VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent is the Blackwood estate a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: In her gothic novella, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”, Shirley Jackson suggests that while the Blackwood…
In her gothic novella, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”, Shirley Jackson suggests that while the Blackwood estate offers physical protection and autonomy, it ultimately is a flawed and fragile refuge – one that comes at the cost of psychological stability and genuine connection to the outside world. Jackson portrays the Blackwood estate as a necessary refuge from a patriarchal and hostile society, offering them a fragile space in which to maintain autonomy and safety. However, Jackson complicates this notion of protection by revealing how the estate, while physically safe, becomes a psychological prison. Ultimately, Jackson reframes the estate as a space that fosters survival, but only through extreme withdrawals, suggesting that protection comes at the cost of human connection and healing.
Jackson presents the Blackwood estate as a vital refuge from a cruel and male-dominated society. The Blackwood estate, though “ruined”, functions as a fragile sanctuary where Merricat and Constance can dictate their own “routines”, shielded from a society that brands Constance a “murderess” and reduces Merricat to a symbol of failed femininity. Jackson utilises the symbolism of Merricat’s compulsive rituals – burying “silver dollars”, whispering “safe words” and “nailing [books] to trees” – to highlight Merricat’s desperate attempts to protect her self-sufficiency. These are not just eccentric behaviours, but gothic symbols of survival, functioning as psychological defences in a world that violently punishes female autonomy. The estate's protective nature is further exposed by the villagers, who came like a “wave” that “screamed with laughter,” destroying the sisters' heirlooms. This grotesque imagery echoes the hysteria of the Salem witch trials, where women were demonised and punished for existing outside of social norms. Jackson likens the mob's violence to a natural force, suggesting that such persecution is not an aberration, but a cyclical feature of patriarchal society. In doing so, Jackson reinforces how the Blackwood estate serves to protect the sisters from such hostility. Moreover, Charles' intrusion as “ghost of Father” and his desires to “take Father’s place” and “punish” Merricat signal the return of patriarchal order. His need for control over Merricat’s “duties” and fixation on the family's wealth – the “safe” and “gold link chains” – threaten the carefully crafted world the sisters have built, one where the estate protects them from masculine control. Through Merricat’s monocular first-person narration, Jackson reveals Constance's inability to “step past the gate” of the estate. This barrier becomes a liminal space, where her quiet compliance and confinement showcase her internalised fear of not conforming to patriarchal duties. Jackson critiques the romanticised post-war ideal of the domestic woman by revealing how such ideals can trap women in a life of quiet suffering. Thus, Jackson presents the Blackwood estate as a site that provides them with physical autonomy – but only by rejecting men, scrutiny and the world beyond the fence.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: The act of violence weakens people’s…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 80%: Witnessing extreme violence and cruelty within the Jewish community causes God’s justice with Eliezer to be in…
Witnessing extreme violence and cruelty within the Jewish community causes God’s justice with Eliezer to be in jeopardy. As a result, his faith does not disappear, but shifts. He begins to question whether God can truly be good if all this suffering is happening. Consequently, violence cripples physical lives and diminishes people's spiritual connections.
Wiesel uses allusions to biblical figures to highlight how violence impacts Eliezer's trust in God. Through these connections, despite the shift in faith, Eliezer uses Scripture to express his frustration with divine power. Additionally, by comparing himself to biblical figures, Eliezer shows the opposite outcome, by questioning the goodness of God. Therefore, this contrast depicts how violence ruptures sacred biblical stories, which turns symbols of faith into doubt.
“Some of the men spoke of God: His mysterious ways, the Sins of the Jewish people, and the redemption, to come. As for me, I had ceased to pray, I concurred with Job! I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice.” (Wiesel 45).
During this period, Wiesel alludes to the biblical figure Job, who endured immense suffering despite his faith. In the Bible, Job loses his family, health, and possessions, but remains faithful, reaffirming God’s actions. However, Eliezer links himself to Job, flipping the meaning by doubting His absolute justice. Moreover, Eliezer’s reinterpretation is significant, as it shows how the Holocaust transforms biblical hope into a symbol of spiritual collapse. Conveying this inner dilemma, he acknowledges God’s existence, but Wiesel alludes to how unimaginable pain triggers a shift in God’s relationship.
Eliezer, who once remained silent, begins to openly accuse God of His actions as his faith is tested by the violence he witnesses. His tone of anger turns his relationship with God into an open struggle. Furthermore, there is no longer any doubt, but a confrontation among the cruelties in the camps. Moreover, Eliezer’s lingering doubts about God’s goodness reveal his increasingly complex perception of divine justice. With this, Wiesel illustrates how the decay in faith from violence makes Eliezer lose sight of morality in God.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: All who deserve it are justly punished -…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: cast upon him by the gods. Through this Sophocles indicates to the Athenian audience the power of fate and the…
cast upon him by the gods. Through this Sophocles indicates to the Athenian audience the power of fate and the destruction it may provide through irreverence.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: Stimulus: black and white picture of…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 95%: They cut her hair, but not her courage. They took her body, but not her voice. They buried her, yet she rose…
They cut her hair, but not her courage. They took her body, but not her voice. They buried her, yet she rose again in the chants of thousands.
On the streets of Tehran, the air is heavy with tear gas and hope. Every step forward feels like defiance. Every chant of “Zan. Zendegi. Azadi.” — Women, Life, Freedom — becomes a heartbeat shared by strangers. The regime believes silence can be enforced; we have learned that silence can also roar.
The protest begins in whispers. Mothers telling daughters, sisters telling friends. “Do not be afraid.” It grows in kitchens and classrooms, in late-night messages sent across trembling hands. The simple act of removing a headscarf becomes louder than any speech. These are not the gestures of rebels. They are the gestures of the living, insisting upon life itself.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘What will come will come. Even if I…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Sophocles play Oedipus the king, performed during the 5th century BCE Athens explores how destiny and fate shape…
Sophocles play Oedipus the king, performed during the 5th century BCE Athens explores how destiny and fate shape human life. Sophocles presents destiny as predetermined and inevitable due to the divine will of the gods, as well as being tied to free will and hamartia. The play demonstrates the attempts to escape one’s destiny is futile, however human flaws such as pride and anger can influence how one’s destiny can come about.
Destiny in Oedipus the King operates as something that no human effort can escape. This is established through the inevitable prophecy that Oedipus will kill his father and then marry his mother. Through the plays structure, Sophocles positions the audience to already be aware of Oedipus' set fate from the beginning, it allows the audience to watch how each attempt by the characters to avoid it, only ends up fulfilling it. When Laius and Jocasta both abandon Oedipus when he is an infant and when Oedipus flees from Corinth to avoid fulfilling the tragic prophecy, Sophocles emphasises that all these acts of resistance only tighten the prophecy’s grip. Furthermore, the audience is reminded of the futility of resistance when Tiresias declares that “What will come will come. Even if I shroud it in silence” emphasizing that Oedipus’ fate cannot be escapable or undone. Through this Sophocles critiques the fragility of human life as humans have no control over their fate. Additionally Oedipus' "fury" as he "now see[s] it all", reveals how he is blind to the truth, unaware of his fate. The tense dialogue between Oedipus and Tiresias,
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How is violence portrayed in The Hunger…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: In the dystopian world of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, violence is portrayed as being destructive in…
In the dystopian world of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, violence is portrayed as being destructive in character. By first confronting readers with the visceral brutality of violence, Collins then reveals its deeper psychological corrosion, ultimately condemning a society that consumes such destruction as entertainment.
The novel highlights the brutality of true violence by implementing vivid imagery and personification. Collins confronts the reader with the brutal reality of violence, creating an unavoidable and visceral image of its horror through the 'warm sticky spray[s]’ and 'scary pool[s]’ of blood. Furthermore, the author personifies Katniss' limbs as 'screaming... [with] red welts' after experiencing 'the horror' of being burnt. Collins blends personification and sensory imagery to make Katniss's suffering feel immediate and unavoidable. The intense descriptions of blood, heat and bodily pain collapse the barrier between observer and victim, so the reader experiences the violence as if inside Katniss's own body. Writing in the first person reinforces this effect, denying us the safe distance enjoyed by the Capitol audience. Collins' deeper purpose is to challenge the reader's role as a spectator, encouraging them to question their own role as a consumer of violent media and directly challenging their potential for voyeurism. By making the pain personal and showing how the Capitol uses televised Games and sophisticated technology to broadcast violence, she exposes the ways media can turn suffering into entertainment. In doing so, she forces readers to confront their own capacity for voyeurism and condemns both the Capitol's cruelty and the broader human tendency to consume violence as spectacle.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “I had a choice. I could champion racial…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: In Trevor Noah’s memoir, Born a Crime, Noah presents how race brings him a plethora of challenges and struggles.…
In Trevor Noah’s memoir, Born a Crime, Noah presents how race brings him a plethora of challenges and struggles. Some of these challenges initially appear to be overcome by Trevor, however, Trevor never fully overcomes them as he is a victim which simply didn’t face nearly as many casualties as other sufferers of apartheid. Trevor faces severe violence and lives in extreme poverty as a result of his race and apartheid. Although, Trevor faces far fewer casualties than other sufferers of apartheid. Ultimately, Trevor Noah remains a victim of apartheid as despite being a beneficiary of apartheid in some aspects, he never fully benefits from the system and only suffers slightly less than his peers.
Apartheid acts as a catalyst for violence as people are divided based upon their skin colour. As a result of the violence caused by apartheid, Noah describes the challenges of being a victim, from the violence and assault of others, formed due to differences in race. Trevor’s race was viewed as a threat to “other coloured people” as they hated Trevor due to his “whiteness”. The violent attack towards Trevor permanently stuck with Noah as he emphasises how the formation of hate from apartheid turns into violence, revealing a system which turns the victims of the same system against each other. Patricia also faced similar violence with able due to differences between their tribes. Abel’s tribe was “tsonga” whereas Patricia’s tribe was “Xhosa”. While not a difference in race, Noah continues to underscore how apartheid aimed to turn people, even of the same race, against each other; resulting in severe conflict such as domestic violence between Patricia and Abel. When referring to coloured people in the memoir, Noah describes them as “almost-whites”. Noah depicts coloured individuals in this way, as it demonstrates how apartheid aimed to cause conflict by pushing people to do anything to become a beneficiary of apartheid. Noah makes use of an analogy to further convey the purpose of apartheid to the audience and how it aims to cause conflict between races; in a way which is easy to understand. This is demonstrated when Trevor describes a scenario where a friend is denied entry into a club because of another friend, highlighting how now “everyone hates everybody”. Ultimately, the system of apartheid is specifically designed to cause conflict and violence between different and sometimes the same groups; making Trevor and many others victims of apartheid; forced to live through countless challenges.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: We Have Always Lived in the Castle…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: Throughout history, individuals have often resorted to extreme measures in the pursuit of self preservation.…
Throughout history, individuals have often resorted to extreme measures in the pursuit of self preservation. Inspired by her own struggles with agoraphobia and ostracism in an oppressively traditional small town, Shirley Jackson’s 1962 gothic novel “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” (WHALITC) explores the lengths individuals will go to for survival. Jackson posits that some individuals are willing to sacrifice their psychological stability in order to protect themselves. More broadly on a societal level, the novel postulates that individuals are willing to persecute others in order to safeguard values. Moreover, Jackson exposes the ways in which individuals manipulate others as a means of exerting control, and therefore preserving themselves. Ultimately, Jackson elucidates that acts of self preservation often demand sacrifice, yet suggests that it may be more harmful.
Jackson posits that some individuals are willing to sacrifice their psyche in order to preserve themselves and the ideals that they hold. This notion is embodied through the Blackwood sisters who are willing to self isolate in order to maintain their carefully cultivated matriarchal household. Merricat’s distorted worldview catalyses her to view the village as a “gameboard”. Her assertion that “I would win” speaks to notions of arrested development, framing her existence as a series of contests to be conquered. This child-like perception implies that long-term isolation has resulted in stunted emotional maturity, illustrating how this willingness to sacrifice social interaction can warp cognition and the growth necessary for healthy social function. Furthermore, Jackson underscores how extended isolation can diminish one’s sense of autonomy and confidence. Constance’s confession that “it’s all been my fault”, reveals how her seclusion has not only fostered feelings of fear but also internalised guilt. Here, Jackson intimates that long term withdrawal can erode one’s sense of agency, resulting in emotional fragility. Similarly, the villagers also isolate themselves from those who don't share their ideals. Merricat’s description of both the “pale greedy” villagers, but also of the village itself as “unchangingly grey”, indicates that the entirety of the village lacks individual identity. Through this, Jackson conveys that individuals are willing to sacrifice identity in order to avoid the ostracism that arises out of non-conformity. Therefore, Jackson underscores how individuals are forced to sacrifice their psyche to maintain their ideals, criticising a society which imposes such pressures.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Prompt: To what extent does Hadley’s “Bad…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Despite society’s reverence for freedom of self-expression, personal identity is often quietly distorted by…
Despite society’s reverence for freedom of self-expression, personal identity is often quietly distorted by experiences associated with womanhood. Through her depiction of women in various roles and stages of life, Tessa Hadley’s collection of short stories “Bad Dreams and Other Stories” showcases the constraints of womanhood on both self-perception and self-expression. As Hadley’s young female protagonists approach adulthood, sexual maturity and its associated experiences become a catalyst for self-discovery. Hadley’s women are assigned to fixed gender roles that obstruct their attempts at self-expression. Despite this, the intimate relations and rivalries depicted in this collection reveal the repressed dreams and desires of women in Hadley’s stories. “Bad Dreams” thus underscores the difficulty of reconciling individual wants with societal norms, revealing the persistent yet silent struggle for freedom of expression as a defining feature of womanhood.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Prompt: The collection shows that new…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Tessa Hadley’s revealing collection of short stories, “Bad Dreams and Other Stories”, explores the lives of English…
Tessa Hadley’s revealing collection of short stories, “Bad Dreams and Other Stories”, explores the lives of English girls and women as they grapple with newfound experiences and the unexpected consequences that come with them. Through the character's self-exploration, the anthology posits how knowledge can precipitate both a sense of emotional and psychological instability, incited by their yearn for societal validation. Ultimately, the novel explores how personal growth at all stages of life is predominantly driven by the conflicts arising from new 09discoveries.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Time to Play stimulus 1: "i can think…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 100%: Good evening parents, and welcome to our Sunny Smiles Kindergarten webinar, Time to Play. My name is Michelle,…
Good evening parents, and welcome to our Sunny Smiles Kindergarten webinar, Time to Play. My name is Michelle, and I am one of the educators here at Sunny Smiles. We are delighted you have joined us tonight, because this conversation matters not only for your children, but for us as a community: how best to support their growth.
Our philosophy is clear and simple: play is the foundation of learning. Children learn most deeply not by being told, but by doing, exploring, and imagining. One of my favourite lines captures this perfectly: “I can think whatever I like to think, I can play whatever I like to play.” More than a charming phrase, it reminds us that when children are free to play, they are free to grow — and nothing matters more.
Yet in many kindergartens today, play is being overshadowed by something that at first appears harmless: television. Let me be clear. Screens are a part of modern family life, and in moderation they can entertain or even spark curiosity. But in a kindergarten, where every moment is precious for development, does television truly enrich learning, or does it quietly take away from the very experiences children need most?
Consider this: a study in JAMA Pediatrics tracked toddlers’ daily interactions. For every extra minute in front of a screen, children heard seven fewer words from adults, spoke five fewer words themselves, and missed out on one conversation. Over the course of an hour, that means 420 fewer words heard and 60 conversations lost in a single day. Another Japanese study following more than 7,000 children found that toddlers with over four hours of screen time daily were nearly twice as likely to face delays in communication and problem-solving. Even one to four hours slowed language and social development. And here in Australia, preschoolers average two hours a day, already double the World Health Organisation’s maximum recommendation for ages two to five.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Prompt: "Money changes things if you've…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 82.5%: Tessa Hadley’s revealing anthology “Bad Dreams & Other Stories” explores the intrinsic challenges faced by her…
Tessa Hadley’s revealing anthology “Bad Dreams & Other Stories” explores the intrinsic challenges faced by her female protagonist as they grapples with the effects on human relationships and personal development. Presenting the duality between characters of different social classes, she comments on how status inevitably acts as the omnipresent force bridging the bonds between individuals. Exemplified through characters with higher social status, Hadley portrays the power dynamic created between them and others, evoking an internal struggle and everlasting yearning for societal validation that they continue to chase as they enter womanhood. Furthermore, Hadley paints the naivety that is seemingly paramount with the higher class, depicted by the contrast between what characters think is right and wrong. Ultimately, Hadley demonstrates that the difference in social status creates a connective barrier between characters, especially in familial environments and how this provokes an internal, hidden resentment.
Initially, characters of higher social status are depicted as more mature individuals, better equipped for the challenges of adulthood. Hadley explores how this can create an environment where others are forced into an ongoing chase for their approval, feeling the primary instinct and need to prove themselves in the eyes of society. The opening story, “An Abduction,” follows a young female, Jane Allsop, as she struggles with the transition into womanhood. Surrounded by peers who seem to have a more adventurous lifestyle, she recognises that those “girls were ahead of her in the fated trek towards adulthood”, initially presenting her acknowledgment of this gap. Hadley goes on to emphasise how the desire to fit in with the growing
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: "Learning to Play Again"
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: The following is a monologue spoken by world renowned broadway actor Michael Logarzo after receiving the “Best…
The following is a monologue spoken by world renowned broadway actor Michael Logarzo after receiving the “Best Actor” award at the 2025 Oscar’s for his performance in the film “Wolf of Conform Street.” Michael is infamously known as the “Rockstar of the film industry,” who is unhinged and unapologetic, and not afraid to speak his mind on issues that he is passionate about. Amongst the audience are the likes of Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Morgan Freeman, as well as the millions of film fanatics watching at home.
(He steps up to the mic, gold statue in hand. Smirks. Lets the silence linger.)
You want to know what’s funny?
They gave me this award for “best actor”… but I’ve been acting since the day I learned to tie my shoes.
And so have you.
Because from the moment we’re born, the director starts whispering:
“Tuck in your shirt.”
“Speak when spoken to.”
“Girls, cross your legs.”
“Boys, don’t cry.”
You think you’re free? You think you’re you?
Nah. You’re just following blocking marks you didn’t lay down. We’ve been taught to perform, but never to play. Real play, not the choreographed, applause-chasing kind. The kind where no one’s watching, where you can be you.
It starts with school, where the script is printed on the uniform policy.
No hoodies. No afros. No ripped jeans.
It’s the professor who interrupts and dismisses assertive women, but praises assertive men for “leadership.” They don’t say it, but the message is clear:
Be neat. Be quiet. Be the same.
And then you graduate - straight into the corporate costume department.
Suits stitched with silence. Heels high enough to keep you from running.
You sit at a desk, eyes dry from staring, lips dry from smiling.
Your ideas? Cut to fit the company tone.
Your voice? Filtered through your boss’s expectations.
Your ambition? Caged behind KPIs and meaningless “team-building” exercises.
Even outside the office, the show doesn’t end.
On Instagram, you're the star of your own feed.
But not the real you.
No, the filtered you.
The one who smiles wide under a sunset you barely looked at.
The one who pretends your relationship isn’t falling apart.
The one who pretends you’re not falling apart.
You think you’re choosing what to post, what to wear, what to say, but all you’re doing is listening to the director’s instructions. They tell you:
“Authenticity doesn’t get you likes, comments, and followers.”
Written by tradition. Directed by patriarchy. Funded by capitalism. That’s who we are.
The director doesn’t need a face. Because we, the cast, keep the show running for them.
But what they don’t tell you is that playing a part costs something; your autonomy. They put you in a room full of mirrors, not to look at yourself, but to see if the mask is still straight.
I still remember the first crack.
I was on set, middle of a night shoot, middle of a meltdown, middle of pretending to be someone I wasn’t. And I caught my own reflection between takes. Just for a second. In one of those cheap vanity mirrors with the fake bulbs. You know the kind.
And I didn’t recognise the guy staring back.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Johnson use nature to examine the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: High Ground (2020), directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson, acts as a critical exposé of colonial and post-colonial…
High Ground (2020), directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson, acts as a critical exposé of colonial and post-colonial Australia, celebrating the enduring natural landscapes that withstand the tests of colonialism. Johnson in his portrayal of the disruption of nature critiques the imposition of the imperial project on indigenous communities, further condemning the intergenerational trauma and cycles of violence entrenched by colonisation. However, Johnson provides hope through his celebration of nature as a site of Indigenous justice and continuity subverting traditional tropes of the Western Genre. Johnson ultimately suggests that colonial intrusion shatters the natural balance of Indigenous life, perpetuating cycles of violence and trauma, yet he offers hope through the enduring resilience of Indigenous systems that resist such disruption.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: resist and persist
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 82.5%: NOW Peering out of the iron in front of me, I watch citizens go about their lives, minding their business,…
NOW
Peering out of the iron in front of me, I watch citizens go about their lives, minding their business, until they lay eyes on me. I watch their eyes widen, mouths open and their steps falter, heads turning back to do a double take when they realise what they are looking at. I watch parents shoot their hands out to cover their children’s eyes, roughly steering them away from the scene. The city itself seems to slow down surrounding the iron bars I am in, as if I am drenched in sickly sweet honey and they are flies caught in it. My heart thumps in my chest like the bars of the cage itself is suffocating me. Flakes of orange and black paint flake off my skin. My long hair tries to escape my ruthless bun and even though the cold breeze against my bare skin makes me shiver and even though the metal beneath my knees bites into my skin, I am sweating. I hold the small banner I am holding closer to my chest, covering it as best I can. I am uncomfortable, claustrophobic and suffocating within the bars of my cage. The pain they endured sears into the forefront of my mind - the torture and the suffering that they can’t voice. So, I must endure, I must remember, and I must stay strong.
But what if this is too much? What if this display, this intensity, is more than what’s needed.
THEN
I wasn’t looking for it. I wanted a break from reality, but instead I got slapped in the face with it. An Instagram post of a dog, wrapped in chains, ears drooping. Its pleading eyes hesitantly looking towards the camera. The bold white text on it read,
“They don’t have a voice, you do”
I clicked on it, up came PETA’s Instagram. Dozens of animals – cows, cats, dogs, chickens – displayed in dismal conditions, ruthlessly bound and in agonizing pain. I was shocked, appalled, heartbroken. Before I knew what I was doing, I contacted the provocative organisation and got involved. Handing out flyers and raising awareness through petitions, until they asked me to do something more scandalous than they had done before. They asked me,
“Do you know the meat that you choose at the supermarket comes from cows that are crammed into overcrowded pens, standing in their own waste? Do you know that humans pay to watch dogs tear each other apart in illegal fights? Do you know that in China, dogs are boiled alive, tortured and cooked while still conscious, just because its believed that the meat tastes “better” when they’re in agony? Do you know that wild tigers are torn from their natural habitats, locked in tiny cages only to be let out to perform circus tricks for our amusement?”
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Framework: Personal Journey PROVIDED…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: Title: What Am I? Summer 27’ Children chasing shells, seagulls hunting food scraps and teenagers sunbaking.…
Title: What Am I?
Summer 27’
Children chasing shells, seagulls hunting food scraps and teenagers sunbaking. The Freeman Beach remained the same every summer, the constant tide closing in on the shore and the harmonious abyss which sat amongst the horizon. Where did it lead? What was it like? My curiosity diverted my attention from Freeman Beach, the place where I learnt how to swim and surf, the place of my first job as a lifeguard and the last place I encountered before leaving for university in the city 3 hours away from home. The last footprints I embed in the sand for a while fade seamlessly with the tide, erasing my presence as I drive the majority of my belongings, myself and my crisp, fresh white Asics away.
Deep breath in. Deep breath out. I repeat to myself, dreading the anticipated arrival, consuming time repeating simple breathing exercises to myself, before I am forced to face the music. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. My new Asics embark my first steps here, my new home, away from everything I know. They take me to the front desk of campus housing, deep breath in, deep breath out.
‘Hi …’, I mutter, fidgeting with my nails,
‘Um, my name is Imogen Cartwright, I am staying in I think Sandhurst Apartments’, I explain,
‘Nice to meet you Imogen, let me look you up and then I will get you all sorted,’ She begins typing away,
‘You are correct! Sandhurst Apartments, level 4 room 405,’ She exclaims, handing over a map and envelope,
‘If you have any questions or need an extra hand, just find your way back here!’
Autumn 27’
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "whatever will be will be" in rainbows…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Jane Harrison's play Rainbow's End, released in 2007, to explore the story of three generations of Aboriginal…
Jane Harrison's play Rainbow's End, released in 2007, to explore the story of three generations of Aboriginal woman, who navigate life while facing racism and degradation and mistreatment from white authorities during colonial settlement in Australia. In his play, there is a clear tension between accepting the way things are and attempting to change it. Harrison use Nan Dear's character to depict acceptance while presenting Gladys as the polar opposite, as someone who refuse to accept things the way they are and always fighting against it.
Harrison opens the play showing the aftermath of the flood on the humpy, where the Dear family is seen repairing the humpy, while playing the first verse of Que sera sera, "what will be, will be". Through this opening verse, she positions the audience to think the the fate of this family is already determined, and that they might just have to accept the way things are. Gladys is seen complaining about the housing in Scene 1. She complains about how they purposely built the aboriginal housing in lower geographical areas while the whites live in higher ground, safe from flooding and with running water. 'They could used the higher ground to build our housing, but oh no, instead they changra it into the towns tips'. Gladys's frustration can be felt by the audience when she asks Nan Dear why she isnt saying anything about the unfair housing. Nan Dear seems almost numb to being treated this way by the white settlers as she says "that's just the way things are".
Nan was moved around since her childhood and now here. Through Nan's character, Harrison depicts how generational trauma from constant mistreatment can often make position individuals to accept their fate as their voices are never heard.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: examine the role of art in the novel. How…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: The endurance of human spirit to find light amid systematic darkness is a central concern in Yoko Ogawa's…
The endurance of human spirit to find light amid systematic darkness is a central concern in Yoko Ogawa's dystopian novel 'The Memory Police', set in a surreal landscape on an unnamed island where memory, identity and autonomy are erased. In the text Ogawa portrays the significance of art as a conduit for the preservation of identity. This is demonstrated through rebellion whereby the art of story telling is conceived as an essential tool in gaining justice. Furthermore, the explicit depictions of love and connection suggests that it can be used as an expression for preserving memories. Finally, the contrast between the beauty and the horror of destruction is depicted through the portrayal of nature and oppression of totalitarian regimes.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: write an anaylsis of the ways in which…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 75%: ARGUMENT ANALYSIS~ As the school reopens and continues back to its regular life, after surviving "covid",…
ARGUMENT ANALYSIS~ As the school reopens and continues back to its regular life, after surviving "covid", Langmore secondary college is seen to nominate and elect student representative council members. Consequently, Lucy Lee alumni and past SRC of Langmore secondary, delivered a speech to the school students, in which she provided insight into why students should sign up for SRC. She advocates for students to sign up for SRC to make a positive change towards the school environment. Utilizing a hopeful and optimistic tone, in the hopes that students will sign up, and participate more in the student representation council.
PP1: In the outset, before she forwards her contention, Lee first seeks to imbue her speech admiring "what a pleasure it is to be back at Langmore" using a hopeful and optimistic tone, reminiscing on her times at school as she would "raid to the canteen to be first in line". Lees use of positive connotations, emphasises the honour of speaking to the community, therby reinforcing the schools profoundly postive atmoshere. By sharing this memory, Lee dismantels the formal speaker-audience dynamic, fostering a sense of rapport by postioning herself as a relatable peer. Lee hopes to be able to come across as a relatable speaker, creating that sense of relatability and assurance within the students. Further, Lee develops her piece, moving onto the dark times of covids implication on the
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Framework "Play"
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: Growing up, soccer was never just a game in my family. From my earliest memories, the pitch was a playground…
Growing up, soccer was never just a game in my family. From my earliest memories, the pitch was a playground that tested me. Every kick, every tackle, every missed goal seemed to accumulate into something larger, an invisible scorecard that followed me, measuring my worth. On Saturday mornings, while other parents clapped and cheered for their kids, mine would voice their disappointment, “run faster, shoot quicker, don’t you lose”. Encouragement was rare, and praise was even more foreign, in the world they had created for me. Victory was expected, not celebrated.
I grew up being taught that fun and failure were incompatible; this game was serious, and a loss on the pitch was a loss for me. And so, by the time I reached my teenage years, I wore every defeat like a bruise, internalising the sense that my worth depended on the final whistle.
The turning point for me came around in the grand finals last season, when we were up against a team we had no business losing to. Yet, by halftime, we were trailing behind, heads were down, the atmosphere was heavy; it was as if we had already accepted our fate. Frustration twisted inside me as I stared at my teammates' defeated faces. As the whistle blew, signalling the start of the next half, something snapped. I decided then and there that if no one else was willing to fight, I would, I would fight, and I would win the match myself.
From that moment, something in the ball changed. I chased it with desperation, clung to it as though losing it meant surrender. The ball felt hard, pumped up with pressure, no longer a simple object of play but a reminder of the burden I carried alone. I dribbled past teammates, took reckless shots, and ignored calls. Something that was once a symbol of connection now felt heavy in my possession, swollen by the pressure I carried. My lungs burned, my legs ached, but I pressed on, convincing myself that sheer determination alone could rewrite the score.
It didn't. By the end, the scoreboard still showed the same merciless truth, the whistle that I dreaded still sang the same empty song. We had been beaten, but as I trudged off the field, my teammates could hardly bear to look at me as if I were the one to blame.Me. My parent’s lecture that night barely registered, for the first time, their disappointment was drowned out by something louder, my own hollowed exhaustion. That night, I couldn't get the faces of my teammates out of my head, it stung me, like being red-carded not by the referee but by the people I was supposed to stand with.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: Practice Analysing Argument Essay 3 –…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 82.5%: Practice Analysing Argument Essay 3 – Shark Article Prompted by the circulation of a horrifying video of a…
Practice Analysing Argument Essay 3 – Shark Article
Prompted by the circulation of a horrifying video of a Shark attack at Sydney Beach, Holly Wainright has composed an opinion piece entitled ‘Today a shark video is playing on every device in the land, dressed up as ‘news’.’ (Sydney Morning Herald 17/2/2022) for an audience of Australians engaged in the domestic media. In a moralising tone, Wainright voices her contempt towards the sharing of the Sydney shark attack video, beckoning her readers to scorn the media for spreading what was perceived as a ‘snuff film’.
With the central aim of criticising digital society for dehumanising the death of a man involved in the Sydney shark attack, Wainright utilises a broad generalisation to imply that filming things is ‘what we do’. By including derogatory references using descriptors such as ‘oblong view’ and ‘black mirrors’ to describe the lens through which society views things, Wainright seeks to draw emphasis on the extent to which the consumption of media through technological devices distorts people’s perception of appalling events. In doing so, she implicitly suggests that this way of living has led to the dehumanisation of perceivably horrifying situations such as the ‘footage of a living, breathing person’s final horrifying moments’. Hence, readers who engage in the media and recognise the influence it has on the way they perceive things are poised to accept Wainright’s critique of digital society. Additionally, with the intent of galvanising an emotional response from her Australian readers, Wainright further draws on her generalisation, by appealing to family values, to assert that ‘the footage from that phone’ is that of ‘someone’s son’ and it ‘was always going to find its way online’. In doing so, her readership of Australians who uphold strong moral beliefs about the role of family in society are positioned to feel sorrow for the family of the man whose footage is all over the internet. Likewise, readers are urged to cynically view the digital media for distressing family values.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: We forget what it is like. To laugh,…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 97.5%: A Letter to Those Who Have Forgotten How to Wonder Dear Adults, Who Have Outgrown Rabbit Holes, When did you…
A Letter to Those Who Have Forgotten How to Wonder
Dear Adults, Who Have Outgrown Rabbit Holes,
When did you stop tumbling? At what age did you decide that curiosity was a luxury, that imagination was something to be packed away with the toys in the attic? Perhaps it happened gradually, like the ticking of a clock that grew louder and louder until it drowned out the sound of daydreams. Or maybe one morning you simply found yourself in a manicured garden, politely sipping tea while duty whispered in your ear and the White Rabbit scurried away unseen.
We like to believe play belongs only to children, but that is a fiction crafted to make adulthood appear dignified. Play is not a distraction from life; it is life’s rehearsal. It is how we learn to stretch beyond limits, to resist rules that do not serve us, and to discover the selves we did not know were waiting. The stories we grew up with remind us of this: a young girl shrinking and growing, questioning who she really is, stumbling into a world that defied logic and demanded she uncover her own courage.
I still remember a time when I was about ten years old, building an elaborate fort out of bed sheets and chairs in the living room. The entire room became a castle, guarded by invisible knights and powered by an imagination so strong I could almost hear the trumpets at dawn. My parents smiled indulgently and let me play. I did not know it then, but in the act of draping those sheets I was experimenting with power, responsibility, and resilience. Every collapsed wall meant starting again, rebuilding stronger. It was play, but it was also a rehearsal for how to face the larger world.
There comes a moment in all of our lives when the path laid out feels suffocating. Expectations loom, marriage, career, respectability, as though there is no room left for wonder. But sometimes we glimpse another path: a sudden doorway, a rabbit hole, an invitation to chase something we cannot yet name. To fall into such a space is not to flee responsibility but to find freedom. In those strange, ungoverned worlds, the rules bend. Time stretches and folds, sense gives way to nonsense, and in that bending we are liberated. Play allows us to imagine lives beyond the ones dictated to us, to break away from the polished lawns and garden parties of expectation.
And did we not once have such places of escape? Secret games, made-up languages, drawings in margins, conversations with shadows. These were not idle amusements; they were gateways to possibility. Why, then, do we close them off as we grow taller, trading them for clocks, ledgers, and lists?
If escape is the first gift of play, self-discovery is the
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Time to Play Stimulus: ‘I can…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: Who knew that, in all the places that my little feet have taken me to, the tastes that have befallen upon my…
Who knew that, in all the places that my little feet have taken me to, the tastes that have befallen upon my tongue, the experiences that have altered my mushy brain that is trying its hardest to make sense of the world, it is standing on this stage, spotlights bringing life to my proud stance, that I feel most fulfilled?
“I want to act, mum!”
“You are not. That is not going to be a sustainable employment option for you. You better be picking a STEM subject. Even law works.”
“But it is my passion!”
“You can participate in dramas as a hobby, but you shall not be making it your sole income option. I said what I said and I am not going to argue anymore with you.”
The constant ticking of my clock muffles my sobs.
So what if my soul burns for acting?
So what if my body harms itself over not bearing the weight of a costume?
So what if my mind aches to float around the theatre stage?
I can live with it.
After all it is an interest; a hobby that is meant to divert my mind if I were ever to be overwhelmed by the game of life.
Even if it pulses stronger than ever through my every breath.
Even if it clogs my brain from functioning optimally.
Even if it rips my body in shreds, like it is a piece of paper that has ‘blank page’ written on it; serving no purpose rather than to just exist.
Is it not my life?
Do I not have the strings of movement in my hands? Are they to remain in my parents’ grip?
Is life not my own stage?
Am I not my own main character?
Do I have to hide between the curtains of shadows, shining light upon the guardians that occupy my stage?
I feel nauseous.
I want to throw up.
“I did not hear you, say it louder?”
“I applied for an acting academy and I got accepted!”
“What did I tell you about acting?”
“And I will be leaving tomorrow to practice for their upcoming play in which I am certain I will be a part of.”
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Getting Lost Stimulus: If you…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: Getting Lost Base Camp At the peak of winter, climbing mountains is at its most difficult. The cold gusts of…
Getting Lost
Base Camp
At the peak of winter, climbing mountains is at its most difficult. The cold gusts of wind are never-ending reminders to your body, it cannot stop fighting. Although the hike into base camp isn't too bad, the mental thought of summit can be even the greatest of climbers. As you lift each foot, your legs begin to weaken, your heat begins to race. But your mind can never accept defeat. Our mind can never be lost.
Camp 1
As you begin the 14 day expedition, doubt begins to hike beside you. Every falling rock, every cold chill, and every snowfall gives fuel to the horrid hiking route you made. The mountain is trying to kill you. Ofcourse someone told you the savage mountain is gonna try everything it can to end your life". But you only understand that when your crampon digs into the cold mountain for the first time. Your hiking buddy might do everything it can to throw you down the face of the mountain, but your forced to remind yourself. "Don't get lost, remember what you came here for.".