VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: FRAMEWORK OF IDEAS: country. TITLE:…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: They say, "country remembers". Not in words. But in aromatic scent, symphonic sound and the weight of humming…
They say, "country remembers". Not in words. But in aromatic scent, symphonic sound and the weight of humming air.
As I trudged on, creating deep footprints in fresh mud, I felt like I was eight again, sauntering through the jungle that was Hulu Langat. Distinct, precious memories from the clouds of my childhood drizzled into my brain: grabbing durians from tall trees during the day, afraid of monsters hiding behind them at night, cowering under my silk-thin blanket when the thunderstorms flashed the shadows of those monsters.
Twenty now, I still smiled at every blooming orchid, and durian hanging desperately on a tree that made the Malaysian countryside uniquely beautiful.
A curious scent engulfed me, imploring me closer to a particular durian tree. Its colour was deeper than the rest. Richer. Without hesitation, I jumped on the first branch, my hands, now broader and less certain, almost crushing the thin branch. Hoisting my body upward was a clumsy effort, lacking the easy grace I remembered.
The distinct memory, from my old life, of grabbing spiky durians from tall, menacing trees further lit my smile. It motivated me to get my now pudgy frame up and standing on the next branch up.
I almost slipped. Though nobody was around to see, embarrassment washed over me as I had gotten my white T-shirt stuck to a nearby branch. I laughed. Peeling away my tee from the rough branch, I felt it unstick from my sweat-filled back. It was a warm feeling. Nostalgic. The blazing sun, and still humidity, used to make my singlet kiss my back as a kid. This type of weather was all I knew for nine whole years. A clear feeling of belonging filled me, as I jumped off, not wanting to injure myself.
The countryside walk continued, each step a quiet
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “In Oedipus Rex, does Oedipus uphold…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, ‘Oedipus the King’, written for the Dionysian festival of 429 BC, is a didactic…
Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, ‘Oedipus the King’, written for the Dionysian festival of 429 BC, is a didactic exploration of the paradoxical interplay between choice and pre-determined fate. Sophocles makes evident of Oedipus’ desperate pursuit of justice being pure and symptomatic of a noble leader, however, subverts this to magnify the extent of his motivation contradicting his role as a leader. He magnifies this duty as compromised through his hamartia of hubris, equating himself to the gods, subsequently resulting in his inability to take into consideration others ideas. Simultaneously, he too is observed as honourable in his desire to vanquish the curse. Overall, Sophocles applauds Oedipus’ pursuit for justice, yet this same desire is consequential in his demise.
Sophocles exposes Oedipus’ hubris to cloud his ability to see the truth undermining his position as a leader. This is made evident through the opening stage direction setting the scene using Aristotle’s unity of time, place and action “double doors dominate the façade [with] a stone alter”. By establishing this stage direction early on immediately exemplifies the plays central conflict between free will depicted through the double doors and the stone alter emblematic of the gods who control one’s fate. By Oedipus claiming the alter as his own “huddling at my alter, praying before me, your branches wound in wool”, demonstrates Oedipus portraying himself as equal to the gods, further bolstering his hubris. This allows the Ancient Athenian audience to view Oedipus of both prideful and powerful having the confidence to take the role as king. Attempting to do so ignites Oedipus’ constant obsession to maintain this position of power, making him blind to the truth of what is truly happening placing greater emphasis amidst the anagnorisis of the truth. Similarly, Oedipus’ immense self-confidence is clearly showcased outside of the Aristotelian principles of time, place and action upon Oedipus’ recount of how he “stopped the sphynx with no help from the birds”. The birds are a form of symbolism signifying the gods due to their shared trait in the ability to see everything from above and predict what is to occur whereas humans can only see what is in front of them being the present. This acclamation of his ability to rid the mythical creature being the sphynx without the help of the gods bolsters the inability to accept the role of the gods in Oedipus’ fate whilst simultaneously highlighting his hubris making him more susceptible to the fulfillment of the prophecies and his overall demise as a result of his pursuit for justice. Additionally, Oedipus’ confidence is illustrated by “I count myself the god of chance”. By doing so acts as symbolism of Tyche the god of chance both good and bad, exposing the capricious and unpredictable characteristics of chance foreshadowing Oedipus’ downfall as a result of his inability to see the truth masked by his immense hubris and desire for fame. Overall, Sophocles illuminates Oedipus’ pursuit for justice being as a form of redemption and upholding his status as king.
Furthermore, Oedipus’ hubris disallows his ability to accept others’ ideas that contrast his own. This can be made manifest through Creon who is portrayed to imbue a quality of sophrosyne and loyalty and upon returning from Delphi to find the reason for the curse “his face [is] shaded with a wreath” as
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “In Oedipus Rex, does Oedipus uphold…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 62.5%: In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, set predominantly of contemporary mythologies of 429 Bc. Written as…
In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, set predominantly of contemporary mythologies of 429 Bc. Written as a didactic play in competition with the Dionysus festival, is an enlightening exploration between the paradoxical interplay between one’s own choices and their pre-determined fates. Sophocles makes evident of Oedipus’ desperate pursuit of justice being pure and symptomatic of a noble leader, however, subverts this to magnify the extent of his motivation contradicting his role as a leader. He magnifies this duty as compromised through his hamartia of hubris, equating himself to the gods, subsequently resulting in his inability to take into consideration others ideas. Simultaneously, he too is observed as honourable in his desire to vanquish the curse. Overall, Sophocles applauds Oedipus’ pursuit for justice, yet this same desire is consequential in his demise.
Sophocles exposes Oedipus’ hubris to cloud his ability to see the truth undermining his position as a leader. This is made evident through the opening stage direction setting the scene using Aristotle’s unity of time, place and action “double doors dominate the façade [with] a stone alter”. By establishing this stage direction early on immediately exemplifies the overwhelming relationship between free will depicted through the double doors and the stone alter emblematic of the gods who control one’s fate. By Oedipus claiming the alter as his own “huddling at my alter, praying before me, your branches wound in wool”, demonstrates Oedipus portraying himself as equal to the gods, further bolstering his hubris. This allows the Ancient Athenian audience to view Oedipus of both prideful and powerful having the confidence to take the role as king. Attempting to do so ignites Oedipus’ constant obsession to maintain this position of power, making him blind to the truth of what is truly happening placing greater emphasis amidst the anagnorisis of the truth. Similarly, Oedipus’ immense self-confidence is clearly showcased outside of the Aristotelian principles of time, place and action upon Oedipus’ recount of how he “stopped the sphynx with no help from the birds”. The birds are a form of symbolism signifying the gods due to their shared trait in the ability to see everything from above and predict what is to occur whereas humans can only see what is in front of them being the present. This acclamation of his ability to rid the mythical creature being the sphynx without the help of the gods bolsters the inability to accept the role of the gods in Oedipus’ fate whilst simultaneously highlighting his hubris making him more susceptible to the fulfillment of the prophecies and his overall demise as a result of his pursuit for justice. Additionally, Oedipus’ confidence is illustrated by “I count myself the god of chance”. By doing so acts as symbolism of Tyche the god of chance both good and bad, exposing the capricious and unpredictable characteristics of chance foreshadowing Oedipus’ downfall as a result of his inability to see the truth masked by his immense hubris and desire for fame. Overall, Sophocles illuminates Oedipus’ pursuit for justice being as a form of redemption and upholding his status as king.
Furthermore, Oedipus’ hubris disallows his ability to accept others’ ideas that contrast his own. This can be made manifest through Creon who is portrayed to imbue a quality of sophrosyne and loyalty and upon returning from Delphi to find the
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “In Oedipus Rex, does Oedipus uphold…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, set predominantly of contemporary mythologies of 429 Bc. Written as a…
In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, set predominantly of contemporary mythologies of 429 Bc. Written as a didactic play in competition with the Dionysus festival, is an enlightening exploration between the paradoxical interplay between one own choices and their pre-determined fates. Sophocles makes evident of Oedipus’ desperate pursuit of justice being pure and symptomatic of a noble leader, however, subverts this to magnify the extent of his motivation contradicting his role as a leader. He magnifies this duty as compromised through his hamartia of hubris, equating himself to the gods, subsequently resulting in his inability to trust others. Simultaneously he too is observed as honourable in his desire to vanquish the curse. Overall, Sophocles applauds Oedipus’ pursuit for justice, yet this same desire is consequential in his demise.
Sophocles exposes Oedipus’ hubris to cloud his ability to see the truth. This is made evident the opening stage direction setting the scene using Aristotle’s unity of time place and action “double doors dominate the façade [with] a stone alter”. By establishing this stage direction early on immediately exemplifies the overwhelming relationship between free will depicted through the double doors and the stone alter emblematic of the gods who control one’s fate. By Oedipus claiming his alter as his own “huddling at my alter, praying before me, your branches wound in wool”, demonstrates Oedipus portraying himself as equal to the gods, further bolstering his hubris. This allows the Ancient Athenian audience to view Oedipus of both prideful and powerful having the confidence to take the role as king. Attempting to do so ignites Oedipus’ constant obsession to maintain this position of power, making him blind to the truth of what is truly happening placing greater emphasis amidst the anagnorisis of the truth. Similarly, Oedipus’ immense self-confidence is clearly showcased outside of the Aristotelian principles of time, place and action upon Oedipus’ recount of how he stopped the sphynx with no help from the birds. The birds are a form of symbolism signifying that of the gods due to their shared trait in the ability to see everything from above and predict what is to occur whereas humans can only see what is in front of them being the present. This acclamation of his ability to rid of the mythical creature of the sphynx without the help of the gods bolsters the inability to accept the role of the gods in Oedipus’ fate whilst simultaneously highlighting his hubris making him more susceptible to the fulfillment of the prophecies and his overall demise as a result of his pursuit for the truth. Additionally, Oedipus’ strong emotions of confidence is illustrated through his comparison of a direct descendant of the god of chance “I count myself the god of chance”. By doing so acts as symbolism of Tyche the god of chance both good and bad, exposing the capricious and unpredictable characteristics of chance foreshadowing Oedipus’ downfall as a result of his inability to see the truth masked by his immense hubris and desire for fame. Overall, Sophocles illuminates Oedipus’ pursuit for justice being as a form of redemption and upholding his status as king.
Furthermore, Oedipus’ hubris disallows his ability to accept others’ ideas that contrast his own. This can be made manifest through Creon who is portrayed to imbue a quality of sophrosyne and loyalty and upon returning from Delphi to find the reason for the curse “his face [is] shaded with a wreath” as he conveys that “[he] tells [Oedipus] even the hardest things to
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘’Our father had put up the signs and the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Shirley Jackson’s gothic novel, ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ unravels the protective notion of the…
Shirley Jackson’s gothic novel, ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ unravels the protective notion of the seemingly formidable Blackwood household, whilst accentuating its role in restricting feminine uprise. Jackson having been brought up in an overly critical and demanding household, reflects her difficulties through the characters of Merricat and Constance in a 1960’s American society driven by political gain and social responsibility. Thereby, Jackson asserts that the Blackwood estate is to some part protective, however Jackson critiques a world which inhibits feminine autonomy, by restricting individual freedoms. Initially, the transgression from the villagers is seen as a threat to the Blackwood sisters typical lifestyle, by which they’ve established self-imposed isolation as a mechanism for dominance. Furthermore, the patriarchal authority imposed by the Blackwood family, hinders the sisters ability to overcome such entrenched values. Ultimately, Jackson champions the subversion of societal norms, foregrounding its freeing properties, despite being restricted by an intensely conservative community.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In We Have Always Lived in the Castle,…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: Shirley Jackon’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, is a horror gothic novel in which the omnipresent themes of…
Shirley Jackon’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, is a horror gothic novel in which the omnipresent themes of control and power are thoroughly scrutinised by means of the aristocratic Blackwood family. Shirley Jackson, a phenomenal American writer, situated in New England, claims that she used her own life’s experiences as inspiration for the novel. Mary Katherine Blackwood, being a mundane character, uses rituals and witchcraft to manifest power and control. Furthermore, Jackson portrays Charles as a means for jurisdiction and authority opposing food being the primary source of power.
In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Charles functions as a tool for patriarchal control and power. Charles, “like Father”, tries to impose dominance over the Blackwood sisters, Merricat and Constance, therefore having the perfect right to sit on “Father’s chair”, thereby insinuating his patriarchal power through his prerogative behaviour. Jackson further proves Charles’s control through his fixation over monetary possessions, embellishing his prioritisation of “the safe” during a critical moment. Since “Charles and money found each other no matter how far apart they were”, Jackson conveys that wealth was the source of rise in hierarchy justifying his obsession over financial status just as the reality in 1950’s contemporary society which she knew profoundly. His monomaniac beliefs deem women too low to hold budgetary obligations as “women alone like [Constance] shouldn’t keep money in the house’. His belief equates femininity with vulnerability, gauging his intellectual supremacy and power. Undermining that, Constance introducing Charles to Merricat saying that “he looks just like Father”, foreshadows his patriarchal control since the sisters likened “Father” with masculinity and power, fearing the demise of the female-led space they had created. Furthermore, Charles stating that “we could have sold” the gold watch highlights his pragmatic beliefs on transactional views to earn money, even if they are sentimentally valuable to the Blackwoods. Jackon thereby embellishes Charles’s desire to control the Blackwood family by empowering himself with money within the family. This attitude mirrors that of the McCarthyism era in which Jackson was isolated and looked down upon due to not being a domesticated woman, picturing that just like Charles, she also faced an autocratic world intimately.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Shirely Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a horror gothic novel in which the themes of isolation and…
Shirely Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a horror gothic novel in which the themes of isolation and power are thoroughly scrutinised by means of the aristocratic Blackwood family. Written in 1962, Jackson claims that she uses her own life’s experiences during the McCarthyism era as inspiration for her novel. She discusses matriarchy and patriarchy as detrimental to one another by means of the Blackwood sisters and their opposition, Charles. However, alongside the battles faced inside the Blackwood castle, Jackson also reveals the flaws of society towards the Blackwood family.
In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the Blackwood sisters operate as a facilitator for matriarchy opposing the status quo. Mary Katherine Blackwood, being a mundane character utilises her omnipotent nature to overthrow the patriarchal beliefs of society and thereby conjure a life in which she has complete, unrestricted authority. Jackson insinuates this by the recurring symbolic motif of “the moon’, which she controls entirely. Her imaginary utopia on the moon being ‘free from ghosts’ subtly assumes her need to exorcise Charles whom she had previously likened to ‘a ghost’. Jackson therewith substantiates the aberrant visions of Merricat, by which she is ready to kill anyone without second thought acting as a threat to those around her. Her ‘putting arsenic in the sugar’, to murder her family, acts as the first step to gain hegemony over the castle and overthrow ‘Father’, who was the lead of the family. Her poisoning acts as a justification against the patriarchal nature of ‘Father’ in her world, further insinuating her warped perspective of life and the abhorrent dangers associated with it. The flaws of matriarchy are further endorsed by Constance’s reverence for food, by which she controls the entire household. Her paramount dominion over the kitchen indoctrinates her into a life in which the only task she has, is to cook and clean. Albeit finding female agency and domain in her domestic roles, Jackson embellishes the repercussions aligned with her obsession with the kitchen as detrimental to her agoraphobia. As she is ‘young’ and ‘beautiful’, Jackson illustrates how her female oriented tasks have ceased her from trying to endeavour other means of healing and going outside, causing her to be stuck in a loop of translucent duties. Hence, the matriarchal beliefs of Merricat and Constance, creating a female-led space is what caters a path for destruction and cataclysmic endeavours for the Blackwoods.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: isolation is central to all problems in we…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: Shirely Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a horror gothic novel in which the omnipresent themes of…
Shirely Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a horror gothic novel in which the omnipresent themes of patriarchy and seclusion. Written in 1962, Shirely Jackson, a phenomenal American writer, claims that the rise of the Cold War paranoia and the conformity during the McCarthy era, influenced the creation of her novel. She manifests that isolation is the main source of problems. However, she simultaneously illuminates the affordances of being cloistered and the repercussions of patriarchal control.
In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, isolation functions as a tool to distort the identity and characteristics of the Blackwoods. Having occult ideologies, Mary Katherine Blackwood treats daily objects as talismans, therefore ‘burying’ and ‘pinning’ objects to trees from ‘where [they] could watch’, highlighting her warped perspective of life. Jackson insinuates that her superstitious beliefs uproot from psychological trauma and the seclusion she faced. By going to the market every ‘Wednesday and Thursday’, and not being ‘offered’ help, Jackson substantiates her emotional seclusion by the villagers. This emotional neglect, endeavours Merricat’s animosity and ill thoughts towards them therefore ‘wishing’ for them to ‘die’. Having ‘always’ wishing that she could ‘walk home’ across the ‘sky’ rather than through village engenders her long-standing rejection of society. It galvanises her discomfort with the outside world and envisions the sky as a magical escape from reality, further exemplifying a world in which she desires full control. These aberrant visions accentuate the misanthropy harboured and dictates her morbid nature. Her mundane character further elucidates a world where she possesses full control and power of the household, and illustrates how she is the lead of the house. Her utopia on ‘the moon’, serves to comprehend a life in which she has full control where she and Constance can ‘live happily’. The moon being ‘free from ghosts’ subtly assumes her need to exorcise Charles whom she had previously linked to ‘a ghost’, and therewith lambasts her need to have complete, unrestricted authority. Being cloistered suggests her monarchy, advocating her need to have full control. Jackson amplifies that the neglect and discomfort caused by isolation, reformed Merricat’s identity and thereby developed her into a character with voracious appetite for control.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Interconnection between Suffering and Wisdom
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: =Interconnection between Suffering and Wisdom Written and performed in the early 5th century BCE, Sophocles’…
=Interconnection between Suffering and Wisdom
Written and performed in the early 5th century BCE, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King explores the inescapable nature of human ambition and its destructive desire for power in defiance of divine authority. Centralising on the interconnection between corruption, suffering and enlightenment, Sophocles reflects Athenian beliefs regarding the moral necessity of discipline and recognition alongside suffering is essential to personal development and expression of moral virtue. Through his portrayal of suffering as a manifestation of corruption of a plague that devastates Thebes, [ADD something about voluntary ignorance to divine wisdom as resulting in suffering.]
Sophocles ultimately proposes that the human experiences of pain and loss functions as an essential pathway towards gaining moral virtue and intellectual enlightenment. Therefore, suffering becomes an essential element to the cultivation and expression of the virtue of wisdom.
Through his depiction of a plague ravaging Thebes, Sophocles presents the notion of corruption rooted from the ruler’s involuntary ignorance and lack of spiritual wisdom, in turn inflicts inescapable despair upon both the tyrant and his people. By alluding to the recent plague that devastated the city of Athens, Sophocles evokes sympathy in his Athenian audience who would have recognised their collective trauma and suffering reflected through the despair within Thebes. As the audience becomes progressively aware that the city’s decay originates from Oedipus’ unawareness to his own transgressions including patricide, regicde and incest, Sophocles interconnects Oedipus’ blindness to his internal corruption with the natural decay of Thebes, suggesting that moral pollution disturbs the divine balance of cosmos. This destruction is conveyed through an agricultural and death motif as Sophocles personifies the devastation as “black death luxuriates” and “crops fail to ripen”, alongside “children [dying] in the womb”, emphasising Oedipus’ corruptive presence as a disturbance of natural order. In this manner, the physical and moral decay of the polis of Thebes mirrors the moral corruption rooted in its ruler. Following Apollo’s decree to “root out all evil, “ Sophocles employs dramatic irony to emphasise Oedipus’ lack of self-awareness and intellect on the issue leading him to unknowledging hunting himself as the source of pests disturbing the natural ‘garden’ of Thebes. Here, Oedipus' ironic ignorance perpetuates his own and his citizens' suffering suggesting that an absence of intellectual awareness of his “tainted” blood becomes a catalyst for suffering for the city of Thebes. Ultimately, Sophocles underscores that the suffering of Thebes arises from the moral blindness of its leader, reiterating the link between a leader’s lack of wisdom causing collective anguish for themselves and those they govern over.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a necessary part of Australia’s history. To what extent do you agree?" Set…
Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a necessary part of Australia’s history. To what extent do you agree?"
Set in early 1920s Arnhem Land, Stephen Johnson’s High Ground draws heavily on the beleaguered experiences of Indigenous peoples and their systemic massacres during Australia’s Frontier Wars. While a historic fiction, the film plays with conventions of the American Western; Johnson’s “Northern” subverts the classic ‘civilisation of the wild’ trope with a recasting of frontier settlers as they rapaciously invade a land long held under the sovereign control of First Nations people. Through his condemnation of colonialism, his dignification of Indigenous perspectives, and his exploration of the complexities of post-colonial relationships, Johnson not only criticizes the necessity of violence in Australia’s history but constructs a narrative that exposes the oppressive nature of white settlement, forcing his audiences to confront Australia’s underrepresented past and the enduring consequences of its violence.
Stephen Johnson's "High Ground' powerfully depicts violence not as necessary but as the by-product of Australian history's systematic and calculated colonial conquest. Violence as "necessary" implies that frontier settlers were left with zero liberty or free will during their rapacious invasions of a land long held under the sovereign control of First Nations people. Johnson's condemnation of colonialism and its unnecessaryness is showcased through Moran, who while bearing his formal missionary attire callously remarks "Kill 'em all" in reference to Dharpa's mob- an Indigenous group who sought to reconcile peace but have ironically been left with zero liberty or free will and have had to show resistance. Johnson utilises this characterisation of Moran to underscore how settlers would opt for violence over co-operation with First Nations people. Similarly to Moran, in the opening scene of the film trigger-happy McGuinness asks "Did I get her?" in reference to the Indigenous woman and her child that he just slaughtered. The line is delivered with a sense of eagerness, reinforcing the genocidal mindset that was entrenched into frontier settlers, where violence against Aboriginal Australians was not only normalised, but encouraged. Johnson deliberately limits McGuiness’s dialogue, instead relying on auditory techniques like silence and sharp gunfire to construct the settlers not merely as violent, but as emotionally vacant, their humanity erased by the mechanics of colonial conquest. Even Braddock, the mission's pastor, is complicit in this moral failure. His quotes of scripture - "what sorrow for him who lives alone"- intended to build community within the mission, is instead depicted as a tool of colonial hypocrisy. Braddock's inaction is not just a personal 'moral failure' but a systemic one, representing how religious institutions were instrumentalised to legitimize the colonial project. Through this exploration of frontier settlers, Johnson dismantles any claim that colonial violence was unavoidable, exposing it instead as the product of systemic racism, moral cowardice, and institutional power.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Personal Journey being lost
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 70%: The question followed me everywhere. At school, it was the first thing teachers asked. At family dinners, it…
The question followed me everywhere.
At school, it was the first thing teachers asked. At family dinners, it floated between mouthfuls of food. At parties, it arrived before hello.
“So, what are you doing next year?”
Each time, I smiled too quickly and gave an answer that sounded rehearsed. “Law, maybe. Or engineering.”
People nodded approvingly. That was the kind of answer they liked — confident, ambitious, safe.
But each time I said it, a small part of me went quiet.
At home, the noise was louder.
Mum had printed out university rankings and stuck them to the fridge like motivational posters.
Dad dropped hints about “stable careers” and “good starting salaries.”
Even my older brother, who was halfway through his business degree, liked to remind me that “the real world doesn’t wait for indecision.”
I nodded through it all, my smile thin as glass.
In my room, I stared at the blank spaces on my university preference list. The cursor blinked on my laptop like it was mocking me.
Choose something.
Choose now.
Choose right.
My heart thudded against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
That night, I heard my parents talking in the kitchen.
“He’s too anxious. We just need to push him a bit,” Mum whispered.
“Pushing won’t help,” Dad said. “He needs direction.”
The words stung. They were talking about me, not to me.
I lay awake until the walls seemed to hum with every thought I couldn’t quiet.
By morning, the house felt heavier.
Mum called me into the dining room. The table was covered in brochures.
“I think you should apply for law,” she said. “You’re good at English. You like to argue.”
“I don’t like arguing,” I muttered.
“You’re just scared of the workload,” Dad added, sipping his coffee.
“I’m not scared—”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Mum snapped. “All your friends have already applied. You can’t just drift forever, Alex.”
Her voice echoed through me like feedback from a speaker.
Something inside me cracked.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: this creative is on the overall topic…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: As a lifesaver, you share the beauty of being at the beach, absorbing the fresh aromas of the ocean — and…
As a lifesaver, you share the beauty of being at the beach, absorbing the fresh aromas of the ocean — and through standing in the sand, you embrace a sense of freedom and equilibrium. We learn to read the waves, to spot the riptides that can drag swimmers out to sea, and to conserve energy by swimming parallel to the shore rather than fighting against the current. But no amount of training could prepare me for the unrelenting pressures of school. The harder I swim, the stronger the current pulls, stifling my ability to explore the vastness of life beyond the classroom walls. The ocean is vast, unpredictable, and relentless — just like the academic world students navigate daily. Education, an institution meant to empower and foster growth, has become an undertow that drags students down in a persistent tide of expectations, making self-discovery nearly impossible. Students are not simply learning — we are surviving, measured not by our passions or creativity, but by our capacity to endure. The system, rigid and uncompromising, rewards conformity over curiosity and productivity over purpose, forcing us to sacrifice individuality for the sake of arbitrary academic success.
At the heart of this issue lies the suffocating weight of academic expectations. We are encouraged — if not compelled — to dedicate ourselves to subjects we neither enjoy nor excel in, merely to fulfil curriculum requirements. The school system preaches the importance of a “well-rounded” education, yet it often disregards individuality in pursuit of a standardised ideal. True discovery, however, arises not from rigidity but from curiosity, experimentation, and play. Play allows us to explore strengths, uncover passions, and develop a sense of purpose beyond grades and rankings. Yet the relentless pursuit of academic success has stripped away this essential freedom, leaving little room for organic exploration. Instead of fostering growth through trial and error, the system treats time spent outside of structured learning as wasted. We learn to equate worth with numbers — percentages and rankings — rather than creativity, resilience, or originality. In doing so, school transforms learning into a formulaic process of memorisation rather than a journey of discovery. And so, we silence our passions, set aside our interests, and push through the monotony, convinced this is the only way forward.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a necessary part of Australia’s history. To what extent do you agree?"…
Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a necessary part of Australia’s history. To what extent do you agree?"
Set in early 1920s Arnhem Land, Stephen Johnson’s High Ground draws heavily on the beleaguered experiences of Indigenous peoples and their systemic massacres during Australia’s Frontier Wars. While a historic fiction, the film plays with conventions of the American Western; Johnson’s “Northern” subverts the classic ‘civilisation of the wild’ trope with a recasting of frontier settlers as they rapaciously invade a land long held under the sovereign control of First Nations people. Through his condemnation of colonialism, his dignification of Indigenous perspectives, and his exploration of the complexities of post-colonial relationships, Johnson not only constructs a narrative that exposes the oppressive nature of white settlement, but also forces audiences to confront Australia’s underrepresented past and the enduring consequences of its violence.
Stephen Johnson's "High Ground' powerfully depicts violence not as necessary but as the by-product of Australian history's systematic and calculated colonial conquest. Violence as "necessary" implies that frontier settlers were left with zero liberty or free will during their rapacious invasions of a land long held under the sovereign control of First Nations people. Johnson's condemnation of colonialism and its unnecessaryness is showcased through Moran, who while bearing his formal missionary attire callously remarks "Kill 'em all" in reference to Dharpa's mob- an Indigenous group who sought to reconcile peace but have ironically been left with zero liberty or free will and have had to show resistance. Johnson utilises this characterisation of Moran to underscore how settlers would opt for violence over co-operation with First Nations people. Similarly to Moran, in the opening scene of the film trigger-happy McGuinness asks "Did I get her?" in reference to the Indigenous woman and her child that he just slaughtered. The line is delivered with a sense of eagerness, reinforcing the genocidal mindset that was entrenched into frontier settlers, where violence against Aboriginal Australians was not only normalised, but encouraged. Johnson deliberately limits McGuiness’s dialogue, instead relying on auditory techniques like silence and sharp gunfire to construct the settlers not merely as violent, but as emotionally vacant, their humanity erased by the mechanics of colonial conquest. Even Braddock, the mission's pastor, is complicit in this moral failure. His quotes of scripture - "what sorrow for him who lives alone"- intended to build community within the mission, is instead depicted as a tool of colonial hypocrisy. Braddock's inaction is not just a personal 'moral failure' but a systemic one, representing how religious institutions were instrumentalised to legitimize the colonial project. Through this exploration of frontier settlers, Johnson dismantles any claim that colonial violence was unavoidable, exposing it instead as the product of systemic racism, moral cowardice, and institutional power.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How Does Charlotte Bronte explore gender…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 95%: Charlotte Brontë's iconoclastic bildungsroman Jane Eyre elucidates the navigation of Victorian society through the…
Charlotte Brontë's iconoclastic bildungsroman Jane Eyre elucidates the navigation of Victorian society through the unprecedented lens of the female psyche. Philosophising that "women feel just as Manfield," Brontë questions the rigid dictates constituting gender roles within 19th-century Victorian England. Critiquing masculinity, Brontë illuminates the consequence of a primogeniture patriarchy. Concurrently, Brontë examined impressive confide of the feminine; dissolving gender dictates, Brontë discovers individualism as the natural guidance towards eudaemonia.
Imminently, Brontë divulges the consequences of a primogeniture patriarchy through its tendency to bestow authority without merit, thus serving as a critique of the structurally flawed constitutes of masculinity within Victorian society. Brontë typifies this notion through the characterisation of John Reed within Gateshead Hall, wherein the Hall's title etymologically symbolises the gate-like confines under the setting's patriarchy. Brontë constructs John as a malicious "14-year-old" boy who "twists the necks off pigeons"—thus underscoring his immoral nature in exercising his power maliciously over inferior beings. However, despite this, John Reed is honoured as the "master" of Gateshead Hall, as demonstrated through the hubristic embellishment "all the house belongs to me or will do in a few years." Brontë corroborates his heinous character through her reflective narration "he struck suddenly and strongly," whereby the paired adjectives delineate the heinousness of his brutal and spontaneous abuse, as emphasised by alliterative sibilance. With this foregrounded, Brontë critiques progenitor proprietary through Jane's requirement to refer to her abuser as "master," in the indignant "Master! How is he my master?" utilising Jane's questioning to enable Brontë to invite her contemporaneous audience to conceptualise the injustice of this progenitor power and its commanding of respect without morale. Through Jane's punishment to the "Red Room" as a direct consequence of John Reed, Brontë fortifies the heinousness in moral patriarchal power as granted by primogeniture society. Brontë furthers this notion through the characterisation of Mr Brocklehurst, the proprietor of Lowood, who represents the consequences of this unchecked patriarchal power in adulthood. This is epitomised by Lowood's setting, wherein the "frozen pitchers," "fetid water" and food "so bad famine itself soon sickened over it," delineate the dehumanising conditions of Lowood under Mr Brocklehurst's self-serving leadership, whereby his own daughters' endowment in "silks and furs" reveals his allocation of the school's funding for his personal use. Brontë critiques this heinous self-service within his masculine role as the provider for his orphan students, let alone a religious figure, through the ubiquitous demise it concurs. Indelibly, Brontë delineates that "the semistarvation and neglected cold predispose most of the students to receive infection," making "disease… an inhabitant of Lowood, and death its frequent visitor." Here, the causative verb "predispose" directly attributes the deaths of the hundreds of Lowood's orphaned students to Mr Brocklehurst's environment and thus him as an extension. Thusly, Brontë disdains Victorian society's bestowal of masculine roles as proprietors and protectors, despite their heinous morality, as a structural flaw of progenitor England.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: The world created by jackson is one of…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 72.5%: Born a Crime Text response essay Cruelty is often subjectified through individuals and their perspective on a…
Born a Crime Text response essay
Cruelty is often subjectified through individuals and their perspective on a particular manner. In her neo-gothic fantasy novel, 'We have always lived in a Castle', author Shirley Jackson imposes readers with an undeniable world of unrelenting cruelty. Published between the 1950s and 60s, there is often strong emphasis on the chauvinistic mindset many male figures possess. Furthermore a symbol of jealousy and greed invites subjective pain and suffering often companied by clear lack of health and outright delusion. Author Shirley Jackson conveys a clearcut message to readers regarding her novel specifically the unmatched harshness and cruelty it possesses, and the affects this can have on various individuals.
The time period of the novels publishing strongly influenced Jacksons addition of a cruel patriarchal society, symbolized by various figures in the novel. Cousin Charles and his assumed leadership of the Blackwood household upon his entrance is a key symbol of this, as he was forseen to, "Come take everything, and leave [Merricat and Constance] with nothing." Jackson portrays this entry to readers conveying an idea that a masculine ideology entices fear and worry, often exhausting Merricat in a new harsh cruel reality. Enforcing this conception further, Merricats various methods of combatence further entice readers with the cruel, undesirable world in which Merricat and Constance reside. The "magic"being broken accompanied by Merricats attempt to reseal the "protection around Constance [From Charles]" suggests the author has not only built a cruel world based on fear but a further message that it is necessary to fight back in such a harsh situation, emphasising the uncomfortablary and aggression required, all features of a painful existence. In essence, author Shirley Jackson presents a a world out of fear and provoked aggression all in an attempt to outline a world of cruelty.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 82.5%: Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a necessary part of Australia’s history. To what extent do you agree?"…
Topic: "High Ground presents violence as a necessary part of Australia’s history. To what extent do you agree?"
Set in early 1920s Arnhem Land, Stephen Johnson’s “High Ground”, while historic fiction, draws heavily on the beleaguered experiences of Indigenous peoples systemic massacres during the Australian Frontier Wars: playing with conventions of the American Western, Johnson’s “Northern” subverts the classic ‘Civilisation of The Wild’ trope with a recasting of frontier settlers as they rapaciously invade a land long held under the sovereign control of First Nations people. Through Johnson's condemnation of colonialism, his dignification of Indigenous perspectives and experiences, and his exploration into the complexity post-colonial relationships Johnson is not only able to craft a narrative that depicts the oppressive nature of Indigenous experiences of white settlers, but confront his audience on Australia’s underrepresented past and the impacts that violence has had on it
Stephen Johnson's "High Ground' powerfully depicts not as necessary but as the bi-product of Australian history's systematic and calculated colonial conquest. Violence as "necessary" implies that frontier settlers were left with zero liberty or free will during their rapacious invasions of a land long held under the sovereign control of First Nations people. Johnson's condemnation of colonialism and its unnecessaryness is showcased through Moran, who while bearing his formal missionary attire callously remarks "Kill 'em all" in reference to Dharpa's mob- an Indigenous group who sought to reconcile peace but have ironically been left with zero liberty or free will and have had to show resistance. Johnson utilises this characterisation of Moran to underscore how settlers would opt for violence over co-operation with First Nations people. Similarly to Moran, in the opening scene of the film trigger-happy McGuinness asks "Did I get her?" in reference to the Indigenous woman and her child that he just slaughtered. The line is delivered with a sense of eagerness, reinforcing the genocidal mindset that was entrenched into frontier settlers, where violence against Aboriginal Australians was not only normalised, but encouraged. Johnson deliberately limits McGuiness'es dialoague, instead relying on auditory techniques like silence and sharp gunfire to dehumanise settler identity and instead construct them as cold military agents of violence. Even Braddock, the mission's pastor, is complicit in this moral failure. His quotes of scripture "what sorrow for him who lives alone" contrasts sharply with his inability to prevent violence, suggesting a hollow spirituality that is only used to mask inaction. Through this exploration of frontier settlers, Johnson dismantles any claim that colonial violence was unavoidable, exposing it instead as the product of systemic racism, moral cowardice, and institutional power.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: The Power of Listening Stimulus:…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: “Silence can be an act of injustice.” These words echo through history, reminding us that silence is never…
“Silence can be an act of injustice.” These words echo through history, reminding us that silence is never neutral—it is the quiet rhythm through which oppression endures. Martin Luther King Jr. warned that “in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Injustice does not rely only on cruelty; it depends on apathy, on the refusal to hear. In a world deafened by division and noise, the act of listening has become radical—the bridge between protest and transformation. Protest is not only the courage to speak but the moral willingness to listen. When listening fails, injustice festers. The true measure of protest, therefore, lies not in how loudly it shouts, but in how deeply it is heard.
Body 1 — Silence as the Enabler of Injustice
Silence does not preserve peace; it cements cruelty. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron, citizens are bound by “handicaps” in pursuit of equality. Pain becomes “part of [him],” a chilling image of how injustice thrives once suffering feels ordinary. Vonnegut exposes how silence protects comfort rather than truth—how fear of disruption outweighs moral duty. The parents’ numb acceptance of their son’s execution mirrors a society so desensitised that atrocity becomes routine.
This moral dormancy reappears in real life. The 1964 Kitty Genovese murder, where neighbours allegedly watched without intervening, became a symbol of the bystander effect—the belief that someone else will act. Silence becomes the language of fear, excusing inaction while sustaining violence. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who witnessed humanity’s darkest quiet, warned that “silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Similarly, social reformer Jane Addams asserted that “action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.” Their words remind us that morality is measured not by conviction but by courage. Silence may feel safe, but it shelters cruelty—it is complicity disguised as caution.
Body 2 — Listening as Collective Power
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "I knew they talked about the money hidden…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Shirley Jackson's 1962 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' examines the complex dynamics which defined the…
Shirley Jackson's 1962 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' examines the complex dynamics which defined the capitalist centric society of post-war America. Through the gothic novella, Jackson critiques the pursuit of wealth as a destructive substance which creates division and within society. Jackson portrays class divisions as the catalyst for incessant animosity, while further how illustrating financial gain can be a corrosive motivator that destroys relationships. Jackson then implies that removing oneself from capitalistic views can ensue liberation from the societal confines.
Throughout the novella, money appears to be a catalyst for the longstanding divide that exists between the Blackwoods and the villagers. From the outset, Jackson establishes a contrasting setting through the perspective of the protagonist with the Blackwoods owning a 'fine house' while the village is described as being 'unchangingly grey' and full of 'dirty little houses'. Merricat's harsh description of the town reveals her deep rooted snobbery due to her class superiority, despite her appearing to reject many other notions which define society. Merricat suggests that the 'people of the village have always hated us,' with the use of the high modality term 'always' indicating that the division between the two groups is not merely a product of the murders, but a generational separation due to the wealth the Blackwoods possess. Through this stark divide, Jackson reveals that while the sisters' isolation may seem to result from the murders, there has 'always' been a societal divides fuelled by class disparity. Merricat lives in constant fear of the village people due to their endless taunts and ridicule as she claims that she 'knew they talked about the money hidden in our house' conveying that money is a medium by which the villagers conform and direct their hatred and ridicule. In a time where capitalist-centric views prevailed, the wealth obtained by The Blackwoods is both an object of desire and a source of gossip with ceaseless comments that 'The Blackwoods always did set a fine table'. Through creating a distinct difference in the lifestyles of The Blackwoods and the villagers, Jackson demonstrates the destructive power of wealth as it maintains the generational divisions, preventing individuals in society from expressing empathy for one another.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Section B: Crafting texts Framework:…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 60%: It's Time
It's Time
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In High Ground, it is impossible for…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Stephan Maxwell Johnson’s 2020 revisionist historical drama High Ground reflects on the challenge of reconciling a…
Stephan Maxwell Johnson’s 2020 revisionist historical drama High Ground reflects on the challenge of reconciling a past where the massacre of a mob of Yolngu tribespeople establishes the deep divisions between the European settlers and the traditional land owners. Johnson’s High Ground suggests that while some characters can reconcile with their past and move forward, however those hallowed by violence remained imprisoned by it. He infers that those who accept the shadows of their own path are able to move on, that those who were oppressed are able to escape their traumatic life, and in certain cases those with a more violence background struggle to break free of their roots. Overall, the 2020 western positions the audience to accept the possibility that characters are able to escape their past.
Johnson contends that the acceptance of one’s past serves as a gateway into freedom.
The characterisation of Baywarra depicts an everlasting flame, seeking vengeance upon the trauma that was endured to him. Baywarra’s freedom is enshrined throughout the film as he is quick to accept the physical, emotional and cultural burden that was placed on him by European settlers, using the anger to push him. Johnson displays the actions of the “wild mob” as a form of rebellion, even as they are dismissed by the settlers as “myalls, fugitives” who “burn livestock”, “killing stations”. The medium shot captures “the mob” destroying the homes of the European settlers, with the white colonisers running and crying for “help”, just as they destroyed the natural landscape. The diegetic cries for “help”, paired with the burning flames of the “station” symbolises the mark of liberation for the “wild mob”, positioning the audience to view them as powerful and harbingers of freedom. Johnson uses this scene to portray Baywarra’s reckless behaviour as an act of freedom and liberation for the pain his people suffered in the past. Claire’s illusion of innocence acts as a barrier for the Europeans to progress towards moral clarity. When Claire and her brother are tasked to look after Gutjuk, they ignore the cultural erosion inflicted on his people and worsens the cultural gentrification by rebranding him as “Tommy”, prompting him to wear western clothing. Johnson reinforces the Eurocentric influence as he pushes the Christian way of life through his sermons of the “sorrow of buying up house after house” until “everyone is evicted” and you are “alone”. Johnson uses Braddock's constant ignorance to visualise the barrier created, preventing European settlers to rectify their actions and move on. This emphasises the importance of accepting the horrors of one’s past in order to break free.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ...But I wanted her to be unhappy, dressed…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Shirley Jackson’s 1963 gothic horror novel follows protagonist Merricat after the death of the aristocratic…
Shirley Jackson’s 1963 gothic horror novel follows protagonist Merricat after the death of the aristocratic Blackwood family. Ultimately, Jackson posits that in a world of oppressive and restrictive conditions, unrelenting cruelty is fostered. Jackson demonstrates this unrelenting cruelty through the systematic societal hatred imposed on outsiders and through the forceful control over others to fulfil selfish desires. However, Jackson suggests that unrelenting cruelty can be escaped through one’s own deliberate psychological control.
Jackson delineates that unrelenting cruelty is prevalent within the societal hatred directed towards those who embody the outsider. Remnants of McCarthyism remained persistent within the early 1960s, surrounding anti-communist sentiment and the baseless accusation and exclusion of those who existed outside of social norms. Jackson develops a historical parallel to this through the townspeople who persecute the Blackwood women due to their lack of a male patriarch and their unusual behaviour. Indeed, Merricat likens the townspeople to “birds… striking down,” this unsettling avian metaphor seeking to paint the townspeople as a faceless, collective predator intent on destroying those opposed to the system. This unrelenting cruelty extends to the passing of generational hatred, as the Harris boys’ rhyme, “Merricat, would you like a cup of tea… Oh no, you’ll poison me,” acts as a tool for societal conditioning, where baseless accusations are manipulated into nursery rhyme forms to easily perpetuate cruelty upon those who are different. This societal cruelty culminates in the mob’s destruction of the Blackwood property. The lack of sympathy in this physical annihilation is perpetuated by Jim Donnell purposefully “taking off his hat, saying CHIEF,” symbolising submission to the mob and demonstrating how societal cruelty transcends moral and legal obligations. Thus, Jackson depicts that under such restrictive conditions, unrelenting cruelty is placed upon those who fail to conform.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sophocles contends that there is a time…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 95%: Central to the text, Sophocles postulates that action in the restoration of truth, when driven in absence of divine…
Central to the text, Sophocles postulates that action in the restoration of truth, when driven in absence of divine reflection and acceptance, is a hubristic flaw that constitutes Oedipus's tragic demise. Through Oedipus's hubristic declaration, that "you all know my me, the world knows my fame", Sophocles crafts a moment of false anagnorisis, a moment of tragic misrecognition that drives Oedipus to uptake a stance of personal responsibility in the restoration of Thebes well being. His misguided prerogative to take action manifests as an ignorant disregard of the role of almighty divine will in the restoration of justice, in which Oedipus uptakes his own responsibility. Sophocles compels an Athenian audience, already familiar with oracular authority and sacredness of Apollo's will, to foresee the tragedy that will inevitably erupt from Oedipus's hubristic quest for truth in a moment of action in absence of divine reverence. Through this, the audience is
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Listen Theme: writing about…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 80%: Context/Introduction: On the 16th of April 2025, groups of countless, defiant Australians attended a march…
Context/Introduction:
On the 16th of April 2025, groups of countless, defiant Australians attended a march through one of Australia’s busiest cities calling for government intervention in Australia’s housing affordability crisis that is threatening our nation.
The struggle for housing in Australia has taped shut the dreams of many Australians, but when will our government listen?
Young Australian’s, low to middle income earners, renters, retirees, and many more are being priced out of the market and the dream of home ownership is slipping away.
Protestors Declaration of Intent:
Protestors in Melbourne caused disruption to spread awareness on the issues responsible for this crisis. Such as skyrocketing demand for entry level housing due to population growth from a natural increase of births minus deaths and a record level of overseas immigration, as well as low interest rates as when borrowing is cheaper, housing demand increases, and a lack of affordable housing being built. The result of this is a housing market that benefits the wealthy, leaving much of the population in uncertainty.
This crisis did not take shape overnight, it’s the result of decades of policy choices, ;market shifts and a slow erosion of housing being a basic right. For years we have had our voice taped shut, but now the tape is being torn away, We, as Australians are speaking out louder and more urgently than ever, demanding that our government listens to us.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Oedipus the King demonstrates that there…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Oedipus the king demonstrates that there is no escaping fate as decreed by the gods. Do you agree? Sophocles'…
Oedipus the king demonstrates that there is no escaping fate as decreed by the gods. Do you agree?
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. Sophocles contends that divine will is inescapable and that despite attempts to resist it and that when fate is revealed and accepted leadership is justly enacted. The playwright cautions against resisting the gods will due to its inescapability and that the blind pursuit of truth only leads to greater devastation. Moreover, Sophocles demonstrates that only when truth is revealed, leadership is justly enacted.
The playwright warns his Athenian audience against denying fate as attempts to do so only leads to greater destruction. In the Prologous, Thebes is plagued by a miasma and 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 imagery, the playwright intends to set the tone of the play Thebes suffering and consumed by darkness due to divine will. Likewise, Jocasta's dramatically ironic statement that 'the land (is) so sick' speaks to the playwrights determination to signal to his Athenian audience that as a result of the gods punishing Thebans who had not sought justice for the individual responsible for the previous king Laius. Moreover, the length to which Jocasta and Laius went to try outwit the gods is seen when Jocasta reveals that their infant son was abandoned on a "barren trackless mountain" when he "wasn't three days old". Here, the length to which Jocasta and Laius went to prevent the completion of the prophecy that their son "must make love with (his) own mother" and "shed (his) fathers blood with (his) own hands". Meanwhile their arrogance in thinking they could outwit the gods ultimately lead to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Through this Sophocles reminds his Athenian audience who may have been questioning the gods during the Peloponnesian war that attempts to resist divine will and manipulate fate through acting with pride only leads to greater devastation, reinforcing the necessity for humility and reverence towards the gods. Moreover, Jocasta and Laius' efforts to destroy their child ultimately lead to their own downfall as is seen in the messengers reflection that Oedipus was "the life that rose up to destroy" Laius. Sophocles uses dramatic irony to emphasize the incapability of fate. Thus Sophocles demonstrates that fate is inevitable despite attempts to resist it.