of AOS1

What the author SEES, THINKS, VALUES & BIG PICTURE / How? Through LITERARY TECHNIQUES

Type of Text = Movie / historical / drama / biographical / political / sports. Released in 2009. Director Clint Eastwood. Writer Anthony Peckham.
Setting = South Africa between 1994-1995. 1^st year of Nelson Mandela’s Presidency. Post apartheid South Africa, start of Rainbow Nation.
Title of movie = Symbol for ‘unconquered’ taken from Henley poem that inspired Mandela.
Narrative Structure = The film progresses in a linear fashion with an introduction / middle / end with the history behind Nelson Mandela / his Presidency / rugby World Cup / conclusion winning the World Cup.
Historical Context = Mandela is released after 27 years in prison and his 1^st year of Presidency is the narrative as he uses the rugby World Cup in 1995 to unify South Africans.
Themes = leadership / sacrifice / reconciliation / forgiveness / identity / family / politics / challenges / responsibility / racial tension / apartheid / inspiration / change / sport / revenge / documentary story / destiny
Symbolism/Imagery = Flag of Springboks / Rainbow Nation Flag / South African Flag / Mandela’s clothes / Springboks jersey, cap and colours / Nkosi Sikelel / South African division between black and white / poor and wealthy / rugby catalyst for change
Characters & Relationships = Mandela & his staff / Mandela & his family especially Zindzi / Mandela & the South African nation / Pienaar & his rugby team / his family / Black & white body guards / South Afrikaners & black South Africans
Director’s Big Picture Values = Clint Eastwood was inspired by the book ‘Playing the Enemy’ by Carlin about the inspiration of Mandela to use a rugby game to help unify a nation. He also appreciated the element of ‘the underdog’ in sport to win and the support of sportsmanship.
Music & Soundtracks = 9000 Days of Destiny / Nkosi Sikelel i Africa adds to position the viewers and the dramatic plot.
Narrative Voice = Dialogue of characters – words are powerful tools / social and political interactions / media is a narrative device to create a back story on Mandela / Newspaper headlines / News casts on TV / TV broadcaster Johan de Villiers comments establishes the international community view on apartheid.
Film Techniques =
- Mise en scene
- Setting
- Lighting
- Acting style
- Costumes
- Cinematography
  - Camera distance / close ups / medium shots / medium long shots / long shots
  - Camera angle / straight on / low angle / high angle / camera movement / pans
- Sound
  - Dialogue and sound of action
  - Music soundtrack
  - Voice overs
  - Dream sequence of action in character’s mind

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Fear and Hysteria Quotes in Year of Wonders Explained

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Margaret

Image result for Images of The year of wonders

Geraldine Brooks’ Year of Wonders focuses on the lives of the villagers in the plague-stricken town of Eyam in 1665. As this close-knit community suffers the effects of isolation arising from their rector’s decision to quarantine the town, many of the villagers are overcome by fear and ignorance. As fear spreads, conditions become worse for the villagers. However, some villagers do find the strength to deal with their fear and ignorance and try to come to terms with their devastating ordeal.

Brooks reveals that it is the fear of God’s punishment that corrupts the townspeople – as they scapegoat and resort to barbarity to alleviate God’s anger and thus rid themselves of the Plague. Brooks argues that it is religion’s flimsy support that leaves individuals susceptible to superstition and thus causes their own demise.

Fear and Hysteria Quotes in Year of Wonders Explained

“Do not joke sir, for on the turnpike north of London, I encountered an angry mob, brandishing hoes and pitchforks, denying entry to their village inn to any who were travelling from London” (Robert young man from London dining with the Bradfords p.60-61).

The plague of the novel is based upon the Great Plague of 1665 where 20% of the population in London perished. Eyam was not immune to the contagion carried by fleas that infected people by bites, carried also by rats and in Eyam’s case a bolt of cloth infected. Out of a village of 350 people 260 died in Eyam by 1666. Brooks highlights and criticises the wealthy families who were driven by self-interest during the Plague. She explores the ramifications of ‘noblesse oblige’ that privilege should offer support and leadership to poorer people living under the elite. In the Bradford’s case they refuse to accept they have any duty to offer support to the villagers and cast off their servants with little care for the fact they have nowhere to go and leave Eyam during the Plague quarantine.

“These times, they do make monsters of us all…” (Jon Millstone the Sexton p. 141)

Brooks depicts the community caught in extraordinary times and the Sexton Jon Millstone is weary of carting so many corpses and he laments to Anna that he is irritated to be called to the Maston house when Mr Maston isn’t dead yet. In this context the comment suggests that in times of crisis people may act disrespectfully and immorally towards each other because of fear and hysteria.

“My cowardice shamed me” (Anna p.182).

In order to help Merry Wickford hold onto her family mine Elinor and Anna go down the mine facing the greatest fear left to Anna. During this feat down the mine, Anna struggles with the idea of the feminine that has always restricted her talents and led her to doubt her strength. However, typically under Elinor’s guidance she overcomes her fear and succeeds in extracting the minerals by this dangerous fire-setting method. Brooks illustrates the pit as a metaphor for the crisis engulfing the village. Despite the terrible fear Anna’s courage is rewarded and there is renewed hope for the future for Merry Wickford. Brooks also provides Anna and Elinor the opportunity to step outside their circumscribed roles and act with unprecedented autonomy.

Mompellion raised his voice to a roar “Oh, yes, the Devil has been here this night! But not in Anys Gowdie! Fools! Ignorant wretches! Anys Gowdie fought you with the only weapon she had to hand – your own ugly thoughts and evil doubting of one another!” (Mompellion p.95)

Brooks highlights the increasing paranoia and fear of the villagers desperate for a scapegoat to pin the Plague on. Mompellion lambasts the villagers for their shameful murder of the two women who are killed. He exposes their hysterical crimes and places the blame firmly on each of the perpetrators. He accuses them of using “their own ugly thoughts and evil doubting of one another”. (For this same reason, Anys sarcastically confirms their accusations and admits her “guilt”, born of their own self – doubts: “Yes I have lain with the Devil and he is might and cold as ice to the touch” (p.93). In fact Mompellion is so indignant that he also challenges them to “gird yourselves, and pray that God does not exact from you the price that this day’s deeds deserve” (p.94).

“She witched my husband into lying with her” (Urith Gordon p.92)

As marginalized females, who symbolically and literally live on the fringes of society, Mem and Anys become convenient targets of the Puritans in the attempt to expunge their fear and horror of the Plague. The villagers accuse Anys of their sins. Brooks suggests that Urith, deceitfully, seeks to displace the blame for her husband’s adultery through such accusations and Anna is unable to curb “the frenzy”.

“But it was John Gordon’s fear that led him upon the queerest path” (Anna p.218)

The Puritans see the plague as God’s punishment. They whip themselves because they believe that they have sinned. John Gordon’s response is typical of the flagellants who see the Plague as a scourge of God. He stops eating and subjects his body to cruel punishment, whipping himself with ”plaited leather”. Defined as a ”solitary” and ”difficult soul”, John Gordon shows the terrible consequences that can occur during such a crisis when people begin to doubt each other. Through his self punishment, he hoped to purge himself of infection and “allay God’s wrath” (Elinor p.221).

Some other useful Quotes about fear and hysteria for evidence in analytical essays:

“There had been fear here, since the very beginning, but where it had been veiled, now it had become naked. Those of us who were left feared each other and the hidden contagion we each might carry. People scurried, as stealthy as mice, trying to go and come without meeting another soul” (Anna p.217).
“We greeted our Maying with a mixture of hope and fear; the hope, I suppose, that comes naturally into the human heart and at the end of any hard winter; the fear that the gentler weather would bring with it an increase in disease” (Anna p.216).
“Fear was working strange changes in all of us corroding our ability for clear thought” (Anna p. 227).
“Loneliness, shunning and fear. Fear will be your only faithful companion” (Mompellion p.105)
“Fear took each of us differently” (Anna p.218).
“We were all like wounded animals, our hurts so raw and our fear so great that we would lash out at anyone” (Anna p.243).
“Some slaked their dread in drink and their loneliness in wanton caresses” (Anna p.218).

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