VCE · Text Response
Text Response: All of the characters in Oedipus the King…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Set in the ancient Greek city of Thebes and performed at the Festival of Dionysus, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King…
Set in the ancient Greek city of Thebes and performed at the Festival of Dionysus, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King presents a world in which divine power governs human destiny, rendering individuals powerless to escape their fated ends. By illustrating how both action and inaction lead to inevitable tragedy, Sophocles challenges the belief in human autonomy and reinforces the idea that the gods alone determine the course of mortal life, making humanity victims of the gods. Throughout the play, Sophocles explores how despite efforts to resist or alter their paths, many are ultimately unable to avoid fulfilling the very prophecies they seek to escape, highlighting the futility of human agency in the face of divine will. Some individuals not only suffer under this divine control but also become reluctant instruments of it, further emphasizing the gods’ absolute authority. Ultimately, it is not only central characters who are subjected to the gods but the entirety of Theban society.
Throughout the play, the actions of several characters reflect how their destinies are ultimately dictated by divine will, regardless of their efforts to resist or alter the course of their fates. Once learning of his supposed destiny, Oedipus expresses great burden and worry in the second episode to avoid his predetermined end, “abandon[ing] Corinth” to a place where he would never experience “the shame of all those oracles come true.” Despite his efforts to avoid his future, every decision he makes unknowingly leads him to fulfilling the prophecy, resulting in his anagnorisis and acceptance of being “born for torment.” Sophocles utilises Oedipus's futile endeavours and tragic realisation to convey the unstoppable nature of the gods' will and urge his Athenian audience to acknowledge the limitations of human power and agency. By doing so, Sophocles further encourages greater piety from the audience, reminding them of the merciless consequences mortals may experience in the face of divine justice whilst highlighting the supremacy of divine knowledge over human attempts to reason. Additionally, Jocasta, Oedipus's wife and mother, also falls victim to the gods' will, despite her attempts to deny the influence of divine power. Her initial dismissal of the gods’ authority and request of Oedipus to “free [himself] of every charge” proves to be futile, resulting in her agony in discovering the truth of “[her] husband” and her tragic death. Sophocles incorporates her suicide to portray the submersion by the divine will she had once denied, inviting his Athenian audience to confront the limits of human control and recognize the profound power that the gods wield over human lives. Utilising her self inflicted death, Sophocles critiques scepticism of the gods and overconfidence in human freedom, emphasising the inescapability of prophecy and the absolute authority the gods possess.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Dicuss how shakespeare uses the theme of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 62.5%: Initially, Shakespeare orchestrates disguise both as a shield and trap, revealing how concealment offers…
Initially, Shakespeare orchestrates disguise both as a shield and trap, revealing how concealment offers protection but causes individuals to drift away from authenticity. During an interaction between Viola and Olvia in Olivia’s court, Viola reveals “I am not that I play,” highlighting Shakespeare’s view that individuals are often not what they appear to be. Through paradox and antithesis, Shakespeare exposes the tension between authenticity and performance, revealing [link back to main idea] how disguise shields individuals yet distances them from their true sense of self. By orchestrating this contradiction, Shakespeare critiques a society that forces individuals to conceal vulnerability, valuing social conformity over honesty where he upholds the value of authenticity, suggesting that truth can only emerge when illusion is stripped away. In the same vein, Viola declares to herself in an aside outside Olivia’s house, “Disguise, I see, thou art a wickedness,” emphasising Shakespeare’s perspective of concealment as a mechanism for moral corruption. Through the apostrophe and
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard both challenges and…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Billy Wilder's 1950 gothic noir film "Sunset Boulevard" encapsulates the consequences of strict gender expectations…
Billy Wilder's 1950 gothic noir film "Sunset Boulevard" encapsulates the consequences of strict gender expectations within Hollywood. Through the femme-fatale, Norma Desmond, Wilder critiques the industry's obsession with youth and desireability, displaying its consequences on ones mental stability. While the anti-hero, Joe Gillis, underscores the moral detachment that reinforces the patriarchal society of Hollywood. Wilder exposes Hollywood's expectations of women, and it's severe detrimental effects that it can have, Wilder, moreover, confronts the distinction of stereotypes between males and females, exemplifying how males are not kept to the same standards. Ultimately, through Sunset Boulevard, Wilder critically examines how traditional gender expectations affect interactions within Hollywood, exploring how stereotypes are both condoned as well as condemned.
Wilder investigates how Hollywood reinforces the traditional gender expectations for women by exploring the of success and the challenges that limit this from being achieved. While Norma aims to relinquish her fame, the unrealistic standards set by Hollywood on beauty and age prevent her from doing so. Her obsession with youthfulness stems from the stereotype that being young and beautiful is the only thing desired by people within Hollywood. Wilder presents this through Norma's unwavering determination to reframe herself back into the spotlight through her own film "Salome". By receiving a multitude of extravagant treatments, filmed in the form of a montage, coupled with a non-diagetic score of classical tango music to emphasise Norma's mental decline. Wilder critiques the dehumanisation of women promoting how Hollywood aims to manufacture actresses to fit a feminised standard. Furthermore, Norma's visit to paramount is met with uncertainty by those, being labelled sarcastically as "a million years old" by one of Cecil. B. DeMille's assistants. The bustling youthfullness that fills the film set highlights the ageism of Hollywood, while Wilder explores the easiness associated with discarding women once their youth fades. Wilder does not limit these beauty standards to just Norma either, essentially the only other female charachter, Betty Schaeffer, is also subject to the severe beauty standards even at her youthful age. Having expressed that they "didn't like [her] nose" exposes the dark-side of Hollywood and its ability to judge based on physical apperance rather than acting talent. Betty's casual delivery of the line posits the naturalness of sexism within the industry. Through both Norma and Betty, Wilder analysises how female worth is shaped and limited by an industry that values beauty over ability.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "It dominates the landscape...roped off…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: In Vicki Laveau-Harvie's memoir 'The Erratics', Harvie uses the landscape as a symbolic mirror of her experiences…
In Vicki Laveau-Harvie's memoir 'The Erratics', Harvie uses the landscape as a symbolic mirror of her experiences in dealing with the repercussions of her family, specifically her mother’s abuse. Through the navigation of revisiting her family, Harvie uses the physical setting to explore her mother’s manipulative nature, her own consequential survival and her eventual journey toward reconciliation.
Throughout Harvie's memoir, the landscape is used to represent the Mum's nature and actions towards her family. The prologue of the memoir describes the rock formation, known as the 'Okotoks Erratic', as being "unsafe", a "danger", "dominat[ing] the landscape...roped off and isolated". Ultimately foreshadowing the actions of the mother with her tendency to lie such as when she claimed that her only children had already passed away, neglecting Vicki's existence. Additionally, the description of the Erratics being "dominat[ing]" highlights the Mum's everlasting presence and subsequent linger in Vicki's life that seems nearly inescapable. Moreover, the description of the "banks of fog" symbolise the unpredictable character of Mum and her shielding of the truth and clarity specifically by hiding Dad's current physical state. Emphasising not only the disconnect within their family but also represents a barrier between the past and present and her journey into confronting her 'concealed past'. Similar to this the description of the "black ice" which is typically clear on the road making it hard to see and slippery reflects the mothers deceitful and 'erratic nature' which is directly demonstrated when Mum says to Vicki "I’ll get you and you won't even know I’m doing it". Finally, the parents’ home in Canada is described as 'Hotel California', an allusion to the song 'Hotel California' where a particular lyric reads 'you can check out at any time you like but you can never leave'. Harvie highlights that even though herself and her sister are able to "flee" their parents and 'check out' they are unable to leave behind the scars of their traumatic childhood. Like 'Hotel California' they are haunted by their mother.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Rainbow’s End presents family as both a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Family, at times, can be the strongest source of strength for an individual with the love it provides, but in turn,…
Family, at times, can be the strongest source of strength for an individual with the love it provides, but in turn, it can also cause frustration to surface and conflict to occur despite love being expressed in immense amounts. This is reflected in Jane Harrison’s “Rainbow’s End”, a historical play which follows the lives of three generations of Koori women as they address their disappointments, navigate love and conflict in 1950s white Australia, a period characterised by hegemony and oppression. Harrison suggests that although family provides refuge and love, prominent in times of hardships, it also becomes a catalyst for conflict sourced from inner frustration.
As Dolly navigates her world around her, Nan Dear illustrates her overprotection for her granddaughter by staying far away from wider society, whilst Gladys expresses her desire to the opposite, manifesting conflict. Dolly is invited to the “Miss Mooropne Shepparton” dance, an event attended by both Indigenous and white individuals; however, Nan Daer expresses her worry about Dolly involving herself with white individuals from her own trauma: “You were taken advantage of?” of being sexually assaulted by a white man. Gladys is met with conflict with Nan Dear as she argues. “She needs to know the world is bigger than this”, acknowledging her desire for Dolly to further integrate herself outside their community and progress. This resulted in fighting for her autonomy over making decisions in the family, especially for her own daughter, “I’ll be the one making decisions for Dolores, thank you”, as she illustrates an inner frustration that has been dismissed from Nan Dear’s own views. “She doesn’t need to know anymore of this world she is in”, of what Dolly should do. Harrison ultimately wants audiences to understand, even if family can present you with their best intentions, it can lead to frustration and result in conflict if your own views aren’t addressed and acknowledged.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Oedipus the King, Leadership leads to…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Monarchs, leaders and individuals in power to lead populations have been at the Centre of controversy due to the…
Monarchs, leaders and individuals in power to lead populations have been at the Centre of controversy due to the unchecked influences they hold on masses. Dark yet didactic, Sophocles' Play Oedipus the king explores the troubles and advantages they intentionally or unintentionally bring. While he expresses that hubristical leaders only bring burdens, Sophocles also illustrates that Pious leaders can be a Privilege to the Country, People, and themselves.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Topic: Go, Went, Gone suggests that it is…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: Empathy is one’s ability to truly understand the situation of others, extending to feel their pain and suffering;…
Empathy is one’s ability to truly understand the situation of others, extending to feel their pain and suffering; empathy leads to deeper comprehension than merely pitying another. Jenny Erpenbeck’s 2015 novel ‘Go, Went, Gone’ explores the contemporary European refugee crisis, critiquing society for their ultimate lack of empathy. Erpenbeck’s novel explores how the refugees’ vignettes were captured to create feelings of empathy amongst readers, but are not reciprocated to privileged German individuals who view these as pity stories instead. She confirms that pity does not embody empathy. The novelist emphasises that once empathy is achieved, it will take more than one mans beginnings to eradicate the global refugee crisis. Thus, she explores whether readers can move beyond pity. If so, she suggests audiences will begin to gain a true understanding of one another, aiming to inspire many privileged individuals to enact empathy.
Erpenbeck demonstrates that while storytelling is a potential pathway to empathy, it often stalls at superficial pity when the listener, like Richard, fails to comprehend the story's human depth. The narrative shifts to Awad’s perspective in chapter 15 where he has a “pounding headache” and cannot erase the violent imagery of “shards”, “shattered”, “bullets and beatings” out of his conscience. By employing free indirect discourse to plunge the readers directly into Awad’s suffering before the protagonist Richard does, Erpenbeck forges an immediate empathetic bond that Richard, as an external observer, is incapable of forming. This structural choice positions the reader to recognise Richard's subsequent pity as a profound failure of understanding. Moreover, the narrative shifts once again to Apollo in chapter 27 who questions “if his parents… sold him?”. This poignant question positions readers to understand the emotional weight of his trauma, beginning to empathise. However, Erpenbeck reinforces that Richard once again cannot understand the concept of empathising with one another like the readers are gaining insight into. This is illuminated through his failure of efforts to remember the basic human dignity of their own names as they were “too difficult” to remember. Richard renames Awad to “Tristan” after the French words “Triste” meaning sad, ultimately limiting his humanity to one emotion. Richard also renames “Apollo” and Rashid to “thunderbolt hurler” after Greek mythology. Richard reduces the men to literary archetypes and symbols of his own understanding, erasing their complex identities. This act of intellectual colonisation is a manifestation of pity, which seeks to categorise and control, rather than empathy, which seeks to understand. Thus, through shifting the narrative perspective, Erpenbeck depicts that it takes listening to achieve empathy. It takes understanding and a level of maturity to move beyond pity. She ultimately encourages her readers to do so to gain a true understanding of one another and help resolve some of the human rights violations of the refugee crisis.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Oedipus the King, Leadership leads to…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: People. Whilst Oedipus the king has written over 25 Centuries ago, both ancient audiences and Modern audiences…
People.
Whilst Oedipus the king has written over 25 Centuries ago, both ancient audiences and Modern audiences are left with a timeless reminder that when they elect or appoint in power roles of leadership is both a privilege serious and may either become burdensome or a privilege. In the Exodus the Sophocles states through the chorus that as they "wait" and "watch" that they should be careful as they cannot "Count no man" happy if the hubristic leader is dead.
Sophocles' play Oedipus the king states that leadership is a privilege if held with the right individuals.
As the Play progresses, during the agon between Creon, Jocastas brother and Oedipus, former king of Thebes, A Stark Contrast can be identified between the Pair. Oedipus is described as "brutal" in his rage and "Sullen" in Yielding his Power to Creon, his brother in law and uncle. Whilst Oedipus accuses Creon it is observed that Creon is living by the Principle of Sophrosyne as though he does not lash out in anger. Whilst both have been Put in Similar Circumstances, as both accused eachother for being the "Corrupt". One leader is impetuous whilst the Other is Calm and Stoical.
In this agon, Sophocles' deliberately juxtaposes both leaders and uses Creon as a foil against Oedipus, as Creon Stayed Calm and collected in his Rational and logos, he has bestowed the title, king of Thebes, Privilaged and blessed however Oedipus was left exiled, blind, and in Agony due to the "rage" he had. Futhermore in the episode 3 of the Play due to Creon not being impetuous the truth of "Polluter" was Revealed to be Oedipus thus the Country was informed and given the Privilage to know who caused the Corruption of the land and killed Laius, the former king of Thebes. Athenian audiences are given Multiple examples of a leader who exemplified how leadership is a Privilage, but due to the righteous morals that he held, this invites the audience to consider what attributes and Qualities a leader Should have to lead his People
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Jane Eyre, Bronte reveals that the need…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, an intense and deeply personal study of moral conviction, emotional resilience, and…
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, an intense and deeply personal study of moral conviction, emotional resilience, and the pursuit of independence, explores the conflicts between passion and principle, selfhood and social expectation. Throughout her novel, Bronte depicts the desire to belong as being a powerful desire but not outrightly the most powerful. Bronte illustrates the need for women to feel included and that they belong in society, despite the expectations of them in the Victorian period. In spite of the strong human need to belong, Bronte portrays that the aspiration for freedom is just as powerful. Bronte illustrates the conflicting nature of freedom and belonging, expressing the difficulty in finding both within a relationship. It is in this way that Bronte highlights the desire of belonging but also the power of other needs.
Through her observations of Victorian society, Bronte outlines the aspirations of women to feel embraced by and belonging to a society that has entrenched limitations upon them. During her arrival at Thornfield, Jane is greeted by a maid who treats her “like a visitor”, providing her with a warm reception which was “little expected” by Jane. Bronte highlights how Jane has never been treated like anything more than a servant, with her “anticipating only coldness” upon arriving at Thornfield. Through Jane encountering far different conditions than expected, Bronte illustrates Thornfield as being a place in which Jane belongs and has a sense of worth. This is furthered by Mrs Fairfax instructing Jane to “draw nearer to the fire”, with fire having connotations of warmth and comfort; thus, Bronte is symbolising the sense of belonging that Jane is encouraged to feel at Thornfield. Upon being left in her room, Jane describes her feeling of being “at last in safe haven”, continuing the connotations of warmth but also being protected. Similar desires for belonging are shown when Jane meets St John and his sisters. Once she has settled into Moor House, Jane reveals her feelings towards the Rivers family, stating how she has “found a brother” and “two sisters”. Through Jane developing a familial bond, Bronte establishes her newfound sense of belonging at the Moor House, with Jane further emphasising the “wealth to the heart” that she is experiencing as a result of this belonging. Bronte illustrates the state in which Jane “had nobody” before arriving at the Moor house to “now three relations”, further indicating the security she has found. Bronte ultimately emphasises Janes rediscovery of belonging when she stays with Rivers and how this allows her a new sense of joy.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "The truth lives inside him, him alone."…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: The ongoing pursuit of knowledge is what enhances the destructive or redemptive qualities of its findings. It is…
The ongoing pursuit of knowledge is what enhances the destructive or redemptive qualities of its findings. It is this which plagues Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Oedipus The King. Through his complex exploration of truth-seeking, Sophocles contends that the information acquired through this experience can be both physically and spiritually harmful and negative, dependant on context. Firstly, Sophocles explores the suffering that knowledge brings spiritually. Then, he explores the unpleasant physical impacts brought upon by information. However, by the end, Sophocles illuminates the empowering effects of truth.
Initially, Sophocles alludes to the mentally taxing consequences of truth through horror, pity, and guilt. This is exemplified in the Shepherd’s cry to “wish to god [he’d] died that day,” and the Messenger’s plea, “No—god’s sake, master, no more questions!” which reveal the profound guilt and terror that accompany the recognition of what they had done - freeing Oedipus, fulfilling the prophecy, and enabling the “red waves of death” on Thebes. Sophocles’ use of the em dash in this scenario exaggerates these emotions through an abrupt pause that connects denial (“No”), to regret (“god’s sake… no more questions!”). With this, Sophocles draws upon the remorseful and destructive impacts that truth can have, particularly focusing on the Messenger and Shepherd. Additionally, by placing both moments of anagnorisis within stichomythic dialogue, Sophocles enhances the tension, contributing to catharsis. Through this, Sophocles evokes a greater sense if pity from the audience when the plot reaches its conclusions, further connecting them to the idea that knowledge can bring regretful outcomes. Additionally, Sophocles focus’ on the moral crisis that comes with knowledge via Oedipus’ recognition of the physical “torture” he inflicted. This is seen in the development of the king’s initial hubristic nature, offering to “grant… prayers” compared to his later devastation that he is “Cursed in [his] birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives [he] cut down with these hands!” With this, Sophocles highlights the mental degradation of Oedipus by his differing perceptions on what he has brought to the people of Thebes, thus connecting to the mental pain knowledge brings. Sophocles further accentuates this idea by mirroring Oedipus’ structure of previous acclamations like “[he] is Oedipus” to contrasting claims that “[he] is misery.” In this, Sophocles powerfully draws upon the earlier times of the play through the similar phrasing of each statement, and allows for an easy comparison between the opposing attitudes. Moreover, Sophocles extends Oedipus’ spiritual suffering from self-centred to family related by recalling his children’s “doom [as] clear: [to] wither away to nothing, single, without a child.” Through this, Sophocles adds to his idea of spiritual suffering by building upon his notion through ones spiritual suffering making aware and impacting others futures. Conclusively, Sophocles sheds light on how truth leads to spiritual suffering, not just for the individuals whom pursuit knowledge, but those related to it too.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'Sunset Boulevard' portrays Hollywood as a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: 'Sunset Boulevard' portrays Hollywood as a place where manipulation and illusion are both universal and…
'Sunset Boulevard' portrays Hollywood as a place where manipulation and illusion are both universal and destructive. Do you agree?
Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950) presents a dark view of Hollywood, showing it as a place where manipulation and illusion are everywhere. The film explores how people live in fantasies, use others for personal gain, and change themselves to fit Hollywood’s expectations. However, these illusions and manipulations ultimately lead to downfall and destruction. Through the tragic character of Norma Desmond, the struggles of Joe Gillis, and the industry’s obsession with fame, the film highlights the dangers of believing in Hollywood’s false promises.
Sunset Boulevard highlights how Hollywood creates illusions that trap people in the past, preventing them from accepting reality. Norma Desmond’s character in Sunset Boulevard demonstrates the destructive nature of illusion, as she refuses to accept that her fame has faded. Once a famous silent film actress, Norma still believes she is a star, insisting, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.” This shows how she is trapped in the past, unable to accept that Hollywood has moved on. Her mansion, described by Joe as “the kind that crazy movie people built in the crazy twenties,” symbolizes her fading dreams and isolation not being able to move on. She clings to the illusion that she will make a grand return to the screen, saying, “I’ve been waiting 20 years for this call,” when, in reality, the industry has forgotten her. Max, her butler, fuels this illusion by writing fake fan letters, stating, “She never will, that is my job, and it has been for a long time.” His devotion to Norma keeps her from facing reality, as he believes, “I made her a star. I cannot let her be destroyed.” This manipulation allows Norma to continue believing in her fantasy, preventing her from adjusting to the real world. By the end of the film, completely lost in her fantasy, Norma declares, “I’m ready for my close-up,” believing she is still a star as she descends into madness. The tragic nature of Norma’s character reveals how dangerous it can be to live in an illusion, as it isolates her from reality and ultimately leads to her downfall.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'But I am the master of my own fate. I…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: The human desire to dictate our lives leads to a false sense of control and the deception of others. This…
The human desire to dictate our lives leads to a false sense of control and the deception of others. This conflict is at the center of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Oedipus The King. Through his complex exploration of control, Sophocles implements a wide range of techniques to explore how illuding power may be. Firstly, Sophocles examines the illusion of control through the fulfillment of fate and prophecy. Further, he alludes to this theme by punishing those whom believe they are in control, thereby revealing their lack of power and exposing the illusion of control. Finally, circular narration is used to display the inextricable link between illusion and control.
Through the fulfillment of prophecy, Sophocles highlights how the gods are always in true control, fating unavoidable outcomes. To exemplify this, Sophocles opens with the “red waves of death” cursed upon the “vessel” of Thebes. The use of nautical imagery in this moment forebodes the tragic tone of the play and is significant because in Ancient Greek culture, seafaring represents helplessness, and echoes the natural violence of the sea. Thus, this mirrors Apollo’s wrath, a divine storm no human can command, and relates to Sophocles message that human’s aren’t the ones in control, rather the divine. Building upon this point, Sophocles pairs the setting with Apollo’s command to “drive the corruption from the land… root it out,” as the only means of freeing Thebes. Through this, Sophocles forefronts the imperative and inescapable nature of the truth, something which cannot be controlled or altered because fate is preplanned. The irony in this moment parallels Oedipus’ preconception that he is “the master of my [his] own fate,” which Sophocles juxtaposes through the irony of the king being the murderer he hunts. Furthermore, the ongoing symbolism of the “Triple roads — [where] it all comes back, the secret, dark ravine…” embodies the illusion of free will and reinforce prophecy’s inevitability. Sophocles achieves this with the “dark ravine” linking geography with moral and spiritual darkness, foreshadowing Oedipus’ downfall. Moreover, the phrase of “it all comes back, the secret” reveals Oedipus’ hamartia, relentless truth seeking, which, though motivated by reason and justice, propels him toward the very fate he seeks to avoid, and rival’s his belief that he is in control. This fosters intense dramatic irony, as the audience already knows this is the scene of Laius’ murder, the point where the illusion of choice collapses, and destiny silently triumphs. The use of the em dash in this statement also visually and rhythmically links Oedipus’ past and present with a sudden pause that intensifies suspense, drawing the audience towards Sophocles’ message that even the paths Oedipus believes he chooses are inscribed by divine design. Conclusively, Sophocles illustrates the illusion of control through the predetermined fate of individuals.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “You can’t share a country” — High Ground…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: Stephen Johnson’s film High Ground powerfully explores the consequences of colonialism in Australia through its…
Stephen Johnson’s film High Ground powerfully explores the consequences of colonialism in Australia through its portrayal of dispossession, violence, and the loss of identity experienced by First Nations Australians. The film challenges the idea that “you can share a country,” revealing how the actions of white settlers during colonisation created deep divisions and lasting trauma. Through its visual storytelling, dialogue, and symbolism, High Ground exposes the devastating legacy of colonialism and the ongoing struggle for justice and understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
One of the most significant consequences of colonialism depicted in the film is the dispossession of land. As Eddie tells Claire, “you can’t share a country,” encapsulating the settlers’ belief that coexistence with First Nations Australians was impossible. This belief justified the violent taking of land that had belonged to Indigenous people for generations, stripping them of their homes, autonomy, and cultural connection to Country. Claire, who attempts to help the local community, symbolises the few who tried to bridge this divide, yet even her efforts are undermined by the entrenched colonial system that privileges white settlers. The film thus portrays the land not just as a setting, but as a spiritual and cultural foundation violently severed by colonisation.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Count no man happy till he dies, free of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: Sophocles’ quintessential Greek classic ‘Oedipus Rex’ written around 429-425 BCE, is an Athenian tragedy that…
Sophocles’ quintessential Greek classic ‘Oedipus Rex’ written around 429-425 BCE, is an Athenian tragedy that explores the complex interrelationship between fate vs free will and the exacerbating human fallibilities that have magnified the ineluctable afflictions of the human experience. Sophocles contends to his ancient Greek audience that ‘all men must suffer their fate’, affirming the fragility of sentient existence and extoling the play’s central message that regardless of revered social standing, steadfast joy can only exist within the serene domain of death. Oedipus’ calamitous undoing renders him the physical personification of ‘misery’ and a manifestation of the unanticipated devastation that can turmoil a once glorious experience. By portraying Oedipus as both a flawed hero and a victim of circumstantial fate, Sophocles engenders sympathy from ancient audiences and manipulates the Aristotelian effect of catharsis to expel the audience of fear upon Sophocles’ depiction of human infirmity.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘In Flames, death is not the enemy.’ Discuss.
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: In his surreal novel, Flames, Robbie Arnott evinces his belief that human complexities are the greatest foe. Arnott…
In his surreal novel, Flames, Robbie Arnott evinces his belief that human complexities are the greatest foe. Arnott examines this through his depiction of isolation and human interference with nature, while further exemplifying death's natural cycle as a crucial part of one's journey. Utilising magic realism, Arnott produces characterisation that works to delineate how isolation as a manifestation of grief can be destructive to both oneself internally and externally. He further explores how human interference with nature is compelled by greed, which induces an out of balance relationship between humans and nature which Arnott orchestrates as a form of punishment. In contrast, Arnott symbolises how death is not a negative factor, but more an integral part of one's journey in terms of emotional growth and rebirth.
Arnott suggests that isolation from others as a form of grief is more self destructive than death. He constructs how Levi’s mourning of his mothers second death blinds him of his madness as a result of alienation, failing to realise ‘[he] is not well’. The use of third person limited assists the dramatic irony that the outside world is aware of Levi’s instability, however ‘[he] is not realising’. Through reading into an outside view of Levis insanity, Arnott is able to communicate to the reader the extent to which isolation influences one to be out of touch, thus representing his criticism of disconnection and lack of communication which is represented as more dire than death. The juxtaposition of Levi's internal monologue and third person limited point of view allows Arnott to construct how far removed isolation can cause one to be from logic and rationality, hence expressing his view that such disconnection poisons one's mind and causes more suffering than death. He further manifests this destruction physically, Levis' shock appearance to Charlotte scaring her as ‘he does not look healthy’, that once when ‘he [was] slender… now he is emaciated’. The physical characterisation of Levi suggests he has been ‘scraped hollow’ of any sanity due to grief. In many ways, Arnott posits that this is a fate worse than death. In similarity, Charlotte's grieving isolation after losing her mother is characterised by her physical isolation in the Tasmanian wilderness. Nicolas' third person limited view of Charlotte upon her arrival in Melaleuca expresses the dramatic irony of Charlotte unconsciously rejecting any outside world relationships, recalling how ‘she was trying to blend into the fields and snow’. Through Nicolas point of view, the reader gains perspective of the possible ‘friendship’ Charlotte's alienation is blocking her of, though such relationships could help her grieving yet at this point she decides to burn in her loneliness. Arnott insists that encouraging one's own seclusion blinds them from helpful outlets that have the ability to foster comfort and confinement, thus a loneliness more desolat than death. Furthermore, the deserted, gothic setting of melaleuca emphasises the extent to which Charlotte removes herself from the outside world. The drastic extent of Melaleuca’s distance from civilisation, where ‘no corresponding road runs in or out of it’ sees Arnott focus on the imagery of how far Charlotte will let her grief consume her to the point she completely rejects any outside help, thus her neglection of Nicolas ‘friendship’ a product of the ‘clouded’ grieving that consumes her. The third person narration of Charlotte's chapter ‘Sky’ further enhances her instability and separation from self and others as she ‘is running’ as far as she can from Levi. This is also reflected through the chapter title ‘Sky’, as Charlotte is determined to get as far away from Levi, and subconsciously proper human connection, as she possibly can. Hence, Arnotts exploration of grieving centralises the self destructive nature of allowing isolation to consume oneself is therefore a darker outcome than mortality.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: The women in Jane Eyre are both physically…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Published in 1847, Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, is a seminal work of Victorian literature that…
Published in 1847, Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, is a seminal work of Victorian literature that challenged the zeitgeist of 19th century norms surrounding class, gender and duty. Brontë underpins the suppression of female agency as a core element to her novel, but she also illuminates how this suppression can be harnessed, and thus allow for females to have their own dominion. Brontë explores the rigid structure of the Victorian epoch that sought to stifle female expression. Brontë highlights the weaponization of religion among powerful scriptures as a tool to control female autonomy. However, Brontë simultaneously divulges that females can transcend forms of oppression through loving relationships. Ultimately, Brontë highlights how the weight of the Victorian era hindered female exploration, but she also calls upon the power of egalitarian relationships to surpass permeated stereotypes of women's role within Victorian London.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: A colonial mindset drives the conflict in…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: A colonial mindset drives the conflict in "Highground". To what extent do you agree? Set in the aftermath of WW1,…
A colonial mindset drives the conflict in "Highground". To what extent do you agree?
Set in the aftermath of WW1, during a period of intense colonial expansion and conflict in Australia's Northern Territory, Stephen Maxwell Johnson's 2020 film "Highground", draws heavily on the violent post-colonial consequences of power imbalance, in which he contends, how a colonial mindset is the catalyst towards the force of conflict. In doing so, Johnson exposes how the abuse of authority fractures relationships. Additionally, he explores how vengeance perpetuates violence. Ultimately, Johnson states how reconciliation through Makarrata offers the possibility of Moral restoration. As such, he interrogates the human cost of Australia's Colonial legacy and the difficulty of healing from its historical trauma.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Rainbow's End is a bitter condemnation of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Jane Harrison's contemporary Australian realist play explores the effect colonisation has had on aboriginal people…
Jane Harrison's contemporary Australian realist play explores the effect colonisation has had on aboriginal people specifically in Australia during the 1950s. Harrison looks to portray the effects through the Dear family, including the racism they encountered to reflect upon the experiences of aboriginal people during this period, the sense of love and belonging that they had which was an accurate representation of what allows aboriginal communities to be close and connected, and their resilience, which is what allowed the Yorta-Yorta people, which this play is based on to make it out of these treacherous times. By depicting these central themes of the play, Harrison illustrates the ability of the aboriginal people to persevere despite many of the challenges they faced during this era of Australian history.
Harrison uses racism as a key theme in the play to explore the ramifications that colonisation had on aboriginal Australians in the 1950s. Harrison accomplishes this in Act 2 when the inspector tells Gladys that "The Aborigine needs to be absorbed into the community. But how can he be absorbed until he learns to live like us?" Harrison critiques the use of assimilationist policies which were prevalent in the 1950s such as the stolen generation through the use of the characters like the inspector, which symbolises these policies as they were used to undermine the aboriginal people and force them into the white way of life. Harrison also demonstrates racism, albeit to a lesser extent, through Errol(Dolly, I've got something to say. I want you to come away with me.) showing that even characters who mean well, still only view aboriginals like Dolly as only living 'in a humpy by the river' when Errol can promise her 'the world'. Harrison, through the use of Errol, demonstrates the effect that assimilationist policies can have, like in Errol's case, automatically assuming that his white way of life was superior to Dolly because he had all the material possessions that Dolly lacked. Ultimately, through the use of assimilationist policies, and their symbols like the inspector and characters who inadvertently come across as racist like Errol, Harrison shows that colonisation can cause racist behaviour and thinking to emerge.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In what ways does Jane Eyre examine the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Underscoring the rigid hierarchies of the Victorian Era, lies the prevailing belief that women’s passion must be…
Underscoring the rigid hierarchies of the Victorian Era, lies the prevailing belief that women’s passion must be subdued in the name of principle. Set against the rigid moral codes and entrenched patriarchal values of 19th Century Victorian England, Charlotte Bronte’s retrospective novel Jane Eyre challenges this androcentric ideology, instead suggesting that true harmonious union emerges when passion and principle are balanced and intertwined. Bronte examines how Victorian social and religious institutions attempt to suppress individual passion framed as principle. However, Bronte warns against the destructiveness of passion when severed from conscience. Ultimately, the novel affirms that true integrity and love are only possible when passion and principle are set in dialogue with each other.
Bronte presents Victorian era religious and patriarchal connections as oppressive of individual passion under the false veneer of virtue and principle. At Gateshead, Jane is disempowered and dehumanised under the guise of submissive principle, the lady’s maid crying that she has “shocking conduct… to strike a young gentleman” and told to “sit… and think over your wickedness”, she is punished and expected to be silent and not speak against injustices despite her being struck first. Mr’s Reed’s classist disdain, framed as principle is seen through Miss Abbots statement that Mrs Reed has “kindly allowed[ed] you to be brought up with them”, however in reality Mrs Reed treats Jane with cruelty and vindictiveness. This reflects Bronte’s critique of Victorian principle that expected women to be passive and submissive under the notion of principle and morality, even when they are unjustly treated. The oppressive familial tie is crystallised in the red room, with “pillars of mahogany” and “crimson cloth” where Jane is punished for her defiance. The space itself evokes gothic confinement, its claustrophobic richness and spectral chill acting as a physical manifestation of the oppressive family tie that represses Jane’s passion under the notion of morality. The looming incorporeal presence of the household patriarch Mr Reed who “had been dead nine years”, serves as a gothic motif of haunting, a spectral reminder of inherited inescapable authority that binds her even through death, thus the familial connection becomes one of entrapment, indefinitely oppressing her passion under the guise of principle. This is further seen through Jane’s view of her reflection being “half fairy, half imp” a disdain that symbolises how passionate women who oppose the oppressive principle of the Victorian era are demonised and marginalised. However, Jane recalls “resisting all the way”, and her outburst to Mrs Reed that “I am not deceitful if I were I should say I loved you” marks the beginning of Jane’s resistance to oppressive patriarchal structures that would suppress her passion. Brontë’s use of dual narrative voice allows her to critique Victorian social institutions by presenting both the raw, instinctive passion of childhood and the tempered, analytical perspective of adulthood. The child Jane’s fiery denunciation of John Reed as being “like the Roman emperors” erupts from an unfiltered sense of injustice, embodying a passion that refuses to submit to the arbitrary hierarchies of Gateshead. Yet the mature narrator’s reflective admission that “I had drawn parallels in silence” reframes this childhood outburst, revealing how such moments, trivialised by the powerful as mere petulance, carry profound significance when revisited through the lens of principle and social awareness. Through this oscillation between innocent observation and retrospective critique, Brontë exposes how Victorian society sought to discipline female passion under the guise of moral principle, measuring women’s worth by their class, obedience, and submissiveness. This moment, situated within gothic frameworks of haunting and imprisonment becomes a formative node in the novel’s bildungsroman arc, the first major suppression of Jane’s burgeoning selfhood. This pattern is continued at Lowood, where Brocklehurst upholds a regime of religious hypocrisy that represses passion under the guise of religious virtue. Brocklehurst’s insistence that the girls’ curls be “cutoff” that they be “children of grace” functions as an excision of youthful passion, a marker of the broader excision of independence expected of women under the patriarchal religious connection of the Victorian era. Despite Jane’s protest that the girls have “insufficient clothing to protect” them from the “severe cold,” Brocklehurst insists this deprivation will prevent them from forming “habits of luxury and indulgence.” His outrage that “bread and cheese has been” served twice in a fortnight is likewise couched in a moralising rhetoric of rendering the girls “hardy, patient, and self-denying.” However, these deprivations serve to starve not only their bodies, but their youthful passions, warmth, hunger, and vitality are recast as sins to be disciplined out of them. Yet Brontë’s description of his own daughters, “splendidly attired in velvet, silk, and furs,” lays bare the hypocrisy of such supposed virtue: passion and pleasure are not renounced, merely reserved for the privileged. Through Brocklehurst, Brontë critiques how Victorian religious morality weaponised ‘principle’ to suppress female appetite, spirit, and independence, while cloaking patriarchal control in the language of piety. Jane herself is publicly denounced in front of the school as a “liar”, not for sinfulness, but for the passionate truth she asserted against Mrs Reed, further marking how hypocritical religious institutions seek to subdue and repress female passion under the false veneer of principled morality. Thus, Bronte illustrates oppressive familial and religious connections as being suppressing of female passion and independence under the guise of principle and virtue.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent are female characters…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: To what extent are female characters marginalized in Oedipus the King Sophocles Oedipus the King retells the…
To what extent are female characters marginalized in Oedipus the King
Sophocles Oedipus the King retells the legend of Oedipus, presenting him as the quintessential tragic hero who elicits profound pity and fear from his Athenian audience through his eventual self inflicted downfall. While female characters sometimes attempt to assert agency, their influence is constrained by male superiority and divine authority. In the Prologue female characters appear to assert power though acts of denying the gods, demonstrating they are not fully marginalized. Womens perspectives are both ignored and ultimately dismissed highlighting how patriarchal authority maintains divine order in Thebes.
Despite living in a patriarchal society, Sophocles suggests that women are not wholly marginalized due to temporary control. At the beginning of the play Thebes is plagued by a miasma where the city is suffering immensely, with citizens lamenting that "Thebes is dying". Here, the emotive language used by the Chorus reflects the depth of their despair as they refer to their home as the "city of death" and speak of how "black death luxuriates in the raw wailing misery." By personifying death via vivid imagrey Sophocels sets the tone of the city suffering and consumed by darkness. Likewise, Jocastas dramatically ironic statement that "the land (is) so sick" demonstrates her awareness of the city's suffering. While her voice carries insight, it is suffocated by male authority and societal expectation. Thus, Sophocles presents Jocastas limited influence to his Athenian audience as a warning that even those who possess knowledge are powerless when constrained to societal hierachies. Furthermore, Jocastas involvement in abandoning her infant son on a 'barren trackless mountain' when he 'wasn't three days old' highlights how women were not entirely powerless. By giving Jocasta this choice, the playwright provides her with significant power, the only female in the play with such authority. Her decision to try outwit the gods and prevent the completion of the prophecy that her son must 'make love with (his) own mother' and 'shed (his) fathers blood with (his) own hands' highlights how women could exercise power, although it is not encouraged. While her choices ultimately leads to tragic consequences, Sophocles highlights that female characters are capable of action, emphasising that marginilisation is not absolute.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “We Have Always Lived in the Castle…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Introduction First published in 1962, Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle operates within the…
Introduction
First published in 1962, Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle operates within the gothic tradition to explore the paradoxical nature of isolation. Set in a decaying estate on the fringes of a hostile village, the novel follows sisters Merricat and Constance Blackwood, who withdraw from society after their family is poisoned. Through Jackson’s manipulation of unreliable narration, domestic imagery, and spatial symbolism, isolation is portrayed as both a shield and a trap—offering protection from public violence while simultaneously nurturing psychological stasis. Jackson does not romanticise seclusion, but neither does she wholly condemn it. Instead, she probes its ambivalence, revealing that isolation may offer safety and identity, but at the cost of growth and connection.
Body Paragraph 1: Jackson frames isolation as a constructed sanctuary through narrative voice and spatial metaphor
Jackson presents isolation as a deliberate act of self-protection, achieved through the psychological architecture of Merricat’s narration and the spatial enclosure of the Blackwood home. The narrative voice—filtered entirely through Merricat’s childish, stylised diction—reconstructs reality to suit her need for security. Her magical rituals, like “nailing the book to the tree” or burying “silver dollars” as protective charms, are not just quirks but mechanisms of control, asserting dominion over a world she perceives as threatening. Jackson’s use of an unreliable narrator blurs fantasy and reality, immersing the reader in a consciousness where isolation is not only necessary but sacred. The house, described as their “castle,” becomes a metaphorical fortress, distancing the sisters from the external world and its cruelties. This symbolic geography mirrors Merricat’s inner world—orderly, rigid, and static. Through this interplay of voice and setting, Jackson suggests that isolation can be a psychological refuge, constructed to defend against trauma, especially in a society that punishes female transgression.
Body Paragraph 2: However, isolation breeds psychological deterioration, revealed through stagnation and character contrast
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Born a Crime is a story of overcoming…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: Trevor Noah’s memoir “Born a Crime,” explores the passionate and often violent pursuit of overcoming adversities…
Trevor Noah’s memoir “Born a Crime,” explores the passionate and often violent pursuit of overcoming adversities and limitations displayed by different individuals, each with their own undesirable situations. The memoir showcases how Apartheid led to many individuals, including Noah himself becoming barricaded from society, forcing them to endure countless hardships and adversities. Throughout the memoir, Noah consistently showcases the risky actions taken by both him and his mother in the pursuit of freedom regardless of how undesirable their situations may be, this solidifies overcoming limitations as Born a Crime’s central theme.
Noah’s journey of overcoming the limitations of his mixed heritage is a central core of Born a Crime. Being born to black and white parents, Noah’s very existence was illegal under the arbitrary marriage laws of Apartheid, as he recalled: “I was proof of my parents' criminality.” This would force Noah to grow up in the absence of his father, while simultaneously having to constantly live in fear even with his mother as he recalls: “I couldn’t walk with my mother either.” Noah’s mere existence from the very beginning of the memoir posed as a significant limitation emphasising how overcoming limitations is a core theme of Born a Crime. Furthermore, Noah’s mixed heritage would repeatedly plague him throughout his growing years, with a notable example being in regards to his relationship with other coloured people. From the very beginning, Noah would emphasize his pride of being black as he exclaims “I was proud of my afro, and I loved speaking African languages.” This however, would go directly against the views of other coloured people, who were “brainwashed by the Apartheid government into believing that black people were the ones holding them back.” As a result, a stark divide was created between Noah and other coloured people, who viewed Noah as either a “bushman” or a “high class,” depending on whether they hated his “blackness” or “whiteness.” Due to his parents ethnic backgrounds, Noah’s mere existence from the very beginning posed as an undesirable limitation as the circumstances of Apartheid would separate him from his father and force a stark divide from other coloured people. These experiences solidify the theme of overcoming limitations as the core aspect of Born a Crime.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Poor lady, she were better love a dream.”…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Love, in William Shakespeare’s Elizabethan time as now, is hardly simple – remaining a force capable of bringing…
Love, in William Shakespeare’s Elizabethan time as now, is hardly simple – remaining a force capable of bringing delight and despair, exposing the instability of human emotion. In his comedy Twelfth Night, playwright Shakespeare transforms the festive world of Illyria into a stage where unreturned love and mutual love intertwine. Shakespeare investigates both reciprocated and unreciprocated love thoroughly, to reveal how passion, though uplifting, often blinds the heart and distorts truth. Through the folly of unreturned affection, the emotional paradox of disguise, and Act five’s resolution portraying true love, Shakespeare explores unreciprocated and reciprocated love as a complex interplay. Ultimately, this interplay of returned and one-sided love reveals the human capacity to find authentic connection, not by avoiding illusion, but by navigating through it.
Shakespeare begins by satirising the irrationality of unreciprocated desire, revealing how it can distort perception and consume those who fall victim to it. Orsino’s opening dialogue, “if music be the food of love, play on”, immediately establishes love as indulgence, satirising Orsino as the play’s archetypal Petrarchan lover whose affection is “better” off loving “a dream”, as Viola says about Olivia’s affection. The metaphor of “love” as “food” also showcases Orsino’s love as appetite rather than empathy to the audience. This performative suffering suggests his longing for Olivia is more a self-gratifying “indulgence” in courtly love rather than a genuine connection. When he describes “fancy” as “so full of shapes… high [and] fantastical”, he elevates imagination above reality, implying that his passion depends more on fantasy than knowledge of the woman he desires. Furthermore, Olivia mirrors this self-deception. Her misplaced affection for Cesario leads her to impulsively “send a ring” after him despite clear rejection, a gesture that makes her blindness to truth almost comical. Viola’s observation that one may “catch the plague” of love so quickly captures how easily it destroys and infects reason. Shakespeare’s decision to parallel Olivia’s and Orsino’s delusions reveals the universality of folly; noble birth or intellect does not spare one from emotional blindness. Within Illyria’s world of festivity, love becomes a form of madness that both entertains and wounds, demonstrating how the illusion of unreciprocated passion may lead to a more authentic understanding of oneself.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Wilder explore the relationship…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: By the 1950s many silent era movie stars struggled to maintain a career in Hollywood after the introduction of…
By the 1950s many silent era movie stars struggled to maintain a career in Hollywood after the introduction of “talkies.” This was observed throughout Billy Wilders career as a writer within the post-war film industry informing many aspects of his 1950 film noir ‘Sunset Boulevard.’ Suggesting that dependency reduces autonomy giving away individuals power allowing them to be easily changed. This impacts how people live, act and see the world.
Wilder presents the idea that what you are reliant on forces you to shape your lifestyle around maintaining them. He displays this within the changes that occur or have been implied to have occurred in his characters life. For example, forgotten silent movie star Norma Desmond presented as being dependent on a former image of herself. Growing up successful within the industry cemented the idea that her own value stemmed from her stardom. However, when this came to an end and “a million press agents working overtime [did] horrible things o [her] human spirit,” her value was reduced to the ghost of the star she once was. To avoid this from amplifying her suicidal “moments of melancholy,” tendencies beyond what she can survive, her and max become inclined to refuse to let go of her former image. She therefore refuses to live a normal life, almost exclusively refined to her “neglected house [that] gets an unhappy look,” that’s filled with memorabilia from her career. The fact Wilder chooses to almost never have the windows/shutters open symbolises to the audiences her unwillingness to let her lifestyle be impacted by the real-world. Evoking trapped feeling alike to the way Normas trapped in the past, overpowered by her need for a good self-image. Similarly, when struggling writer Joe Gillis takes up working for Norma, he becomes reliant on her financially giving her much control over his life. Joe by working for her gives up his apartment, eventually sacrifices contact with friend his own age and eventually forced to give up his 1943 Plymouth convertible, a prop used by wilder to symbolise his freedom and desire for success within Hollywood. Whilst Norma didn’t intentionally let the debt collectors take his car, Joe still subsequently is forced to let go of things that don’t align with her values and only have the things she is willing to afford him. Costuming of William Holdens character further reflect this as it goes from ill fitting workwear towards tighter, more classic and expensive suits chosen not by Joe but by Norma because “the lady’s paying for it.” As Joe becomes enticed to lean more into becoming a ‘kept man’ it subverts the 1950 intended audiences’ perceptions of gender norms. Prompting them to view his desperation and lack of control as improper for a conventional man of the time, Highlighting the power imbalance created from his financial situation. These link dependence with giving up of ones own power and control of the living of their own life.