VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Nothing is truly forgotten in TMP. Discuss.
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: Yoko Ogawa's psychological dystopian novel, ‘The Memory Police’, translated by Stephen Snyder, explores an island…
Yoko Ogawa's psychological dystopian novel, ‘The Memory Police’, translated by Stephen Snyder, explores an island upon which items mysteriously disappear, and an authoritarian government brutally enforces the vanishings on its citizens, forcing them to let go of their memories. Within her novel, Ogawa depicts that even in the face of adversity, the individuals cling onto most of their memories and are not completely drained of the remnants of their old, free, rich life. Whether it be because some characters do not forget at all, or because of the intricate intertwining between disappeared items and their loved ones, many characters refuse to forget, however as a collective, the citizens forget the value of human connection.
Throughout the novel, many individuals can recall disappeared items when faced with them, displaying that the memories live deep within their “empty heart[s]”. As the narrator navigates her increasingly restrictive island town, she frequently thinks back to the items her mother once pulled out of their set of drawers, such as “perfume”, “ribbons” and an “emerald”. Those memories, held close to her heart due to their association with her mother, are stronger than the disappearances, refusing to be forgotten even when remembrance can lead to the tragic fate of death. The narrator is still able to vividly name each one of them when writing, and even acknowledges their existence in her own novel about the young typist. Even after her own legs have disappeared, her character retains the concept of “footsteps”, illustrating that the narrator has not completely forgotten legs and feet. Her awareness of the disappearances in itself, implies that she has not completely released her grasp on the world she once lived in, on the things she once had, like her legs. Ogawa highlights this to suggest to her audience that resistance is not a futile act, but rather the citizens of the island are never too far gone to rebel and eventually gain back their memories, because of the sliver of past they hold in their hearts. They are not as “full of holes” as they believe, as remembrance, even in a slight and unconscious form, remains. Ogawa illustrates this through the pacing of her novel. At the beginning, the narrator often refers back to the disappeared items she once knew, the “birds”, the “maps”, she can look back on them all, displaying their ability to return to the way things once were. As the novel progresses, this motif of looking back to memories of the past diminishes, but it does not completely vanish, once again highlighting that it is never too late to seek justice and change, even if it is harder now. The memories are still present within each and every character, no matter the degree.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent are the characters in the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Commenting on the lack of agency exhibited by resistant communities during Nazi Germany, Yoko Ogawa’s novel The…
Commenting on the lack of agency exhibited by resistant communities during Nazi Germany, Yoko Ogawa’s novel The Memory Police, a dystopian work infused with elements of magical realism, explores an unnamed island where objects, language, and abstract concepts mysteriously disappear due to oppressive forces. Ogawa portrays a society where control and disappearance erode individualism. While individuals appear compliant in their own expression, Ogawa demonstrates that their complicity stems from authoritarian control. In particular, this is evident through authoritarian surveillance, which enforces passivity within individuals. Additionally, Ogawa shows that power and repression result in complicity. The novel illustrates the citizens’ neglect in recognising storytelling as a form of empowerment and remembrance, which could allow them to escape the cycle of complicity.
Reflecting totalitarian regimes during the fascist era, Ogawa exposes the impact of authoritarian surveillance, suggesting it results in a cycle of complicity. Bearing a striking resemblance to soldiers in Nazi Germany, the “Memory Police,” described as dressed in “green uniforms” with “heavy belts” and “guns to their hips,” are portrayed as oppressive, militarized forces that gain control through intimidation and brutality. This demonstrates that the physical display of power instils constant fear within individuals, forcing them to comply with authoritarian regimes. Following the disappearance of the birds, the people are lawfully aware of their ancestors’ decrease; the protagonist notes that the Memory Police take items “to [her] father’s face,” demonstrating their systematic monitoring. Ogawa’s use of imperative sentences underscores the dominance of the Memory Police and the cumulative sense of suppression through their surveillance of the islanders. As they search for objects, “they seem to know exactly where they [are] going,” suggesting that the citizens’ movements have been closely monitored, enabling the authorities to locate objects without assistance.As a result of this heavy surveillance, the narrator is forced to dispose of her “novels,” sacrificing her career and, in turn, part of her identity. This is exemplified when birds are removed from the island; their ability to fly is considered symbolic of freedom. Their mysterious disappearance demonstrates that the Memory Police’s passivity has led to her losing autonomy. By characterising the repression as both a human and an oppressive entity gradually disappearing into oblivion, Ogawa emphasises that the dangers of complicity rely
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "You dare mock my blindness, do you? But I…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Written during the Peloponnesian Wars and plague, Sophocles classical Greek tragedy, 'Oedipus the King', created…
Written during the Peloponnesian Wars and plague, Sophocles classical Greek tragedy, 'Oedipus the King', created in 429 BCE, responds to Greek societal concerns such as fate, the pursuit of truth and free-will. The play depicts the metaphorical blindness of hubris as a limitation of possessing power and explores the contradiction of physical sight versus true insight of moral & spiritual. Lastly, Sophocles utilises ones' blind eye to question who truly holds power.
'Oedipus the king' depicts the metaphorical blindness of hubris as a limitation of possessing power. Through the employment of the hierarchical class back in Ancient Athens, Sophocles illustrates how a hubristic ruler possesses no true power. The depiction of Oedipus to be a boastful leader who's blind to his own sins and identity, is reflected on Thebes' moral and spiritual corruption. His hubristic characteristics emphasises his lack of true power and leadership skills as he boasts, "I am the man who can save you from the plague... Now I am Oedipus the king." The motif of the plague only affecting the citizens of Thebes while Oedipus and the ruling class remain untouched, emphasises the imbalance of power and responsibility one possesses while blinded to their own hubris and power. The dramatic irony of Oedipus claiming to save Thebes from the plague, regardless of the main cause being his uptake of the throne, demonstrates the audience of how ones' own excessive pride and power is questioned through the lack of sight they hold. Through such motifs and notions, Sophocles sends the message of the true holder of power being evaluated through their judgement and responsibility rather than the hubristic characteristics they exercise. Hence, the play demonstrates the metaphorical blindness of hubris to a limitation of holding responsible power.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘High Ground suggests that some conflicts…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Stephen Johnson’s film High Ground depicts conflicts between First Nations people and European settlers during the…
Stephen Johnson’s film High Ground depicts conflicts between First Nations people and European settlers during the 1920’s, inspired by Australia’s frontier wars. As the traditional owners of the land, the First Nations Yolngu people experienced major conflict with colonisers who claimed the land as their own. The film demonstrates how resolving conflict is a complex process that does not guarantee a peaceful ending. Although some characters in the film attempt to come to a compromise, the two groups cannot come to an agreement, suggesting that long-lasting conflict cannot simply be overcome.
‘High Ground’ displays how conflict often results in a cycle of violence and revenge. In the opening sequence of the film, the audience is immediately positioned to view a brutal massacre of the Yolngu people. This chaotic scene is comprised of loud gunshots, muffled screaming, and cries of fear, emphasising the pain and trauma of the First Nations people. Through this, Johnson depicts a raw representation of racial prejudice causing conflict, where violence is used beyond its means. The root of the conflict is something incredibly minor, where two Indigenous men “killed a cow”, yet the consequences leave “17 dead”. As a result of such a discriminatory situation, the protagonist’s fierce uncle Baywara goes on a quest for revenge to get justice for his people who were murdered. This only leads to more violence and conflict, with Baywara “wreaking havoc, killing livestock, [and] burning stations”. The fire symbolises anger and the motivations fuelled by a burning desire to get revenge, however this spontaneous behaviour does not resolve the conflict between the colonisers and First Nations people. Instead, Baywara is hunted down and shot, ultimately making his efforts futile. Another character who turns to violent revenge is Gulwirri, who is motivated to “keep fighting”, because “your anger is all you have”. This leads to her brutally killing the men who abused her, ultimately inflicting further conflict. While this helps her feel a sense of justice, it does not undo the tension between the First Nations people and British colonisers. The ancient principle of ‘eye for an eye’ revenge means that one conflict sparks a domino effect of never-ending conflict. Johnson portrays the violent nature of conflict to present how it causes a repetitive desire for revenge.
Johnson demonstrates how all parties involved in conflict must be willing to negotiate to move forward. The protagonist’s grandfather Dharrpa requests a meeting with the leader of the mission Moran, to discuss the crimes brought about by his son Baywara. Johnson employs a
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ii. To what extent do the characters find…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson explores how the Blackwood sisters, Merricat and…
In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson explores how the Blackwood sisters, Merricat and Constance, find ways to reclaim power in a society that despises and isolates them. After the poisoning of their family, the two sisters are shunned by the townspeople and trapped within their home. Despite being seen as powerless women, they build their own world where they control their surroundings and protect each other. Jackson shows that while society strips them of traditional power, they find a different kind of strength through isolation, imagination, and defiance.
Merricat, in particular, finds power through her imagination and rituals, which allow her to feel control in a world that has rejected her. From the beginning, Merricat is aware of her powerlessness, admitting that “the people of the village never liked me.” Yet she refuses to submit to their hatred. Instead, she invents her own magical system — burying objects and saying protective words — as a way of controlling her reality. These rituals, while childish, give Merricat the illusion of strength and authority. When she says, “I wished them dead,” it shows how her imagination becomes a weapon against the cruelty of others. Jackson presents Merricat’s fantasy world as both her escape and her rebellion. Even though her magic is not real, it gives her confidence and a sense of control over the chaos around her. Through this, Jackson suggests that imagination becomes a form of power for those who have been stripped of it in the real world.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “As he loses what he loves, the fate of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex remains one of the most powerful tragedies in world literature, not only because of the…
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex remains one of the most powerful tragedies in world literature, not only because of the inevitability of Oedipus’ fate, but because of how profoundly it makes the audience value what he loses. As Oedipus’ downfall unfolds, Sophocles invites us to reflect on the fragility of human power, the destruction of identity, and the irreplaceable worth of love and family. Through the king’s gradual loss of control, self-knowledge, and emotional connection, we come to understand the true cost of his fate. His suffering compels the audience to value the very things he once took for granted—authority, truth, and love—revealing the timeless human truth that we only recognise the worth of what we have when it is lost.
The Loss of Power and Control
At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is portrayed as a man of immense confidence, admired for his intelligence and leadership. The people of Thebes revere him as their saviour, declaring, “You freed us from the Sphinx’s riddle, you lifted our curse!” This image of Oedipus as the great solver of problems establishes his initial power and control over both his people and his own destiny. He is not merely a king by title but by merit; his quick thinking and courage define him as the ideal ruler. His words—“I, Oedipus, whom all men call the great”—reflect the pride and certainty with which he approaches life. Yet this pride becomes his fatal flaw, his hamartia. His belief that he can outwit fate and uncover every truth ultimately leads to his ruin.
As the plague devastates Thebes, Oedipus’ determination to find Laius’ murderer demonstrates both his moral strength and his tragic blindness. He promises, “I curse myself as well… if by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house.” In his pursuit of justice, he unknowingly seals his own doom. The irony of his words deepens the audience’s sense of pity, as we recognise that Oedipus’ downfall stems not from evil but from the very qualities that once made him admirable. As the truth unfolds, his authority crumbles; the man once seen as a saviour becomes a source of pollution. “It was Apollo, friends, Apollo,” Oedipus cries, acknowledging that divine will, not human reason, governs fate. By the play’s end, he is stripped of his title, power, and dignity, reduced to a blind outcast begging for exile. This fall from greatness to despair evokes Aristotle’s idea of catharsis—the purging of pity and fear—as the audience witnesses how fragile human control truly is. Through Oedipus’ loss of power, Sophocles reminds us that greatness and pride are fleeting, and that humility before fate is perhaps the only true wisdom.
The Loss of Identity and Self-Knowledge
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'The Blackwood sisters' rituals are a way…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Shirley Jackson's 1962 gothic novella 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' explores how routine and superstitions…
Shirley Jackson's 1962 gothic novella 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' explores how routine and superstitions act as protection for Mary Katherine (Merricat) and Constance. Jackson's novella reveals that the sisters use personal routines and superstitions as a way to gain agency in a world that aims to render them powerless women despite their considerable wealth. The sisters' actions consolidates the isolation they seek from the hostile and insular villagers. Ultimately, Jackson suggests that when challenged, these rituals and superstitions become unsuccessful in their intended aim of keeping the sisters safe and separated, but ironically they re-emerge as an imagined utopian world to help emancipate the sisters from their insular community.
Jackson explores how routine, but more commonly superstitions, take the role of control and dominance in an attempt to remove the sisters from the patriarchal structures that surround them. Merricat's three "words of strong protection" symbolise her attempt to assert control over a world that threatens to disrupt her sanctuary, particularly the arrival of Charles, who embodies traditional male power. Her hope that "no change would come" if these words weren't spoken aloud reflects her desire to preserve the female power that remains within the Blackwood estate. When Charles later arrives, bringing with him the dominance and authority of the outside world, this showcases the exact change Merricat sought to prevent through her superstitions. Jackson thus highlights how superstitions are used by Merricat to resist the social norms of the time, where male power worked to oppress the independence of women. Additionally, Jackson characterises John Blackwood as a symbol of the nuclear family ideal, the patriarchal structures that the sisters rituals and superstitions seek to escape. His death, a response to the punishment of Merricat being "sent to bed without her supper", highlights Merricat's defiance of male centred power and rule. The superstitions and rituals that follow, including the burying of "treasures" illustrates the creation of new female dominated rules and secrets. In doing so, Jackson critiques the norms of the nuclear family, whilst revealing how superstition and ritual become a means for women to claim autonomy within an oppressive society.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent does Sophocles suggest that…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: In Oedipus the King, Sophocles examines humanity’s perpetual conflict between fate and free will, revealing the…
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles examines humanity’s perpetual conflict between fate and free will, revealing the tragic illusion that mortals possess agency over their destinies. Through the relentless fulfilment of Apollo’s prophecy, the playwright constructs a cosmos governed by divine order, where human intellect and determination merely advance the will of the gods. Oedipus’ pride in his capacity for reason, the metaphor of blindness that pervades the play, and the chorus’s reverence for divine justice together illustrate the limits of human autonomy. Sophocles ultimately portrays free will not as liberation from fate but as the very mechanism through which fate accomplishes itself, demonstrating that insight and humility, not defiance, constitute the highest form of wisdom available to humankind.
Oedipus initially embodies humanity’s faith in rational mastery, believing that intellect grants control over circumstance. Introduced as the saviour of Thebes, he declares confidently, “Here I am myself, you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus.” The irony embedded in this self-assertion, his name meaning “swollen-foot,” the mark of his prophesied suffering foreshadows his ignorance of the destiny he already inhabits. His triumph over the Sphinx, claimed with prides, “I stopped the Sphinx! With no help from the birds, the flight of my own intelligence hit the mark” exemplifies his conviction that reason can outwit divine design. Yet this faith in intellect becomes the root of his downfall. When he vows, “I’ll bring it all to light myself,” the audience recognises that his determination to uncover truth is precisely what will expose him as Laius’ murderer. Sophocles transforms Oedipus’ intelligence into hamartia, his fatal error of hubristic self-reliance. Dramatic irony sharpens his tragic blindness when he swears to “fight for him as if he were my father,” an oath that condemns him through its literal fulfilment. Through such reversals, Sophocles dismantles the illusion of self-governance, suggesting that human freedom exists only within the predetermined orbit of fate.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Born A Crime demonstrate that, no…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Born A Crime is a 2016 memoir written by Trevor Noah which follows Trevor’s own journey through relationships,…
Born A Crime is a 2016 memoir written by Trevor Noah which follows Trevor’s own journey through relationships, racism, and oppression growing up in the world of post-Apartheid South Africa. Throughout the book, the theme of change both societally and individually is frequently touched upon, and Noah proves within his writing that change is generally difficult to achieve and often requires great challenges. He does this by demonstrating the hardships characters face in the pursuit of change, as well as using resilience as a tool for change. Additionally, Noah proves that societal change is impossible unless social barriers and norms are confronted.
Noah explores how growth and change often arise from hardships in Born A Crime. A key relationship of the memoir is that of Trevor and his mother, Patricia, who was married to Trevor’s abusive stepfather, Abel. Abel “beat” Patricia in order to “show he was a man,” but in reality, his support from the law enforcement, even after shooting Patricia, only showed the brutal inequality of the patriarchy. “Abel shot mum” Noah’s stark simplicity when revealing this complex and horrible experience allows him to truly demonstrate to the reader how much pain and hardships he had endured, as something as tragic as his mother being shot is presented as almost unsurprising. However, after years of torment suffered at the hands of Abel, Trevor and Patricia were eventually Able to get rid of him, and change for the better, gaining resilience and strength, even despite this change being so difficult to achieve. Furthermore, Trevor’s experience growing up as a mixed child in South Africa reflects the change he experienced as a result of persevering through hardships. Due to his illegal conception from one white and one black parent, Noah describes himself as being “born a crime,” implying that he was never treated equal and the same as others, and felt like an outsider. This is an undeniably unfortunate circumstance, however the difficulties Noah faced due to it allowed him to grow as a person, becoming incredibly adaptable and resilient when faced with unfair situations. Ultimately Born A Crime is a story which proves how hardships can be the recipe for growth and change.
In the memoir, Noah emphasizes how in order to build change, it is necessary to possess resilience. A key moment in which this is exemplified by Trevor himself is early in the memoir, when he details the moment he and his mother had to jump off a moving bus to escape death, and instead of complaining, they shrug it off and end up laughing and joking about
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Malouf’s stories explore transformative…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Set during moments of mortality, coming of age rituals and reckonings with one’s life, Malouf’s stories represent…
Set during moments of mortality, coming of age rituals and reckonings with one’s life, Malouf’s
stories represent the way critical events and forces shape and transform the lives of characters.
For some characters, being confronted with death is the cause for significant introspection, while
others find their lives altered by moments and places that lead them into the adult world.
Throughout Malouf’s stories, a key phase of change for characters is the transition from a
teenager into an adult. This time of transformation is explored in detail in ‘The Valley of Lagoons.’
In this story, the sixteen year old narrator Angus finds himself increasingly adrift in life as a “gap”
emerges between himself and his best friend and he feels “lonely.” He has a growing sense of the
social, cultural and intellectual division between himself and the other people in his outback town
and that unlike his peers, he “won’t stay here.” Malouf symbolises the narrator’s confusion and
nascent awakening about his coming of age transformation in the “dreamlike” quality of the Valley
of Lagoons landscape where Angus and other men from his town go hunting. Within this “sacred”
space, characters “discover” or are “let into” a secret world. Here, Angus embraces his transition
into adulthood, finding himself literally and figuratively walking “into a freshening distance” where
it is “myself I was moving into”. In contrast, another character in the story - Stuart - is unable to
cope, his self inflicted gun shot injury an emblem of his failure to adjust to the divide that develops
between himself and his would be girlfriend as they journey into adulthood. Similarly to Angus, in
‘War Baby’, Charlie Dowd is on cusp of adulthood. He’s been drafted to fight in Vietnam, and just
as the Valley of Lagoons hunt is an opportunity for Angus to find himself, so too does the
impending experience of war offer Charlie Down the chance to find “his life direction”. As he
prepares to enter the army, Charlie undergoes a period of introspection where he seeks to
“resolve in some way the puzzle of what he was”. Central to Charlie’s transition is to accept “the
experience [that] had offered itself”, rather than fight against it like Stuart in ‘Valley of the
Lagoons’. Through the way these young characters of Charlie and Angus immerse themselves in
“the motor of change”, Malouf represents that complexity and fluidity of experiences that shape
people as they journey into the grown up world.
While some of Malouf’s stories examine the journey into adulthood, others reflect on how death
and grief shape and impact our lives. In ‘Elsewhere’, the death and then the funeral of his sister-
in-law Debbie is the catalyst for Andy to travel to the city and ‘elsewhere’ and to examine the
meaning of his life. To Andy - a miner from a small town -
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Analyse the ways in which argument and…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: In “Save Our Sanctuary: The Wetlands Deserve More Than Concrete”, the author delivers a compelling and…
In “Save Our Sanctuary: The Wetlands Deserve More Than Concrete”, the author delivers a compelling and impassioned argument against a proposed commercial redevelopment of a local wetland area. By appealing to shared community values, positioning nature as both sacred and endangered, and blending evocative language with striking visual elements, the author constructs a persuasive piece that urges the audience to reject the development and take active steps to protect their environment. The article integrates emotional, logical, and ethical appeals, ensuring readers are engaged not only intellectually but morally and viscerally.
The headline itself frames the wetlands as a “sanctuary,” immediately elevating their status from a physical space to one of emotional and spiritual refuge. This word choice activates a moral dimension, aligning environmental protection with safeguarding something sacred. The phrase “deserve more than concrete” introduces a stark binary between organic life and industrial intrusion, priming the reader to see the development as an act of degradation. Through this, the author subtly appeals to the audience’s sense of justice — positioning nature as a voiceless entity worthy of defence.
Central to the article’s strategy is the use of inclusive language. Phrases such as “our sanctuary,” “we stand to lose,” and “our shared future” construct a collective identity and moral obligation. This rhetorical move invites the reader into the conversation as an active stakeholder, not a distant observer. The article’s opening reference to “the wetlands we explored as children” furthers this connection, weaving nostalgia and local identity into the argument. By personalising the issue, the author encourages the audience to see the wetlands not just as land, but as an extension of their memory, values, and heritage.
The piece’s persuasive force is heightened through vivid sensory imagery. Descriptions of “the low murmur of frogs,” “the shimmer of dragonfly wings,” and “a mosaic of life” conjure a rich, living ecosystem. This is strategically contrasted with dehumanising depictions of the development as “grey slabs of corporate ambition” and “glass towers
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent does Sunset Boulevard…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Billy Wilder's Film Noir "Sunset Boulevard (1957)" reveals the power of manipulating other people. Hollywood's…
Billy Wilder's Film Noir "Sunset Boulevard (1957)" reveals the power of manipulating other people. Hollywood's destructive nature of reducing its stars to a commodity is explored. Furthermore the recurring theme of manipulation is explored by people who manipulate others for their own benefits, as well as using manipulation and feeding into others' delusion.
Hollywood is seen as a "dream making factory" from the outside although the gates separating the stars from the others say otherwise. Hollywood only seeks to reduce its stars to commodities, later when they do not generate profit anymore they are discarded as Hollywood's obsession with youthful glamour never changes. Hence Norma Desmond who is a faded film star is always dressed extravagantly as she seeks to appear young, and is always ready to be in front of the cameras once again. Joe Gillis adds to this by saying "there's nothing wrong with being 50, not unless you try to look 25" highlighting Norma's desperation to be young once again. Norma being the former star she was visited the Paramount Studios but was denied access until an older security guard recognised her yelling. Wilder aims to reveal how Norma has a former star. After Hollywood only holds transactional relationships within the film as portrayed by Billy Wilders, after Joes death as Norma never got a chance infront of the camera ever again as she was seen as too old and irrelevant. However, after Joes death Paramount news rushed to her faded mansion as the news would be headlines, as they flooded her room with cameras. Ultimately revealing how Hollywood manipulates Stars into thinking they are appreciated which is quite the opposite as they are only reduced to a label.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Ruby’s decision to kill off all her…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Throughout the anthology, Tessa Hadley demonstrates how revelations can drive the transition from innocence to…
Throughout the anthology, Tessa Hadley demonstrates how revelations can drive the transition from innocence to experience. Despite the incomprehensibility of East Lynne’s grandeur, Ruby’s sheltered beliefs are shattered — likened to a raw and wild concept being “dragged from where it was concealed, into the daylight.” The metaphor exposes how confronting revelations can violently rewrite a child’s perspective. She no longer understands death as an abstract concept but feels its weight within the novel. This is bolstered by Hadley’s motif of natural light, continuously reflecting her progress towards experience. The moonlight, a darker force in comparison to the daylight or absence of light conveys the damaged trust that Ruby’s family has caused. Similarly, Bad Dreams echoes this idea though its protagonist. Forced to confront the “litany of deaths” in “gloating language”, the dream provides painful insights which pressured her to insistently reread. Moreover, her mother was unaware because the child believed she is alone. Society’s expectation of a gradual transition towards experience ultimately conceals the moments of epiphany children go
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Here at last was the original of all…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Through complete short stories ‘Every Move You Make’ David Malouf evaluates the relationship between external…
Through complete short stories ‘Every Move You Make’ David Malouf evaluates the relationship between external inhabitancy and one’s livelihood, portraying it as irrelevant and destructive. However, simultaneously, highlights external inhabitation as an essential element in character development. Malouf presents these concepts by critiquing the worth of external spaces and depicting the connections that characters long for being internal. Furthermore, in a more reckless way Malouf introduces the places individuals choose to inhabit as destructive to themselves and their world around them. Nonetheless, despite this harmful connection, Malouf outlines the importance of changing external environments in developing ones self-image. These themes are evoked by Malouf with the use of motifs such as lightness and phantoms.
Malouf critiques the value of external spaces through illustrating that genuine connection comes from peace within ones internal world. In ‘War Baby’ Charlie is depicted to live a very repetitive lifestyle with his frequent visits to the ‘pub’ where he would often ‘read a little and drink a little’. Internally as a young male, Charlie remains conflicted as he feels unmasculine as highlighted by his desire to “sleep with a girl”, or as Malouf describes Charlie “a unfired gun”. Malouf uses the symbolism of a unfired gun to demonstrate Charlie as lacking of masculinity, yet shows his ‘fire’ for progression in his life. Moreover, upon the Vietnam war, Charlie begins to view his departure as a opportunity to find this so called direction he has been searching for which he could not locate back at ‘home’. Yet, three years later he returned “unscathed and nearly two stone heavier”, highlighting the insignificance of the war in terms of Charlie’s personal longing for direction. More specifically upon his return from the war during his visit at the playground, Malouf claimed the war to be “a wall of silence he felt between himself and others”, this is used to demonstrate an inverse effect of war and how shifting areas of inhabitation can lead to isolation rather than connection. Through exploring the same region of young masculinity, Malouf simultaneously connects with this concept in ‘The Valley Of Lagoons’, and Angus’s journey. Somewhat similar to Charlie, Angus constructs an ongoing belief that his trip to the ‘magic valley’ with the McGowans will confirm the direct he longed for and did not receive in “the district”. Nevertheless, through getting a “little blood on his hands” and witnessing Stuart McGowan deliberately shooting himself in the thigh Angus walks to the bush away from Stuart. Malouf uses this action by Angus to show the readers his transcendence as a character, as Angus begins to undergo a natural change. Following these series of events, Angus is left feeling ‘lighter’ on his return home, indicating that the directional change he longed for simply required masculine experience. Through Charlie and Angus, Malouf highlights the lack of connection the external world can bring, and the idea the motif of lightness can only be achieved through conquering one’s internal world first.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Oedipus the King, individuals’ poor…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: In Oedipus the King, individuals' poor choices are responsible for the suffering of others. Do you agree?…
In Oedipus the King, individuals' poor choices are responsible for the suffering of others. Do you agree?
Sophocles' Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, written in 429 BCE explores how the actions of others can impact everyone around them. The ancient Greek theocratic polis is a place where people need to be careful of their actions as they can impact everyone surrounding them. Through the play, Sophocles highlights how the poor choices of individuals can not only impact themselves but others too. The choices of the titular character are one that impact everyone around him and the whole of Thebes. Sophocles also emphasizes that actions that disrespect the divine can also lead to terrible consequences. Through the play, Sophocles also undermines how actions of others impact everyone around them.
Sophocles through the play presents how individual's poor choices are responsible for their own suffering. Oedipus, the "king of the land" and "man of great power" attempts to solve the mystery of Laius' murder and set Thebes free from the plague. However, in trying to solve the mysteries, Oedipus commits some terrible actions that not only impacts him but everyone around him. He first meets Tiresias, a blind prophet who knows the truth. Oedipus asks him for information but when he denies, claiming that he will "not reveal his dreadful secrets", Oedipus "forces and twists it out of him". The violent connotations of "force" and "twist" is employed by Sophocles to reveal how Oedipus torments the vulnerable to obtain information. Oedipus' actions to torture a pious individual who is in a liminal state between the realms of the mortal and the divine also highlight how one's actions can lead to suffering. The shepard is also tortured by Oedipus as the guards seize him when he does not want to "cause pain for Oedipus". Even though the shepard yells, "do not torture an old man", Oedipus causes more suffering to the shepard through his actions of torment. Oedipus' hubris and hamartia are also the reason he suffers as his action of not believing Tiresias' words led him to blind himself. Oedipus' anagnorisis to accept the truth led him and the audience to achieve a state of catharsis, where he emotionally cleanses himself and blinds himself.
his eyes, the very thing he mocked Tiresias for, ridiculing him for his eyes that "were stone-blind". Through Oedipus' actions, Sophocles highlights how actions of one can lead to everyone suffering.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard presents a world…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Billy Wilder’s 1950 “Sunset Boulevard” depicts the classic era of Hollywood, a world of fame, glamour, and wealth.…
Billy Wilder’s 1950 “Sunset Boulevard” depicts the classic era of Hollywood, a world of fame, glamour, and wealth. However, beneath this glittering surface, Wilder exposes the industry’s flaws, revealing how human emotion and connection are systematically exploited for profit. In this world, relationships are often driven by self-interest and manipulation rather than genuine affection. Creativity is commoditised, with artistic expression sacrificed in the pursuit of financial gain. Meanwhile, moments of raw, unconditional emotion are rarely reciprocated, leaving sincerity isolated and vulnerable. Wilder suggests that under the moral and commercial pressures of Hollywood, authentic human connection becomes virtually impossible.
The reality Wilder presents is one where relationships are filled with subtext of people’s exploitation of each other. Characters in the film rarely interact with one another without an intent to gain something from one another. Both Joe Gillis and Norma Desmond only ever scheme against each other, each interaction layered in subtext of each trying to gain something from the other. After his first interaction with Norma, Joe makes it clear through his narration that he only see’s her as something the exploit, beginning to hatch “a little scheme of his own.” Similarly, Norma was prepared to kick Joe out of her house until learning he was a writer, something that she needed. When Joe prepares to leave Norma instead of noting anything about her to Betty he instead remarks on the, “caviar on ice,” and “eighteen suits.” Wilder suggests that Joe views his relationship with Norma as monetary, choosing to have Joe only note on the assets Norma provides to him rather than anything about her. Similarly as Joe departs, Norma kills him as a means to protect her perceived stardom as “No one leaves a star.” Wilder implies to the audience that Norma only means to prevent Joe from leaving to protect herself. Norma and Joe only see the value the other brings rather than any genuine connection between one another. Wilder suggests the impossibility of a real human moment in a world where everyone is prepared to sacrifice others for their own gain.
Wilder suggests Hollywood partakes in the commoditisation of emotion in moviemaking, stripping creativity in the pursuit of profit. Writing talent becomes watered down, turned into formulaic scripts designed to appeal to audiences rather than convey authentic emotion. Sheldrake, introduced as a “smart producer,” places little value on the emotional investment behind a film. He ironical
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "In Flames, grief manifests in…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Through his multi-perspective novel Flames, Robbie Arnott presents an unorthodox exploration of the universal theme…
Through his multi-perspective novel Flames, Robbie Arnott presents an unorthodox exploration of the universal theme of grief. Arnott illustrates how grief can drive individuals to irrational actions and strip them of their identity and purpose. However, through the powerful force of nature, Arnott reveals how grief’s manifestations can ultimately be dissolved.
Arnott explores the way profound grief can cloud rational judgment, compelling individuals to behave in erratic and extreme ways. Levi McAllister is portrayed as a deeply grieving character whose emotional turmoil drives much of the action within the novel, propelling his increasingly erratic behaviour. Arnott showcases that rather than confronting his pain directly, Levi becomes fixated on building a ‘coffin’ for his sister, a symbolic act that consumes him entirely. His physical decline, becoming ‘emaciated’ and ‘weak,’ Arnott reflects how grief can cause psychological deterioration and a desperate attempt to assert control over death. The coffin itself becomes a powerful symbol of denial, control, and sorrow, embodying Levi’s futile effort to protect his sister from an inevitable fate. Arnott presents Levi as a man so overwhelmed by loss that he isolates himself, pushing away those he cares for most. Levi’s grief clouds his vision and causes his sister, Charlotte, to embody ‘uncontrollable fits of screaming’ and ultimately ‘run away.’ Through the fractured bond between the two siblings, Arnott powerfully illustrates that grief not only manifests as sorrow but often drives individuals to irrational lengths in an attempt to reclaim any sense of control. Thus, it can lead to ultimate isolation and loss, pushing away the people who care for them. Similarly, seen through the other Mcallister sibling, Charlotte, is characterised as being distraught after the death of her mother. This distress ultimately fuels her illogical thoughts to become her future actions. Arnott employs the recurring motif of Charlotte's ‘burn’ of ‘flames’ that eventually become so strong and forbidding they become ‘flames that cannot be put out.’ Arnott utilises Charlotte’s ‘flames’ as a powerful metaphor for her uncontrollable rage buried inside of her, symbolising the intensity of her grief as it erupts in the form of physical fire. Additionally, Charlotte's journey to ‘the bottom of the world’ that ultimately leads to ‘flames rolling over hills’, solidifies to readership how such intensified sadness can cause individuals to run, rather than process their emotions. Charlotte’s journey to Meleacula is not only a physical escape from her anguish, it is also a manifestation of her emotional confusion. Through the Mcallister siblings, Arnott showcases how even though both individuals reacted to their internal grief in very different ways, a parrellel can be drawn between their irrational actions and the inability to make logical decisions. Thus, Arnott displays how extreme anguish can distort normal thinking, leading individuals to act in unpredictable and impulsive ways.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Jackson demonstrate the lengths…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Throughout history, fear has been one of the core tenets in the attempt to control and subordinate those with less…
Throughout history, fear has been one of the core tenets in the attempt to control and subordinate those with less sociopolitical power. Shirley Jackson explores this notion within her 1962 gothic novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle, in which she devises two sisters who live in a world full of fears, and must go to extreme lengths to regather their power by either eliminating their fears, or becoming symbols of fear themselves. Ultimately, Jackson suggests that in order to conquer one's fears, one must change their social milieu and go to large lengths.
Depicting the ambiguous and pervasive nature of fear, Jackson unearths how, despite the harmlessness of what causes the fear, it can still cause unwavering harm. Jackson illustrates this through the recurring symbols of Merricat's 'safeguards' and 'protection spells' which she uses so that 'nothing could get in to harm [them].' Particularly, the ambiguity of the word 'nothing' in this case gives rise to the notion that Merricat does not know what she's fearful of, which suggests that although her fears are unreasonable and unjustified, she must still go to large lengths to protect herself from her fears. Provided, the specificity of Merricat's safeguards, being buried 'silver dollars' and 'book nailed to [a] tree', symbols of wealth and power respectively, delineates Merricat's unconscious need to protect herself, and her sister from things that will rob them of the little power they hold over their adversaries, their villagers, such as their wealth and class. Similarly, Merricat's other burials, her 'baby teeth' and 'a doll' stem from her inability to accept being treated as a child, by Constance, Charles, and the rest of her family, such as Charles asking if she's 'got a kiss' for him when he arrives to the Blackwood home. Ultimately, Jackson intends to demonstrate that fears, whether warranted or not, can be conquered through personal safeguards, providing, at least a sense of, protection.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: what role does fear and intimidation play…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 62.5%: Yoko Ogawa's dystopian science fiction, 'The Memory Police', originally published in Japanese in 1994 and later…
Yoko Ogawa's dystopian science fiction, 'The Memory Police', originally published in Japanese in 1994 and later translated into English in 2019, explores the everlasting impacts of totalitarian regimes on society. Following the life of the unnamed narrator, it is revealed that a mysterious force erases objects from the island and its inhabitants. The author portrays how fear and intimidation of an unjust power can be detrimental to society, as it creates passivity and removes identity. However, Ogawa also implies that under authoritarian regimes, fear can be used to drive resistance.
Throughout the text, the author portrays how a life full of fear can leave a person vulnerable to passivity. The Memory Police had an omnipotent forefront to allude the islanders into complying with their ideology. Overtime, the islanders became more scared of the Memory Police, making them less likely to rebel against them. Evidently, the protagonist recalls how the inhibitions are getting 'more and more brutal' each time, implying that the islanders are becoming more oppressed. Through this, Ogawa conveys how living in fear out of being harmed can invariably make you accepting of unfair circumstances, because you are too scared to fight back. This also demonstrates how the author believes that under unjust leaders, fear is purposely used to make humans passive, which is detrimental to overcoming totalitarianism. Additionally, Ogawa also asserts how fear of what the future holds can result in acceptance. As the unnamed narrator's body begins to disappear, she reveals to R that she is worried for when her 'body disappears'. Thus, this symbolism of the disappeared objects parallels to creating a life full of fear to implement censorship. By doing this, the author represents how the islanders invariably left their life up to fate, because their lives were so sacred that they were constantly scared of what came next. Once again, this conveys Ogawa's belief that censorship can instill a sense of fear that forces individuals to become passive, because they have no hope for a better future.Moreover, the earthquake is a symbolism of the literal and figurative destruction that the Memory Police had on the islanders. By illustrating the islanders all being scared of the 'tsunami', 'engulf[ing]' the town, the author underlines how physical practices implemented by dictatorial leaders don't only physically harm individuals, but mentally harm them too, creating a sense of fear. Moreover, Ogawa emphasizes that despite the earthquake only happening once, the impact was so massive that it instilled a sense of dread of it reoccurring, that the islanders just gave in to their fate. Thus, through the thematic concern of passivity, the author reveals how living in fear under unhuman leaders will ultimately cause you to accept their actions.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “MEMORY IS A STRANGE THING BOUND BY THE…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Yoko Ogawa’s dystopian novel ‘The Memory Police’, originally published in Japanese in 1994 and further translated…
Yoko Ogawa’s dystopian novel ‘The Memory Police’, originally published in Japanese in 1994 and further translated to English in 2019, critiques the implementation of a dictatorship within a society. The text follows the pathway of an unnamed narrator situated on a stranded island, where random objects inexplicably go disappearing, with their remnants being forcefully removed by the oligarchy, the memory police. Within her writing, Ogawa encompasses the fragility of memory on an individual level showing how it can easily be manipulated. However, she also contends the underlying message in the text, devising the idea that maybe memories of the disappearances are never truly forgotten, more so just supressed. In doing so, Ogawa explores the stance memory takes in an egalitarian society
‘The Memory Police’ portrays how memory partners with the vulnerability of identity increasing the inhabitants susceptibility to loss of individuality. With the brutal threats offered from the doctorial force to those who do not comply with their impose regime, Ogawa adapts to the idea that ‘if you don't cooperate, you become their victim’. More specifically the text implies that for those who don't comply by retaining memory, they will be forced to succumb to the memory police’s regimes consequences, suggesting death. With the consequences upheld, the inhabitants gain a sense of fear of becoming a victim, resulting in them becoming submissive to the expression of their individuality, ‘afraid of creating a disturbance’. However, in doing so, identity becomes blank, and the collective suppression of uniqueness constructs a homogenised society. More over this correlates to the symbolism behind the unnamed narrators mother’s past sculptures. When analysing the group of sculptures in hope to reignite memory associated with each sculpture, the narrator notes that while it ‘seemed as though they could be combined to form a single object’, all three were distinct ‘and bore no resemblance to each other’. More significantly this parallels to the inhabitants collective identity following the suppression of memory, as although they all look different, it remains as though they share a single identity. Ogawa specifically reveals the vulnerability of memory in this way, to reveal how a homogenised society is easier to control, and therefore why it was utilised by the powerful force
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Family Ties Frayed: Estrangement,…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 95%: In many semi‑autobiographical narratives with elements of bildungsroman, trauma‑informed memories are shaped by…
In many semi‑autobiographical narratives with elements of bildungsroman, trauma‑informed memories are shaped by both emotional pain and the necessity of self‑preservation. Vicki Laveau‑Harvie’s non‑linear memoir The Erratics, set against the stark Albertan landscape, questions the assumption that kinship automatically guarantees affection and protection. The omission of quotation marks and recurring motifs of rupture and retreat reveal how familial ties can become psychologically corrosive when burdened by duplicity, cruelty, and generational silence. These painful recollections become an ethical, life‑preserving response to toxic inheritance, enabling the narrator to confront, rather than repeat, intergenerational trauma. By doing so, Laveau‑Harvie invites readers to reconsider familiar notions of family loyalty and love. Her act of catharsis balances psychological realism with moments of dark humour while ultimately challenging the belief that family loyalty should supersede individual wellbeing.
Laveau-Harvie presents emotional and physical distance as essential survival strategies for navigating the toxic, suffocating bonds of family. Through the narrator’s dark humour, she converts pain into irony, exposing the absurdity of cruelty while shielding herself from its full psychological impact. Her description of the family as “a kind of flesh and blood pyramid scheme” and her mother as “MMA. Mad as a meat-axe” cloaks grief in satire, revealing how humour functions as a protective linguistic shield. This tonal detachment does not trivialise suffering; rather, it transforms trauma into language that can be controlled. The act of naming what is grotesque allows Vicki to confront pain without being consumed by it, illustrating that irony is not denial but endurance. The memoir’s recurring image of the Albertan landscape “not a welcoming place” further externalises this inner estrangement. The frozen barrenness and vast emptiness mirror the emotional coldness of her family, implying that withdrawal is a necessary condition for self-preservation. Laveau-Harvie’s episodic, non-linear structure mirrors trauma’s fragmentation, privileging emotional intensity over chronological order. Each vignette functions as an isolated moment of reckoning, emphasising that memory and healing resist linear progression. The omission of quotation marks “we didn’t use quotation marks in this family” dissolves the boundaries between voice, memory, and reality, reflecting trauma’s destabilising effects on identity and speech. Finally, the contrast between Vicki’s pragmatic detachment and her sister’s sentimental fixation underscores divergent survival mechanisms: while her sister replays scenes of parental betrayal until she becomes “sick,” Vicki’s decision to “liquidate the losses on the chin” reveals resilience through distance. Ultimately, Laveau-Harvie constructs distance not as abandonment but as self-preservation an act of quiet defiance that transforms survival itself into a moral victory.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent does Sophocles present…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: In his Greek tragedy, Oedipus The King, Sophocles demonstrates the relationship between ignorance and knowledge…
In his Greek tragedy, Oedipus The King, Sophocles demonstrates the relationship between ignorance and knowledge and their effects on our fates. The author contends how although fate is inescapable, only when you realise the truth can you fully be affected by it. Throughout his play, Sophocles asserts how our destinies are predetermined by the divine order and therefore inescapable, underscoring the gods as a truly powerful force. However, the author conveys how knowledge can lead to your own demise in Oedipus The King once your realise your fate has been fulfilled. Ultimately, to prevent the consequences of becoming knowledgeable of your own fate, the author exemplifies how it is best just to submit to the gods and accept suffering as a part of life. Throughout Oedipus The King, Sophocles illustrates how humans in their pursuit of knowledge, cannot escape the suffering ordained by the gods and that true wisdom lies in accepting the futility of human agency or control.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Memories mean more than just past events…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 62.5%: In Yoko Ogawa's dystopian novel 'The Memory Police', published in 1994, investigates the reality of living on an…
In Yoko Ogawa's dystopian novel 'The Memory Police', published in 1994, investigates the reality of living on an isolated island controlled by a dictatorship where ordinary items seemingly disappear. Ogawa illustrates through the slow deterioration of characters as items and memories disappear further. Ultimately, she explores that memories not only resemble the past, but if forgotten, impact relationships, and the way characters feel about themselves.
Ogawa centres her novel around the significant significance memory has on an individual, and how it acts as a foundation for identity, suggesting that forgetting is equivalent to losing one's humanity. The inhabitants of the island experience the abnormal loss of everyday objects such as birds, roses, and photographs, however the true loss is not in the disappeared items, but in the gradual erosion of the emotional memories they carry. As the narrator observes these disappearances, her internal self begins to replicate the outside world 'as things got thinner, more full of holes, our hearts got thinner too' demonstrating that not only does the outside world diminish, so too does the inhabitants hearts and souls. The stillness that remains after the disappearance is described as 'eyes as still as a lonely swamp' mirroring the emotional numbness that remains as a result of the ongoing passivity. Through the silent acceptance of the losses, Ogawa explores the dangers of compliance in a society that suppresses memory, implying that memory is not only to recall the past, but to distinguish one another through their experiences, asserting their humanity. In this way, memory operates as an essential connection between emotion and ones existence, protecting themselves from complete erasure.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How is the Blackwood estate both a refuge…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: In Shirley Jackson’s unsettling novel ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’, her primary concern is the nature of…
In Shirley Jackson’s unsettling novel ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’, her primary concern is the nature of the Blackwood estate, concluding that it goes through many changes, acting as a refuge until the intrusion of external forces destroy the safe space created. The estate begins as an isolated place acting as a protective barrier against a daunting society, but the arrival of Charles exposes the flaws of security and protection. The climatic fire, forcing the sisters into complete isolation, helps to reestablish the estate as an extreme version of a refuge, which when viewed from the outside seems to have multiple traits of a prison.