VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: A vignette writing of a picture of a…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 70%: I had been walking since dawn, boots grinding against the fractured asphalt, each step echoing loudly in the…
I had been walking since dawn, boots grinding against the fractured asphalt, each step echoing loudly in the open wasteland. The silence pressed in from all sides, thick and watchful, broken only by the wind scraping dust across the road. Ever since the world went into ecological collapse, my life had been a constant repeat of scavenging for food. The earth had heated up so badly that whole ecosystems died out as plants could not regrow from the blistering heat. Crops, animals, and water gradually disappeared, leaving everybody in a desperate state of survival. I travelled from city to city, picking up scraps where I could find them, searching for any kind of refuge.
The land on either side of the road was colourless and cracked, like skin stretched too far without water. Dead trees clawed at the sky, their branches twisted into frozen screams. No leaves. No birds. Just splintered silhouettes standing guard over nothing. I kept my eyes forward. Looking too long at the trees made it feel as though they were leaning closer when I wasn’t watching. The road itself was rotting. Chunks of tar had collapsed inward, forming dark, uneven pits where miniscule amounts of rain once pooled and evaporated. The painted lines were fading, peeling away like old scars. I followed them anyway, because they were the only thing that still pretended to guide me.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Text analysis on Pride and prejudice
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Text Analysis Essay: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice explores the complexity…
Text Analysis Essay: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice explores the complexity of human judgement, social expectations, and personal growth within the restrictive environment of Regency-era England. Through the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, Austen challenges the values of a society that prioritises wealth, reputation, and social status over genuine character. By using irony, character development, and contrasting perspectives, Austen reveals that prejudice and pride often prevent individuals from understanding themselves and others.
Austen presents Elizabeth Bennet as an intelligent and independent character who initially believes she can accurately judge others. However, her confidence becomes flawed when her own prejudice influences her perception of Mr Darcy. After Darcy’s first proposal, Elizabeth criticises him for his arrogance, stating that she has “never desired your good opinion” and rejects his feelings. This moment demonstrates Elizabeth’s belief that her judgement is morally superior, yet Austen uses this conflict to expose Elizabeth’s own pride. Her refusal to consider Darcy’s perspective reflects the same narrow thinking she condemns in him. Through Elizabeth’s journey, Austen suggests that true maturity requires self-reflection and the willingness to challenge personal assumptions.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Write about the flowers.
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: On the wide level acres of the valley the topsoil lay deep and fertile. It required only a rich winter of rain…
On the wide level acres of the valley the topsoil lay deep and fertile. It required only a rich winter of rain to make it break forth in grass and flowers. The spring flowers in a wet year were unbelievable. The whole valley floor, and the foothills too, would be carpeted with lupins and poppies. Once a woman told me that colored flowers would seem more bright if you added a few white flowers to give the colors definition. Every petal of blue lupin is edged with white, so that a field of lupins is more blue than you can imagine. And mixed with these were
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Shakespeare’s play, ‘The Merchant of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Shakespeare’s play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’ emphasises the idea that one’s appearance does not always match…
Shakespeare’s play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’ emphasises the idea that one’s appearance does not always match reality. Discuss.
Appearances can often be misleading. William Shakespeare explores this in his 1598 play ‘The Merchant of Venice’. Shakespeare contends that whilst superficial looks usually don’t reflect the truth, there are exceptions. This is discussed through characters masking their appearance to make them seem more appealing to society or to gain wealth or power. However, some characters are shown to be true to their surface impression.
From the outset of the play, Shakespeare demonstrates how people will often alter their appearance to appear more appealing to those around them. Characters are shown trying to present themselves as better than they are to impress others or make themselves seem superior. Bassanio clearly demonstrates this in the first scene of the play by borrowing money to gain servants and ‘furnish [himself to win] fair Portia’. By getting Bassanio to borrow money, Shakespeare highlights how his wealthy appearance is merely for show. Shakespeare furthers this with the first suitor, the prince of Morrocco, who bids Portia to not judge ‘[him] for [his] complexion’ but proceeds to base his guess in the casket lottery on the most appealing casket, gold. This irony highlights how characters can appear and intend to be a certain way but be another. The author finalises this at the climax of the play where the Christians plead for Shylock to be merciful as they argue it is a ‘divine quality’ that is better than justice. However, when they are in power over Shylock, they strip Shylock of his religion, wealth. By taking away his religion, the Christians effectively take away his identity showing their double standards. Shakespeare uses this to express how although the Christians in the play present themselves as people valuing mercy, they are not as inclined to show mercy. This ultimately shows how characters will alter their outward appearance to make them seem more attractive.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Sleep no more: Macbeth does murder…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: In the tragedy of “Macbeth”, written by William Shakespeare, the experience of guilt is depicted in many forms.…
In the tragedy of “Macbeth”, written by William Shakespeare, the experience of guilt is depicted in many forms. The feeling of remorse is strongly interlinked with the internal struggles and intrinsic sourses within the character. The remorse that stems from within the self also materialises into extrinsic and supernatural experiences. The tragedian further conveying the experience of guilt by conteplating the meaning of life, and the purpose of enduring guilt.
Shakespeare demonstrates the journey of feeling guilty by using intrinsic sources of self remorse. Macbeth's regicide of king Duncan is the source of his guilt. Right after committing the heinous crime, he “could not say Amen” nor could he sleep. This signifies his religious morals as a part of his remorse. In both the era of Shakespeare and “Macbeth”, society was deeply entangled with the church and religion. The disconnect between Macbeth and his religion allows Shakespeare to convey the audience, the extent to which his guilt is. Additionally, Macbeth could not “sleep [anymore]… he hath murdered sleep,” in response to murdering Duncan. In the play, the symbol of sleep is often related to innocence and peace. In later scenes, Lady Macbeth experiences similar troubles with sleep where she is seen sleep walking. The two examples of the two perpetrators of the regicide who are losing the ability to sleep exposes Shakespeare’s intentions. He aims to show the inability to sleep to be a torturous depiction of the experience of guilt. Furthermore, blood is a strong symbol of guilt and the psychomania that follows the two Macbeths. “Neptune oceans” were not able to “clean the blood” off of Macbeths hands, neither were “all the perfumes of Arabia” able to “sweeten” Lady Macbeth’s “little hand”. The hyperbolic statements from the couple show the permanence of guilt and the haunting and heavy burden it has on their soul. Lady Macbeth was not able to get the “damn spot…out” of her hand. Clearly, a simple hand wash could not rid her of this physical stain, but in this instance she was referring to the blood on her soul. The impossibility of ridding herself from the guilt is the root of her psychomania. Shakespeare uses the symbol and motifs of sleep and blood to illustrate the heavy burden of remore.
The playwright shifts from intrinsic sources of guilt to the extrinsic and supernatural source. The supernatural is intertwined with the plot of this play and makes significant contributions. The hallucinatory “false” dagger created by the “heat-oppressed mind” is ambiguous in its sources. Whether it is a supernatural sign sent by the witches or a vision created by Macbeth out of anxiousness in anticipation of killing Duncan, Shakespeare leaves this detail to the discretion of the audience. The interconnected origin of this dagger that symbolises guilt allows Shakespeare to express how different forms and manifestations of guilt can work together to create a terrifying hallucinatory vision. Additionally, the topic of the supernatural in the context of Shakespeare's time allows his message to resonate deeply with his audience. Their King James had published a journal called “Daemonology”, causing the altitude towards the supernatural to turn sour. Shakespeare decision in using the supernatural to depict the experience of guilt has allowed him to appease his king, by validating his published book. The audience also understood the severity of the guilt Macbeth was enduring by how Shakespeare juxtaposed the internal and supernatural sorces of guilt. Furthermore, Macbeth ordered his close friend Banquo to be murdered. Banquo had “promised to be [at the banquet]” however he was murdered before he had the chance to attend. Shakespeare rights this line as an equovocation and foreshadowing to the arrival of Banquo’s ghost at the Banquet. This comes as a warning to ‘be careful what you wish for’. Macbeth duplicitously invites Banquo to the feast, knowing he would be dead. His conscience does not let him rest and sends Banquo as a ghost, as a manifestation of his remorse. In this scene Shakespeare demonstrates that one’s guilt can not easily dissapear and it will always find a way to haunt you.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: “High Ground argues that knowing who…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: Throughout history, an individual’s sense of identity has shaped how they understand their place in the world…
Throughout history, an individual’s sense of identity has shaped how they understand their place in the world and respond to challenges. Identity provides a sense of belonging, purpose and moral direction, enabling individuals and communities to navigate conflict and change. However, when identity is suppressed, manipulated or lost, confusion, division and destruction often follow. Set against the frontier conflicts of 1930s Arnhem Land, Stephen Johnson’s film High Ground explores the profound significance of identity within a society fractured by colonial violence. Through the struggle to maintain cultural identity in the face of colonisation, the consequences of losing connection to one’s heritage and values, and the eventual restoration of identity through Indigenous law and reconciliation, Johnson demonstrates that knowing who you are is essential for individual fulfilment, cultural survival and moral clarity. While the film acknowledges the pressures that can complicate an individual’s understanding of themselves, Johnson ultimately contends that a secure sense of identity provides the foundation necessary to resist oppression, restore balance and preserve humanity. In doing so, he encourages Australian audiences to recognise the enduring importance of cultural identity and truth in confronting the nation’s colonial past.
There is no doubt that Johnson presents cultural identity as crucial because it provides individuals and communities with a sense of belonging and strength in the face of colonial oppression. By foregrounding the deep connection between Indigenous identity, Country and law, Johnson challenges colonial assumptions that Indigenous cultures are inferior or expendable. This is most powerfully conveyed during the Makarrata discussions, where Indigenous law is contrasted directly with colonial authority. Darrpa’s assertion that, “This is my lore. It comes from the soil. From Mother Earth. Yours comes from across the sea,” establishes identity as something deeply rooted in ancestry, spirituality and connection to Country. In contrast to colonial laws imposed through conquest, Indigenous identity emerges as organic, enduring and inseparable from the land itself. Johnson reinforces this distinction through sweeping aerial shots of Arnhem Land, presenting the landscape as ancient, sacred and permanent while simultaneously diminishing the presence of colonial figures within the frame. Furthermore, the use of unsubtitled Indigenous songlines reminds audiences that Indigenous knowledge and identity cannot be fully understood through a colonial lens. Whereas colonial authority seeks to define identity through power and ownership, Indigenous identity is portrayed as collective, spiritual and intrinsically connected to Country. Through this juxtaposition, Johnson compels Australian audiences to reconsider dominant historical narratives and recognise the resilience of Indigenous identity despite attempts at cultural erasure. Consequently, the film suggests that knowing who you are provides the strength necessary to resist oppression and preserve cultural continuity.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “In High Ground, good intentions can be as…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Throughout history, individuals have often justified their actions through noble intentions, believing that good…
Throughout history, individuals have often justified their actions through noble intentions, believing that good motives inevitably lead to positive outcomes. However, intentions alone do not determine the consequences of actions, particularly when they exist within systems of violence, prejudice and inequality. While evil intentions are overtly destructive, well-meaning actions can also inflict significant harm when they are misguided, naïve or complicit in broader injustices. Set amid the violent frontier conflicts of 1930s Arnhem Land, Stephen Johnson’s film High Ground explores the devastating consequences of both malicious and benevolent actions in colonial Australia. Through Travis’ attempts to protect Indigenous communities, Gutjuk’s desire to bridge two cultures and Moran’s ruthless pursuit of colonial order, Johnson reveals that good intentions can indeed cause harm when they fail to challenge oppressive systems. Nevertheless, he ultimately suggests that destructive consequences arise not merely from good intentions themselves, but from the failure to accompany those intentions with moral courage and genuine understanding. In doing so, Johnson encourages Australian audiences to critically examine the legacy of colonialism and recognise that meaningful change requires more than simply good intentions.
There is no doubt that Johnson initially presents Travis’ good intentions as deeply destructive because his attempts to protect Indigenous Australians remain entangled within the colonial system responsible for their suffering. By positioning Travis as both a former perpetrator and reluctant protector, Johnson illustrates how benevolent motives cannot easily erase the consequences of past wrongdoing. Following the frontier massacre, Travis seeks redemption by helping Gutjuk and preventing further violence; however, his efforts repeatedly fail to shield Indigenous communities from harm. This moral tension is evident when Travis insists, “I’m not a tracker. I’m a soldier,” revealing his continuing struggle between duty and conscience. While Travis wishes to distance himself from colonial brutality, Johnson suggests that he remains shaped by the very institution he seeks to resist. Significantly, Johnson’s frequent use of sweeping aerial shots positions the Arnhem Land landscape as an ancient witness to human conflict, diminishing the significance of individual intentions against the enduring impact of colonial violence. In contrast to Travis’ desire to act honourably, the land itself symbolises the lasting consequences of European invasion. Furthermore, the juxtaposition between Travis’ protective actions and the repeated suffering experienced by Indigenous characters reinforces the limitations of individual goodwill within an unjust system. Johnson thereby compels Australian audiences to recognise that good intentions alone cannot undo historical injustice when systemic oppression remains unchallenged. Consequently, Travis’ well-meaning actions become destructive because they fail to fully confront the colonial structures that continue to cause harm.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: personal journey
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: The Weight of a Final Word In the wake of my Grandad’s passing, I found myself living in a dark forest, a…
The Weight of a Final Word
In the wake of my Grandad’s passing, I found myself living in a dark forest, a landscape where the canopy of grief was so thick that the sunlight of my old life couldn't reach the floor. A constant, low-simmering depression that would frequently boil over into flashes of uncharacteristic anger. I would snap at my mum over the volume of the TV.
The most vivid memories are from the local eye hospital. I would sit on those hard, plastic chairs, swinging my legs while I watched him move through the waiting rooms. He had this way of noticing the people who felt invisible or people with a look of quiet terror. He would stop, offer a joke, or simply sit with them. The nurse knew his name before he reached the desk. I watched him cross the room towards the elderly man sitting alone, turning a hat over and over in his hands. “My wife bought it,” the man said, unpromoted. “She passed last spring.” My Grandad just nodded and sat down beside him. They didn’t speak again for a long time. I grew up watching moments like that, never realising i was witnessing the construction of a legacy,
Then the day happened. I remember staring at my phone, debating whether to call him. I was tired from school and basketball practice, and a part of me thought, I’ll just call him on the weekend when I have more energy. But some quiet, nagging instinct made me press his name.
We talked for forty minutes. He sounded tired, his breath a little shorter than usual, but his voice still had that familiar warmth. We talked about how he was going, and I remember trying to sound encouraging. "Don't worry, Grandad," I said, "you'll get better soon. We’ve still got that trip planned."
"I'm trying, Tim," he whispered. "I'm trying."
"Goodbye," I said.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "In The Merchant of Venice, the law is not…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Written in 1598, William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Merchant of Venice’ reveals that the law can be both a tool for…
Written in 1598, William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Merchant of Venice’ reveals that the law can be both a tool for justice and a weapon that is used to establish power. Shakespeare exposes how the courtroom functions simultaneously as a decider of fairness and an instrument of power. Ultimately, Shakespeare uses his play ‘Merchant of Venice’ to reveal that in such Venetian societies, in the Elizabethan era, the law is ultimately used to legalise the oppression of others.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does William Shakespeare explore the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet presents love as a profoundly complex and destructive force shaped by conflict,…
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet presents love as a profoundly complex and destructive force shaped by conflict, violence, and human impulsivity. Rather than idealising love, Shakespeare explores how it is restricted by society, intertwining with hatred and influenced by both fate and personal choice. Through the tragic relationship between Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare reveals that love can inspire emotional connection and individuality, while simultaneously leading to chaos, suffering, and death. Ultimately, the play suggests that love becomes most dangerous when it exists within a world governed by violence, patriarchal control, and uncontrollable destiny.
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents love as complex by depicting the conflict between individual desire and society’s set expectations. Verona is portrayed as a society governed by patriarchal authority, violence, and family honour, where personal happiness is sacrificed for social order. From the opening scene, the feud between the Montagues and Capulets dominates public life, as the servants engage in aggressive, misogynistic behaviour, with Sampson referring to women as “the weaker vessels” and threatening to “thrust the maids to the wall.” Shakespeare constructs a hyper-masculine culture through Sampson’s crude, performative language, using sexual violence to reduce women to objects, which would provoke discomfort in the audience and expose the moral corruption underpinning Verona. Romeo initially conforms to these expectations through his obsession with Rosaline. However, after meeting Juliet, he begins to reject this social pressure, choosing love over conflict when he refuses to fight Tybalt as they are now family. Despite this, Verona’s violent culture overrides his personal desires, resulting in Mercutio’s death and Romeo’s banishment. Juliet is positioned as the ideal daughter, expected to marry Paris to strengthen her family’s status rather than for love. However, Shakespeare complicates this by portraying Juliet as intelligent, mature, and defiant. When she asks, “What’s in a name?”, Juliet rejects the importance of family identity and social division in favour of personal choice. Through Romeo and Juliet’s resistance to societal norms, Shakespeare reinforces that love becomes both liberating and destructive when individuals attempt to challenge the rigid structure that controls their lives.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: Background Info: On an average day,…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 80%: In attempts to mitigate the increase of the disproportionate amount of Aboriginal children being incarcerated,…
In attempts to mitigate the increase of the disproportionate amount of Aboriginal children being incarcerated, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), published a report (2024), contending that Australia's punitive youth justice system criminalises vulnerability rather than addressing its root causes. In addressing the general public and policy makers, the organisation posits that Australia’s youth justice system is failing because it ignores the systematic social factors driving children into it. The organisation then reframes children involved in the system from criminals to vulnerable victims of circumstance. Furthermore, by contrasting the costs of incarceration against those of early intervention, the organisation highlights possible economic efficiency. Finally, the organisation denounces the violation of international human rights.
The AHRC begins its critique by dismantling the notion that youth crime is a vacuum of individual choice;, rather it is a symptom of societal prejudice. By employing a hostile compounding of “poverty, homelessness, abuse, [and] mental health challenges”, the organisation attempts to overwhelm the reader with the reality of a vulnerable child's environment, suggesting that offending is basically a byproduct of such “intersecting disadvantages”. The accumulation of hardships serves to stimulate the reader’s sense of injustice, aiming to shift the blame from a child to a society that allows such conditions to exist. This textual plea is reinforced by an accompanying visual metaphor depicting a solitary child sitting under a bridge contrasting with a bright, expansive sky. The compositional choice to place the child as a small, isolated figure within the dark, functions as a visual hyperbole for the systematic prejudice that undermines them. By stripping the image of any signs of support or community infrastructure, the organisation visually manifests the “neglect” described within the text, compelling the audience to feel a protective urgency. Moreover, the report adopts an exasperated tone through the rhetorical question: “if we know the causes, why do we continue to ignore them?” Through this the organisation aims to position the government's current inaction as not merely a policy oversight, but as a deliberate and irrational neglect of “expert consensus". By labelling the current system as “not fit for purpose”, the AHRC addresses the reader as a rational observer, inviting them to view punitive measures as a primitive and ineffective response to a crisis that requires “earlier” holistic support. Therefore, the organisation asserts that the failure of the system is a choice, consequently portraying the status quo as an active perpetuation of injustice.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Childhood.
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: The passing of time. Existentialism is a curious thing. My father died before I could remember, but I saw the…
The passing of time.
Existentialism is a curious thing.
My father died before I could remember, but I saw the ghost of him in my mother's eyes. In her actions too; I saw how she would rummage through his manuscripts, her arms moving rapidly before they gave out, I had always run back to my room before I was caught. But the muffled sobs and the hoarse throat deemed my mother a liar.
I was very timid growing up. I spent most of my time alone, my mother had been working extremely hard; her multiple jobs had certainly taken a toll on her. She came home late, sometimes her shadow didn't appear under the door, and her keys never hung up on the wall. I didn't question her. Who was I to do so? Her crinkled eyes and warm smile reassured me that she was holding on just fine.
I usually occupied my time with the books my father had left behind. While discussing the stupid acts of a certain character in a book with my mother, she said the most profound line 11 year old me had ever heard.
"Baby, the only way you can be happy in this wrong world, is to live the pain, instead of inflict it."
From then, I had become a plaster fit into the 'revised edits' of my mother's mould. I took her words with me wherever I went. I let those kids hit me, just so I could alleviate their stress, just so I could see that satisfied smile and the cloud behind their eyes lift.
I believed the world was wrong, I believed there was nothing better than to be the stepping stone to get someone back on track.
My mother always looked proud of me. She spoke to me in a fond way as if it was our little secret.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Illegal. In America, this is illegal"…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: “Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The…
“Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The Farewell,” critiquing the major lie in the film as morally unjust. This sets the stage for a meditation on the subjective nature of truth, and the ambiguity of lies. This dubiety is underscored through Billi, whose western view of life belonging to an individual conflicts with her familial obligation to maintain the deceit. Wang highlights the profound grief that occurs as a result of the lie, with repressed emotions and sustained guilt causing an individual experience in the suffering of the collective “emotional burden”. Yet at its core, Wang’s film is a reflection of love, highlighting a selfless love that grows as the film progresses, asserting Wang’s key takeaway that all actions as a result of love are moral.
Chinese dialogue left untranslated in the film, allows Wang to emphasise the role of one’s cultural and familial obligations in their motives to lie. This is done through Billi facing cultural disconnection through her “Chinese [not being] so good,” aligning us with Billi’s alienation, thus understanding her cultural responsibility to tell Nai Nai the truth. Cinematographer, Anna Franquesca Solano uses a wide aspect ratio to frame the family as a landscape, symbolising the collective effort every member must put in to maintain the lie. Haibin’s belief that he will “always be Chinese. No matter where [he] lives,” signifies the cultural obligations one experiences towards their home country, with Haiyan, maintaining his view that “in the East, you life is part of a whole, a family, and a society,” despite living in America for a large portion of his life. Billi’s unique cultural perspective - that life belongs to the “individual” - causes her to “feel guilty,” yet her familial obligation to maintain the performance overcomes this cultural tension. Billi is often framed away from her family and others, symbolising her isolation from the family unit due to her conflicting view of life, seen in the subway scene. Her clothing, which is often plain compared to the traditional clothing of others, further emphasises the cultural isolation she feels as her family believes she “[wants] to tell Nai Nai the truth because [she’s] afraid to take responsibility for her.” Wang explores how cultural obligations come with great sacrifice, with the wedding scene highlighting Little Nai Nai’s selflessness to leave her husband in “Shenzhen” to maintain both her familial and cultural obligation to her older sister. This altruism signifies the good-hearted nature of the lie, separating the ethical dilemma from the well intended motive. Yet the Wangs’ obligation to both the beloved matriarch and China overcomes any consequences and acts as the major catalyst in the lie.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Illegal. In America, this is illegal"…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: “Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The…
“Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The Farewell,” critiquing the major lie in the film as morally unjust. This sets the stage for a meditation on the subjective nature of truth, and the ambiguity of lies. This dubiety is underscored through Billi, whose western view of life belonging to an individual conflicts with her familial obligation to maintain the deceit. Wang highlights the profound grief that occurs as a result of the lie, with repressed emotions and sustained guilt causing an individual experience of suffering the collective “emotional burden”.” Yet at its core, Wang’s film is a reflection of love, highlighting a selfless love that grows as the film progresses, asserting Wang’s key takeaway that all actions as a result of love are moral.
Chinese dialogue left untranslated in the film allows Wang to highlight the cultural disconnection Billi, whose “Chinese isn’t so good,” experienced towards her family and China, aligning us with Billi’s alienation. This emphasises lying as a result of cultural and familial obligations. Cinematographer, Anna Franquesca Solano uses a wide aspect ratio to frame the family as a landscape, symbolising the collective effort every member must put in to maintain the lie. Haibin’s belief that he will “always be Chinese. No matter where [he] lives,” signifies the cultural obligations one experiences towards their home country, with Haiyan, maintaining his view that “in the East, you life is part of a whole, a family, and a society,” despite living in America for a large portion of his life. Billi’s unique cultural perspective - that life belongs to the “individual” - causes her to “feel guilty,” yet her familial obligation to maintain the performance overcomes this cultural tension. Billi is often framed outside the shot, with her clothing, often plain compared to the traditional clothing of others, further emphasising the cultural isolation she feels as her family believes she “[wants] to tell Nai Nai the truth because [she’s] afraid to take responsibility for her.” Wang explores how cultural obligations come with great sacrifice, with the wedding scene highlighting Little Nai Nai’s selflessness to leave her husband in “Shenzhen” to maintain both her familial and cultural obligation to her older sister. This altruism signifies the good-hearted nature of the lie, separating the ethical dilemma from the well intended motive. Yet the Wangs’ obligation to both the beloved matriarch and China overcomes any consequences and acts as the major catalyst in the lie.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Illegal. In America, this is illegal"…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: “Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The…
“Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The Farewell,” critiquing the major lie in the film as morally unjust. This sets the stage for a meditation on the subjective nature of truth, and the ambiguity of lies. This dubiety is underscored through Billi, whose western view of life belonging to an individual conflicts with her familial obligation to maintain the deceit. Wang highlights the profound grief that occurs as a result of the lie, with repressed emotions and sustained guilt causing an individual experience of suffering the collective “emotional burden”.” Yet at its core, Wang’s film is a reflection of love, highlighting a selfless love that grows as the film progresses, asserting Wang’s key takeaway that all actions as a result of love are moral.
Chinese dialogue left untranslated in the film allows Wang to highlight the cultural disconnection Billi, whose “Chinese isn’t so good,” experienced towards her family and China, aligning us with Billi’s alienation. This emphasises lying as a result of cultural and familial obligations. Cinematographer, Anna Franquesca Solano uses a wide aspect ratio to frame the family as a landscape, symbolising the collective effort every member must put in to maintain the lie. Haibin’s belief that he will “always be Chinese. No matter where [he] lives,” signifies the cultural obligations one experiences towards their home country, with Haiyan, maintaining his view that “in the East, you life is part of a whole, a family, and a society,” despite living in America for a large portion of his life. Billi’s unique cultural perspective - that life belongs to the “individual” - causes her to “feel guilty,” yet her familial obligation to maintain the performance overcomes this cultural tension. Billi is often framed outside the shot, with her clothing, often plain compared to the traditional clothing of others, further emphasising the cultural isolation she feels as her family believes she “[wants] to tell Nai Nai the truth because [she’s] afraid to take responsibility for her.” Wang explores how cultural obligations come with great sacrifice, with the wedding scene highlighting Little Nai Nai’s selflessness to leave her husband in “Shenzhen” to maintain both her familial and cultural obligation to her older sister. This altruism signifies the good-hearted nature of the lie, separating the ethical dilemma from the well intended motive. Yet the Wangs’ obligation to both the beloved matriarch and China overcomes any consequences and acts as the major catalyst in the lie.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Characters in Twelfth Night misunderstand…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: In Shakespeare’s 1602 romantic comedy Twelfth Night he explores consequences of characters who misunderstand…
In Shakespeare’s 1602 romantic comedy Twelfth Night he explores consequences of characters who misunderstand themselves more so than though than those around them. As Elizabethan society was governed by rigid expectations surrounding gender, hierarchy and appearance, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night constructs a world in which identity is unstable and genuine self-knowledge becomes increasingly difficult to sustain. Therefore, Shakespeare presents self- misunderstanding as more pervasive and consequential than misunderstanding others through revealing how characters misreadings of the external world emerge from deeper failures of self-knowledge, desire and identity. Within theatrical world of Illyria governed by disguise, hierarchy and emotional excess, Shakespeare insinuates self-deception is not merely temporary or an individual flaw, but a structural condition of a world governed by performance and illusion that prevents genuine self-knowledge or transformation. Thus, he encourages Elizabethan audiences to reflect on their self-awareness and limitations in rigid world around them that prohibit truth and authenticity.
Shakespeare reveals how character misunderstand themselves more deeply than others because of the socially performative world of Illyria that facilitates illusion. Orsino’s internalised performative deception – shaped by Petrarchan love conventions dominant in the period - reveal how he misunderstands the nature of his own emotions as he treats love as an aesthetic performance to be enjoyed rather than a genuine connection with Olivia. Through the implied allusion to Narcissus “if music be the food of love, play on” that frames love as something to be enjoyed or prolonged, rather than acted upon serves to further critique aristocratic culture that rewarded performative love over genuine emotional awareness. Consequentially, his lack of understanding of Olivia throughout the play originates in his inability to recognise he is in love with the idea of Olivia rather than Olivia herself. This is emphasised by metonymy point in Feste’s song “come away, come away death” to represent Orsino – the object of desire that is replaced by the desiring object. Shakespeare also depicts Olivia participating in figurative disguises through her excessive mourning as she vows to “abjure the company and sight of men” for 7 years. Whilst this performance aligns with early modern expectations of female chastity and virtue, Feste verbally unmasks Olivia to undermine her authenticity. As Feste repeatedly address Olivia as “Madonna”, he ironically invokes her as the virgin Mary, and in doing so exposes her supposed virtue as exaggerated and performative. By reframing her sorrow as irrational rather than virtuous, Feste dismantles the moral authority of her self-presentation, revealing it as an emotional disguise sustained for social recognition rather than genuine feeling. Consequentially, when she falls in love with Cesario – a non-existent identity – Shakespeare suggests her misunderstanding of Cesario stems form her inability to recognise her own emotional instability. This is exemplified to portray her love for Cesario that has been “caught” so “quickly might catch the plague” as an uncontrollable sickness that strikes people, hence emphasising her desire as a projection rather than perception of Cesario. Moreover, Malvolio’s fantasy of becoming “count Malvolio” reveals how his greatest deception is self-generated. His instant belief in Maria’s letter that “I could marry this wench for this device” exposes the extent to which he misunderstands Olivia not because of her actions, but from misunderstanding of his own position, character and real desire. Thus, Shakespeare critiques the rigid social hierarchies that encourage individuals to define their worth through status, ambition and social expectations, highlighting how self-deception is a structural feature of human consciousness made visible through the play’s comic apparatus that leads to misunderstanding of others.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Illegal. In America, this is illegal"…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: “Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The…
“Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The Farewell,” critiquing the major lie in the film as morally unjust. This sets the stage for a meditation on the subjective nature of truth, and the ambiguity of lies. This dubiety is underscored through Billi, whose western view of life belonging to an individual conflicts with her familial obligation to maintain the deceit. Wang highlights the profound grief that occurs as a result of the lie, with repressed emotions and sustained guilt causing an individual experience of suffering the collective “emotional burden”.” Yet at its core, Wang’s film is a reflection of love, highlighting a selfless love that grows as the film progresses, asserting Wang’s key takeaway that all actions as a result of love are moral.
Chinese dialogue left untranslated in the film allows Wang to highlight the cultural disconnection Billi, whose “Chinese isn’t so good,” experienced towards her family and China, aligning us with Billi’s alienation. Emphasising lying as a result of cultural and familial obligations. Cinematographer, Anna Franquesca Solano uses a wide aspect ratio to frame the family as a landscape, symbolising the collective effort every member must put in to maintain the lie. Haibin’s belief that he will “always be Chinese. No matter where [he] lives,” signifies the cultural obligations one experiences towards their home country, with Haiyan, maintaining his view that “in the East, you life is part of a whole, a family, and a society,” despite living in America for a large portion of his life. Billi’s unique cultural perspective - that life belongs to the “individual” - causes her to “feel guilty,” yet her familial obligation to maintain the performance overcomes this cultural tension. Billi is often framed outside the shot, with her clothing, often plain compared to the traditional clothing of others, further emphasising the cultural isolation she feels as her family believes she “[wants] to tell Nai Nai the truth because [she’s] afraid to take responsibility for her.” Wang explores how cultural obligations come with great sacrifice, with the wedding scene highlighting Little Nai Nai’s selflessness to leave her husband in “Shenzhen” to maintain both her familial and cultural obligation to her older sister. This altruism signifies the good-hearted nature of the lie, separating the ethical dilemma from the well intended motive. Yet the Wangs’ obligation to both the beloved matriarch and China overcomes any consequences and acts as the major catalyst in the lie.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: A river runs not through strength but…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: Motion is the measure of becoming. In year 12, everything feels like it’s supposed to matter all at once.…
Motion is the measure of becoming.
In year 12, everything feels like it’s supposed to matter all at once. Your grades, your future. The way teachers speak to you like you’re already halfway into adulthood, while a part of you still feels like you’re figuring out how to exist. Every SAC carries weight, every decision feels permanent, and worst of all every failure, no matter how small, echoes louder than it should.
At least that’s how it feels for me.
I’m in year 12 right now, and nothing seems to be finished. Not my notes, not my understanding, not even the person I'm supposed to be by the end of this year. Everything is in progress, half written notes, incomplete practise exams, plans that look good written down but don’t always happen the way I imagine.
There is this constant feeling that I should be further along than I am.
Opening up my results used to feel rewarding; it felt like a moment where everything I’d worked for made sense. It used to make me feel proud, like I’ve achieved something, like all those hours spend studying was worthwhile. But now it feels like a knife to the gut, like I’ve being struck by thousands of needles; even seeing the notification “grades are out” is enough to ruin my entire mood. It feels like the results reach me before I reach them, like the disappointment is already waiting.
Everyone talks about “staying on top of things” like it’s a stable place you can reach and just exist in. But for me, it feels more like trying to stand up right on something that keeps shifting, as soon as I think I’ve caught up in one subject, another slips. As soon as I feel confident about one topic, I realise how much I still don’t know.
It’s exhausting.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Illegal. In America, this is illegal"…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: “Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The…
“Illegal. In America this is illegal” Billi exclaims in Lulu Wang’s 2019 semi-autobiographical comedy drama “The Farewell,” critiquing the major lie in the film as morally unjust. Setting the stage for a mediation on the subjective nature of truth, and the ambiguity of lies. This dubiety is underscored through Billi, whose western view of life belonging to an individual conflicts with her familial obligation to maintain the deceit. Wang highlights the profound grief that occurs as a result of the lie, with repressed emotions and sustained guilt causing an individual experience of suffering the collective “emotional burden”.” Yet at its core, Wang’s film is a reflection of love, highlighting a selfless love that grows as the film progresses, asserting Wang’s key takeaway that all actions as a result of love are moral.
Chinese dialogue left untranslated in the film allows Wang to highlight the cultural disconnection Billi, whose “Chinese isn’t so good,” experienced towards her family and China. Emphasising lying as a result of cultural and familial obligations. Cinematographer, Anna Franquesca Solano uses a wide aspect ratio to frame the family as a landscape, symbolising the collective effort every member must put in to maintain the lie. Haibin’s belief that he will “always be Chinese. No matter where [he] lives,” signifies the cultural obligations one experiences towards their home country, with Haiyan, maintaining his view that “in the East, you life is part of a whole, a family, and a society,” despite living in America for a large portion of his life. Billi is unique in the film, such that her cultural view of life belonging to an “individual” causes her to “feel guilty,” yet her familial obligation to maintain the performance overcomes this cultural tension. Billi is often framed outside the shot, with her clothing, often plain compared to the traditional clothing of others, further emphasising the cultural isolation she feels as her family believes she “[wants] to tell Nai Nai the truth because [she’s] afraid to take responsibility for her.” Wang explores how cultural obligations come with great sacrifice, with the wedding scene highlighting Little Nai Nai’s selflessness to leave her husband in “Shenzhen” to maintain both her familial and cultural obligation to her older sister. Yet the Wangs’ obligation to both the beloved matriarch and China overcomes any consequences and acts as the major catalyst in the lie.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Hadley suggests everyday experiences lead…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Individuals are in a constant state of evolution, continually gaining new perceptions on themselves and the world…
Individuals are in a constant state of evolution, continually gaining new perceptions on themselves and the world during the unremarkable rhythms of everyday life. Tessa Hadley’s ‘Bad Dreams and Other Stories’ offers insight into how meaningful introspection is often triggered by intimate moments of solitude rather than overtly dramatic events. Hadley ultimately displays how seemingly mundane experiences can be a catalyst for deeper change.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Systemic racism is evident and thriving in…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Chloe Hooper‘s expository text, “The Tall Man“ examines the death of Cameron Doomadgee and the events that…
Chloe Hooper‘s expository text, “The Tall Man“ examines the death of Cameron Doomadgee and the events that preceded and followed his passing, shedding light on the systemic injustice and neglect experienced by Indigenous Australians. Throughout the text, Chloe Hooper contends that systemic racism is not only an integral aspect of “The Tall Man”, but an amalgamation of socio-economic disadvantage entrenched historical racism experienced by the Palm Islanders. Chloe Hooper first illuminates the colonial foundation Palm Island was built upon, and then how it has prevailed into Palm Islander then explains how these injustices manifest into systemic racism. Thus, Chloe Hooper constructs abroad or societal comment on how the injustice of the past still impact Indigenous Australians today.
Initially, Hooper reveals that the systemic racism at the heart of The Tall Man stems from the entrenched historical racism embedded in Palm Island’s colonial foundations. Hooper notes how Palm Island was a place where “40 different groups [were] forced to co-exist,” highlighting how Indigenous Australians were stripped of their distinct cultural identities. The colonial mindset adopted by non-Indigenous authorities, which forced diverse Indigenous groups into one controlled space, reflects a blatant disregard for their cultural differences and autonomy, demonstrating how control and assimilation were embedded within institutional structures rather than being isolated acts of prejudice. This notion of historical racism is furthered when Hooper describes early Palm Island as an “open-air jail”. The words “open air" connote a sense of freedom and liberty, juxtaposed with the word “jail”, emphasising the oxymoronic nature of the island as a place designed to confine and control Indigenous Australians, reinforcing how this marginalisation was systemically enforced through government policy and surveillance. Additionally, Hooper reveals to readers that the Palm Islanders were assigned an “Aboriginal Protector”, and that they were not “always upstanding”. Here, the concept of a white saviour complex is imparted on the community and serves as a way to surveil them, while also reflecting how authority figures were institutionally empowered to control Indigenous lives. When Hooper adds that they were not always upstanding, readers are compelled to infer that these “protectors” were perpetrators of mistreatment and abuses of power, highlighting how systemic racism operates through institutions that both enable and protect such behaviour. Thus, Hooper ultimately reveals that the historical foundations of Palm Island are not merely reflective of past racism, but form the structural basis of the systemic injustices that continue to marginalise Indigenous Australians in the present.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: vce crafting text on the future and…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 70%: Entry 1: 29/04/2125 I can't remember the last time I was outside. The last time I felt the rain on my bare…
Entry 1: 29/04/2125
I can't remember the last time I was outside. The last time I felt the rain on my bare skin, the last time I felt the breeze through my hair.
I remember the day they announced it. That the government planned on building "silo" style societies underground, where all would live. Sustainable housing districts. What a lie. But I was only a kid then. I couldn't understand.
They told us that it would heal the earth, especially after man's dependence on AI lead to accelerated climate change, to the point where whole countries were uninhabitable. Cities were swallowed by heat. There weren't even any crops left.
I remember everyone I knew celebrating. There was finally a solution to the madness created. June 10th was the day the first district moved in, we all heard about how clean they were, how futuristic, how safe it all was. The broadcasts showed happiness, joy and optimism.
It was all so believable.
Entry 2: 13/05/2125
Recently, I've been reminiscing about moving day. I try to remember the good parts. The excitement in the air, the shouting of other kids, so excited to see their new homes for the first time. Not the fear in the air. The solemn expressions on our parents' faces. The coughing and wheezing of the sick.
I remember when I first stepped foot into the silos. The robots gave us our new id bands, and assigned us to our new living spaces. Our new homes. Floor 144, Room 19. They additionally handed out work rotations, food schedules, school hours. It felt as if everything had already been determined for us. We couldn’t choose anything. And if we broke the rules, our id bands would immediately be deactivated. The cameras were always on.
That first night was terrifying. I recall hearing a constant buzz through the walls, the vents blowing air across my face, as if the silo was alive.
Entry 3: 27/05/2125
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: people often shrink them selfs to fit in
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 95%: The hedges in our street were always cut into obedient shapes. Squares. Circles. Clean edges. Every Sunday…
The hedges in our street were always cut into obedient shapes.
Squares. Circles. Clean edges.
Every Sunday morning, men stood outside with silver shears, shaving away the stray branches that reached too far into the light. Grass clippings gathered at their feet like something dead. By Monday, the street looked artificial again — trimmed into something respectable.
My mother hated it.
“Plants are supposed to grow wild,” she used to mutter while watering the jasmine climbing our fence. “People only cut things when they’re afraid of what they become.”
I never understood what she meant until high school.
That was when I learnt beauty had rules.
Not the obvious kind printed across billboards or glowing from phone screens, but quieter rules. More dangerous ones. The kind hidden inside the way people looked at you for half a second too long after hearing your name.
Ali.
Too ethnic.
Too western suburbs.
Too loud.
By Year Eight, I had already begun reducing myself into something easier to consume.
Teachers shortened my name without asking. Friends flattened my accent into cleaner syllables. I stopped bringing leftover curry to school after somebody asked why my food “smelled like the train station.” I learnt to laugh immediately after making certain jokes, just so people knew I understood I was different before they could point it out themselves.
That became my talent.
Shrinking before others had the chance to shrink me first.
At school, beauty existed in strange forms.
It existed in effortless confidence. In boys who loosened their ties perfectly and girls whose messy buns somehow looked intentional. In expensive shoes untouched by rainwater and skin that looked permanently sunlit. Even their imperfections felt rehearsed.
During lunch, groups scattered themselves across the courtyard like carefully arranged advertisements. The attractive people occupied the centre tables near the basketball courts where sunlight reached first. Everyone else existed around the edges.
And somehow, people always knew where they belonged.
I learnt that too.
In English class, students laughed when I mispronounced the word “epitome.” I laughed with them even though my face burned hot enough to feel it behind my ears.
“Nah, say it again,” one boy grinned.
The teacher smiled politely, waiting for the moment to pass.
So I repeated the word wrong on purpose the second time because it felt less humiliating if the mistake looked intentional.
That afternoon, I went home and searched up pronunciation videos alone in my room with headphones on.
After that, I spoke less in class.
On the train to school every morning, the city transformed station by station. The further east we travelled, the cleaner everything became. Graffiti disappeared. Cafés replaced corner stores with metal shutters. Girls stepped onto platforms wearing shoes so white they looked untouched by weather.
Even the silence sounded expensive.
I used to watch my reflection in the train window as we crossed the river.
Somewhere between stations, I always started editing myself.
My posture straightened.
My voice softened.
My vocabulary changed shape.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'Shakespeare presents marriage as…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: In life, humans have a natural tendency to keep secrets, which hinders both relationships and self-understanding.…
In life, humans have a natural tendency to keep secrets, which hinders both relationships and self-understanding. Throughout Tessa Hadley’s anthology ‘Bad Dreams and Other Short Stories’, she explores the 20th century and modern day Britain’s stance on secrecy and gender roles. Her stories can be read as a cautionary tale that warns against the deteriorating effect that secrecy has on relationships with others. She uses secretive characters to portray how restricting self-expression can limit one’s individuality and freedom, uncovering a patriarchal society’s expectation for women to keep their individualism hidden while remaining silent and subservient to men. Additionally, keeping secrets from oneself limits self-understanding, where a refusal to acknowledge their secrets leads to the neglect of an individual’s identity. But ultimately, Hadley empowers individuals to accept their secrets and confide in others to maintain a healthy relationship.