VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard: Prompt: 'The poor dope.…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the fragility…
In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the fragility of identity and autonomy when their consequences are overlooked. Hollywood measures personal worth through wealth, recognition and professional relevance, encouraging individuals to seek approval according to external expectations. As these standards become internalised, preserving a desired identity can take priority over recognising the dangers of one’s decisions. Wilder traces this progression from society’s construction of value to its influence upon identity, ultimately revealing how pursuing recognition can compromise independence. Although the studio system creates pressures that explain these choices, the film also holds individuals responsible for disregarding their consequences.
Wilder first establishes how society’s external expectations encourage individuals to pursue value without fully considering the consequences. The Hollywood studio system treats people and their work as products, valuing them according to their ability to generate profit. Joe’s admission that his screenplays “didn’t sell” reduces creative achievement to commercial success. Delivered through his dry voiceover, this judgement reveals the disappointment behind his cynical attitude. His unsuccessful meeting with Sheldrake reinforces the power imbalance between struggling writers and those controlling employment. Consequently, Norma’s offer to employ him revising Salome appears attractive, despite requiring him to encourage ambitions he recognises as unrealistic. Norma’s mansion reveals the instability of the rewards Hollywood offers. The elaborate furnishings and numerous portraits within the mise en scène preserve her former importance, while the building’s decay suggests that wealth cannot guarantee continued relevance. Joe’s description of it as “crumbling apart in slow motion” connects its deterioration with her fading career. Nevertheless, she chooses to preserve this world rather than acknowledge its limitations. Betty’s declaration, “I don’t want to be a reader all my life. I want to write!”, provides a contrasting response to professional expectations. Her direct, energetic dialogue expresses ambition through creating something new rather than recovering past glory. Through these different responses, Wilder shows that ambition becomes dangerous when the promise of recognition prevents individuals from questioning the decisions made to obtain it.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: how does moss condemn societal limitations…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: How does Moss condemn societal limitations within ghost Wall? Sarah Moss' 2018 novella 'ghost wall' follows a…
How does Moss condemn societal limitations within ghost Wall?
Sarah Moss' 2018 novella 'ghost wall' follows a young gin named Silvie through a mock archeological expadition in the Northumberland region. Throughour the course of this journey, Silvie gains a sence of self identity causing her to slip away from her father's control. Moss condemns social heiriachies that cause limitations in communities. She opens the novella by employing the traditional roles and treatment of women contrary to contemporary femanist values. The author then delves into the need for individuals to compensate desired strong morale with negative attributs as a way to appeaze societal standards. Moss finally fabricates the text by adressing the impact off individualism, and internal morale of those denoted a lower hierachal status.
Moss' exposes the unnecessary nature of traditional women roles and societal limitations in a contemporary society. On the first evening of the expadition, everyone is sat around the campfire including Alison, who has taken a seat "Where [Bill] had told her to sit." This action highlights an initial hierachal driven relationship. The action makes Alisons submission towards Bills desires prevelant as she is directed through activities that an individual is capable of conducting on their own. This submission reflects a past traditional female requirment, mirroring the a "puppet master yanking at its strings"
Moss employs this statement to expose her dissatisfaction of demoralising individuals through the dehumanisation that external and total control by a heirachal power can cause.
However, Molly acts as a contradiction of Allison by providing a insight to contemporary feminism by defying Bills authority.
After Molly's statement that she has a more "delicate disposition" and isn't fond of eating rabbit brains, Bill attempts to regain authority and mutters that she will "eat what [she's] given" To which Molly immediately contradicts through sarcastic tones and asking him to repeat himself. Molly's defiance and sarcasm makes Bills question appear inadequate in turn reducing his ability to grasp power over Molly. Moss condones Molly's character as she represents a societal shift contradicting the morals of Allison and making her the more favourable and valued character, alluding to the audience that those who don't comply to societal standards are successful within a contemporary society. Furthermore, Moss highlights the necessity of breaking the cyclical nature of demoting women comparative to men.
The author condemns individuals who compensate through negative processes to obtain societal value and exceed limitations. On the beach where describes Dan to be "furred with dark hair."
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard: Prompt: 'The poor dope.…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 100%: In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the…
In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the fragility of identity and autonomy when their consequences are overlooked. Within Hollywood, wealth, recognition and professional relevance establish external measures of personal worth. As individuals internalise these expectations, preserving their significance encourages decisions that prioritise immediate reassurance over lasting independence. Wilder traces this progression from society’s construction of value to its influence upon identity, ultimately revealing the destructive compromises made in its pursuit. Although the studio system cultivates these pressures, the film warns that disregarding consequences allows ambition and self-deception to become instruments of entrapment.
Wilder first reveals how society’s external expectations encourage individuals to pursue value without adequately considering the consequences. The Hollywood studio system operates as an institutional antagonist, commodifying individuals according to their capacity to generate profit. Its commercial priorities emerge through Joe’s admission that his screenplays “didn’t sell”. His blunt retrospective narration reduces creative achievement to marketability, suggesting that financial rejection threatens his professional identity. The unsuccessful meeting with Sheldrake reinforces this imbalance: those controlling employment determine whether artistic aspirations translate into survival. Consequently, accepting Norma’s offer to revise Salome appears attractive, despite requiring him to encourage expectations he recognises as unrealistic. Norma’s mansion exposes the instability of the same external rewards. Described as “crumbling apart in slow motion”, its decaying grandeur becomes a visual metaphor for celebrity sustained beyond its commercial usefulness. Her investment in a return overlooks the distance between accumulated wealth and continuing demand. Betty’s declaration, “I don’t want to be a reader all my life. I want to write!”, offers a contrasting response to Hollywood’s hierarchy. The emphatic dialogue expresses ambition through creative participation rather than inherited prestige. Unlike Norma’s fixation on recovering past glory, Betty remains responsive to present opportunities. Wilder thus distinguishes ambition itself from the dangerous assumption that professional recognition provides lasting personal security.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Oedipus the King, there is nothing…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Sophocles 429 BC play Oedipus the king explores the absolute supremacy fate and divine will will over human life.…
Sophocles 429 BC play Oedipus the king explores the absolute supremacy fate and divine will will over human life. Set in Ancient Greece, a time of pristine religious dependence and acknowledgement of fate, as a normal part of life, Sophocles contends that, any attempt to change or alter fate is fundamentally futile and unable to change if not in the will of divine authority. By characterising on the inevitability of fate, the limitation of fate and the illusion of preconceived power Sophocles implies the strive to change one’s fate is fundamentally not in their humane agency.
Sophocles first depicts the inevitability of fate by depicting any attempt to change fate or escape it is inevitably redundant. This is shown in Oedipus persona when he decides to investigate Laius’s murder. When confronted with the prophecy that it is in fact himself, he banishes anyone who dare accuse him. Sophocles characterises the reluctance of acceptance to stem from a fear of accidentally proving the prophecy true. His belief to be able to change. His fate arrives from him not being able to fundamentally understand it. By bowing to curse and exile the murderer from the land, Sophocles utilises juxtaposition to depict the audience knowledge oedipus to be guilty but Oedipus himself being unable to face it and so cursing the murderer of King Laius as if it is not himself this connotes to him trying to remain a good leader and morally conscious despite the fact that he did commit the crime he punishes for as an unsuccessful attempt to escape the blame. Sophocles also utilise the chorus as a third-party alluding to the inevitability of fate through their belief of “time sees all” this implies time as a silent character concurrently progressing as humanity tries to shift blames onto each other so please portrays fate as a superior power out of human control and rather an inescapable fact of life objective mortals based on their behaviours, beliefs and lives.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard: Prompt: 'The poor dope.…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the fragility…
In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the fragility of identity and autonomy when their consequences are overlooked. Within Hollywood, wealth, recognition and professional relevance establish external measures of personal worth. As individuals internalise these expectations, the desire to preserve their significance encourages decisions that prioritise immediate reassurance over lasting independence. Wilder traces this progression from society’s construction of value to its influence upon identity, ultimately revealing the destructive compromises made in its pursuit. Although the industry creates pressures that explain these choices, the film warns that disregarding their consequences allows ambition and self-deception to become instruments of entrapment.
Wilder first reveals how society’s external expectations encourage individuals to pursue value without adequately considering the consequences. Hollywood’s commercial priorities emerge through Joe’s admission that his screenplays “didn’t sell”. His blunt retrospective narration reduces creative achievement to marketability, suggesting that financial rejection threatens his professional identity. The unsuccessful meeting with Sheldrake reinforces this imbalance: those controlling employment determine whether artistic aspirations translate into survival. Consequently, accepting Norma’s offer to revise Salome appears attractive, despite requiring him to encourage expectations he recognises as unrealistic. Norma’s mansion exposes the instability of the same external rewards. Described as “crumbling apart in slow motion”, its decaying grandeur becomes a visual metaphor for celebrity sustained beyond its professional relevance. Her decision to invest in a return overlooks the distance between accumulated wealth and continuing demand. Betty’s declaration, “I don’t want to be a reader all my life. I want to write!”, offers a contrasting response to Hollywood’s hierarchy. The emphatic dialogue expresses ambition through creative participation rather than inherited prestige. Nevertheless, her determination also reveals how strongly occupational advancement defines significance. Unlike Norma’s fixation on recovering past glory, Betty’s ambitions suggest that pursuing recognition need not become destructive when individuals remain responsive to present opportunities. These contrasting aspirations establish why recognition is compelling, while exposing the danger of allowing its pursuit to outweigh consideration of the obligations and disappointments it may produce.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Shirly Jackson challenges the rigidity of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Shirley Jackson’s 1962 novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle delineates a reality set upon conflictive gender…
Shirley Jackson’s 1962 novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle delineates a reality set upon conflictive gender stereotypes. Jackson seemingly agrees with the historical normality of portraying females as inferior to their masculine counterparts, incarcerating Merricat and Constance to the kitchen and household to superficially reject their freedom. Yet the sisters’ disregard of male tokens of power, such as the wealth locked behind the safe, suggests Jackson instead attempts to demonstrate the subversion of typical gender stereotypes with the treatment of such symbols. Vilifying the subjugation of females due to oppressive structures enforced by society, Jackson’s novel ultimately contends that the challenging of gender roles allows for female emancipation.
Through the domesticated physical confines of the Blackwood sisters, We Have Always Lived in the Castle ostensibly exhibits the sisters’ adoption of restrictive feminine societal norms. Juxtaposing the physical situation of Merricat and Constance’s domain to “the back of the house” against the location of their father’s room “in the front of the house”, Jackson introduces the Blackwood daughters as having already assimilated to the patriarchal archetype asserted by the outside civilization. The integration of “neaten[ing] the house” every Monday into the household routine further illustrates the traditionally feminine role embraced by the sisters, yet even then Uncle Julian’s “dislike [of] being disturbed” prevents Merricat from being “allowed in [his] room”, reflecting the sisters’ acceptance of gender roles through their subordination to male authority. Moreover, the addition of Charles into the Blackwood family advertises his position as a potential suitor to Constance, enticing Constance to “come back into the world” and accept the conformist marriage expectations of subservience to Charles. Hence, Jackson highlights how patriarchal society pressures women to conform to expectations of maturity and marriageability. Constance’s submission to traditionalised female gender roles is further demonstrated by her desire to play the harp in Charles’ presence, conforming herself to the expectations of her suitor as a pleasant and acceptable housewife, thus reinforcing the heteronormative ideals established by the outside world.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Change is unwelcome in We Have Always…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: In Shirley Jackson’s 1962 gothic novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the reality of living in a world and…
In Shirley Jackson’s 1962 gothic novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the reality of living in a world and society that is constantly changing is explored, as it is emulated through the lives of her characters. Jackson asserts that resisting change is not only a means of defiance but an open invitation to one’s own self destruction. This is shown through Merricat’s constant eagerness to isolate herself and her family from the world, along with the introduction of Charles who represents change as a Blackwood from the outside world and finally the false perception of safety that Merricat deludes herself into when rejecting the change that has fallen on her.
Merricat’s avoidance of the outside world is shown in her belief of the superstitious as she utilises it to shield her from their supposed harm and her isolation in the Blackwood manor. Throughout the book, Merricat uses her magic to protect the house as she places “magical safeguards” around the house such as “the lock on the front door, and the boards over the windows, and the barricades along the sides of the house”. Her safeguards act as a symbol of Merricat’s desperation to protect herself from the outside world as she relies on the supernatural to enforce the balance she craves. By placing locks on the front door and boards on the windows, she effectively shuts herself away from everyone else. Jackson exhibits the frantic nature of those who deny change as they are willing to attempt anything even what is beyond that of the realms of reality to preserve what they have. This is further pursued through Merricat’s “three magic words… [that] kept [her] safe until they were said out loud”. Having their safety depend on magic words, highlights Merricat’s belief that she can keep everything the same using just her words and her belief of superstitions. The author displays Merricat’s delusions that her ‘magic words’ can protect her from change and maintain her peace. Thus Jackson warns her readers to not avoid change as it tends to delude those who run away from it, instead she accentuates the despair people fall into when they are unable to come to terms with a world that is different from what they are accustomed to.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard: Prompt: 'The poor dope.…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the fragility…
In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the pursuit of value through individual choices exposes the fragility of identity and autonomy when their consequences are overlooked. Within Hollywood, wealth, recognition and professional relevance become measures of personal worth. Joe Gillis and Norma Desmond internalise these expectations, making decisions that satisfy immediate desires while threatening their independence. Although Hollywood’s pressures explain the appeal of their choices, Wilder also emphasises their responsibility for disregarding uncomfortable truths. Through society’s construction of value, its influence upon identity and the sacrifices made to preserve it, Wilder demonstrates how overlooking consequences can transform the pursuit of success into personal destruction.
Wilder first reveals how society’s external measures of value encourage individuals to overlook the risks of choices promising success. Joe’s unsuccessful meeting with Sheldrake exposes his vulnerability within an industry that judges creative work according to its commercial potential. His appeal for financial assistance reveals how professional rejection threatens his ability to survive, making immediate security increasingly attractive. Consequently, Norma’s offer to employ him revising Salome appears to resolve his financial difficulties. However, accepting the arrangement requires Joe to encourage a project whose weaknesses he recognises. By prioritising payment over honesty, he overlooks the obligations created by sustaining Norma’s expectations. Her circumstances expose a parallel danger within Hollywood’s unstable distribution of value. Having achieved fame during the silent era, Norma assumes that previous recognition guarantees continuing relevance. The faded grandeur of her mansion embodies this assumption: its luxury preserves the appearance of success, while its deterioration suggests that the world sustaining her celebrity has disappeared. Nevertheless, she invests in an imagined return rather than reconsidering her relationship with the industry. Through Joe’s insecurity and Norma’s displacement, Wilder establishes how externally defined success makes potentially destructive choices appealing. Both concentrate on recovering recognition or security without adequately confronting what their pursuit might cost.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Acts of violence reveal character more…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Johnson positions violence as a means to reveal individuals’ moral character, illustrating how past experiences and…
Johnson positions violence as a means to reveal individuals’ moral character, illustrating how past experiences and circumstances contribute to responses to conflict. Additionally, Johnson condemns violence as a solution to existing conflicts. Johnson posits that violence is not a mediator, but rather uncovers the genuine intentions and morality. This is immediately established in the films opening scenes. Johnson presents a patient panoramic sweep, languid editing and the peaceful diegetic soundscape of Arnhem Land’s’ nature to portray a harmonious environment. However the natural order is violently shattered by imminent sound of galloping horses, an invasive auditory disruption that positions the officers as an intrusive force. Violent scenes follow, but not before the hypocrisy of the mission is captured in the symbolic act as Pastor Braddock hides the Bible in his saddlebag. The furtive act, shot close up, serves as a visual metaphor for the true moral character that violence prompts. In the case of Braddock, the seemingly righteous religious leader is fundamentally spiritually corrupt, which frames the colonisers as morally flawed. Their mission is an overall failure and serves to foreshadow the inadequate use of violence to resolve conflict. Due to the “mess” made by Eddy, Travis and Braddock, Moran employs Walter. Walter has “bumped into … Travis, one time” and that “[he is] worried”. Johnson here insinuates that their unresolved history continues to shape Walter’s
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Acts of violence reveal character more…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 92.5%: Johnson positions violence as a means to reveal individuals’ moral character, revealing how past experiences and…
Johnson positions violence as a means to reveal individuals’ moral character, revealing how past experiences and circumstances contribute to responses to conflict. Additionally, Johnson condemns violence as a solution to existing conflicts. Johnson posits that violence is not a mediator, rather uncovers the genuine intentions and moral of individuals. This is immediately established in the films opening scenes. Johnson presents a patient panoramic sweep, languid editing and the peaceful diegetic soundscape of Arnehm Lands nature to portray a harmonious environment. However the natural order is violently shattered by imminent sound of galloping horses, an invasive auditory disruption that positions the officers as an intrusive force. Violent scenes follow, but not before the hypocrisy of the mission is captured in the symbolic act as Pastor Braddock hides the Bible in his saddlebag. The furtive act, shot close up, serves as a visual metaphor for the true moral character that violence prompts. In the case of Braddock, the seemingly righteous religious leader is fundamentally spiritually corrupt, which frames the colonisers as morally flawed. Their mission is an overall failure and serves to foreshadow the inadequate use of violence to resolve conflict. Due to the “mess” made by Eddy, Travis and Braddock, Moran employs Walter. Walter has “bumped into … Travis, one time” and that “[he is] worried”, Johnson here insinuates that their unresolved history continues to shape Walter’s
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “But no one ever complains” In ‘The Memory…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Throughout history, the greatest tragedies have occurred when a population remains passive under persecution. Yoko…
Throughout history, the greatest tragedies have occurred when a population remains passive under persecution. Yoko Ogawa’s speculative dystopian fiction ‘The memory Police’, set on an enigmatic, unnamed and isolated island, reveals how The Memory Police as a hegemonic force, systematically enforces the disappearances of objects, memories and ultimately people themselves, leaving an increasingly insular society under an atmosphere of fear, silence and resignation. Ogawa exposes how this erasure systematically dismantles both society and the relationships that could have withstood the destruction. Moreover, Ogawa emphasises that connection serves as a vital, albeit fragile, counterforce for finding purpose in a world engineered to sever bonds. However, Ogawa also argues that this private resistance is ultimately a passive resistance and fails to protect society from authoritarian rule. Thus, Ogawa emphasises that passivity through finding relief in relationships ultimately allows regimes to gain full control.
Ogawa demonstrates that authoritarianism is not only catalysed through overt control but through the silent compliance of a society who chooses safety over agency. Ogawa uses the Narrators observation of the increasingly insular society to reveal a chilling numbness, where “no one ever complains” and “nobody said a word about it”, indicating a societal resignation that has allowed the creature of The Memory Police to grow unchecked. The disappearance of the birds, a potent symbol of freedom and life, plunges the Narrator into “the middle of that emptiness, feeling [her]self on the verge of being drawn into its depths”, which Ogawa uses to evoke a psychological abyss that is sustained by a culture of passive compliance. Such imagery is used by Ogawa to reveal how enforced compliance by authoritarian regimes dismantles not only physical realities but also the emotional landscapes of its victims. Ogawa reinforces this through the use of the narrators detached recounting of her “mother… [and] father [dying]”, whose muted tones reveal the emotional numbness created by enforced erasure. Ogawa uses pathetic fallacy, where “winter deepened” and the island became “blanketed in heavy stagnant air” which mirrors the internal stasis of the island’s inhabitants. Ogawa withholds the decree, the motif and the authority throughout, allowing it to go where memory cannot follow. Ogawa exposes how passive submission offers little overt hope in the face of totalitarian domination – and it is this silent compliance, rather than the regimes overt control that Ogawa argues is the first condition society must overcome.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Jane Eyre explore the boundaries…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Bronte’s protofeminist novel Jane Eyre explores the complex and suffocating boundaries and constraints of…
Bronte’s protofeminist novel Jane Eyre explores the complex and suffocating boundaries and constraints of womanhood. Bronte contends that those harsh expectations placed on women, especially governesses, attempt to strip women of their autonomy. Bronte navigates these boundaries, through magnifying the economic boundaries, religious constraints, and the suppression of passion that women are forced to endure. Ultimately, Bronte encourages Victorian women to resist these rigid constraints, in order to achieve self-determination in a world that sought to suppress their ambitions.
Through displaying the confining economic boundaries placed on women, Bronte exemplifies the destructive nature of the expectation to be dependent on a mans wealth. When Jane first arrives at Thornfield, Mrs Fairfax’s hyperbolic assertion “Almost all the land…belongs to [Rochester]” immediately establishes Jane as a vulnerable outsider in a male dominated sphere. This imagery serves to illuminate the overwhelming economic and social power that Rochester wields, revealing how Mrs Fairfax cements the ideology that in Victorian England, the man was expected to be wealthy, and the women was expected to be entirely dependent on the man’s wealth. To further demonstrate this expectation, Bessie’s warning “they will have a great deal of money” and “[Jane] will have none” attempts to reproduce the social order and protect the female sphere. Although Bessie offers a rare source of kindness for Jane, her insistence that Jane must be “humble” and “agreeable” attempts to cement the expectation that women must be dependent, as she frames submission as the only viable path to survival. In contrast, Jane’ Romantic individuality drives her to reject this trajectory, as she refuses to accept what she perceives as a “new servitude”, subverting the gender expectation that she must be defined and controlled by Rochester’s wealth. Later, Jane’s direct address and active sentence structure in “Reader, I married him” represents the ultimate subversion of Bessies warning. This moment of economic liberation breaks the cycle of gendered complicity that Bessie upheld, as she enters the marriage with her own inheritance and a unified identity. Thus, Bronte reveals to Victorians that although the economic boundaries inherent in Victorian England attempt to confine women, she reveals the it is possible to transcend these constraints through exercising Romantic Individuality.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Sunset Boulevard shows that the pursuit…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: ntroduction In his 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder critically examines the darker realities of…
ntroduction
In his 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder critically examines the darker realities of Hollywood, exposing the tension between its glamorous public image and the harsh realities beneath it. Through his portrayal of individuals shaped by ambition, illusion and the desire for recognition, Wilder challenges audiences to question the values of a society obsessed with fame and appearances. Ultimately the pursuit of fame is presented as perilous as individuals encounter risks throughout their journey as they tackle and attain fame. Wilder critiques the tendency to idealise the past can prevent individuals from accepting reality and moving forward,Wilder exposes Hollywood’s commercial values revealing how the seeking recognition and success, and lastly wilder explores the destructive consequences of unchecked desire suggests fame can distort individuals perception reality and undermine freedom.
Wilder critiques the tendency to idealise the past, suggesting that the pursuit of former fame can prevent individuals from accepting reality and moving forward. This is demonstrated through Norma Desmond, whose isolated mansion symbolises her inability to separate her former stardom from her present circumstances. Although the mansion retains reminders of her previous success, its deteriorating appearance reflects the gap between Norma's imagined importance and her declining relevance within the film industry. This disconnect is further reinforced when Norma declares, “I am big. It's the pictures that got small!” Her defensive dialogue reveals her refusal to acknowledge Hollywood's changing values, as she blames the industry rather than recognising that her career has declined. Furthermore, Norma's fixation on her Salome screenplay demonstrates her continued belief that she can reclaim her former identity through another successful film. Through symbolism, dialogue and characterisation, Wilder exposes how the desire to preserve past glory can distort an individual's understanding of reality. Ultimately, Norma's circumstances reveal that fame becomes an illusion when individuals remain trapped in an idealised version of their past.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'Oedipus the King' suggests that reason…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: In Sophocles' Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, he suggests that one's sense of rationality serves to guide them…
In Sophocles' Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, he suggests that one's sense of rationality serves to guide them through the mortal realm. Through individuals who are bound by fate, reason only serves to delay the inevitable, while those blessed by the gods are rewarded through humility and reason. Ultimately, Sophocles seeks to urge ancient Athenians to realise that one's human life is bound by fate and that all individuals should live in moderation and within reason or suffer.
Sophocles intends to highlight that individuals are all bound by fate and that reason provides little change in one's life. Through characters such as Oedipus, who was inevitably doomed to fulfil his fate, Sophocles explores the notion that reason is limited when the divine will of the gods is employed. Through Sophocles' utilisation of alliteration in "cursed in birth, cursed marriage, cursed in the life I cut down," Sophocles highlights that the prophecies foretold had all come true and that the anaphora of cursed serves to showcase how divine authority rules over the world. Sophocles suggests that once one's fate has been sealed, it is an inevitable path to downfall. In positioning his audience to fear the gods, Sophocles demonstrates that reason, or any mortal act blasphemous to the gods, cannot prevail and that moderation should be sought. Furthermore, when Oedipus laments, "Apollo, friends, Apollo – he ordained my agonies," Sophocles depicts Oedipus as a helpless man in the face of the Greek gods, reinforcing the notion that fate rules over human life while reason plays an insignificant role.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “They think the actors make it up as they…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 95%: Set in the golden age of Hollywood, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard explores a world in which everyone is, to some…
Set in the golden age of Hollywood, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard explores a world in which everyone is, to some extent, “playing a part”. The film’s characters conform to roles and expectations established by the Hollywood system, performing carefully constructed versions of themselves to survive, preserve illusions or gain power. Norma Desmond transforms herself into a caricature of the eternal movie star, refusing to acknowledge that the industry has discarded her; Joe Gillis compromises his morality and integrity to navigate Hollywood’s ruthless social terrain, gradually becoming alienated from his authentic self; while Max and Betty also perform roles shaped by loyalty, ambition and idealism. Yet Wilder’s satire is more nuanced than suggesting that all performance is inherently false. Rather, he reveals that in a culture built upon illusion, performance becomes almost unavoidable. Hollywood encourages its participants to construct identities that serve its machinery, until the distinction between acting and authentic living becomes increasingly difficult to sustain.
Through chiaroscuro lighting and symbolic mise-en-scène, Wilder establishes Norma Desmond as the ultimate performer: an ageing silent-film star who clings to her former glory by playing the role of the grand diva trapped within her own illusions. Her speech, costumes and exaggerated mannerisms reveal a woman who has transformed her identity into a performance, refusing to accept the reality of her faded fame. Her declaration, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small,” encapsulates her refusal to acknowledge that she, rather than the industry, may have changed. Norma reconstructs the past so that she can remain its star, rewriting her own history as a triumphant narrative of betrayal by an unworthy modern Hollywood. Her subsequent attack on the necessity for dialogue “we didn’t need talk. We had faces!” exposes her contempt for the changing conventions of cinema and her desperate attachment to the silent-film era. Significantly, Norma does not merely speak about her former performance; she immediately performs it. Rising from her seat to demonstrate the expressive power of her “face”, she positions herself in front of the projected image of her younger self in Queen Kelly. Wilder cruelly illuminates her face against the screen, contrasting the harshness of the ageing Norma with the soft, glamorous image of her former self. The projection thus becomes a metaphor for her psychological imprisonment: she is simultaneously watching her former self and attempting to become that woman again.
Norma’s performance, however, is sustained not only by herself but by those around her. Her mansion is an extension of her fantasy, an extravagant yet decaying relic of a Hollywood that no longer exists. Its imposing architecture, heavy furnishings and shadow-filled interiors transform the house into a theatrical set in which Norma can continue to perform. Max functions as both servant and stage manager, carefully sustaining her delusions by writing her letters from admiring fans and protecting her from the reality of her abandonment by Hollywood. His loyalty is itself a performance, although one motivated less by personal advancement than by devotion and guilt. His assertion that he is “a servant” to Norma reveals the extent to which he has surrendered his own identity to support hers. Wilder therefore complicates the idea that everyone performs for selfish gain: Max’s role is self-sacrificial, yet it nevertheless helps preserve the artificial world that ultimately destroys Norma and Joe. His behaviour suggests that even genuine affection can become complicit in illusion when the truth is too painful to confront.
While Norma performs the role of the eternal star, Joe Gillis demonstrates how Hollywood’s pressures can transform performance into a means of survival. Initially, Joe presents himself as a cynical, self-aware writer who believes he can remain independent of Hollywood’s corrupting influence. His witty narration and sardonic observations establish him as someone who believes he can see through the industry’s illusions. Yet Joe’s apparent detachment gradually becomes another performance. Desperate to escape repossession and financial failure, he accepts Norma’s offer to become her companion and ghostwriter, effectively exchanging his independence for material comfort. The grotesque symbolism of the dead monkey foreshadows this transformation. After the monkey’s death, Joe effectively becomes Norma’s new plaything, occupying the role of the pampered pet who must remain available to entertain his wealthy owner. His admission that he has become someone who must “dance for pennies” captures his humiliation: he has sacrificed his integrity for the outward appearance of having “made it” in Hollywood.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Prompt: Rainbow’s End presents a scathing…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Systemic power, although known to evidently strip vulnerable groups of their hope and freedom, serves as a driving…
Systemic power, although known to evidently strip vulnerable groups of their hope and freedom, serves as a driving force to push for perseverance and courage. Set in 1950s Australia amid racial systemic segregation and discriminatory government policies, Jane Harrison’s Play Rainbow’s End explores how Aboriginal families, specifically the Dear women, navigate oppression while striving to preserve identity and connection to home. Harrison presents her play contending that the ever-lasting impacts of colonisation can be critiqued as generational damage to indigenous communities, internally and externally, but through adversity, depict a face of hope and resilience.
From the outset of the play, the impacts of colonisation and its activity is pronounced more with the pressure of external sources and the persistent neglect of the government. As an instance, as Gladys, mother of Dolly, and Errol, a while encyclopedia salesman discuss the location of their humpy at the Flats, Gladys’ comment “It should have been where they built us the housing… decided to turn it into the town tip” exposes the government’s neglect towards Aboriginal housing and their preference to allocate them The Flats, prone to flooding and natural disasters quite often. This decision not only worsens housing conditions and marginalisation, but Harrison reveals the disturbing fact that Aboriginal people have been reduced to less deserving than “trash”, as a result of their dependence on the government for rightful claim to land. The pain of colonisation not easily forgotten in the play as Gladys yearns and mourns the lost opportunity of her education as a result of being victim to the Stolen Generations. Her resigned comment to Errol, “Who had time for learning?” illustrates the irreversible damage of colonial oppression done to the Aboriginal communities by white government authority and further exemplifies Glady’s dream in Dolly being able to rightfully receive education and opportunities. To offer multiple perspectives on the impacts of colonisation and its damage, Harrison utilises Errol who is not outwardly discriminating but holds ignorant prejudice towards the Dear women and their way of living at The Flats. Attempting to offer Dolly the pursuit of a “better life”, he urges her “to come away with [him]” where they can “live in a sweet little Flat with a balcony”, Harrison reveals the paternalism embedded in society directed towards Aboriginals as their rights to think and make decisions for themselves has been stripped due to oppression. All in all, Harrison effectively conveys the painful damage of colonisation and its roots embedded deep within society, evident in their interactions with external figures, the resources they’ve been allocated and their limited opportunities.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Family is the cause of all problems in We…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Shirley Jackson's gothic novel 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' is fundamentally a cautionary tale about family…
Shirley Jackson's gothic novel 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' is fundamentally a cautionary tale about family values and traits that in fact is the cause of all problems. While family is something characters through the text cherish and care deeply about, the story unveils deeper characteristics about how family can bring in destruction. Furthermore, Jackson utilizes fantasy as an effective coping mechanism to suppress problems within oneself. Ultimately, Jackson presents family being the root to problems which affects the characters who are not part of that family.
Jackson constructs family as a destructive force that causes harm to people around them. The arrival of cousin Charles exposes the vulnerability of the household, proving that family problems are significantly boosted by external figures who seek to exploit them for personal gain. Merricat's sense of "change" foreshadows the inevitable as destruction of family and pro property unfolds thereafter, which exposes problems that occur when family members are barged into a space. Jackson portrays Charles as a catalyst of problems that occur within the family, from Merricat "wishing him dead" to Uncle Julian calling him a "bastard", which exposes how wherever he is there are problems. Through Jackson's use of symbolism of patriarchal power through Charles, she constructs a character who seeks to want it all but at the end they will have nothing. Charles' actions furthermore create tension within the family dynamics through the Blackwood House, where his sole mission was to "get the safe from the study," which exposes his true intentions, implying he was in fact "one of the bad ones." Jackson poses how family coming in unexpectedty, patriarchal power, and change is a catalyst for problems within the family and how these problems can significantly affect the family itself.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Topic; How does sunset boulevard explore…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Billy Wilder’s 1950 film noir and melodrama Sunset Boulevard exposes the fate of silent-era stars who refused to…
Billy Wilder’s 1950 film noir and melodrama Sunset Boulevard exposes the fate of silent-era stars who refused to adapt to the age of sound. Wilder presents decline and decay as destructive forces that corrupt both the individual and the system that creates them. Firstly, Wilder explores how decline distorts Norma’s identity, replacing reality with delusion. Furthermore, he shows how decay traps people within a past that no longer exists. Finally, he reveals that this decay is moral as well as physical, consuming everyone who enters Norma’s world. Thus, the film argues that when an industry discards its own, the result is not only the ruin of the forgotten but the destruction of those who feed off them.
Wilder explores how decline transforms Norma’s identity into delusion, leaving her unable to separate who she was from who she is. Norma is not simply arrogant; she is a woman who has refused to accept her own decline. When she declares, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small,” Wilder frames her in a low-angle shot, adopting her perspective and visually reinforcing her belief that she is still a titan. This suggests that her sense of self has become so detached from reality that the film’s own camera is forced to flatter her. This is reinforced in the final staircase descent, where the subjective POV blurs the background and distorts the sound, so that the audience sees through Norma’s eyes. Wilder uses this to show that her decline has ended in psychosis, and that her fantasy is the only world she can still live in. Ultimately, Wilder exposes how decline destroys not only a star’s status but her grip on reality itself.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: The greatest obstacle the characters face…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: “Rainbows End” by Jane Harrison is a play set in post war 1950’s Rural Victoria. It is about three generations of…
“Rainbows End” by Jane Harrison is a play set in post war 1950’s Rural Victoria. It is about three generations of Aboriginal women and how they come together to fight the systematic racism and discrimination prevalent at the time. In the play Harrison implies that although the family suffers from financial obstacles due to poverty, it is prejudice that acts as the biggest barrier from escaping poverty and improving their lives. Harrison conveys this through the ideas that prejudice is a major contributor of poverty, it restricts opportunities to escape poverty, and is a greater obstacle because it restricts social opportunities too. Ultimately, Harrison acknowledges poverty as an immense obstacle to overcome but presents prejudice as the main underlying factor that causes the family’s disadvantage.
Firstly, Harrison presents the idea that prejudice is a major contributor to poverty. Systematic racism and discrimination force Aboriginal families into disadvantaged and poor living conditions. The Humpy is a symbol of the financial struggles faced by the Dear family and it’s a direct result of racial inequality and white society looking down on them. This is evident through Gladys’ lack of education which is shown when Nan Dear tells Dolly she “can’t (read) in front of her”. Nan Dear doesn’t want Gladys to feel inferior or upset because she doesnt know how to read or write as a result of being taken away as a child and forced to assimilate and work for white society. Glady’s lack of basic education directly hinders her ability to gain an adequate job and support her family financially so they don’t end up in poverty. Gladys’ backstory demonstrates how prejudice is one of the main contributors that lead people into poverty.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Apollo—he ordained my agonies—these, my…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: In an era where faith in divine authority was fading, Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus the King explores the collisions…
In an era where faith in divine authority was fading, Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus the King explores the collisions between human free will and inescapable fate. Performed in 429 BCE, the play is backdropped within the city of Thebes as it follows the journey of individuals in their futile attempt to outplay their destiny. It’s through their voyage that Sophocles builds on how although humans still retain free will, all actions will eventually lead back their inevitable fate. Ultimately, Sophocles’ illustrates that no power of mortal capacity is enough to prevent their changeability in fortune because of fate.
Defying the power of the gods, Sophocles suggests that individuals are able to hold on to free will in some capacity. Repeating usage of the motif of crossroads throughout the play highlights this phenomenon, represented when Oedipus arrived at “where the three roads meet.”. Through this, Sophocles’ illustrates how even when individuals are given different choices within life, no matter what decision is made they will end up at their fate like how Oedipus, when trying to avoid his “native ground” ends up in Thebes. Thus, the Athenian audience is left to think about how their life may operate, how the decisions, whether of high importance or not, has no real depth if it means it all leads back to the same fate, a message on the futility of mankind. Furthermore, Sophocles’ intentional decision to leave out any physical representation of deities on stage reinforce this continuing idea of the fruitlessness of free will. It’s this absence that allows Sophocles to additional highlight how not just for Oedipus, but all characters are free to manoeuvre and act however they life, but at the end of the day they will all result in the same fated end that each one has been pre-ordained with. Hence, this leaves the Athenian audience to continuous lament on the saddening nature of human prowess of being insignificant in the larger picture when faced with divine authority, a continuous message by Oedipus to respect divine order. By establishing the existing but limited power of free will, the playwright focuses on the limitations that individuals have in deciding their fate.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Hughes suggests the promise of freedom is…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 95%: Writing amid the Jim Crow era, where segregation is entrenched in society, Langston Hughes' 'Selected Poems'…
Writing amid the Jim Crow era, where segregation is entrenched in society, Langston Hughes' 'Selected Poems' explores the hypocrisy of American freedom ideals and their denial to Black Americans. Hughes interrogates the consequences of deferred dreams, and challenges white America's exclusion of Black Americans. Moreover, he rejects the assumption African Americans should wait for freedom. Ultimately Hughes exposes the hollowness of America's promises of freedom when its democratic ideals remain unfulfilled in practice.
Hughes exposes how America's failure to fulfill its promises of freedom suppresses Black American's aspirations, allowing frustration and suffering to accumulate over time. The 'wall rose slowly' in As I grew older represents a physical barrier placed by society blocking the 'sunlight' that allows the speaker to dream and hope. The wall obstructs the speaker's aspirations, forcing them into the shadow of the restrictions imposed by White America. However as the 'wall' is an obstacle, whilst 'sunlight' is an ongoing source, Hughes suggests Black Americans can overcome the hurdle and dream once again. This is amplified through the speaker’s assertion 'My hands!' representing self-agency. Harlem examines the consequences of a 'dream deferred'. The poem is almost entirely structured as an unanswered question refusing to resolve what happens to a suppressed hope. This mirrors society's inability to uphold their freedom ideals of being the land of the free. The escalating sequence of similes explores the psychological costs of suppression: 'does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?', 'fester like a sore' and 'stink like rotten meat?'. Hughes charts the progression from quiet diminishment, festering anguish to a decay that cannot be concealed any further. The poem's final line, 'or does it explode?', intensifies the preceding imagery, suggesting that suppressed aspirations may ultimately produce consequences that can no longer be contained. Hughes portrays the effects of a society failing to uphold its values, warning the delay in promise can have explosive social consequences.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Rainbow’s End, dignity can be…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Amidst ongoing systemic racism and discriminatory government policies of the 1950s, Aboriginal individuals…
Amidst ongoing systemic racism and discriminatory government policies of the 1950s, Aboriginal individuals continuously have had to fight institutionalised racism in order to preserve their self-worth as a marginalised community. The play ‘Rainbows End’ by playwright Jane Harrison explores the experiences of three generations of Aboriginal women in the 1950s, highlighting their resilience and the challenges they overcame. Through cultural identity, asserting one's voice and injustice, Harrison ultimately substantiates the idea that dignity can be maintained in the face of injustice when Aboriginal women of the 1950s embrace their identity, assert their voice and resist oppression; however, persistent discrimination can make preserving identity difficult.
Harrison initially demonstrates that for Aboriginal people in the 1950s, maintaining a strong cultural identity allows them to preserve their worth despite systemic racism and discrimination. This is evident through the characterisation of Nan Dear, as throughout the play she represented the importance of maintaining a strong connection to Aboriginal culture and country, refusing to let the white people’s paternalistic view impact her identity. By asserting that her “birth certificate says Murray River", Harrison uses Nan to demonstrate the importance of connection to country to an oppressed individual's self-identity. Furthermore, Harrison utilises this dialogue choice to emphasise how Nan Dear does not define herself using what is imposed on her by white society, but through her connection to country and culture. The recurring motif of the Murray River represents the continuity of Aboriginal identity and culture despite attempts at total assimilation. Nan’s refusal to let go of this connection becomes an act of quiet resistance, allowing her to preserve her connection to her cultural roots, which makes up her identity as an Aboriginal woman of the 50s. Harrison invites her contemporary audience to consider whether Aboriginal Australians should assimilate into white society, instead demonstrating the importance of preserving cultural identity as a means to retain one's dignity despite historical attempts at government control over Aboriginal people’s lives. The play consequently presents cultural pride as a means of resisting oppression, suggesting that although injustice can restrict an individual's opportunities, it cannot completely destroy their dignity if they choose to retain it. Thus, through Nan Dear, Harrison establishes that dignity can be maintained in the face of injustice through the preservation of cultural identity.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Jackson critique traditional…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Shirley Jackson's 1962 gothic novel We Have Always Lived in a Castle explores the tyranny imposed by societal…
Shirley Jackson's 1962 gothic novel We Have Always Lived in a Castle explores the tyranny imposed by societal expectations prevalent in post-war America. She argues that social expectations breed fundamentally oppressive familial and societal institutions while maintaining how their destruction replicates new forms of misery. Jackson argues that traditional social structures stifle individual autonomy within disempowered groups that subsequently rationalise radical methods to reclaim agency. However, Jackson maintains that the inversion of traditional expectations parallels the impacts of the old society instead of liberation.
Initially, Jackson emphasises how patriarchal familial structures and societal expectations placed on women restrict autonomy and breed resentment towards the status quo. Merricat's exclamation that the "Rochester House...should have belonged to Constance", by birthright elucidates inherently inequitable gender-based marginalisation based upon patrilineal inheritance rather than equity. It serves as a form of foreshadowing as a catalyst that subsequently strips Constance's agency as an initial avenue of reconciliation, entrapping her within structures that reproduce themselves and denying her the choice to dictate otherwise. The Rochester house serves as a symbolic means for Jackson to expose the inherent contradiction within American society as the values of liberty and freedom have been distorted to create institutions that systematically create inequality towards marginalised groups through male inheritance. Furthermore, Jackson reiterates the twisted nature of familial hierarchy through Uncle Julian's recollection that "Mr Blackwood never stinted on his food, as long as we did not take too much", while he in turn "ate hugely". The food motif serves as a medium for Jackson to display how love and care has been commodified based on subservience to the house patriarch. Additionally, the allocation of food to Merricat where she was "sent to bed without dinner" elucidates how the ritual of dinner and sharing a meal has become weaponised as a punishment in the place of nurture. It is also a self-replicating system as the denial of food in itself produces weakness that reduces Merricat's ability to resist, reflecting the oppressive nature of the family hierarchy. In doing so, Jackson unveils how the nuclear family structure sustains itself by prioritising authority and power over love and care through oppressive practices, serving to physically weaken, marginalise and individualise [unclear] and enforce the patriarchy by diminishing their capacity to resist. By illustrating how coercion sustains oppressive structures, Jackson foreshadows the destructive consequences as a form of retribution to those maintaining these systems.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Ogawa suggests that people adapt too…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Yoko Ogawa’s 1994 novel ‘The Memory Police’ utilises a dystopian setting to illustrate the complexities of human…
Yoko Ogawa’s 1994 novel ‘The Memory Police’ utilises a dystopian setting to illustrate the complexities of human complacency, and how quickly we can conform in the face of tyranny. Inspired by real historical events such as the Holocaust, Ogawa uses the forced disappearance of memories to paint a grave allegory of a totalitarian society. The novel serves as a political message —warning the audience as to the dangers of a corrupt, tyrannical government, and how it catalyses the erosion of identity. Through her foreboding depiction of total control and the suppression of resistance, Ogawa explores character relationships, allusions to history, and an exploration of the connection between memory and identity. Ultimately, The Memory Police exposes a fatal flaw in the human condition — in which we can surrender our autonomy almost willingly under oppressive governance.