VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: ‘Sunset Boulevard shows that the…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 67.5%: Released towards the end of 1950, Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder’s incisive expose of the Hollywood industry…
Released towards the end of 1950, Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder’s incisive expose of the Hollywood industry and American society more broadly was met with scathing reviews by critics who felt Wilder had maligned the all-American pursuit of fame. Indeed, Wilder criticises in his film how the pursuit of fame often creates vulnerability to the exploitation of powerful figures, and more concerningly, the loss of oneself to discontent and even madness. Despite this, Wilder endorses those in the industry who pursue meaning over fame, and illustrates how such a path can allow one to avoid the perils of the industry. Ultimately, Wilder suggests that while Hollywood is a dangerous place, it can be navigated by those who seek to produce good work. (121 words)
In the movie, the pursuit of fame leaves characters open to exploitation and even endangers their lives. Wilder reminds his audience that predatory characters wait around every corner to profit off the naivety of ‘the talent’. Joe’s callous agent tells him he should be grateful to be short on money, since “the greatest things were written on an empty stomach.” Despite professing to be Joe’s “friend”, Morino represents the most exploitative and profit-driven parts of deep Hollywood, always lurking in wait for the next “10 percent” cut. Wilder symbolically illustrates the dirtiness of the industry right from the opening of the film, when he depicts the titular street name ‘Sunset Boulevard’ written not atop a street sign, but instead in the gutter. This placement represents the lowlife aspects of Hollywood, with the fallen leaves in particular subtly hinting at the industry’s fallen and dead stars, while the high camera angle looking down on it tellingly indicates Wilder’s disgust towards the industry. The potentially fatal outcomes of chasing fame are reiterated in the next scene when the audience is presented with Joe’s dead body floating face down in a pool, while photographers crowd trying to get a good picture. Speaking from beyond the grave, Joe muses with dry empathy that “the poor dope…always wanted a pool.” As the cameras flash, he adds that he “got himself a pool – only the price turned out to be a little high.” This quote epitomises from the outset the ultimate peril of seeking acclaim: death. Indeed, it was only through his murder that Joe achieved not only the “pool”, but also the success and fame this represents in Hollywood. Joe’s haunting narration keeps the thread of death running through every scene, reminding the audience that a reckless pursuit of fame can have potentially fatal consequences. (300 words)
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: According to ‘High Ground’ reconciliation…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Stephen Johnson’s 2020 revisionist historical drama High Ground reflects on the challenge of reconciling a past…
Stephen 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 white interlopers and traditional land owners. Rupturing the continuity of Yolngu life, the 1919 massacre elicits a violent response from the survivor Baywarra whose retaliatory campaign against the perpetrators twelve years after the atrocity is motivated by vengeance. The paradoxical response counters Grandfather Darrpa’s adherence to the system of Makarrata and its enshrined practices of consistency and balance. Appropriating a form of justice more in keeping with the values of his adversaries, Baywarra’s quest for justice suggests that vindication is the means through which reconciliation can be achieved. The violence that follows exemplifies the transformative impact of colonisation on Yolngu culture. Symbolising the broader narrative of colonial conquest, the frontier setting of East Arnhem Land becomes the site where seemingly incompatible cultures clash. Observing the conflict play out as the quest to silence Baywarra intensifies, Gutjuk’s allegiances are torn. Subscribing in the end, to the philosophy of a grandfather whose wisdom is reflected in his deference to the natural world, Gutjuk’s decision to reject the violence associated with British justice and in turn his uncle, and to adopt the practice of Makarrata offers a way forward where healing perhaps, suggests Stephen Johnson, can lead to understanding and in turn, reconciliation.
The inconsistency of laws that purport to enforce order and protect both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples is evident in the brutal massacre scene that interrupts the daily rituals and practices of the Yolngu clan. Stephen Maxwell Johnson exposes the fraught nature of justice as the pursuit of two First Nations men wanted for killing a station owner’s cattle results in the brutal massacre of a tribe of seventeen men, women, and children. The indiscriminate murder of the clanspeople is initiated by Eddy’s first shot. Believing that Baywarra is about to attack, his undisciplined actions result in the impulsive shooting of Baywarra. The contrasting midshot of Baywarra, spear in hand, and the cross-shot of Eddy, rifle cocked, highlight the power imbalance that exists as the young hunter attempts to protect his nephew Gutjuk. The barrage of shots that follow generates mayhem and disorder, and the carefully planned mission to bring in the two assailants is exposed as a failure. Not only does Johnson expose the arbitrary application of justice at the hands of those who do not value the lives of the Yolngu people, but he also examines how those who initiate violence can exist with impunity, protected by the laws that they have violated. Confronting viewers with a revisionist interpretation of Australia’s colonial history Johnson challenges the myth of settlement, and in telling this truth, initiates the reconciliation process. Recasting the narrative, scenes of brutality invoke discomfort. Close-up shots of carnage reveal the damage done by indiscriminate and erratic gunfire. Johnson presents the white settlers as debased and uncivilized and in turn, represents the humanity of the Yolngu clan. The familial and cultural dynamic that is shown at the billabong depicts the kinship practices that unite the Yolngu as a community. Shattering the continuity of a way of life that is ritualistic and highly organised, the crime results in the manufacturing of an alibi. The pact between Moran, Eddy, and a reluctant Travis, exemplifies a resistance to speaking the truth, articulating, all the more urgently the importance of reconciliation for an audience of contemporary viewers unfamiliar with a narrative that counters the story of peaceful settlement.
Exposed to competing systems of justice first as a child and later as a teenager, Gutjuk is torn between the lore of his
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does wilder explore peoples desrie for…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Billy Wilder's film noir masterpiece 'Sunset Boulevard' explores the harsh realities and tragedies of the Hollywood…
Billy Wilder's film noir masterpiece 'Sunset Boulevard' explores the harsh realities and tragedies of the Hollywood industry. Through the lens of 1950s Hollywood culture, Wilder's film explores how seeking acceptance and approval of others is a necessity for some to survive, whilst for others approval is something that they must grant. Firstly, Wilder exposes how the urge for acceptance from others directs people into a spiral of unescapable illusions. Secondly, Wilder scorns Hollywood for its allure of fame and the severe extent it forces people to go in order to stay afloat. On the contrary, Sunset Boulevard reveals how power is distributed unequally, with those in privileged positions exerting immense control over the ambitions and livelihood of others.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Jackson uses her novel to criticise a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: The overbearing social dogmas that underpinned the milieu of 1950s to 60s America permeated prejudice and fear of…
The overbearing social dogmas that underpinned the milieu of 1950s to 60s America permeated prejudice and fear of outsiders. In her proto-feminist gothic novelle 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle', Shirley Jackson chastises the inherent iniquitous nature of this normalcy, unveiling the effects of its villification and suspicion. Ultimately, Jackson's novel serves as a figurative feminist stand against the cyclical hatred and sadism underlying the strictures of society.
In a world of social hate and fear, Jackson explores the evil of those who assert hatred to the marginalised. By constructing the secondary setting of the village as a microcosm of society, the novelist depicts its evident hatred to female non-conformists. In the Blackwood sisters confession that "the people of the village have always hated us", generational hatred and prejudice is fostered. Additionally Jackson explores the simultaneously suspicious nature of the villagers, with Mrs Wright leaving "her little run cake... untouched" out of fear of being poisoned. Combining this sense of fear and suspicion constructs the evil paradigms within society. Allowing for a historical viewpoint could see the village as a social allegory of McCarthyism, punishing those who do not adhere to patriotism and inducing an atmosphere of suspicion within society. Through the portrayal of the village, Jackson lambasts them for their idiotic doctrines, utilising the eye dialect; "anyone would think that they wasn't Wanted." A sense of lower class and stupidity is gathered from this device, and, combined with the gothic convention of the villages "grey" colour, the criticism of a dark society is inferred. Jackson integrates this derision to normalcy to subvert prototypical ideals, believing them to be idiotic and dark antagonistic values. Hence Jackson's low intelligence construction of the village depicts the downfalls and sadism of a prejudiced, fearful paradigms.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: This is the article (was unable to…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 77.5%: Due to a large comments on both social media and their website, host of the Apples and Oranges podcast - JAC…
Due to a large comments on both social media and their website, host of the Apples and Oranges podcast - JAC LIV - decided to incorporate the topic of nappies within an episode of the podcast. Targeted towards an audience of new parents, Liv utilizes a casual and buoyant tone in order to present his discussion. He contends that disposable nappies are troublesome but acknowledges the drawback of reusable ones, thus providing a pragmatic solution that will benefit both the children and the environment.
Subsequent to the podcast introduction, Liv opens the discussion of nappies by declaring "[His] biases upfront", stating that he believes that disposable nappies are "evil". This overt transparency with his audience establishes a sense of comfortability, positioning the readership to trust him by immediately informing them of his stance. Despite this, Liv continues to say that he put his "theories and prejudices to the test". By suggesting that he has the ability to contest his own notions, Liv creates a sense of his own objectivity, regardless of personal ideologies. This therefore targets the audience by framing himself as an individual who is willing to set aside his beliefs in order to uncover the truth. Liv thus, builds credibility with his readership through a combination of transparency and objectivity. Liv amplifies this notion through the utilisation of the first visual which depicts a woman balancing on a seesaw, apple in one hand, orange in the other. This image represents the podcast's overall goal of comparing and contrasting various issues in order to assist the audience. Furthermore, the presentation of the seesaw being balanced, rather than flipped to one side, encapsulates the podcasts - and therefore Liv's - commitment to fairly analysing the qualities of two opposing ideas, corroborating a sense of genuine openness with the readership.
Subsequent to this establishment of trust, Liv discusses his personal experience with nappies when himself and his partner had twins. The anecdotes resonates with the parental audience and creates relatability between them and the speaker (Liv). Liv utilizes this connection to present his overarching argument, that disposable nappies are highly impactful to the environment. He states that both him and his partner wished for their parenting to have a "low impact on the world" and conversely for the "world to have a low impact" on their children. The utilisation of dichotomy to create correlation between environmental effects and child wellbeing appeals to the parental instincts to protect therefore bolstering Liv's argument .Liv further states that in tandem with the wellbeing of their "bub", he and his partner also wanted "to do the right thing". Liv utilises this statement as a by-line to shift the argument into one of morality, utilising subliminal messaging and consequential reasoning to suggest that the use of disposable nappies is immoral. This further appeals to his audience's desire to act in accordance with moral righteousness. Liv takes advantage of the relationship he has fostered with long time listeners of the podcast (who view him with respect) to position them in a place in which they do not wish to be perceived negatively by him by acting against what he considers to be "right".
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: The truth “Having a voice means…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 62.5%: HELP ME! HELP ME! A cry for help can break out like a dam – raw, urgent and impossible to ignore. Yet at…
HELP ME! HELP ME! A cry for help can break out like a dam – raw, urgent and impossible to ignore. Yet at times it never comes. Many who suffer remain silent, paralysed not by weakness but by the weight of fear, shame and despair. The truth is that silence is not always chosen, sometimes it is forced upon us by a world that refuses to listen. Though I was not among those silenced, I have stood close enough to see how injustice renders speech almost impossible, and how protest becomes the only means of restoring voice and truth.
As I speak before you sociologists – experts in the forces that bind us as a society – I do so not to recount on my own oppression, but to reflect on a truth that I have witnessed in others, and on how protest transforms individuals and societies.
I grew up alongside a discriminated friend who bore the marks of exclusion every single day. He was humiliated in classrooms, dismissed by teachers and treated by peers as though his very existence was a transgression. I could not fully inhabit his experience, but I could not ignore it either. When I asked why he did not resist, he admitted that to stand up felt futile, that when the world itself had decided his worth, silence seemed the only option. Yet slowly, through small acts of courage, he began to resist: lifting his head a little higher, meeting the gaze of those who scorned him, speaking up when he once might have remained quiet. These may appear to be minor gestures, but to him they were transformative, and to me they revealed a profound truth – Having a voice means speaking up for what you know is right. Your voice may be alone, but when others recognise the truth, they will form a chorus to take up the fight. Slowly my peer gathered support
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Connections
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 75%: My home is like a castle; my land, like a country. From my bedroom window, I gaze out across the yard with a…
My home is like a castle; my land, like a country.
From my bedroom window, I gaze out across the yard with a calm assurance of familiarity, as though I were a monarch surveying my country. The dogs patrolled the perimeters like loyal guards, the chickens and cows like toiled farmers, providing us with fruitful sustenance. The weathered walls held us close, worn smooth by time and memory, and the ceilings - though sagging under the weight of decades - shielded us from storm and sun. Our iron roof sat atop it all, as a turret tops a castle. But what truly set our castle apart were the fortress walls: towering pine trees, planted long before I was born. They stood over thirty metres high, arm to arm, forming an unbroken circle around our land. For years, they made us feel safe. Untouchable. But that was before everything changed. Before the plague came.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Speak up. The time is now.
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 67.5%: They say silence is neutrality. But in a world where bombs don't discriminate, silence is complicity. Amid…
They say silence is neutrality. But in a world where bombs don't discriminate, silence is complicity. Amid the blazing sun, the crowd gathers in the heart of the city chanting in unison. Sweat dripped down my face as bodies slammed against each other. The sound of megaphones ricochetted of buildings, layering over the rising tide of chants that erupted like a rolling thunder, relentless, unyielding. "FREE FREE PALESTINE." I came here today not because of the headlines of views but because of the countless images of suffering children and families in Gaza portrayed in the media. I stand here today not just as an individual but as a voice – one among thousands, millions. A voice that refuses to be silent. Every second that passes is the death of another innocent Palestinian. I scan the long city road, taking in protestors holding signs and posters. Their eyes burned with determination, a shared cause uniting us all.
The call this conflict. They call this war. But I call it what it is: genocide. Grief. Torment. I am proud to be siding with the Palestinians as they continue to fight for their freedom. I have head too many pleas to be patient, to be calm. But how can one be patient when the olive tree that once stood tall, rooted in the soil of ancestry is being ripped to shreds from its roots by Israel colonists. How can one be calm, when my dear brothers and sisters are being labelled as terrorists for demanding the right to live, to breathe, to simply exist?
The crowd surges on like a roaring tide, each voice a wave crashing against the silence. The world watches, sometimes with sympathy, often with ignorance. The gaze upon this issue as if it would just fix itself. Treating people – human beings that bleed the same blood as them as if they were just a number. The government raise statements of concern. As if concern could stop missiles and bullets. As if concern could help rebuild a house reduced to rubble. As if concern could bring back the lives of innocent Palestinians. But we people are here. Our voices roar whilst their silence drowns the dying. To say nothing is the same as holding the oppressors hand, to let the suffering continue.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: The Memory Police highlights the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: The Memory Police, a dystopian novel by Yoko Ogawa, explores a society set on a fictional ‘island’, where the…
The Memory Police, a dystopian novel by Yoko Ogawa, explores a society set on a fictional ‘island’, where the residents operate under an authoritarian regime. It is against this backdrop that Ogawa emphasises the importance of resisting injustice by demonstrating the consequences of compliancy. The novel demonstrates the impacts of allowing unjust rules to dictate a society through portraying gradual loss of individuality. Ogawa further emphasises this by establishing that resisting against an oppressive regime enforces a sense of personal freedom, however the author also presents resistance as a challenging path that few dare to take.
Ogawa suggests that compliance with oppressive control leads to the erasure of a sense of identity. The author portrays the residents as passive since ‘no one ever complains’ when something has been ‘disappeared’ by the Memory Police. As objects continue to disappear, so do the personal and emotional meanings attached to them, and with the passive acceptance from the citizens, they lose parts of themselves that tied them to their past. For instance, when birds had vanished, the Memory Police barged in to the Narrator’s home and attempted to ‘eliminate all trace of anything relating to birds’, she states that ‘the traces of [her] father’s presence’ had been ‘replaced by an emptiness that would not be filled’, and that she has ‘found no way to fill in the voids left by the Memory Police’. This highlights how the forceful disappearance of an object caused her to lose something that tied her to an important figure of her life, someone who influenced her identity, because the lack of resistance causes the Memory Police to exploit their power. Ogawa also uses this to emphasise the notion that the disappearances aren’t necessarily about the object itself, but instead the meaning that they hold. This explains why the disappearances are weaponised by the Memory Police to erase individuality within the inhabitants, so they can hold power over complaint individuals which refuse to resist due to their lost sense of self. Therefore, consequences such as loss of individuality are prevalent in a society where there is a lack of resistance.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "I'd started concocting a little plot of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: In the superficial world of Hollywood in post World War II America, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard explores the…
In the superficial world of Hollywood in post World War II America, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard explores the unquenchable thirst for external validation within a culture of exhibitionism. In this way, Wilder highlights that most individuals in his film make bad choices; however, he also questions the validity of if these bad decisions are truly choices. Specifically, Wilder showcases that many individuals make bad choices within their relationships leading to these people being exploited. Furthermore, Wilder emphasises that on the search for fame, individuals make bad career choices. However, Wilder emphasises that bad choices are made but not entirely by the individuals and rather as a result of them being manipulated into doing so by Hollywood. Therefore, due to the thirst for external validation, most but not all individuals make bad choices in hope to further their career and receive validation from society.
Wilder showcases that in relationships, many individuals make bad choices that lead to them being exploited by their counterpart. As Joe comforts Norma after cutting herself, Norma is visualised grasping on to Joe as the screen fades to black. Wilder utilises this transition to signify that Joe’s choice to stay with Norma has resulted in him succumbing to Norma’s controlling nature through the sense of resignation and subservience as he allows himself to be pulled into Norma’s embrace. Conversely, this also occurs for Norma as after their first interaction, Joe’s voiceover highlights his exploitation of Norma he “starts concocting a little plot”. Norma's choice to trust Joe after only a brief acquaintance is a clear example of her poor judgement. Her justification, that she 'likes sagittarians,' reveals a naivety that leaves her vulnerable to exploitation. Furthermore, Norma’s absence of judgement in relationships leading to her exploitation is further emphasised through Max’s exploitation of her because he “found everything unendurable after she left”. During this, Wilder's use of chiaroscuro, as he only illuminates half of Max’s face, hints at the duality of Max’s character as his exploitation of Norma in their relationship contributes to Norma’s destruction. This comes as a result of Norma’s bad choice to keep Max around to quench her own thirst for external validation and reinforcement of the belief that she is “the greatest star of them all” which is repeatedly mentioned by Max. Thus, through exploitative relationships, Wilder highlights the extent of individuals that make bad choices leading to their own exploitation.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Oedipus the king suggests that characters…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: In Sophocle’s didactic tragedy, “Oedipus the King”, the idea of the lack of free will and power of the divine…
In Sophocle’s didactic tragedy, “Oedipus the King”, the idea of the lack of free will and power of the divine gods dictates the extent to which characters have control over their own lives. Whilst Sophocles illustrates the egotistical nature present in the world of Oedipus and the extent to which individuals had free will, inherently the irrefutable element of divine power of the gods overpowered all aspects of life. Ultimately, the inability to remain reverent to the gods presents feelings of despair and hopelessness to his contemporary Athenian audience.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Wilder critique the world of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Intro Para: Centering on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film noir ‘Sunset Boulevard’, Wilder criticizes the exploitative and…
Intro Para:
Centering on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film noir ‘Sunset Boulevard’, Wilder criticizes the exploitative and dark world of the Hollywood scene and its treatment of silent film stars come the emerging era of sound in film in the 1930s, leading to the displacement of silent actresses and actors, discarded and rendered obsolete, their only option to succumb to their demise of obscurity.
Norma Desmond serves as the embodiment of Hollywood’s rejection of silent film stars and its relative effect on identity–Norma, a ‘bygone starlet of yesteryear’, becomes victim to her delusions of fame and recognition. Her entire identity is built on her celebrity image as a star, to which her goals are motivated by the idea of her ‘return to fame’ in producing her screenplay, ‘Salome’. Notably, Salome is an intertextual reference to the New Testament, Salome being the daughter of King Herod the second, a seductive and alluring figure who performs ‘the dance of the seven veils’ in exchange for the head of John the Baptist.
Para 1: The Nature of Hollywood
Norma, in her desperation, hires cynic protagonist and down on his luck screenwriter Joe Gillis to help her with the script, where he becomes trapped within the allure of Norma’s wealth and the comfortable lifestyle that it provides him with. When the audience first witnesses the mansion, the scene is taken in a wide shot, exaggerating just how large and grandeur the place is. Joe describes it as “stricken with a creeping paralysis” and “a great, white elephant of a place.” Wilder’s use of dialogue in Joe’s narration alludes to the mansion being a metaphorical representation of the Hollywood industry–a grand, flashy place that conceals a hidden darkness, unable to be perceived unless one has been immersed into it.
Joe sweet talks Norma into letting him work on the script in his desperate need of financial assets. In doing so, he is under the impression that he is the one who holds power over Norma, an unassuming fallen star, quoting: “I’d concocted a little plot of my own.” He comes to realise that he does not hold the power over Norma that he’d initially thought, rendered unable to free himself from his comfortable, yet limiting lifestyle in the mansion.
This subjective ‘entrapment’ draws on key themes that Wilder suggests in criticizing the Hollywood scene. Joe’s compromise of his morals in his pursuit of ‘the easy life’ and financial gain demonstrates the allure of Hollywood, as well as the self serving goals of the film industry in the desire for money and fame, corrupting the virtues of genuine artistic passion and fulfillment in film and screenwriting, which leads to the self-destruction and moral decay of the characters themselves.
Para 2: The nature of celebrity and the ‘golden ages’
Wilder seeks to demonstrate the damaging effect of fame and stardom in illustrating Norma’s delusions and obsessions with her return to the film industry, in her disarrayed pursuit of recognition and praise.
Gloria Swanson’s portrayal of Norma encapsulates the effect of celebrity and star power as a star falls from relevancy – in fact, Norma serves as her parallel, speaking on Swanson’s real experiences in the Hollywood scene in her loss of fame following the transition from silent films to sound and dialogue.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Framework 2: writing about protest…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 80%: 1/3 opinion The Forgotten Furies May 29, 2025 9:40am By Jadeah Hegarty I am tired of smiling politely while…
1/3
opinion
The Forgotten Furies
May 29, 2025 9:40am
By Jadeah Hegarty
I am tired of smiling politely while being told to "Just be grateful for how far women have come", tired of sitting quietly in the shadows of history, while the world forgets that many of us are still fighting for basic respect, safety, and equity. We are the daughters of change makers, the granddaughters of warriors. But still in 2025 we are forgotten and we are furious. And we are not done.
Women have been protesting for over a century. we are never handed our rights, we dragged them from the fist of those that refused to let go of power. The Suffragettes weren't applauded at the time. They were spat on, arrested and beaten for demanding the right to vote. They didn't wait for the perfect moment. They knew the power of protest and how silence gives power to the already powerful. And so they chose to fight those who upheld the systems of inequality and they refused to sit down.
But if we think that battle is over, we are lying to ourselves. In Australia alone one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner. The gender pay gap still lingers like a stain that noone bothers to scrub out. We are told we can "have it all" but given no real tools to manage it. This is not progress. This is survival dressed up as equality. And yet we are Still Forgotten, and Furious.
Some say protest is extreme. That it's disruptive, that there are better, more civilised ways to ask for change. But let me ask, what's more disruptive, blocking traffic with march or burying a sister, mother or friend after another gender based violence? What's more extreme, shouting through a microphone or quietly bleeding through school uniform because period products weren't made available? If discomfort is the price of progress, then so be it.
Jadech
2/3
We will fight, not with hatred but with truth, resistance and relentless voices.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Desire is the most dangerous force in…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: The film Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder released in 1950, explores the themes of greed and fame…
The film Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder released in 1950, explores the themes of greed and fame throughout Hollywood. The film raises important question about whether desire leads to greed prompting us to consider whether it leads to danger. The film strongly conveys the idea that desire prompts to danger, positioning the audience to understand that desire is the most powerful force, Firstly, the film reveals how wilder conveys strong characterisations of characters to depict how the desire for fame and money leads to danger. Secondly, the depiction of the film industry highlights the importance of its influence on character in Hollywood causing the desire that leads to danger. However, throughout the film Wilder exhibits a characterisation of a character as still desiring more, but also humble with what they already have. Through the above topis Wilder explores the dangers of desire, revealing how ambition for fame and money can lead to moral compromise and greediness.
One key way the film explores the dangers of desire is through the characterisation of fame and money hungry characters. This idea is significant because it revels how personal reasons and dreams in the characters life affects their passion for desire. This is evident in Norma’s quote “There’s nothing else. Just us, and the cameras and those wonderful people out their in the dark.” This moment reveals how Norma aspires to be recognised and seeks for attention by the audience, illustrating her reason for wanting fame which ultimately leads her to her mental corruption. Joe Gillis also exhibits similar traits, for example, when he says “the poop dope, he always wanted a pool. Well, in the
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: While unconventional, We Have Always Lived…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Influenced by the societal expectations regarding gender defiance and a women’s place in society, evident in the…
Influenced by the societal expectations regarding gender defiance and a women’s place in society, evident in the 1950’s America, Shirley Jackson’s highly nuanced portrayal elucidates to the juxtaposition of what is seemingly an isolated and tormented life, as a ‘happily ever after’. Whilst Jackson argues the importance of making one’s own decisions, in her gothic novel, she alludes to the fallacy of the broken ‘American Dream’, and how the fractures apparent in such can ultimately provide the gateway to an arguably better life. Conveying a modern view, condemning the stereotypical gender roles, heavily supported by traditionalism, Jackson champions the idea that strong female figures can be in charge of their own destiny, and thus, giving them a positive end to conflict. The voluntary isolation explored by Jackson promotes one’s own idea of a personal victory in deciding what is a benevolent success, however, she also highlights how this very isolation leads to torment and destruction, hence arguing that the Blackwood sisters ending was far from the ‘happily ever after’ it can be viewed as.
In highlighting the power of female strength in a patriarchal society, suppressant of women’s needs, Jackson explores how the escape from such challenges the stereotypical archetype of females, resulting in a lifestyle far better than conforming to the gender expectations. Throughout the coure of the novel, Jackson follows two protagonists, Mary Katherine Blackwood (Merricat) and Constance Blackwood, sisters, and the only females alive in the Blackwood lineage. In their day to day life, struct by repetitive routines, the sisters are strictly reserved to the tasks of the homemaker, supporting the gender roles heavily pushed at the time. Despite seemingly being complicity in these roles of cooking, cleaning and gardening, Jackson ensures the sisters disvalue in these tasks, describing Merricat as a “wicked, disobedient child”, embedding particularly Merricat’s own disapproval of the current life they live. The Blackwood house itself is symbolic of the patriarchal view the family holds, with the females of the generation limited to parts of the house such as the kitchen, cellar and pantry, whilst male figures adorned in economics and politics as they reserved in the study. However, once the fire breaks out, lit to remove Charles Blackwood, cousin who asks to be court to Constance, both remaining Blackwood women, Merricat and Constance close off the male dominant sections of the house and purely reside in the kitchen, pantry and cellar, arguably a means for the sisters to ignore the patriarchal hold their lives have been moved by. Through Jackson’s symbolism of the Blackwood house, it is referred to as ‘the castle’ after the fire “open and turreted to the sky”. By making this distinction between the house and the castle, Jackson champions the
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Jackson employ gothic conventions…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Shirley Jackson’s ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ from 1962 draws on gothic meanings to create an atmosphere…
Shirley Jackson’s ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ from 1962 draws on gothic meanings to create an atmosphere that reveals deeper meanings about human behaviour. Through the isolation of the Blackwood house, the corruption caused by fear, and the destructive presence of violence, Jackson unsettles the reader. These cause the audience to feel in an eerie way and also highlight the dangers of exclusion, paranoia, and suppressed truth. Jackson demonstrates how gothic power reveals unsettling truths about both individuals and society.
Jackson demonstrates the isolation of characters using the mysterious atmosphere of the Blackwood house. The house functions as a gothic setting, described as being “set back from the road and sheltered by trees,” which displays a sense of mysteriousness. The use of “sheltered” suggests both protection and entrapment, symbolising how their home is perceived as shielding but can also trap them within unwanted ideologies. The estate is surrounded by fences and gates, which reinforces the decaying state that haunts its inhabitants from the outside world. The Blackwood home, once dominated by patriarchal principles, is turned away by Merricat and Constance, representing their desire for freedom while breaking away from the house. Through this Jackson positions the reader to experience the unsettling distance towards the sisters, creating meaning about how isolation can have effects on individuals.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In oedipus the king, there is nothing the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Throughout ancient Greek history, authors and philosophers alike have pondered whether an individual has control…
Throughout ancient Greek history, authors and philosophers alike have pondered whether an individual has control over their fates, or it was gods who hold power over humans all along. In Sophocles’ “Oedipus the king”, he suggests that while it may seem like the world is run on ‘chance’, in fact it is controlled by gods and predetermined fate cannot be avoided. Moreover, individual who attempt to change their fate will ultimately experience tragedy. To begin, Sophocles illustrate that displays of ignorance in an attempt to divert fate challenges the divine will, drowning individuals in delusions of ‘control’, causing excessive shame and guilt. Furthermore, Sophocles suggests that while fate is predetermined, an individual’s excessive pride and rashness can accelerate their downfall. Lastly, Sophocles demonstrates that acceptance of fate rather than attempting to change it is a quality necessary in a leader, building trust among the citizens.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Hubris in Oedipus the King
VCE Text Response essay scoring 82.5%: Sophocles presents Oedipus’ downfall as inseparable from the hubris that blinds him to the warnings of gods and…
Sophocles presents Oedipus’ downfall as inseparable from the hubris that blinds him to the warnings of gods and men alike. From the prologue, Oedipus fashions himself as indispensable to Thebes’ salvation, reminding his citizens that it was he who solved the Sphinx’s riddle and “saved the city.” Such rhetoric elevates his mortal triumphs to the status of myth, fuelling a conviction that his intellect and resolve render him equal, if not superior, to divine powers. When challenged, he boasts defiantly, “Mock me for that, go on, and you’ll reveal my greatness,” a line that encapsulates the pride that converts confidence into arrogance. His declaration, “I’ll bring it all to light myself,” further reveals an obsession with control—the belief that truth, justice, and destiny are his to command. This self-aggrandising impulse blinds him to the possibility that he himself could be implicated in Thebes’ pollution, a notion that would destabilise the very foundations of his self-image as saviour and protector. When
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent does Kennedy portray…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Cate Kennedy's Like a House on Fire is an anthology consisting of 15 short stories depicting the lives of…
Cate Kennedy's Like a House on Fire is an anthology consisting of 15 short stories depicting the lives of everyday Australians living in modern-day society. Published in 2012, Kennedy explores isolation as an inescapable aspect of human life. However, Kennedy also portrays that by overcoming loneliness, there is hope for tenacity and new beginnings. By exploring the lives of lonely mothers and deteriorating relationships, Kennedy demonstrates the unpreventable aspects of human life. Through encapsulating the aspect of hope, Kennedy further illustrates the ability to challenge strained relationships through persistence and tenacity.
Kennedy's Like a House on Fire demonstrates how isolation is an inexorable concept of existence through the theme of motherhood and toxic relationships. In "Tender," Christine describes her husband as a “third child,” illustrating the struggle she faces being a mother and having to care for her husband. Kennedy implements sarcasm here to exemplify her husband’s immaturity and his childish behaviour, further epitomising her loneliness in their relationship. Additionally, the symbol of the firebox which she “puts more wood into” displays the distance in their relationship, feeling trapped in a life of self sacrifice and gender roles with no reprieve or recognition. Similarly in “Five Dollar Family,” Michelle mocks herself, claiming she believed he had been “thoughtful that night. Thoughtful.” The repetition of the word “thoughtful” is employed by Kennedy to exhibit the ironic bitterness of the situation, illustrating Michelle’s disillusionment and loneliness of loving someone indifferent. Moreover, Des says “nah” when asked to hold the baby, presenting his emotional detachment and further leaving Michelle unsupported in her new motherhood, substantiating the distance in their relationship. In both “Five Dollar Family” and “Tender,” an isolated mother is shown despite being in a relationship with a partner. Kennedy illustrates that due to the notions of toxic masculinity and gender roles, women are forced to carry a huge load of emotional weight and must repress their own feelings. Overall, Kennedy highlights how loneliness is an inescapable aspect of relationships through the theme of motherhood and deteriorating relationships.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Communication problems are the focus of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Cate Kennedy's collection of short stories titled ‘’Like a House on Fire’’ published in 2012 explores the central…
Cate Kennedy's collection of short stories titled ‘’Like a House on Fire’’ published in 2012 explores the central theme of contemporary everyday life in Australia. Kennedy presents communication as the main focus on some of the stories, however there are still other struggles the characters face. In Like a House on Fire Kennedy proposes communication as a struggle for many of the characters. While Kennedy presents characters who are living well she also shows characters who struggle in poverty. Furthermore Kennedy explores characters who endure physical injuries and in turn face an incapability of being masculine. Consequently Kennedy proposes characters who struggle with the idea of communication in their relationships however Kennedy still presents other struggles the characters worry about.
Although the characters are in relationships and families, Kennedy illustrates some of these characters who struggle with communication. Whether in marriage or family relationships Kennedy proposes communication as a complication in which many of the characters overcome as an obstacle over time. To affirm this, in Flexion Mr Slovak and his wife ‘’the quiet one’’ struggle to interact with one another. When Mr Slovak and his wife Mrs Slovak endured an miscarriage Mr Slovak disregarded his wife's feelings, in response to this advising her to forget it ever happened and to not speak about it especially to other people ‘’not a word spoken or confided’’. Kennedy suggests in Mr and Mrs Slovak's relationship the trouble of connecting with one another to the reader in which the reader feels shocked and inspired to seek comfort in their relationships leading to face the fear of communication as a worry of losing their relationships. In comparison in Ashes the homosexual unnamed narrator enables fake scenarios in his mind when speaking to his mother when in reality the narrator stays silent when having a one-sided conversation with his mother. From which the narrator and mother share completely different perspectives on the narrator's father-son trip he experienced in his childhood as the mother believes the trip was so memorable compared to the narrator who doesn't think much of the trip where ‘’he'd forgotten that moment up until now’’. The mother keeps photos of other people's grandchildren on her fridge in which the son exaggerates how this is a personal attack towards him as he is unable to provide his mother with grandchildren. These different perspectives between the two individuals lead to them not being able to interact with each other and damaging their relationship as a result. Kennedy juxtaposes this mother and son relationship to the readers to highlight the importance of communication in relationships and how the centre of communication is a struggle many face in their relationships enabling readers to possibly feel connected to the story Ashes leading to the conclusion of possibly reconciling any broken relationships through communication. It is apparent through Flexion and Ashes Kennedy proposes characters who struggle with the difficulty of interacting with one another as the backbone of the stories presented in Like a House on Fire.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “under her touch, I can feel the coals in…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Through Charlotte and Levi’s journey following their mother’s death, arnott promotes the importance of…
Through Charlotte and Levi’s journey following their mother’s death, arnott promotes the importance of communication and empathy when tightening familial bonds. As siblings, charlotte and levi are intrinsically connected, and it is clear that both have an undying love for one another. Yet, their lack of communication was what ultimately threatened their relationship almost past its breaking point. in a grand act of love, the ‘save’ his sister form dying in such a greusome manner, Levi pledged to bury charlotte “whole ,still and cold” in a coffin that was a “representation for (his) love” for charlotte. Levi never intended to kill charlotte and bury her, for it was only intended as an act of devotion that charlotte did not have to undergo the smae “pain” his mother did. In spite of his intentions, the coffin is utilised as a symbol throughout flames to represent a loss of agency, confinement and control over charlotte’s freedom. Due to charlotte’s interpretation that Levi was joing to murder her, charlotte runs away in another gesture of love towards Levi, knowing she was not emotionally stable enough to
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Nature does not explain, it simply exists…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: In a time of vast technological development and the dominate values of materialism Mary Oliver’s poetry in New and…
In a time of vast technological development and the dominate values of materialism Mary Oliver’s poetry in New and Selected Poems emphasise the importance of a classical appreciation of nature and acts as a guide to creating a spiritual connection with the natural world. Oliver posits that nature has the ability to simply exists no matter what occurs in the human world but can also be a site for explanation. Oliver emphasises that embracing the simplicity of nature can allow one to simply live without pressure of societal norms. Furthermore Oliver showcases the power the natural cycles of the world hold as they can continue to exist despite what’s ongoing in the human world. Finally, nature can also be a place of explanation if observed mindfully.
Oliver highlights how abundance with the natural world can help one exist without constant pressures of society. In the poem ‘Wild Geese’ Oliver celebrates the vast beauty of nature by watching the cycle of geese migrating and returning home. The use of the personal pronoun “you” begins an intimate conversation with the reader where Oliver alludes to biblical stories where she expresses “you do not have to walk on your knees … repenting” doing so Oliver is emphasising nature does not hold religious expectations, accepting everyone. Instead, the readers are encouraged to “let the soft animal of [their] body love what it loves”, By refuting a common requirement of structured religions and putting forward the metaphor of one’s body being a “soft animal” purports nature as being a more suitable guide in life. Furthermore towards the end of the poem when the geese are returning home together the Poet personifies the world as “offer[ing] itself to [their] imagination” and calls to the readers like wild geese. The personification portrays the world as actively seeking to the readers to join the vast beauty it has to offer and as wild geese travel in groups this symbolises the connectiveness in being part of the natural world. Here Oliver emphasises how the natural world is available to everyone, and anyone can be a part of something beyond the materialistic norms of society. Similarly in the poem ‘August’ Oliver explores through blackberry field that engagement in nature is independent from the societal values of her time. Oliver uses dynamic verbs such as, “reaching”, and, “cramming”, to highlight the raw engagement in the “woods… nobody owns” portraying that nature is free from capitalistic control as the greedy act of “cramming” is done showing how nature is avaible for anyone to fully enjoy, the simple act of picking blackberries can help one become more connected to the simplicity of nature and live a more fulfilled life away from the traffic of the human world. Through celebrating nature’s constancy, Oliver suggests that belonging and acceptance lie not in just existing in the human world but engaging with the primal world.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: ‘We All Have a Role to Play’
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 80%: Interview – Trevor Noah and Roger Federer
Interview – Trevor Noah and Roger Federer
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: What is play? – “work and play are…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: Hole 1, Tea Olive: Par 4. The crowd is quiet, though I can hear the agitated shuffling of their shoes against…
Hole 1, Tea Olive: Par 4.
The crowd is quiet, though I can hear the agitated shuffling of their shoes against the freshly cut grass. Once this feeling of nervousness and anxiety would have devoured me, however after years of competing, I have grown accustomed to it. Every round begins like this, nothing but you and the wide-open fairway, stretching before you like an open road. Ever since I first picked up a golf club, I craved the idea of having adoring fans, having a gallery cheer your every shot. Yet now it is merely an appendage. As a child, I came to love the game of golf, nothing triumphed that ecstasy of being down on the course, yet as I got better, the game began to blur into a chore. Gone was the ability to laugh off my bad shots, gone was the feeling of seeing genuine improvement in my skills, gone was my love of the game.
Hole 5, Magnolia: Par 4.
The fairways stretches wide here, generous, forgiving. I grip the driver the way I did back when I was fourteen, as if it were a mere extension of my body. Back when golf was more than just a competition to me, I’d wake up early, I loved the whisper of the swing, the clean crack of the ball against the clubface and the picturesque sight of the sun rising.
It was around this time that I believed I could ascend the echelons of golf, my hunger for the game outweighed all, I worked harder than everyone, hours only I could attest for. I wanted to make a career of the game I loved, travel the world and excel in my passion. Childish. That’s how I would describe that dream. When you merge the game and the career, ‘play’ no longer exists.
The ball lifts now, a beautiful white arc cutting through the sky, continuing to rise. Just for a second, I am that boy again, thrilled by the beauty and the promise of where it might land. Yet It’s futile, I am no longer that boy.