VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Hughes suggests that America’s failure to…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 100%: Within a society shaped by racial segregation, Langston Hughes’s ‘Selected Poems’ explores the way in which the…
Within a society shaped by racial segregation, Langston Hughes’s ‘Selected Poems’ explores the way in which the oppressive mechanisms of American society systematically restrict marginalised individuals from being able to actualise the nation’s founding promises. Yet, the poet also emphasises how despite the inaccessibility of the liberty and peace promised, African American citizens are still able to maintain hope and purpose in an endeavor to achieve dreams of equality. Lamenting the loss of individual and collective identity as a result of racially motivated violence within America, Hughes presents subjugation as a mechanism for the destruction of the natural landscape, systematically eroding hopes for peace and liberty. However, whilst presenting America’s founding promises as unattainable and unrealistic, the poet also illustrates the strength that comes from the African American desire to work towards these dreams for future generations.
Criticising how the oppressive mechanisms of American society result in the corruption of the nation’s natural landscape, Hughes laments how the implications of generational racism extend beyond individual acts to engulf and trap an entire society. In ‘Georgia Dusk’, the poet illustrates the “crimson trickle in the Georgia dusk” to convey the way in which the “blood” of racially motivated violence extends to contaminate the integrity of a society’s landscape. Through employing the symbolic representation of compounding generational servitude, Hughes delineates how the consequences of subjugation act as a slow, continuous “trickle” down ancestral ties, impacting the integrity of America’s national identity. Compounding his criticism of the racist mechanics of the South, Hughes subverts traditional pastoral narratives in ‘Blue Bayou’, depicting how a “blue bayou”, typically resembling peace in its serenity, becomes a “pool of fire” when African Americans are “put…on a rope” and “pull[ed] higher”. Drawing upon the religious values of white America, the poet utilises infernal imagery in the “pool of fire” to present oppression as a catalyst for the degradation of the nation’s own ideals of peace and solace. Exposing the bitter irony of preaching religious ideologies yet simultaneously displaying acts of violence and brutality in the lynchings, Hughes ultimately criticises how subjugation systematically contaminates the purity of white America’s religious ideals. As a result, the poet presents racism as a self-undermining mechanism to erode the peace and autonomy promised in the nation’s Declaration. Shifting to a more social lens, still using nature as a vehicle for condemnation, Hughes grounds the generational subservience of African American citizens within the reality of ‘Porter’ jobs for these individuals during The Great Depression. The poet employs enjambed phrasing in the “mountain / of yes, sirs” to emphasise the insurmountable nature of the efforts required for African American citizens to overcome the barriers built through generations of forced obedience. Through depicting the barrier built on verbal compliance, Hughes suggests that marginalised individuals do not willingly submit to systems of white hegemony, rather they are inadvertently forced through the immense “mountain” they would need to dismantle in order to obtain any sense of liberty or peace. Ultimately, Hughes critiques how systems of white hegemony act as a catalyst for the degradation of societal hopes for autonomy and solace, therefore deeming the nation’s founding promises as unattainable within the American South.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: The prompt was: Born A Crime considers the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: In the 2016 autobiographical memoir 'Born a Crime', written by comedian Trevor Noah, He explores factors in his…
In the 2016 autobiographical memoir 'Born a Crime', written by comedian Trevor Noah, He explores factors in his life growing up in South Africa during the end of apartheid that contributed to the shaping of his identity. Through his mother Patricia's immense faith and perseverance, Noahs divide between black and white culture throughout his childhood, and the everlasting impact of apartheid on local communities, Noah intends to showcase the abundance of factors developing an individuals identity.
Initially, Noah illustrates his mother's early influence on him as a child, helping him learn what is right and wrong. He conveys what their relationship was like, even stating that he and his mother had a very "Tom and Jerry relationship", in the way his mother would chase him after a misdeed. This light-hearted analogy helps encapsulate a complex relationship into a cartoon-esque drama, where his mother acting as Tom would chase Noah, throwing items at him just as the cartoon depicts. This analogy was also used to show how no matter how much they chased around, Noah and his mother were always in their lives together as friends, forming a very close bond together. Noah then evokes admiration for his mother, story-telling her personal life leading up to Noahs birth, whilst linking to his own traits. The book explores Patricia Noah's upbringing as a "tomboy" that was unique and a rebel, leaving her township to live in a city that made it illegal to live in as a black person. This is emphasised to show the trait of rebellion being passed down to Noah, him even claiming to be "very naughty" as a child.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In wilders sunset boulevard every…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard presents a world in which self-interest governs almost every relationship. Set…
Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard presents a world in which self-interest governs almost every relationship. Set within the morally corrupt landscape of Hollywood, the film exposes characters who exploit others in pursuit of personal success, financial security or emotional fulfilment. While it is largely true that the major characters act selfishly and opportunistically, Wilder complicates this judgement by revealing how loneliness, desperation and disillusionment often motivate their behaviour. Ultimately, the film suggests that selfishness is not merely an individual moral failing but a consequence of an industry that encourages exploitation and rewards opportunism.
Joe Gillis embodies the opportunistic values that permeate Hollywood. Facing financial ruin, he enters into a mutually exploitative arrangement with Norma Desmond, sacrificing his independence in exchange for material comfort and security. Joe initially views Norma as little more than a means of survival, accepting expensive gifts and accommodation despite recognising the moral compromises involved. His cynical narration reveals an acute awareness of his own opportunism, particularly when he compares himself to a "kept man". Wilder's use of first-person voice-over encourages the audience to condemn Joe's self-interest while simultaneously understanding the desperation that drives him. As a struggling screenwriter abandoned by an industry fixated on commercial success, Joe's selfish decisions reflect both personal weakness and the broader corruption of Hollywood.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Hughes suggests that America’s failure to…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Within a society shaped by racial segregation, Langston Hughes’ ‘Selected Poems’ explores the way in which the…
Within a society shaped by racial segregation, Langston Hughes’ ‘Selected Poems’ explores the way in which the oppressive mechanisms of American society systematically restrict marginalised individuals from being able to actualise the nation’s founding promises. Yet, the poet also emphasises how despite the inaccessibility of the liberty and peace promised, African American citizens are still able to maintain hope and purpose in an endeavor to achieve dreams of equality. Lamenting the loss of individual and collective identity as a result of racially motivated violence within America, Hughes presents subjugation as a mechanism for the destruction of the natural landscape, systematically eroding hopes for peace and liberty. However, whilst presenting America’s founding promises as unattainable and unrealistic, the poet also illustrates the strength that comes from the African American desire to work towards these dreams for future generations.
Criticising how the oppressive mechanisms of American society result in the corruption of the nation’s natural landscape, Hughes laments how the implications of generational racism extend beyond individual acts to engulf and trap an entire society. In ‘Georgia Dusk’, the poet illustrates the “crimson trickle in the Georgia dusk” to convey the way in which the “blood” of racially motivated violence extends to contaminate the integrity of a society’s landscape. Through employing the symbolic representation of the “trickle”, Hughes delineates how the consequences of subjugation act as a continuous “trickle” down ancestral ties, becoming a defining element of American society. Compounding his criticism of the racist mechanics of the South, Hughes subverts traditional pastoral narratives in ‘Blue Bayou’, depicting how a “blue bayou”, typically resembling peace in its serenity, becomes a “pool of fire” when African Americans are “put…on a rope” and “pull[ed] higher”. Drawing upon the religious values of white America, the poet utilises infernal imagery in the “pool of fire” to present oppression as a catalyst for the degradation of the nation’s own ideals of peace and solace. Exposing the bitter irony of preaching religious ideologies yet simultaneously displaying acts of violence and brutality in the lynchings, Hughes ultimately criticises how subjugation systematically contaminates the purity of white America’s religious ideals, presenting racism as a self-undermining mechanism to erode the peace and autonomy promised in the nation’s Declaration. Shifting to a more social lens, still using nature as a vehicle for condemnation, Hughes grounds the generational subservience of African American citizens within the reality of ‘Porter’ jobs for these individuals during The Great Depression. The poet employs enjambed phrasing in the “mountain / of yes, sirs” to emphasise the insurmountable nature of the efforts required for African American citizens to overcome the barriers built through generations of forced obedience. Through depicting the “mountain” built on verbal compliance, Hughes suggests that marginalised individuals do not willingly submit to systems of white hegemony, rather they are inadvertently forced to through the immense “mountain” they would need to dismantle in order to obtain any sense of liberty or peace. Ultimately, Hughes critiques how systems of white hegemony act as a catalyst for the degradation of societal hopes for autonomy and solace, therefore deeming the nation’s founding promises as unattainable within the American South.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: time to fight
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: A flare cracks overhead. I turn sharply, expecting Armin to flinch beside me, his shoulder brushing mine as it…
A flare cracks overhead. I turn sharply, expecting Armin to flinch beside me, his shoulder brushing mine as it always did when he was frightened. For an instant, I feel that familiar warmth beside me. But the space is empty.
Red light flickers across thousands of faces beneath the flags. I curl my fingers around the small silver pendant Armin gave me.
He was my joon — my heart, my little brother, whose crooked smile could soften my darkest days. Whenever the world grew heavy, he summoned happiness. Then the sky splits open above our neighbourhood in eastern Iran, our childhood home collapsing beneath a choking cloud of dust. The shaking stops, yet I remain frozen; where Armin stood, only piercing white noise remains. A flash of uniform pulls me back to the protest, my shoulder stiffening as the chanting swells around me.
Now, his absence joins countless others carried through streets where mourning has become defiance. Armed patrols turn our alleyways into zones of fear, harassing anyone who dares to look up. Security forces tear portraits from our hands, yet mourners retrieve them from the mud, restoring the faces the regime tries to erase.
The impact shakes me to the core, a deep, harsh thud that jolts my bones and rattles my jaw. The Republic’s line drives forward, crushing the banners raised above our heads. The chanting falters beneath their advance, each command cutting through the crowd until our voices become little more than scattered cries. But the silence doesn't hold. The sound surges, a defiant wave crashing against their heavy steel, refusing the quiet they try to force down our throats. Fear settles over the crowd as the Republic marches closer, silencing our voices and leaving us exposed and powerless.
They want us silenced.
The word returns me to those first nights after the bombardment, walls shuddering around us as sirens tore through the darkness. My mother called Armin’s name until her voice broke. Our pain was folded beneath the state flag and carried away quietly. They renamed our suffering: destroyed homes became collateral damage, grief became civil disorder, and our voices became national threats.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In the town of Chronicle of a Death…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: Decisions created by individuals are heavily influenced by honour, the social expectations of a community and the…
Decisions created by individuals are heavily influenced by honour, the social expectations of a community and the desire to uphold those expectations to keep their name reputable. Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novella, “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” constructs a narrative where rather than a moral code, the concept of honour is perpetually changed to follow the social requirement. Through the repressive upbringing of Angela Vicario and her kept virginity, the theatrical performance of the Vicario brothers, and the paralysing inertia of the townspeople, Marquez exposes how this obsession with public face destroys not only individual lives but the very moral integrity of the society that upholds it.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: ‘Make Up Your Own Rules’
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: Rule 1. All noises must be kept to a minimum. She stares in front of her. An angry, glaring screen stares back.…
Rule 1. All noises must be kept to a minimum.
She stares in front of her. An angry, glaring screen stares back. She looks to her sides, only to be met with three enclosed walls. She stares up above her. A lonely light illuminates her cubicle, a replica of the hundreds of similar cubicles that occupy the same building. Same building, same job, same lives. The rushed clatter of keys echoes across the building, a stark reminder to return to focus. But a fleeting thought passes her mind, a feeling of curiosity that she quickly shuts down. Not now. Her mind returns to a blank state, absent of any life, and ready to continue working. And so it ensues – the continuous back and forth emailing and communicating to her co-workers without actually meeting them, the relentless ache just below her back serving as an indication of her wasted hours spent slaving away for a mere pay cheque that never seems to be enough for her. There is something else she searches for; something she can’t quite pinpoint but she knows it’s out there somewhere. Along with each clack of her mouse, her other hand instinctively taps out a tune, each finger rhythmically singing against the cold touch of her desk. Suddenly, a momentary feeling transforms the stiff surface of a desk into the smooth ivory of a piano, reconnecting her to a feeling of tranquillity. It’s not long until her voice joins the orchestra, beginning as a silent hum and building into a slight melody that begins to warm her soul, slowly but surely.
Rule 2. Work attire must be consistently formal and appropriate.
She finally reaches home after her shift. The door creaks open upon her entrance as if to welcome her, and without thinking, she launches herself onto her couch, dirty clothes and all. Her couch sits across an imposing view of the cadenced shimmer that adorns the towering skyscrapers around her. Her gaze shifts from the vast world ahead of her to the solemn reflection that silently greets her, and it is then where she notices her closet door slightly ajar. A small, worn book peeks out at the door’s corner, inviting her closer. She stands up with a grunt, shuffling towards the handle of a door she hasn’t reached for in ages and reluctantly pulls it open.
Crash.
An avalanche of used books tumbles onto her apartment floor, each book studded with rhinestones of every colour and signed by the handwriting of her thirteen-year-old self. With a sigh, she gently picks up the book closest to her feet as if it were porcelain, opening up its contents only to be greeted with a black tie attached on the first page by a mere piece of tape. The tie is embellished with treble clefs dancing along its fabric, adorned with a vibrant pink hue.
“MY FAVOURITE TIE FOR REHEARSALS!!”
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: ‘Make Up Your Own Rules’
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 80%: ‘Make Up Your Own Rules’ Rule 1. All noises must be kept to a minimum. She stares in front of her. An angry,…
‘Make Up Your Own Rules’
Rule 1. All noises must be kept to a minimum.
She stares in front of her. An angry, glaring screen stares back. She looks to her sides, only to be met with 3 enclosed walls. She stares up above her. A lonely light illuminates her cubicle, a replica of the hundreds of similar cubicles that occupy the same building. Same building, same job, same lives. The rushed clatter of keys echoes across the building, a stark reminder to return to focus. But a fleeting thought passes her mind, a feeling of curiosity that she quickly shuts down. Not now. Her mind returns to a blank state, absent of any life, and ready to continue working. And so it ensues – the continuous back and forth emailing and communicating to her coworkers without actually meeting them, the relentless ache just below her back serving as an indication of her wasted hours spent slaving away for a mere pay cheque that never seems to be enough for her. There is something else she searches for; something she can’t quite pinpoint but she knows it’s out there somewhere. Along with each clack of her mouse, her other hand instinctively taps out a tune, each finger rhythmically singing against the cold touch of her desk. Suddenly, a momentary feeling transforms the stiff surface of a desk into the smooth ivory of a piano, reconnecting her to a feeling of tranquility. It’s not long until her voice joins the orchestra, beginning as a silent hum and building into a slight melody that begins to warm her soul, slowly but surely.
Rule 2. Work attire must be consistently formal and appropriate.
She finally reaches home after her shift. The door creaks open upon her entrance as if to welcome her, and without thinking, she launches herself onto her couch, dirty clothes and all. Her couch sits across an imposing view of the cadenced shimmer that adorns the towering skyscrapers around her. Her gaze shifts from the vast world ahead of her to the solemn reflection that silently greets her, and it is then where she notices her closet door slightly ajar. A small, worn book peeks out at the door’s corner, inviting her closer. She stands up with a grunt, shuffling towards the handle of a door she hasn’t reached for in ages and reluctantly pulls it open.
Crash.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: ‘Make Up Your Own Rules’
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 75%: Rule 1. All noises must be kept to a minimum. She stares in front of her. An angry, glaring screen stares back.…
Rule 1. All noises must be kept to a minimum.
She stares in front of her. An angry, glaring screen stares back. She looks to her sides, only to be met with 3 enclosed walls. She stares up above her. A lonely light illuminates her cubicle, a replica of the hundreds of similar cubicles that occupy the same building. Same building, same job, same lives. The rushed clatter of keys echoes across the building, a stark reminder to return back to focus. But a fleeting thought passes her mind, a feeling of curiosity that she quickly shuts down. Not now. Her mind returns to a blank state, absent of any life, and ready to continue working. And so it ensues – the continuous back and forth emailing and communicating to her coworkers without actually meeting them, the relentless ache just below her back serving as an indication of her wasted hours spent slaving away for a mere pay cheque that never seems to be enough for her. There is something else she searches for; something she can’t quite pinpoint but she knows it’s out there somewhere. Along with each clack of her mouse, her other hand instinctively taps out a tune, each finger rhythmically singing against the cold touch of her desk. It’s not long until her voice joins the orchestra, beginning as a silent hum and building into a slight melody that warms her soul, slowly but surely.
Rule 2. Work attire must be consistently formal and appropriate.
She finally reaches home after her shift. The door creaks open upon her entrance as if to welcome her, and without thinking, she launches herself onto her couch, dirty clothes and all. Her couch sits across an imposing view of the cadenced shimmer that adorns the towering skyscrapers around her. Her gaze shifts from the vast world ahead of her to the solemn reflection that silently greets her, and it is then where she notices her closet door slightly ajar. A small, worn book peeks out at the door’s corner, inviting her closer. She stands up with a grunt, shuffling towards the handle of a door she hasn’t reached for in ages and reluctantly pulls it open.
Crash.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: title: Progress, Not Perfection…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: Jaghori Afghanistan (1970) The seed was planted. He was a blur of motion against the static mountain peaks. The…
Jaghori Afghanistan (1970)
The seed was planted.
He was a blur of motion against the static mountain peaks. The world was small and solid: the scent of dry grass and woodsmoke permeated the air. The laughter of his siblings echoing off the mud baked wall as he collected the crops and fed the cattle, he was one step closer to success. With each and every plausible task completed his competence increased yet it wasn’t all glitz and glamour. Through rainy days and piled up ice crystals the work was always completed. A young boy partially participating in early schooling but engulfed by family duties, took care of the farm from an early age. His obedience made him a role model towards his younger siblings. His father, culturally strict, heavy with punishment, hit his son frequently with the excuse to teach a lesson. But what lesson was their to teach?
The young boy's mother was his safe haven. After every gruelling task that pressured his calloused body; his mother was there to help him, feed him, nurture him. Mother always said “whatever you are going through, know that i am here with you and i have experienced it too”. Due to cultural reasons women could not reason with their husbands. They were maidens who served “hard working men”. Men who they in fact did not love but were forced to marry due to religious beliefs resulting in arranged marriage. The young boy named “Arif”, felt empathy towards his mother; his emotions had to be sustained as presenting them would result in a beating. He promised that he will get help for his mother and provide for her: ever growing support in regards to giving back to what she already provides for him. Arif believed that age was not a barrier but a chance to start earlier.
The Quetta Express
The continuos puls of the tracks concealed the stillness of the earth, a mechanical scream restricting all comfort. Arif sat next to his brooded father travelling away from family and home, questioning the possibilities as to why his father seemed so stricken by frustration and melancholy. He chose to ignore it, seemingly observing his environment: a cabin smelling of stale breath and sour grey scent of unwashed bed sheets. He sat with his knees pressed tightly against his fathers seeking the cohesion he had at home with his mother… but that was nowhere to be seen. As arif accepted his circumstances he gazed upon the window glaring at th the mountain that held his memories and signified his childhood slowy fading away with every bash of the train tracks pulsating and anchoring him away from the life he now has to grow upon.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: the paths - a journey is a process of…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 75%: of myself I almost forgot. Yet, in being seen without needing to perform, I discovered that I didn't need to…
of myself I almost forgot. Yet, in being seen without needing to perform, I discovered that I didn't need to become someone else to be worthy of being known.
This is the nature of human connection; we move through life believing our paths are ours alone, until someone crosses them and leaves us seeing the world differently. We change others, often without knowing it. Others change us, sometimes unintentionally. Occasionally, an ordinary moment becomes the turning point, dividing us from who we were to who we become.
Since then, when I ground myself beyond my own insecurities, and into the lives of those around me, I see more than just strangers. I see people who each have a story that we cannot know just by looking at them. Perspectives that might challenge mine, and a capacity for connection I might otherwise overlook. I am learning to not shrink people to their achievements, appearance or usefulness, but instead ripen them with the curiosity to see their true selves.
Perhaps, that is what makes us human. Not our ability to stand above others, but to reach toward them. Not the perfection we construct to earn affection, but the vulnerability though which genuine connection becomes possible.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: together. Stimulus: A crowd of…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 70%: “Ma…” He said in a whisper, unsure whether to comment on the topic he wanted to introduce. Silence ensued… “Yes…
“Ma…” He said in a whisper, unsure whether to comment on the topic he wanted to introduce. Silence ensued…
“Yes D?”
“I was thinking…” Still hesitant, “maybe, I shouldn’t go to school anymore…” Stillness eroded between the two. D, siting on the passage seat, continued to glance at the ensuing muffled lights through the cold damp widow, before hearing soft sobs following his mother.
“What’s wrong ma. Are you that upset to what I said… I shouldn’t have brought it up then.” D’s eyes glance up into the inky sky. He saw a single shining speck in amidst of the void. Together — he thought, before the outer corner of his lips begin to whimper a hefty frown.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: title: The Choice
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 100%: A thick layer of grey dust stuck to my skin. Tarpaulin covers, makeshift tin stores, and endless crowds of…
A thick layer of grey dust stuck to my skin.
Tarpaulin covers, makeshift tin stores, and endless crowds of sweat and grime clawed into every corner of the assembly. My mother reminded me to cover my mouth, the thin scarf doing little to block the air. Below us were rows and rows of every type of vegetable I’d never seen. Keeping my balance along the gravel — it was not hard to hate a place like this. Nothing stood still here. Their shouts echoed, insisting. My mother’s familiar voice mingled with the seller’s — bidding, scoffing, giving in, or winning.
“This is how I always used to do it.” To her, this was simply coming back.
To me, this was treading around a world that I’d never lived in before.
The night before, she’d told me we’d all have to wake up early for the morning market. She said all the cheapest and freshest foods would be gone by 9 am. I complained as usual. I didn’t choose to move around clammy shoulders, squeezing my way through tight alleys and walkways. We avoided puddles with strange smells, gazes falling on the decay. My mother saw potholes, the concrete scarcely holding on to the edges as cars relentlessly passed. I saw a civilization that was failing to adapt — only heard the endless layering of honks. I hadn’t come all the way back to chase a craving my mother had carried for thirteen years. I didn’t understand that to her, to my parents, this was a city they’d lost as soon as they’d left. A choice they had made for me.
All I wanted, all I’d thought this would be was hugging the aunties, shaking the hands of my uncles and laughing with cousins. I thought this would be feasts, gifts and chatting by the fire till the crickets awoke. I had hoped it would be shopping for clothes at the market, trying the street food and visiting the beautiful mountainsides.
Expectation isn’t reasoning. It removes empathy.
It blinds you from truth; you don’t accept things as is. You feel like your parents are being selfish.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title -- ‘At What Cost’ Prompt -- 'If…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 75%: Rain falls in a sharp staccato against the windows of my office. The aroma of an open bottle and half empty…
Rain falls in a sharp staccato against the windows of my office. The aroma of an open bottle and half empty glass of whisky disperses throughout the air. Reagan’s address to the nation is left paused on the T.V—paused mid lie. My desk and envelope stare ominously, sitting down the dread creeps in. My hands are usually steady, but tonight they shake frantically. A sip of whisky and a sharp burn enters my throat, my anxiety is sufficed for now. I pick up my pen and begin.
CONFIDENTIAL — EYES ONLY
Mr President,
I have been ordered not to write this letter. For fourteen years I have followed orders, but the cost this operation is making on innocent people has driven me into taking drastic action by contacting you. A black marker lies on my desk, depleted from years of use. We in the Central Intelligence Agency never lie – just tell a necessary omission. Never bribe officials – just send extravagant gifts. Never break US law – just adapt to successfully complete the mission. The black line of a marker can scrub everything out. Well Mr President, it has been this doctrine which has cost our people too many lives.
The operation was genius. Since Congress blocked our support for the Contras in Nicaragua in their guerrilla campaign against their Soviet-backed government, we in the agency had to find our ways around this hurdle. So we sold arms to the Iranians (although we had an arms embargo) through Saudi middlemen, amidst their ongoing Jihad against Iraq. With the profit from this business venture we would covertly funnel this revenue into the Contras in Nicaragua. We had to adapt to fight the communists and we did. Your address last night promised transparency on this affair. Let me tell you Mr President—You know. Not suspected—knew. Don’t try to act like an old grandpa and dismiss this operation to the press, you had full knowledge. An operation of this magnitude, with this funding, does not occur without the Commander and Chiefs consent. But I believe there is an important detail that you were never briefed about. It is the purpose of my letter. It is how this operation cost peoples lives when they should of never of been harmed. Individuals in the agency are already actively trying to bury it, but the damage cannot be undone.
The truth is that the whole Iran-Contra business operation was not providing the Contras with enough funding, so we let them do what they had to do. Through working with local cartels they funnelled drugs into the United States, from the revenue gained there only then were they able to properly fund their anti-government operations. They smuggled cocaine and the new chemically engineered version of it ‘crack’ and we turned a blind eye. Planes carrying suspicious cargo—we gave them protection. Dodgy tourists—we gave them passports. Even regarding suspected individuals, we buried evidence of them so the DEA would not stop the drug supply.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: General personal journeys framework
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: My dream isn’t wealth, exploring the globe, or building a family. My dream is a number: 20.87. I can see it…
My dream isn’t wealth, exploring the globe, or building a family. My dream is a number: 20.87. I can see it with my eyes shut.
The day finally arrived, along with the crowd, the lights, the cameras and the enormous blue rectangle. For years, I have pictured the final touch against the wall, turning towards the scoreboard and seeing it there: 20.87, a number which could justify every kilometre swum, every second spent awake before sunrise, every birthday missed.
Coach caught me at the mouth of the tunnel “Finally adding the big one to the cabinet?” I tried lightening the nerves, “It’ll be the easiest one.” I walked onto the pool deck. The noise hit first, thousands of voices folding into one deafening echo, reflecting off the roof and water.
I stood behind my lane, watching it get narrower by the second. The official called us forward. I rested my foot on the block. My fingers curled over the edge. I breathed: in, out, in.
My wrist felt light.
My stopwatch.
I always wore it.
I dove in. There was only the rush of bubbles beside my ears and the pressure of water against my skin. It was deathly quiet for an arena holding thousands. After I broke the surface, I made sure to tilt my head left and right. Nobody. I must’ve been miles ahead. Then I tilted it more.
All seven of the other swimmers remained frozen on their blocks, staring at me. I stayed put right there. I swivelled my head all around, everyone seemed to have a pair of eyes fixed on me. Then I remembered: it wasn’t just a crowd, somewhere in the stands were my parents. Somewhere behind me was coach, putting four years of faith on this one race. I climbed from the pool. Before the official even moved his lips, I knew: Disqualified.
There were thousands in the arena, yet I had never felt more alone. I had imagined this moment so many times, but not this. I made my way into the tunnel. That’s when my head jolted backwards to the thunderous noise of the spectators, giving me a glimpse of my competitors reaching the wall. I stopped beneath one of the televisions mounted high on the wall. The scoreboard updated, ‘21.08’ sitting beside the winner’s name. My eyes were glued to it.
I don’t remember getting back to the hotel room. For a week, I barely left it. The replay followed me everywhere, the same 10 seconds on every screen I tried not looking at. Eventually, I stopped turning them on.
I hated the sound of the buzzer.
I hate the Olympics.
I hate swimming.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: I may never return. stimulus:…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: The last thing I packed was the photograph of my family and I. It had been tucked beneath my mattress for…
The last thing I packed was the photograph of my family and I. It had been tucked beneath my mattress for years, its edges curled and its surface faded from being handled too many times. I stared at it for a moment before sliding it between the pages of my notebook and closing the suitcase. Around me, my green coloured room looked strangely unfamiliar, as though packing it into boxes had already begun to erase me from it. Clothes were folded into neat piles, books were stacked beside the door, and the small collection of things I had one thought I could never leave behind seemed almost meaningless. Tomorrow, I would leave Muludja. I would leave the red dirt that stained the hem of my clothes, the dry heat that clung to my skin, the familiar voices that carried through the community through the evenings. Most of all, I would leave the questions I spent years avoiding. I had always felt ashamed of how little I knew about my own Aboriginal culture, ashamed that the stories and traditions that seemed to belong so naturally to everyone else around me but felt distant when I tried to reach for them. While others spoke about country with a certainty I could never find within myself, I had learned to stay quiet, afraid that someone would notice how disconnected I felt. Perhaps thats why I had convinced myself that leaving would be easier. In a new city, no one would know my family, my history, or how little I understood about where I come from. I could introduce myself without having to explain the parts of me I did not understand. I could become someone new. I zipped my suitcase shut and rested my hand on its handle. Tomorrow, I told myself, I would finally belong somewhere else.
”Are you really leaving tomorrow?” Grandma asked from the doorway. I nodded, keeping my eyes fixed on the suitcase. “I need to,” I said, “I need a fresh start.” She stepped further into the room and looked around at the empty space. The empty shelves and the bare green walls. “And you think you will find yourself somewhere else?” She asked. I swallowed. “Maybe. I just…I don’t feel like i belong here.” Grandma was quiet for a moment. Then she gave a small, knowing smile. “You do not have to understand everything yet.” I finally had the courage to look up at her. “I may never return.” I whispered. The words sounded harsher once they were spoken out loud. Grandma did not argue. She reached for my hand. “Come. Walk with me.”
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: What Matters Most Stimulus: “Be who…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 80%: What Matters Most Stimulus: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and…
What Matters Most
Stimulus: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. Nothing matters very much, and few things matter at all.”
You're not supposed to matter that much. Chipped mirrors, fluorescent lights and cubicle doors that don’t quite lock properly, yet you carry the girls who can no longer carry the weight of the world in their chests.
This one girl you’ll always remember. You first met her in year 10. She was one of the ‘bus girls,’ the early arrivals with no place else to go. She would come too early and plop down on your cold tiles, while music that held too much emotion filled the eerie silence. Sometimes you would hear her voice singing, and sometimes you would hear her strained sobs, and you would hold her all the same.
The ‘loud’ ones would come in around 15 minutes later, spraying too much perfume, gossiping as if your cold tiles aren't listening, and fixing their hair and makeup before the bell demanded their presence somewhere else in the school.
But you noticed the ‘bus girl’ more. She would wait for them to leave, feet up on your closed toilet lid so as to not be seen, and breath held so as to not make a single sound.
Why wait? You wondered. She was different from the rest. Those who waited for the bell to go or who waited for their friends to arrive.
She waited for the hallway to become quiet enough for her to walk through it alone. Because that's what always mattered to her. Hiding behind the curtains, utterly unaware of her value.
She seemed to believe that if nobody saw her, nobody could misunderstand her; if nobody heard her, nobody could laugh. As though being unseen was the same as being safe.
Eventually you realised it was because classrooms demanded performance, hallways demanded confidence, and everywhere else in school felt like a stage, but you, you let her be human. You let her feel as if she was capable of being herself. In your silence, she could finally exist without having to prove she deserved to.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Refusal to relinquish dreams is at the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: “Refusal to relinquish dreams is at the heart of all suffering” To what extent does Wilder endorse this idea in…
“Refusal to relinquish dreams is at the heart of all suffering” To what extent does Wilder endorse this idea in Sunset Boulevard.
Billy Wilders 1950 Noir melodrama ‘Sunset Boulevard’ demystifies the glamour and opulence of Hollywood whilst championing morality and truth as key virtues. Wilder contends that the fidelity and commitment towards an unrealistic dream is what leads to all misery. Wilder explores this idea by exposing how the refusal to relinquish dreams can lead to both physical and emotional suffering, as well as the inhibiting of success. As well as how the ability to adjust and adapt dreams is what enables accomplishment.
In sunset boulevard, auteur Wilder explores how the refusal to divert from a dream results in misery. From Normas initial introduction it is immediately apparent that her worth is tied to her fame and celebrity. Normas delusion that she has retained the love of her fans even as an “old time movie star”, is perpetuated by her inability to acknowledge the regression of her fame. This is highlighted to the audience through her plan to play “Salome”. Salome, as a character that is less than half her age, is used by Wilder to showcase her incredibly detached mental state, and her incapacity to let go of her dream and choice to instead “sleepwalk along the giddy heights of a lost career”. This devotion to her delusion that she has reached her dream, is what ultimately leads to her “moments of melancholy” and “many suicide attempts”. Normas suffering is caused almost entirely by her refusal to relinquish her dream of Hollywood. This is ultimately used by Wilder to condemn the rejection of reality to avoid the truth of failed dreams. Additionally, Sheldrakes dedication to his dream of becoming a successful film producer, is also shown to lead to a similar fate. The mis-en-scene of Sheldrakes introduction is used to instantly showcase to the audience his hidden sufferings due to his need to sustain his role as a producer and maintain his façade of success. The multiple awards and certificates, compiled with his expensive suit and pipe all highlights his dream of being considered one of the great men of Hollywood. This dream further emphasised through his fixation on his regret at turning down “Gone With the Wind”, a film that could have secured his position as a powerful man in Hollywood, fulfilling his dream. It is this regret and his dream of success that ultimately leads to his torment. His “stomach ulcers” from stress, and financial troubles forcing him to “borrow money” and “mortgage [his] ranch… to pay [his] income tax”, illustrate the suffering that has been perpetuated by his desire to fulfill his unrealistic dream and refusal to abandon his dream of finding success in Hollywood. Wilder uses this to criticise the greed-driven pursuit of success in Hollywood, further highlighting the impact of obsession over one goal.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent is revenge a form of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Justice is overvalued; peace should be sought over a want for equal punishment. Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s 2020…
Justice is overvalued; peace should be sought over a want for equal punishment. Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s 2020 western-style action-thriller film ‘High Ground’, set between 1919 and 1930 in Arnhem land during the frontier wars explores different forms of seeking equality and the role of serving punishments from both sides of the conflict. Johnson indicates that revenge and violence are perpetuating cycles that accumulate injustices, and that it rarely brings true justices as it requires mutual respect and understanding. The concept of justice is also questioned, whether the need for justice is truly as necessary during dire circumstances as it is made to seem. The film condemns revenge, illuminating it as a shallow form of seeking justice, one that only leaves a fleeting feeling of peace and permanent anger.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Change is unwelcome in We Have Always…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Change is unwelcome in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Discuss. Published in 1962, Shirley Jackson's gothic…
Change is unwelcome in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Discuss.
Published in 1962, Shirley Jackson's gothic literature novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle, written during a period of intense social conformity in post war America critiques the rigid societal expectations and prejudice stemming from class divisions and gender expectations. As a woman in mid century America, Jackson utilises the gothic genre to explore controversial overturns of social norms in a McCarthy period. Jackson condemns how the presence of difference and change is resisted when posing threat to established routines as well as deviating from conventional norms, yet Jackson also suggests how change is valued when it enables female autonomy and establishes dismantlement of patriarchal structures.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 62.5%: In Sophocles's tragedy Oedipus the King. Sophocles stages a murder investigation that becomes an inquiry into the…
In Sophocles's tragedy Oedipus the King. Sophocles stages a murder investigation that becomes an inquiry into the investigation himself, and doing so suggests that seeking the truth is dangerous. The pursuit of the truth and knowledge costed the seeker his identity, family and sight, while putting those who reveals it into a great risk of punishment. However, Sophocles ultimately implies that refusing the truth puts one's self into even greater danger, as the plague continues until the truth is brought to light. Through the use of dramatic irony and the motif of sight and blindness, he warns that knowledge is costly but ignorance is fatal.
Sophocles suggests that the pursuit of truth is dangerous because it can strip the seeker of everything that defines him. In the prologue, Oedipus annouces himself to the strucken city of Thebes, "I am Oedipus!" A proud, self asserting declaration that presents his name and identity as fixed and secure. This confidence was breaking down steadily the closer he approaches to the truth and at the climax, his cry "all come true, all burst to light!" reverses the assertion from earlier. The use of "burst" highlights the violent, uncontrollable nature of the way that is revealed, while the light imagery is tragically ironic as the "light" only arrives to destroy him. Dramatic irony shapes this effect even further as an audience who follows the myth and knows how the story ends sees Oedipus building this case against himself from the very beginning. The consequence is registered in the aftermath, "I did it all myself!" Where he claims ownership of the ruin he brought onto himself and blinding himself after witnessing the full aftermath. Through this storyline, Sophocles demonstrates that knowledge does not simply inform the person but strip one's identity alongside with it. Which is why searching for the truth is so dangerous.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Changing Directions "You were…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: Changing direction: The Before-image: I was someone else, but this version of me has been lost to time: The…
Changing direction:
The Before-image:
I was someone else, but this version of me has been lost to time: The fearless one who jumped into the unknown out of pure curiosity. Before curiosity killed the cat. His radiant smile, his innocent laugh that didn’t yet know the fate that was given to him. I would do anything to relive moments through the current lens of myself.
The Severing:
Suddenly one day unbeknownst to me, the conditions were suddenly met and my identity was stripped away from me without my consent. Every suddenly felt wrong, the air, the lighting, the people, me. I was confronted by this giant eye in the sky turning into a burning red sun, burning me without rest. I no longer felt like myself.
The Afterimage:
What followed were desperate attempts to get the old self back, I did everything from old songs to old games, I even went back to my home country to revisit old roads just to find a glimpse of that spectral self which all ended in vain. What followed was this hollow felling that I couldn’t shake off, like a crab that grew out of its shell. Out of instincts it crawls back inside, but the shell no longer supports it and after the struggle it must change directions, move on and find a bigger shell because the story must go on.
The Sinking:
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘How terrible - to see the truth when the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Understanding in a world of unsavoury truths forces man to suffer, yet allows man to avoid dangerous lives. In…
Understanding in a world of unsavoury truths forces man to suffer, yet allows man to avoid dangerous lives. In his tragedy Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests that knowledge often encompasses realising facts that lead the discoverer to pain, yet protects them from moral misalignments caused by ignorance. He explores the dangers of one’s faith in man, suggesting that through the tragic act of losing hope in their hero, they may avoid entanglement in his complicity. He portrays the supremacy of the gods as an acknowledgement of both importance and horror, ensuring the possibility of escaping divine cruelty while positing its inevitability. And realisations of guilt create profound tremors of suffering, where shame envelops man to the point of physical destruction, yet allows man to embrace necessary restorative thoughts and measures.
Sophocles suggests that knowledge destroys one’s faith in man, eroding complicity in their sins through a process of much pain. Sophocles initially establishes the dependent relationship Thebes directs towards Oedipus, with the priest superlatively describing the ‘first of men’ and ‘best of men’ and assuming he ‘[has] the power’ to ‘raise up [the] city’. Through the ‘double doors [which] dominate the facade’ of the royal palace, Sophocles suggests the separation between man’s understanding of their leader and the truth concealed, their blind belief in Oedipus being one to ‘trust’ separated from the evils committed within. The playwright implies that by placing one’s faith in man, one begins to worship the partial notion of their leader that they can observe with a position of ignorance inevitable. Sophocles suggests that their initial misguided assumption contributes to their complicity in Oedipus’ actions through the plague which inflicts the city. Dually labelled as both a literal ‘blight on the fresh crops and the rich pastures’ and ‘the man’ who committed the murder, it represents a transfer of responsibility onto the entire city for their acceptance of Oedipus the murderer. Ultimately, Sophocles voices a concern that placing one’s faith in man is not only misguided but subjects them to suffering caused by their leader’s transgression. Sophocles presents knowledge of human imperfection - leading to a decoupling from blind following - as the antidote. The city eventually understands that ‘the generations of men…come to nothing’, and distance themselves from Oedipus, abandoning their idolatrous superlatives in favour of labelling their ruler the ‘man of misery’ and ‘shrink[ing] away’ from his approach. Sophocles posits that, through their understanding of their ruler’s limitations, Thebes is able to remove their moral complicity associated with him, yet suggests that one must suffer greatly in the process. As Thebes witnesses Oedipus ‘dragged…to the light’, they ‘weep like a man who wails the dead’, acknowledging the contrast of their initial ignorance ‘[giving] [them] life’ and their newfound understanding ‘bring[ing] down night upon [their] eyes’. In witnessing their leader’s vulnerable state, their grief compounds into horror, not ‘bear[ing] to look’ and ‘shudder[ing] at the sight’, making evident their pain at having their understanding of their leader subverted through expansion. Ultimately, Sophocles suggests that understanding not to place hope in man due to their inherently flawed nature is a necessary act that ends moral complicity, but suggests that the violent decoupling of faith associated with the knowledge will lead to significant heartache.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Human limitation, rather than divine…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: In Sophocles tragedy “Oedipus the king”, the interplay between human limitation and divine will is explored. Played…
In Sophocles tragedy “Oedipus the king”, the interplay between human limitation and divine will is explored. Played in 429 BCE, Sophocles investigates how human plight and the will of gods are on different sides of the same coin through the actions taken by the protagonist which only precipitated his demise, but contrastingly including the overall role of moira. Set against the backdrop of the Athenian plague and rising belief in sophist thinking, Sophocles ultimately utilises the tragic downfall of his protagonist to interrogate the illusion of human autonomy in a world destined by gods. Evidently, this is demonstrated through Oedipus' destructive hubris, the inescapable shadow of prophecy, and the tragic consequences for those who attempt to defy divine decree.
The play unravels with the leader, priest and chorus idolising Oedipus, rating [him] “best of men”, “on [their] knees” for [Oedipus] to use his “skills” which solves the [Spinx] “riddle” and “save” their “dying city”. Even Oedipus when first introduced; “you all know my fame, I am Oedipus”, serves as a preassumed position that Oedipus and his subjects view him as a god, though stating “[Oedipus]- cannot equal the gods”. Through the return of Creon and revelation to “drive out the evil”, Oedipus catalysing his intelligence which saved the city once, refused assistance and declared “[he will] solve it [himself]”, showing his hamartia, foreshadowing his demise. In the heated stichomythia between Oedipus and Tiresias, Tiresias reveals that Oedipus himself is the “curse”, that he is the reason for Thebes plague, Oedipus huberistic nature causes him to ignore Tiresias warning, and instead of heeding to Tiresias advice he mocks [Tiresias] for being “old, blind man” claiming him to be “conspiring with Creon” to take the throne. Oedipus’ human limitation was his “blind[ness] to his life”, which in turn causes him to behave “reckless[ly]”, causing the dramatic revelation of his identity, prompting his blindness. Sophocles thus suggests that human limitation may be the real threat, as it was Oedipus’ actions which precipitated his dramatic and public shunning.