VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent does "We Have Always Lived…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: English. -> Section A practice We Have Always lived in the Castle. To what extent does 'We Have Always lived in the…
English. -> Section A practice
We Have Always lived in the Castle.
To what extent does 'We Have Always lived in the castle' suggest that some may not be able to deal with the evils of society?
In 'We Have Always lived in the Castle' a neogothic novella written by Shirley Jackson it is explored how characters are not able to condemn to the evils of the outside world. This novella was written in 1962 which was known for its parthriarchal values and stereotypes of nuclear families. Merricat and Constance's withdrawal from the outside world reflects their inability to cope with the 'evils'. Merricats child like behaviour and personality may be a safeguard to block out societal corruption. The arrival of Charles signifies how the two worlds corrupt when brought together.
Moreover 'In We Have Always lived in the Castle' Jackson highlights how the sisters withdrawal from society reflects their inability to cope with the 'evils'. The Blackwoods have The 'evils' in society from the Blackwood's perspective being the villagers as Merricat describes them as 'rotting hearts' and wishes 'they were all dead'. This feeling of dislike is mutual as the villagers have 'always hated' the Blackwoods. Merricat and Constance live in a Us vs Them reality where they try to avoid at the best of times. This seperation showcases their unwillingness to engage with the villagers, hence always staying within their 'wall of safety'. Jackson demonstrates how the sisters lack of engagement with the villagers displays their avoidance to deal with the judgem-ent and hatred that stems from the villagers.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard criticizes the act of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 82.5%: Silhouetted against the backdrop of the post silent film era, Billy Wilder's film noir, "Sunset Boulevard" is a…
Silhouetted against the backdrop of the post silent film era, Billy Wilder's film noir, "Sunset Boulevard" is a scathing critique of the flawed side of Hollywood where individuals with desires to succeed are exploited and then abandoned. Wilder criticizes the film industry due to their predatory and exploitative measures to generate financial gain but also the side effects that are present in pursuit of wealth. Such exploitation is illustrated through an individuals ambition for fame and wealth, the disillusionment from reality as a result of wealth and Hollywood's own manipulative and predatory standards to lure individuals and exploit them for revenue.
Wilder critiques the notion of ambition and how its utilization for wealth can propose unconventional circumstances that result in tragedy. Such unconventionality is portrayed through the aspiring screenwriter, Joe Gillis and his transactional relationship with Norma where even though he acknowledges that it's "not very admirable", he still pursued the relationship as "he's got a good deal". Joe's persistence with this relationship highlights his ever-growing ambition that stems from his concept of wealth and success despite the moral dilemmas that may arise from this one sided relationship. Wilder further explores the concept of abandoning morals for money through Joe's submission to Norma. When shopping at a lavish store with Norma, an employee walks up to Joe and whispers, "As long as the lady's paying for it". Joe's sudden turn and change in body language, accompanied by Waxman's deliberate use of screeching music to portray a sense of discomfort highlights Joe's acknowledgement of the unconventional and immoral nature of the relationship. During this era, a relationship where a woman held more leverage was seen as unorthodox as males were seen as more dominant, further illustrating Wilder's critique of ambition and how moral values must be sacrificed for any sort of success. Joe's decisions to sacrifice his moral compass to pursue wealth ultimately lead to the consequence of death where during his final moments, he is shot by Norma and lands in the "pool he always wanted". Using the pool as a symbol of wealth and success, Joe's falling into the pool solidifies Wilder's subversion of moral ambiguity and how it results in tragedy, further criticizing the allure of wealth in Sunset Boulevard.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Malouf highlights that it is more…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: The natural fear of vulnerability is one that is frequently explored throughout ‘The complete stories. David Malouf…
The natural fear of vulnerability is one that is frequently explored throughout ‘The complete stories. David Malouf persistently dissects the state of existence depicting it as a necessity for growth and reflection. However, Malouf proposes the idea that vulnerability itself is ineffective, however when accompanied by strength can be a powerful tool for one’s mental health.
Malouf explored the benefits of vulnerability depicting it as a pathway to growth through reflection and exploration of spiritual entities specifically ghosts embodying our past. In ‘Mrs Porter and the rock’ Dulcie is frequently visited by other world spirits imposing her past on her. These spirits expose her vulnerabilities and traits which she wished to forget however she was unable to move on from them. However, through her increased susceptibility Dulcie ultimately finds a path to closure and hope through confrontation of these spirits, exposing herself to her past she was able to reflect ridding herself of the ghosts of her past. Through the use of ghosts as a motif Malouf comments on the persisting damage that can arise from ignorance to one’s past as a product of fear towards confrontation. Similarly, in ‘War baby’ “The ghosts [Charlie Dowd] carried” as a result of his experiences in the Vietnam war a global conflict plaguing thousands. Malouf represents a large population of young Australian males who suffered greatly from PTSD as result of the war, with their memories haunting their mind. Many of these men unable to grow and accept their past leaving them stuck in the place they hate most. Dowd is able to develop through his vulnerability and analysis of his experience, allowing him to understand himself whilst exposing his weakens to the world. Through Dowd, Malouf explores the outreaching effects of the war on those surrounding him throughout his upbringing, highlighting his belief that in order for one to grow they must expose themselves inducing a state of vulnerability. Through both characters Malouf highlights the journey one must take to grow, implying the significance of vulnerability in ridding oneself of their past ghosts.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: i. How is the Blackwood estate both a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Shirley Jackson’s 1962 gothic novella We Have Always Lived in the Castle uses the Blackwood estate as both…
Shirley Jackson’s 1962 gothic novella We Have Always Lived in the Castle uses the Blackwood estate as both sanctuary and snare — a domestic fortress protecting its inhabitants from a hostile world, yet simultaneously entombing them within the ruins of isolation and trauma. Written amid the cultural anxiety of postwar America, Jackson’s work interrogates the illusory safety of domestic space and the corrosive effects of societal exclusion on the female psyche. Through her exploration of the decaying Blackwood home as both a “castle” and a “tomb,” Jackson reveals how the desire for protection from a cruel society ultimately manifests as self-imprisonment. While the estate offers Merricat and Constance Blackwood refuge from social persecution, it also reinforces their alienation and stasis — a paradox Jackson uses to critique patriarchal confinement and the delusions of security that privilege can create.
Jackson constructs the Blackwood estate as a sanctuary against a world that is both socially and morally corrupted, particularly for women. The village, described as a place where “the men stayed young and did the gossiping and the women aged with grey evil weariness,” exposes the gendered toxicity of small-town conformity. In this context, the Blackwood home functions as a symbolic “castle,” elevated and gated, protecting Constance and Merricat from public vilification following the family’s infamous poisoning. Merricat’s narration reveals that “even now, Constance and I still saw some small society… they spoke politely and with little runs of laughter,” an image of superficial civility masking deep resentment. Jackson’s use of irony here underscores the hypocrisy of the townspeople’s politeness, implying that their “calls” are performative acts of surveillance rather than friendship. The sisters’ withdrawal, therefore, becomes an act of resistance: their self-imposed domestic exile is a rejection of patriarchal judgment.
Furthermore, the ritualistic domesticity within the estate provides psychological comfort. Merricat observes that “Constance worked in the kitchen, moving beautifully in the sunlight, touching foods so softly,” a scene that transforms the mundane act of cooking into a sacred ritual of female self-preservation. The sensory imagery and gentle rhythm of the prose idealise domestic labour as an act of reclamation — an assertion of control over the domestic sphere historically used to oppress women. Jackson’s authorial intent is clear: through the construction of this secluded home, she critiques a patriarchal society that leaves women no refuge except the spaces they construct for themselves. Yet even in its serenity, the home’s self-sufficiency breeds fragility; as Jackson later foreshadows, the sisters’ “castle” cannot remain unbreached.
For these reasons, the Blackwood estate initially functions as a sanctuary — a fragile bastion of autonomy shielding its inhabitants from a world that despises their difference.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: VCAA 2022 section c article
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 72.5%: Nature + Adventure group have recently proposed a development plan for the Hapsey Wetlands that will comprise…
Nature + Adventure group have recently proposed a development plan for the Hapsey Wetlands that will comprise the native vegetation and animals of the area and could potentially lead to further development in the area. Consequentially, resident of Hapsey and podcast host, Janelle Tanley created a podcast episode directed towards the community of Hapsey to discuss the proposal in which she contends that approval could be detrimental to the wetlands. She shares her podcast with the intention of garnering support to revoke the proposal.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: Background information Brittany Gains…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 62.5%: After the life of Brittany Gains was taken by two teenagers blinded by social media, a grass-roots movement…
After the life of Brittany Gains was taken by two teenagers blinded by social media, a grass-roots movement demands stronger laws to protect young people online and forms a protest outside of social media companies in Sydney. Eleanor Gains, the mother of the teenage girl, delivers a speech to concerned parents that encapsulates the message that social media is a violation of our community standards and ‘poisons the world’ they live in. She argues how reluctant and futile social media companies are to change their policies and their allowance of such crude and toxic behaviours which expose youth to danger. Gains’ approach to deliver her message involves emotional appeal and her use of personal anecdotes, and follows a rancorous tone to a determined tone at the end.
Gains’ opens her speech with a rancorous tone, emphasising how she ‘shouldn’t be standing here today’, showing how the indolence of social media and their lack of effort moves the problem onto others. Her anecdote of her daughter's lost life and how she was ‘murdered by two kids her own age’ takes advantage of an emotional appeal, aiming to connect with other parents. This invites them to feel a sense of grief and empathy, but also wanting to seek action to prevent a similar fate for their own children. To further emphasise her point, she acknowledges how ‘social media didn’t put the knife in their hands’, but pushed them to the point where it ‘poisoned the world they were living in’. Gains uses this blameshift to emphasise the impact of how social media negatively impacts the users of their platform, slowly corrupting their minds until they act recklessly. In a blunt and unwavering tone, she delivers ‘the truth that none of us can ignore’, that the social media platforms that were built for entertainment were inevitably ‘toxic’. With the use of the word ‘truth’, Gains is able to reinforce her point on how social media is toxic, and discourage parents from seeing the bright side of it. Her use of terms such as ‘eating disorders’, ‘self-harm’, ‘cruelty’ and ‘violence’, fosters a feeling of discomfort and uneasiness, positioning social media as a disgusting and unacceptable platform to use. She addresses how that content ‘is what our kids are exposed to everyday’, further emphasising the impression that social media can leave on children and the harm it does. This positions these worried and concerned parents of how vulnerable their children are, and the danger that they may be facing.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: we are what we are
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 70%: Along our personal journeys we are incessantly flooded with a variety of standards and opinions, however the…
Along our personal journeys we are incessantly flooded with a variety of standards and opinions, however the conundrum is that we feel stifled, sometimes frozen, in our abilities to act upon and develop them. While we permit for some sense of compromise here and there – all in the name of keeping “the peace” in our surroundings – we may soon recognise that it was not worthwhile, especially for ourselves. In fact, in many instances where we should have shown ownership and responsibility over ourselves, we are blinded and crumbled in the face of invisible frameworks that shape and undercut our identities. Thus, given the brevity of life, it is our moral duty to test such societal boundaries, and where necessary, to transcend, customise and redraw them so we can individually maintain who “I am”.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: resist and persist
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: The noise was growing and building up each step we took closer to the end of our trip, but it only felt like…
The noise was growing and building up each step we took closer to the end of our trip, but it only felt like only the beginning into our expedition into our new knowledge. We chanted, screamed, and yelled. The streets were alive with energy, but the onlookers—mainly men—watched us, silent, mouths agape. Some women shielded their children, as if our voices could hurt them. As we reached the open gardens, the chanting and yelling slowed down. The huge group of people came to a quiet halt as we watched the speakers intently as they walked onto the stage. “When are they going to start?” said my friend Nora, tapping her feet on the paves like a clock ticking down to it's release, impatiently waiting. The microphone feedback screeched, a raw sound that cut through the air, momentarily silencing the crowd as the first woman took the stage, “Thank you for being here everyone.” She took a long pause. The energy crackled, growing in intensity as the air thickened with anticipation. “For too long , we have been forced to stay silent about sexual harassment. Women, men and others have been told to just accept it, to just move on, but we know that that just isn’t right. We need to continue this movement. We need to continue to raise our voices and fists at people who aren’t listening, so that we will conquer this, together as one.” Murmuring came from the crowd, lots of agreements and one woman jumped up and screamed “YES!”. This sparked the clapping, yelling and chanting again until the speaker spoke into her microphone calmly and everyone sat back down, like obedient dogs. I wanted the silence to last—just long enough—for her words to cut through the noise that lingered in my head. “How many stories do we have to hear before something actually changes?” the speaker cried, and the crowd roared with her. “How many more people must suffer, must watch their abusers walk free, before someone says ‘enough’. We are here to break our silence, to stop being polite and to stand up for the people who have been harassed, assaulted and then told to keep quiet to protect reputations, careers and egos. For too long, this country has
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: English Section A- “Sunset Boulevard…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Billy Wilder's industry expose’ Sunset Boulevard reveals that devotion to one's goal above others can result in…
Billy Wilder's industry expose’ Sunset Boulevard reveals that devotion to one's goal above others can result in negative ramifications. Set during the rise of the American Dream and Consumerism, in a film industry succeeding the Silent Film era, Sunset Boulevard is a gothic film noir film that exposes the duplicity of Hollywood and the dangers of unbridled star adulation. Wilder posits that Hollywood's devotion to profit exists to the detriment of its workers, who are treated as disposable "cogs” in the "Dream Factory”. In addition to this, Wilder portrays through his Gillis's downfall that excessive devotion to fame and status in Hollywood above all else unfortunately results in figurative death. However, Wilder offers his audience reprieve from the dark underbelly of excessive devotion towards a certain goal in Hollywood, propounding that a young generation of Hollywood workers can lead it out of darkness.
Hollywood's undying devotion to profit and wealth above the welfare of its workers has detrimental effects for the workers in the film industry. The imperious Norma Desmond, a victim of the star system, is a resounding example of the tragic effects of the film industry's devotion to wealth. The overwhelming gallery of her "celluloid self, described as “Norma Desmonds and more Norma Desmonds”, connotes the aged star as a mass-produced commodity, compounding with Norma's own internalised self-objectification: “I'm not just selling a script- I'm selling me". The artificial nature of her existence is exacerbated further in the disturbing montage of "merciless series of beauty treatments"- deploying an arsenal of straps, masks and ointment, the Frankenstein's-monster-esque imagery of the bizarre procedures cements Desmond's character as entirely manmade and constructed, relegating her to a sellable product in Hollywood rather than a person. Thus, Wilder portrays Hollywood's profit-driven motives through the inhumane treatment of Norma Desmond, a former actress of Paramount Studios, positing that once an individual is deemed useless to the industry, they are swiftly "given the brush”and relegated into the shadows of oblivion. Furthermore, it is not only the actors on the silver screen who are exploited as tools- Joe Gillis, the jaded and world-weary scriptwriter, is too stripped of his human identity, his value measured by his contributions to the industry. In the macabre opening sequence, Gillis's sardonic voicover identifies himself as "nobody important really”. The "poor dope” in the swimming pool remains in fact entirely unnamed until Joe's flashback takes the audience back to his cluttered apartment, through which Wilder reveals the refusal of the film industry to recognise their workers’ individual identities, instead relegating them to their occupations alone. Similarly, Gillis's dead body is handled with a blatant lack of respect, fished out of the pool with "pruning hooks” like a “beached baby whale”; through this, Joe's narration exposes how his inability to generate profit for the industry renders him redundant and ultimately subhuman. In a post-WWII America, where mass-commercialisation ravaged the last semblances of humanity and respect in each industry, Wilder condemns the severity of commodification and dehumanisation in a lucrative Hollywood, where its players have become merely products and machines in its profit-driven agenda.
In addition to Hollywood's devotion to profit, Wilder portrays through Gillis's downfall the dangers of excessive devotion to fame and
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Play is like a portal through time
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: It was like each day was a repeat of the other. Work, eat, sleep. The same dull clothes, the same bland food.…
It was like each day was a repeat of the other. Work, eat, sleep. The same dull clothes, the same bland food. As I grew up, I was struck with the true reality, the reality that my parents tried to hide from me when I was just a little girl. Life is boring. No more games or friends to hang out with after a long day of school. I was exhausted. As I walked back through the dark streets of London, the skies suddenly filled with rain as it bucketed down onto the cold pavement. I didn’t run. I didn’t even flinch. Instead, a memory surfaced. Uninvited but vivid. I remember what once was. The laughter of children, my laughter, echoed through my mind. The joy of running around and feeling the soft streaks of water trickling down our faces as we try to open our mouths to catch each droplet, seducing our thirst from the endless hours of hide and seek. I open my umbrella and shake the flashback from my mind, continuing my stride home. As I put the key in the door I am instantly greeted by my brother. As he grins from ear to ear, I wonder how he could be so joyful every day.
“Ready to start now?” he asks me, signalling to the giant mount of cardboard boxes scattered across the carpet floor. After my mums passing, I have decided to finally leave my old world behind and become the independent woman that my mum had always wanted to become.
Drowning in my student debt from 5 years ago, I’ve been rooted here, in this house of fading wallpaper and buried memories. It was time to leave and start fresh.
“I’ll be there in a minute” I signal towards the bathroom. As I walk through the skinny halls my mind drifts into a world of imagination once again. Remembering the days when me and Theo would run in the corridors playing tiggy whilst we waited for mum to finish the cooking. I vigorously shake my head trying to get rid of the silly memory before it engulfed my mind.
The floorboards creak as I rush my way through the house, remembering the promise I had made to Theo.
30 minutes of sorting and packing go by, our backs aching with the sharp pain of being bent over for too long. As I walk towards the final box, a loose floorboard interrupts my
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: English Section A- “Sunset Boulevard…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Hollywood's undying devotion to profit and wealth above the welfare of its workers has detrimental effects for the…
Hollywood's undying devotion to profit and wealth above the welfare of its workers has detrimental effects for the workers in the film industry. The imperious Norma Desmond, a victim of the star system, is a resounding example of the tragic effects of the film industry's devotion to wealth. The overwhelming gallery of her "celluloid self, described as “Norma Desmonds and more Norma Desmonds”, connotes the aged star as a mass-produced commodity, compounding with Norma's own internalised self-objectification: “I'm not just selling a script- I'm selling me". The artificial nature of her existence is exacerbated further in the disturbing montage of "merciless series of beauty treatments"- deploying an arsenal of straps, masks and ointment, the Frankenstein's-monster-esque imagery of the bizarre procedures cements Desmond's character as entirely manmade and constructed, relegating her to a sellable product in Hollywood rather than a person. Thus, Wilder portrays Hollywood's profit-driven motives through the inhumane treatment of Norma Desmond, a former actress of Paramount Studios, positing that once an
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Jackson use her novel to…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Writing to chastise the social injustices of the post-war period, Shirely Jackson constructed the feminist…
Writing to chastise the social injustices of the post-war period, Shirely Jackson constructed the feminist novella ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’. Jackson developed her text to criticise the inherent inequality permeating within society, a reality that fosters notions of social disquiet and oppression. Through the integration of hierarchical capitalist and patriarchal systems, Jackson lambasts society for their complacency with this hegemony, rejecting materialism and empowering the women of her novel. Likewise through the suspicious and fearful atmosphere of the text, the author criticises the McCarthyist campaign. She utilises this society built within her text to manifest her inner desire to live in a just world and express her aversion for society's injustices. Ultimately Jackson criticises the outside world's actions through her novel, mirroring the world within it and accentuating the miserable existence it perpetuates.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Rainbow's End suggests that progress for…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Set on the backdrop of colonial Australia, Indigenous Australians were left culturally displaced as a result of the…
Set on the backdrop of colonial Australia, Indigenous Australians were left culturally displaced as a result of the stolen generation. Jane Harrison's play 'Rainbow's End', set in 1950's Australia, explores the complex lives which many Indigenous Australians experience of systemic racism and aspirations for change. Harrison depicts progress as highly complicated as it offers both material and educational advancements, while often demanding painful compromises for First Nations Australians. The progress offered to Indigenous Australians is heavily constrained due to the long-lasting impacts of systemic racism. Moreover, progress is shown to First Nations Australian characters at the cost of cultural identity and belonging. Furthermore, Harrison explores how, through Dolly's relationships, progress is often a painful yet transformative journey to change.
The playwright examines how the institutionalised racism of 1950s Australia in Shepparton acts as a barrier for the Indigenous community to progress to a life of equality. Throughout the play, assimilation is heavily involved, especially depicted through the character of the Inspector. The Inspector's assimilationist ideology is clear in his assertion that 'the Aborigine needs to be absorbed into the community, but how can he be absorbed until he learns to live like us?', a statement that illustrates how he, representing white authority, creates a barrier between Indigenous and Anglo-Saxon communities through perpetuating a dichotomy between the groups. This dichotomy symbolises how there has been little progress for equality towards Indigenous Australians as they are clearly divided. When moving to Rumbalara, the Dear family finds that their new housing is 'small, white and featureless'. The sterile, 'white' quality of the housing symbolises the hegemonic pressure to assimilate, representing a form of progress dictated entirely by white standards and expectations. This attempt at progress comes at the cost of the Dear family's concept of a home, as they lose their deeply personal humpy to a house that is 'anything but loveable'. Furthermore, the demolition of their humpy when the Dear family moves to Rumbalara reflects how the government is attempting to assimilate the Indigenous Australians against their will, the illusion of progress complicated through the loss of familial and cultural history through the loss of their humpy. Progress for Indigenous Australians is backhanded throughout the play; what is considered 'advancement' to White institutions, in fact, comes at a greater cost to the Indigenous than if they did nothing at all.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard examines…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder, is a 1950s noir melodrama that explores how the popularity of the…
Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder, is a 1950s noir melodrama that explores how the popularity of the Hollywood film industry encouraged a social fixation on the glory of celebrity. Throughout the film, Wilder explores the nuances of success and fame, sometimes pitting the two qualities against each other. Sunset Boulevard demonstrates that striving for career success can have both positive and negative outcomes; however, it suggests that those who are swept up in Hollywood’s preoccupation with fame will almost always experience negative consequences. Furthermore, the film interrogates the role of the audience in this destruction, insinuating that audiences perpetuate Hollywood’s obsession with fame through an intense fascination with gossip and scandal, in a way that conceals its true costs.
Wilder uses the character of Joe Gillis to warn the audience about the harmful effects of self-interest and an obsession with success. At the beginning of the film, Joe, a struggling screenwriter, devises ‘a little plot’, lying that Norma’s ‘silly hodgepodge’ script is ‘fascinating’ so she will hire him as an editor. This suggests that Joe’s self-interest has destructive implications, as he is willing to indulge Norma’s self-delusion to gain money and eventual success, even though the relationship he establishes with Norma is founded on dishonesty. Wilder also uses the ‘dead monkey upstairs’ as a symbol of Joe’s impending doom. When Joe refers to the monkey as Norma’s ‘only child’ and ponders the emptiness of Norma’s life, he acknowledges that the monkey was a wild animal that had been kept locked in the house as a pet – a plaything for Norma. As Joe watches over ‘the last rites for that hairy old chimp’, the close-up shot of Joe’s face, framed by the blinds and the bars of the window frame, implies a sense of confinement, signalling to the audience that it is now Joe who is trapped in the house. Wilder’s implicit comparison between Joe and the monkey can be seen as a warning to the audience that Joe’s desire to get ahead could lead to him sharing the monkey’s fate. The characterisation of Joe, and his character arc, demonstrate that ambition and selfishness can be disastrous for an individual and their relationships.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Personal Journeys section B
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 65%: This speech was presented at youth public speaking event Heartbreak is more than just loss, it's the moment we…
This speech was presented at youth public speaking event
Heartbreak is more than just loss, it's the moment we realise that time, change and growth can separate even the closest of people.
Healing takes its own time and sometimes, that’s the hardest lesson of all.
Ladies and gentlemen, today I will be exploring the personal journey of heartbreak.
The experience that transforms us and ultimately teaches us what it means to heal.
If I had to name my earliest memory with heartbreak, it would be when I was twelve.
The day when I realised that my best friend and I were drifting apart. Prior to attending different high schools, we were inseparable. Friday afternoons at her house with her big family of 6 and at her house guarded by that white picket fence felt like an escape to the perfect life I always dreamed of. However, as year six was reaching its end, the friendship that had once felt unbreakable ended quietly.
It ended not with a fight, but simply the inability to spend each day together.
A quiet goodbye.
At the time, it felt like a small heartbreak, one that I could never prepare for.
We promised to stay close, but as new schools, new friends and new lives took over, our paths drifted apart.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: The overarching theme is "Nothing To…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: 10 feet tall. 75 kilometres an hour. Bulletproof exoskeleton. 10 feet tall. Never resting, never speaking,…
10 feet tall. 75 kilometres an hour. Bulletproof exoskeleton. 10 feet tall. Never resting, never speaking, never being found. It wasn’t supposed to be alive. It had no name, no mind, no feelings - just a frequency. A sound. A voice that could shatter glass into powder and crumble walls from resonance alone. During development, the engineer said it was a weapon of acoustic mastery. Now, a walking earthquake. A ghost in metal skin.
Its very existence began with a crucial mistake. A single pitch too high, too loud, in a rural garage in Western Australia. Glass exploded inward, alarms shrieking for 2 full minutes before falling silent. When the first responders arrived, they found no intruder, only streaks of blood and fragments of bone fused into the walls, and a single message burned into the monitor: “DO NOT SPEAK”
Its creator was the first casualty. Now there are 5 more. Every witness described the same scenario. Low humming before the power cut out. The air thickening with vibrations, like the breath of something enormous just beyond the dark. Then, deafening silence. And when that silence broke, it was already too late.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Write a text that explores the ideas…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: Perfection: Bitter. Melon. Soup. Bitter. Melon. Bitter. That’s how I used to feel about that dish. That’s how I…
Perfection:
Bitter. Melon. Soup.
Bitter. Melon.
Bitter.
That’s how I used to feel about that dish. That’s how I used to feel about my parents when they served it to me—that disgusting dish.
It was composed of three things: the melon, the stuffing, and the soup. The melon — a green, warty vegetable with an awful aftertaste of bitterness. The melon was then stuffed with meat and cooked to perfection, as Mum and Dad would say.
For them, the cooking was a Chinese staple; it meant a journey of healing, nurturing, and love. For me, the cooking felt like a path to bitterness, punishment, and disgust. I’d hear the kitchen door close, a sure sign that Mum was cooking up a storm. She’d bring home five bitter melons and lay them out on the path outside to dry. When they were ready, she’d carry them back into the kitchen and begin to cook.
I remember sitting on the counter, observing her as she grabbed the knife and began to slice the bitter melon, laying it flat on the board. I dreamed of helping her cook, to help her change the dish so that it wouldn't taste as bad. I would observe her careful, practised movements as she carefully sliced the melon into pieces. She then scraped out the seeds until only the pale green rim — the part I hated most — remained.
Mum and Dad would then prepare the stuffing, the process of mixing pork mince with sesame oil, salt, pepper, MSG, chicken powder, and adding chopped onion chives into the metal bowl until the aroma filled the kitchen air. They would then stuff the bitter melon with the seasoned mince, creating what I saw as an ugly dish. They spent hours preparing the soup, filled with vegetables and letting it simmer to change the bitter melon into what they deemed perfection.
I continued to sit there, observing and thinking. Why would they waste so much time making something so awful? Why spend money on ingredients just to create something that tastes this bad?
After hours of preparation, the dish was finally served, and the bowl of soup was proudly placed in front of me. The smell was misleading. It lured me in to take a big sip of this soup, but as I swallowed the soup, a rush shot through my nose, leaving a bitter sting in my nostrils. From that day on, I never trusted my parents again, and nothing was going to make me change my mind. How could they trick me into drinking something so awful, masking it as if the soup were good for me?
For the next few days, every meal became a battle. I’d dread walking into the kitchen. I’d dread breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I hated it. I didn’t want it, and I didn’t understand why I needed it.
Each time, I’d pinch my nose and force it down. Each day, I’d accept defeat. Until one day, I came up with a brilliant idea.
Rejection:
I’d stare at my bowl of bitter melon soup, concocting a brilliant plan. I’d transport the soup to the living room from the kitchen, where I’d sit there pretending to watch TV. Then, when no one was watching, I’d carefully lift the melon pieces out of the bowl, glide across the room in my socks to avoid making a sound, and hide them in the drawer next to me. Slowly. Quietly. I’d hide them away, one by one. Every piece of hard work and dedication I threw away slowly, closing it in the drawer for it to be hidden. I didn't want what they called perfection and love; I wanted to be unashamed of what they had just cooked. I wanted a meal that I could stomach without pinching my nose. I want something delicious.
It became a game — hide and seek, Where’s Wally? — until the melon was gone and only the soup remained. Surprisingly, I’d drink the soup, not swallow it, but hold the soup in my mouth as a vector, transporting it to the bathroom, and delivering it to the toilet. Mission accomplished. I’d return to the kitchen table, empty bowl in hand, and proudly tell Mum I’d finished everything. She’d beam, telling me how proud she was of me for finishing the dish so quickly. She would go on about how the dish took
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Are you saying you’d rather live in a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: During the 20th century Aboriginal Australians endured constant Assimilation and oppression from Eurocentric…
During the 20th century Aboriginal Australians endured constant Assimilation and oppression from Eurocentric Anglo-Australians. Jane Harrisons play Rainbows End encapsulates a matriarchal Aboriginal families fluctuated assistance with life from different sources with varying success. Attempts to help covered in condescension are rejected whilst well-meaning help elicited by family provides successful help due to strong relationships and similarities; while compassionate help provided by individuals equates to successful genuine help which exemplifies how this type of help is praised/warranted against unsuccessful tokenistic help, that is met with futility.
Harrison chastises the condescending implications of offers of assistance, imposed behind Anglo-Australians attempts to help Indigenous Australians, as these results are usually shrouded in racial ignorance. Errol is an Anglo-Australian who romanticises the Aboriginal-Australian, Dolly. Errol offers dolly “the world” and questions why she chooses to “live in a humpy by the river” which humiliates Dolly’s lifestyle and subsequent culture as her house is where “people are looking out for each other” Through contrasting the distal values between interracial relationships Harrison exposes the cultural ignorance Anglo-Australians possess towards the Indigenous culture as they attempt to impose the idea of a “better life” upon Indigenous Australians, consequentially condemning the condescending attitude Anglo-Australians possess towards the Indigenous lifestyle choices. Furthermore, the Aboriginal housing plan to Rumbalara attempts to improve upon Aboriginal housing, however it leaves their house “concreate, small, white and featureless” to which its dubbed “unlovable” which is the ramification of ignorance as their “humpy” is considered to become the “white house,” a judgement made by the radio announcer. By sardonically juxtaposing the Rumbalara project as an improvement, Harrison condemns the ignorance of Anglo-Australians attempts to elicit their ideals of Australia upon Indigenous Australians, disregarding any regards towards their culture and lifestyle. Thus, Harrison exposes the ignorance of condescendingly unsuccessful attempts to help, as their attempts are often shrouded in ignorance and condescension which forbids successful attempts of help.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Oedipus the king demonstrates there is no…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: The eponomously titled play, Oedipus the King explores the impact of the divine will, and the power fate has on…
The eponomously titled play, Oedipus the King explores the impact of the divine will, and the power fate has on individuals' decisions. Sophocles criticises those who choose to be ignorant towards their fate, or choose to actively charge it through knowledge, as this leads them closer. However, he highlights how wretched fate can be escaped through reverence towards the gods and living a balanced life.
is physically blind, he chooses to lift his "own burdens". Tiresias celebrates those who choose to live with this mindset, in which acceptance of fate, rather than yearning or ignorance can lead to the avoidance of a worsened fate. Though Oedipus could physically see, he was "blind to the corruption of [his] life", in which his relentless pursuit for knowledge, lead him closer to fate, which could've been avoided if he accepted it. Sophocles highlights the importance of acceptance, as worsened fate could be avoided if reverent towards the gods. Furthermore, Sophocles upholds the power of the gods, through "not be[ing] more clear" towards "Apollo'[s] commands". In being obedient towards the gods, a worsened fate can be avoided, as reverence and living a moral life is the key to living in Sophocles's eyes. Sophocles condemns those who choose not to follow the will of the gods. However, he highlights the power the gods have and praises those who seek to follow their values. Sophocles spotlights the inevitability of fate, but shows the escapability of fate through reverence.
gods' power, which was soon overpowered through the gods' power in under a day, in which he was exiled from the city he held the most power over. Sophocles' critiques the desire for power and control, as living in disobedience towards the gods will only lead one closer to their downfall. As shown in the short time frame of Oedipus' fall, Sophocles highlights the power of the divine will, and that fate is determined by the gods, despite one's yearn for knowledge and control.
Although spotlighting the consequences in ignorance and the yearn for knowledge in facing destiny, Sophocles' upholds those who choose to be reverent towards the gods, as this can avoid a worsened fate. Through Tiresias' choices to keep Oedipus' fate, Sophocles celebrates those who choose to live in a state of Eudamonia as this proves to show reverence towards the gods. Through the metaphor of blindness and light, Sophocles comments on the decisions that impact an individual's ability to face their fate. As Tiresias
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: The city or the bush. Stimulus 1: 'The…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 77.5%: The long, spikey grass tickled my pasty, exposed legs as I trekked through a familiar path. My sandals…
The long, spikey grass tickled my pasty, exposed legs as I trekked through a familiar path. My sandals clutched in my hand whilst the other held the legs of my pants up. Bare feet delicately grazing the long untouched, overgrown path. It’s been so long since I’d been back but somehow I remember it all. The quiet serenity of my grandparent’s farm was unusual against the bustling city life I was adjusted to. The echo of trains screeching against tracks, the “tick tick tick” of pedestrian crossings and the occasional squeak of poorly maintained brakes on a car; all left behind. Now I Stand where I once stood, a mere shadow of the shoes which once also stood in my place.
My Grandmother, or as I knew her, Nanna, was a kind and warm soul. Her existence gave this land the heart it now lacks following her passing. An empty ache fills me as the loneliness of the silence consumes me. The opalite sky closes in as night falls, illuminating the old willow tree standing tall as ever. My stomach sinks when I see it as the memories built on this land are lived again. My Nanna’s Soft, wrinkly hands on the moist soil where the old willow now stands. The way her smooth skin reflected in the light. Her morning cigarettes on the porch. The magpies she fed each day. Being here is bringing back alal the little memories, the ones I thought I’d lost forever.
As I approach our willow tree, arching over the land spreading shade and protection. I notice how the land has changed. Maybe it was just my time in the city, but it felt quieter, the land bigger, and the environment eerier. The short, well-kept grass was now replaced with long overgrown weeds. The bird-feeded which once stood stable, now was rusted and sinking into the earth. Once vibrant and lively, the house now stood dark and abandoned, appearing to fester horrors I never could have envisioned in my youth. As I sat below the willow tree, the leaves rustled as the onyx night settled. A magpie flew overhead making a distinct “caw”. Everything felt different now, the only thing that remained was the willow, in its simple yet glorious stance.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Engage Stimulus: "There needs…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: Engage Stimulus: "There needs to be {disruption} for things to change" Let me ask you a question, Why do we…
Engage
Stimulus: "There needs to be {disruption} for things to change"
Let me ask you a question,
Why do we encourage young people of owning a home?
For generations the idea of homeownership has been more than just a financial goal. It has become a symbol of hope, stability, independence, and belonging. It is the foundation upon which families are built, communities are formed, and futures are secured. We actively educate young people to work hard, study diligently and save responsibly all with the promise that one day, they too can own a home.
Now what happens when that promise is broken?
Let me ask you a question,
If we tell our young people to swim across a river, but each year we make the current stronger, how can we blame them for not reaching the other side?
Today that river is Australia's Interest Rates, for the past few years we have engaged the RBA to steadily rise rates in the effort to control inflation, however without any disruption in the uncontrollable rise of rates, we have engaged them to make the dream of home ownership drift further and further away.
Now, some may say "it's just the way the market works."
But let's look into the reality of it.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average house price in Sydney is $1.602 million dollars as of September 2025. Additionally, the average mortgage repayments exceed over 61.8% of a young persons income according to Loyle Australian Mortgage Statistics. Finally, as we all understand, the cost of living crisis isn't getting better.
Furthermore, how on earth can we save enough money for repayments when bills, groceries and rent consume over thing you earn.
So is it really that easy to say, 'Just save more'?, when the system is genuinely stacked against you?
Maybe it's time to disrupt the system to advocate make them actively engage in our & future security, don't you think?
Let me ask you a question.
Consider this analogy:
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: sunset boulevard is a tale about greed and…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Billy Wilder’s film noir Sunset Boulevard, released in 1950, tells a story about greed, deceit and manipulation.…
Billy Wilder’s film noir Sunset Boulevard, released in 1950, tells a story about greed, deceit and manipulation. Following central characters Norma, Joe, Max and Betty, the story shows Hollywood’s deception for fame, personal benefit and love.
The film begins by the narrator (Joe) recounting events that lead to his death. Joe’s freedom from deception is symbolically represented by his death and his cynical and detached narration to inform the audience of "the truth, the whole truth", before the media, which Wilder depicts complicit with Hollywood’s deception, tangles up the events. The media’s deception is showcased by Norma’s recounts of olden days “when Madame used to be big” and ever present in the media, which ultimately Norma faded away as Norma became less profitable with age, and the media chased after up and coming stars to greedily profit off of.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Mary Oliver portrays nature as a teacher…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: To ignore nature is to forget the language of life itself. This is the philosophy central to Mary Oliver's…
To ignore nature is to forget the language of life itself. This is the philosophy central to Mary Oliver's anthology, New and Selected Poems Volume One. Oliver casts the natural world as a reflection of human life, using its patterns of growth, decay, and renewal to instruct readers on navigating both joy and suffering. By drawing deliberate parallels between natural cycles and human experience, she positions the environment as a teacher: patient, insightful, and unjudging. Writing in the 1980s, the poet's work marks a cultural shift towards introspection which allows its insights to remain timeless in an era constantly focused on the pursuit ahead. Oliver presents nature as a guiding force whose cycles teach humanity the essential balance between holding on and letting go, revealing that both renewal and loss are vital to existence. Indeed, her poetry presents nature to yield moral and emotional growth through careful attention and lived experience. Oliver exposes, however, the limits of nature’s teaching, revealing that when pain is born of human corruption, healing must come through one’s own confrontation with the past.
Certainly, Oliver portrays nature as a profound teacher whose cyclical patterns of decay and renewal instruct humanity on how to live, love, and ultimately let go. In ‘In Blackwater Woods’, Oliver’s attentive observation of the natural world reveals that its wisdom lies in modelling how to surrender to impermanence with grace. The poem opens with the transformative image that “the trees are turning their own bodies into pillars of light,” a metaphor that renders nature both sacred and didactic. The trees’ shift from solid, earthly matter to light suggests the passage from physical form to spiritual essence. Nature reveals that impermanence is not mere loss, but transformation, a movement toward illumination or release. Just as the trees are momentarily transfigured by light, human life too is fleeting yet capable of beauty and revelation in its passing. Trees, often symbols of endurance and rootedness, turning into light shows that even the most seemingly permanent parts of nature are subject to change. Nature teaches the individual to accept that nothing remains fixed, and that stability itself is an illusion. The poet's subsequent phrase, “are giving off the rich fragrance of cinnamon and fulfilment,” symbolises the idea that beauty and completeness can arise at the very moment of decline. In the context of nature teaching humanity about impermanence, it suggests that endings, like the tree’s decay, are not barren or empty, but release their own kind of richness. The “fragrance” embodies the lingering essence of life, showing that even as things fade, they continue to give, to nourish, to fulfill. As the poem progresses, Oliver’s tone shifts from observation to moral instruction. She declares that “to live in this world you must be able to do three things,” adopting the imperative voice of a teacher. This structural pivot mirrors nature’s role as a guide, instructing humanity “to love what is mortal,” “to hold it against your bones,” and “when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.” The repetition of “let it go” mimics the cadence of release, transforming the poem’s rhythm into an act of surrender. Here, Oliver elevates nature beyond aesthetic appreciation, positioning it as a vital moral force that teaches how to live meaningfully amidst transience. Similarly, ‘Morning Poem’ portrays nature as a patient instructor that renews and restores humanity through its daily rebirth. Unlike ‘In Blackwater Woods’, which finds wisdom in surrender, this poem locates it in beginning again. “Every morning the world is created,” Oliver writes, employing biblical allusion to cast dawn as divine instruction. Through repetition, nature teaches the act of constant recreation, reminding humanity of its boundless capacity for renewal. Moreover, Oliver's seasonal imagery of leaves through the line "the heaped ashes of the night turn into leaves again" evokes nature’s quiet lesson in how to live with transience. As leaves bud, flourish, and fall, they mirror the natural rhythm of growth and surrender, reminding humanity that change is both inevitable and necessary. Through this cycle, nature teaches acceptance, that beauty lies not in permanence, but in the grace with which one lets go and allows renewal to unfold. Ultimately, both poems affirm Oliver’s conviction that nature’s teachings, and its deepest importance, lie in its duality: it instructs humanity in both letting go and beginning anew, guiding us to live in reverence for the world that sustains us.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: resist and persist
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 77.5%: Today I stand in front of all of you, within our school hall where we shared memories, built friendships and…
Today I stand in front of all of you, within our school hall where we shared memories, built friendships and planned our future. But today in Strathmore secondary college hall we stand in sorrow, today our fellow student has become another statistic to bullying. This outcome is a wake up call, resistance to bullying isn't an option anymore we must stand and persist. I come not as a random person but as a fellow friend who also stands in guilt, stands in shame, stands in sorrow. James won't ever experience the ups and downs of being a young adult, won't be able to sit these exact exams with us, won't enjoy time with family and friends partying as if there is no tomorrow, won't be able to path the future we all are doing in this very hall. For James there really is no tomorrow, instead they place his cold, hollow body once with a positive future into a gloomy 6 foot hole. Our silence cost his life. today we stand, today James fell down.