VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: personal journey memoir
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 77.5%: Every morning in Melbourne began with my iPad. My space grey, 5th generation iPad. Cold against my hands.…
Every morning in Melbourne began with my iPad. My space grey, 5th generation iPad. Cold against my hands. Bright against the dark. On my iPad everything responded to touch. Swipe, tap, scroll. Simple.
Back then home was also simple. Mum in the kitchen, dad reading the newspaper and my iPad always in my lap, with its signal leaping across Melbourne. When my uncle moved away, the house fell silent. My parents sat me down in the living room, my iPad rested beside me. “We’re moving to Pakistan,” they said. I picked up my iPad and held it tightly. The metal felt solid and reliable. I looked at the blank screen and glanced at my reflection; I did not look ready.
AIRPLANE MODE
Before we left, Pakistan existed for me only through screens. I would sit cross-legged on my bedroom floor, iPad balanced on my knees, typing “Pakistan” into the search bar. The screen filled with shaky footage, protests filmed from rooftops, men running through clouds of smoke. Maps flashed with red blotches I couldn’t place. My parents moved quietly around the house while I scrolled, their voices low, their answers careful. It was my first time packing my life into suitcases, the friends I loved, the streets I knew, the comfort of everything familiar and trading it for a country I only recognized through buffering news clips and warning banners. I didn’t know what to feel. Every search seemed to confirm that we were flying into noise, smoke rising behind reporters, crowds pressed shoulder to shoulder, flashing police lights cutting through the night. That was the Pakistan I carried with me to the airport, a collage of distant chaos, assembled from headlines rather than memory.
On the flight, my iPad stayed in my hands. I watched old videos. Melbourne streets, school assemblies, friends laughing. I replayed them again and again. My iPad held proof that my old life was real. That it happened.
LOW BATTERY
When we arrived in Pakistan the air felt dense and warm, filled with dust and spice. The call to prayer echoed across rooftops at dawn and my grandmother’s voice reciting verses before sunrise. The night pressed close, thick and immediate, with motorbikes sliding through traffic in impossible patterns. Street vendors yelling out, impatient old men honking their horns constantly, tea sellers weaving, stitching together long afternoons.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Debra Dank use storytelling…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: The way stories are told reflects the values of the culture they come from. Western literary traditions often…
The way stories are told reflects the values of the culture they come from. Western
literary traditions often privilege linear narratives, individual heroism, and progress
through conquest, reinforcing colonial ways of understanding history and identity. In We
Come With This Place (2022), Debra Dank challenges these colonial constructs through
her use of Indigenous storytelling conventions grounded in Gudanji ways of knowing. By
employing cyclical narrative structures, centring Country as the storyteller, and
privileging collective rather than individual identity, Dank disrupts dominant Western
literary expectations. However, as the text is written for a largely non-Indigenous
readership, she also strategically engages with recognisable Western narrative tropes in
order to ensure effective truth-telling. Through this balance, Dank challenges colonial
storytelling while remaining accessible to her audience.
One of the primary ways Dank challenges colonial constructs of storytelling is through
her rejection of linear time. Western narratives typically follow a chronological structure
that values progress and resolution, reinforcing ideas of development and conquest. In
contrast, Dank structures her text around cycles that reflect Aboriginal Songlines and
Dreaming. These stories exist across time, place and body, rather than moving forward
towards a single conclusion. Dank explains that Gudanji stories, or kujiga, “live inside
each other, as well as out there across our country, and inside our bodies” (p. 11),
rejecting the Western separation of past and present. By using fragmented vignettes
instead of a continuous plot, Dank challenges the colonial assumption that history is
fixed or complete. This cyclical storytelling asserts the ongoing presence of Indigenous
culture and undermines colonial myths such as terra nullius, which positioned
Indigenous Australians as belonging only to the past.
Dank also challenges colonial storytelling through her refusal to adopt the traditional
Western ‘hero’s journey’. Rather than focusing on an individual protagonist who
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Personal Journey
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 65%: Title: My Path I have been thinking about paths lately. Not the kind you walk on, but the kind you choose and…
Title: My Path
I have been thinking about paths lately. Not the kind you walk on, but the kind you choose and eventually learn from it. Looking back from now, I think my path began to change at the back of the car from Nanjing to Shanghai, after the fencing competition.
I was ten years old then, and I had just lost a fencing match. 6-15, I stood on the piste a moment longer than I needed to, helmet on head, staring at the scoreboard as if staring long enough might change the score, it didn’t. I walked off. Helmet still on my head, refusing to take it off, I didn’t want anyone to see the failure beneath that helmet. It was the first round of elimination, as someone who usually gets top 16 in tournaments, that was disgraceful, even catastrophic I could say.
On the five hours trip from Nanjing back to Shanghai, I spent most of the time with my forehead sticking to the cold glass, and tears remained undried. I used to think a path only goes forward, that if you put in the work, the road simply continues. That loss in Nanjing was the first time I felt the road ended without a warning. My mother said nothing for a long time. She isn’t a person who speaks just to fill the silence. Then, somewhere in the middle of the trip, she turned and looked at me.
“Do you want to give up?”
I searched for something to say and found only one honest answer, “No.”
She stared at me. “Then I don’t want to keep seeing you like this.” A pause, “if you feel your results match your effort, then that’s enough. But if you don’t feel that way, then keep training, train until you get what you want.”
I was ten years old. She spoke to me like I was thirty.
I wiped my face with my sleeve and looked back out the window. The lights were just beginning to appear on the horizon. During that long, silent drive, I started to understand something I hadn’t before: the path I’m on was mine to shape, but first I had to decide what I was shaping it toward.
Fencing had always been one part of my life since before I understood what competition meant. Every afternoon while my classmates sat at desks, I was at the training hall doing footwork drills, blade work, bout after bout. City tournaments, national events with two hundred competitors. Reaching the top 16 among the 200 became routine. It wasn’t until that defeat that I truly saw where I actually stood.
For two months, I was first to arrive and last to leave. I stretched while the hall lights were still warming up. After each practice, I’d run to my coach and ask for advice. I was building a different version of my path, one that required more from me than the one I ever had.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Creative piece, title is “it’s all…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 60%: We weren't wealthy, but our happiness wasn’t measured by rupees. The echo of Bunty and Raju’s laughter always…
We weren't wealthy, but our happiness wasn’t measured by rupees. The echo of Bunty and Raju’s laughter always filled our nest in sector 31 of Gurugram. My children also intrigued and flustered our street dogs, a commotion balanced by my wife, who left naan and sabji by the side of our rusted mailbox every night. It was these small-scale, quiet acts of warmth that truly defined the abundance of our life here.
I didn’t mind exchanging my open sky for a cage from 9-5, my manager Jagdeep often asked me to stay back. I worked at the throbbing pulse of the capital. Loud car horns sounded like trumpets, the street dogs Bhuri and Bhura were the guards, and the cracked and shattered tiles on the stairs to the Silicon tech Corporation building the red carpet. Every morning felt easy on the eyes in my country, it was as if the sun or as my Ma likes to call it the Surya Dev is easing our eyes into day, waking us up like a loving mother to her son. This was the beauty of my country, India. We had traditions that we didn’t even notice that we followed; chai was the cornerstone of my family. We want to go out? Drink some chai. Bathroom? Make some chai. Guests are coming? Where’s the chai? My country likes to pray everyday so if we can’t go to the temple… We bring the temple to our home. A mini temple so even the rush of Delhi couldn't stop me from reaching dearest Krishna lord and my irritating manager Jagdeep for an early morning meeting. Most of us don't consume meat, and almost none of us consume beef. Our belief in India is cows are the mothers of nature providing far greater value to us while they’re alive. Cow milk, manure, they all provide value to the ecosystem India possesses, and milk is a vital ingredient for chai.
I loved my country.
But I had a reason to leave, eventually every bird had to leave its nest.
I traded my smooth feathers of pressed shirts and corporate shoes for steel caps and fluorescent vests. Central Delhi became serenely suburban Sydney. The car horns were replaced by magpies. Instead of Jagdeep’s voice resounding through work cubicles , I heard the clang of metal and the hum of drills.
They called me Raj here too.
In Delhi, it was Raj; soft, quick, swallowed. Here, it was Raaaj; stretched wide, the ‘a’ pulled open.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: writing about protest
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students, Firstly, I’d like…
Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students,
Firstly, I’d like to start by acknowledging the traditional land of the Kulin Nation and I pay my respect to the elders both past and present. This has been a significant gathering for people of the Kulin Nation and I acknowledge and respect the continuing connection to the land. I’ve come to talk to you about the hopes that we all might gain some knowledge from our First Nation friends, who are knowledgeable individuals who always had a profound grasp of and respect for the earth we walk on today. We are blessed to reside in such a special and beautiful place in the world, where we are given so much and are asked for one thing in return. To protect it.
I stand right here right now on this land where I speak to you about our duty. Usually when you hear the word ‘duty’ at school most of you would think to tuck in your shirts, wear appropriate school clothes, arrive on time, and moreover follow rules without a question. But there is a higher duty. A duty to the truth, a duty to justice and a duty to the future.
You may have heard whispers about our recent actions. You’ve seen us standing in front of security and guards with our hands raised up high, palms open demanding change.
You ask why. I’ll tell you why. This is the visual definition of ‘duty’. Those hands are not raised because of surrender. They are raised as witness. They are saying; I am here, I am unarmed, I am not moving. We are told we live in a ‘free country’, we are told that our democracy is a precious gift, and we are told ‘Many voices are needed in a free country’. A country is not free simply because it has a flag and an anthem, it is only free when it is noisy. When it is uncomfortable and when ‘many voices’ are heard. Yet, in this very room, we are often taught that the only ‘correct; voice is a quiet, obedient one.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: writing about protest
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 67.5%: Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students, Firstly, I’d like…
Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students,
Firstly, I’d like to start by acknowledging the traditional land of the Kulin Nation and I pay my respect to the elders both past and present. This has been a significant gathering for people of the Kulin Nation and I acknowledge and respect the continuing connection to the land. I’ve come to talk to you about the hopes that we all might gain some knowledge from our First Nation friends, who are knowledgeable individuals who always had a profound grasp of and respect for the earth we walk on today. We are blessed to reside in such a special and beautiful place in the world, where we are given so much and are asked for one thing in return. To protect it.
I stand right here right now on this land where I speak to you about our duty. Usually when you hear the word ‘duty’ at school most of you would think to tuck in your shirts, wear appropriate school clothes, arrive on time, and moreover follow rules without a question. But there is a higher duty. A duty to the truth, a duty to justice and a duty to the future.
You may have heard whispers about our recent actions. You’ve seen us standing in front of security and guards with our hands raised up high, palms open demanding for change.
You ask why. I’ll tell you why. This is the visual definition of ‘duty’. Those hands are not raised because of surrender. They are raised as witness. They are saying; I am here, I am unarmed, I am not moving. We are told we live in a ‘free country’, we are told that our democracy is a precious gift, and we are told ‘Many voices are needed in a free country’. A country is not free simply because it has a flag and an anthem, it is only free when it is noisy. When it is uncomfortable and when ‘many voices’ are heard. Yet, in this very room, we are often taught that the only ‘correct; voice is a quiet, obedient one.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: writing about protest
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 67.5%: Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students, Firstly, I’d like…
Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students,
Firstly, I’d like to start by acknowledging the traditional land of the Kulin Nation and I pay my respect to the elders both past and present. This has been a significant gathering for people of the Kulin Nation and I acknowledge and respect the continuing connection to the land. I’ve come to talk to you about the hopes that we all might gain some knowledge from our First Nation friends, who are knowledgeable individuals who have always profound grasp of and respect for the earth we walk on today. We are blessed to reside in such a special and beautiful place in the world, where we are given so much and are asked for one thing in return. To protect it.
I stand right here right now on this land where I speak to you about Our duty. Usually when you hear the word ‘duty’ at school most of you would think to tuck in your shirts, wear appropriate school clothes, arrive on time, and moreover follow rules without a question. But there is a higher duty. A duty to the truth, a duty to justice and a duty to the future.
You may have heard whispers about our recent actions. You’ve seen us standing in front of security and guards with our hands raised up high, palms open demanding for change.
You ask why. I’ll tell you why. This is the visual definition of ‘duty’. Those hands are not raised because of surrender. They are raised as witness. They are saying; I am here, I am unarmed, I am not moving. We are told we live in a ‘free country’, we are told that our democracy is a precious gift, and we are told ‘Many voices are needed in a free country’. A country is not free simply because it has a flag and an anthem, it is only free when it is noisy. When it is uncomfortable and when ‘many voices’ are heard. Yet, in this very room, we are often taught that the only ‘correct; voice is a quiet, obedient one.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: writing about protest
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 65%: Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students, Firstly, I’d like to…
Good morning principal, teachers and other staff here. Good morning to my fellow students,
Firstly, I’d like to start by acknowledging the traditional land of the Kulin Nation and I pay my respect to the elders both past and present. This has been a significant gathering for people of the Kulin Nation and I acknowledge and respect the continuing connection to the land. I’ve come to talk to you about the hopes that we all might gain some knowledge from our First Nation friends, who are knowledgeable individuals who have always profound grasp of and respect for the earth we walk on today. We are blessed to reside in such a special and beautiful place in the world, where we are given so much and are asked for one thing in return. To protest it.
I stand right here right now on this land where I speak to you about Our duty. Usually when you hear the word ‘duty’ at school most of you would think to tuck in your shirts, where appropriate school clothes, arrive on time, and moreover follow rules without a question. But there is a higher duty. A duty to the truth, a duty to justice and a duty to the future.
You may have heard whispers about our recent actions. You’ve seen us standing in front of security and guards with our hands raised up high, palms open demanding for change.
You ask why. I’ll tell you why. This is the visual definition of ‘duty’. Those hands are not raised because of surrender. They are raised as witness. They are saying; I am here, I am unarmed, I am not moving. We are told we live in a ‘free country’, we are told that our democracy is a precious gift, but we are told ‘Many voices are needed in a free country’. A country is not free simply because it has a flag and an anthem, it is only free when it is noisy. When it is uncomfortable and when ‘many voices’ are heard. Yet, in this very room, we are often taught that the only ‘correct; voice is a quiet, obedient one.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: The characters in Oedipus The King are…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: Sophocles’ 5th century BCE classical Athenian tragedy “Oedipus The King”, explores the contextual nature of the…
Sophocles’ 5th century BCE classical Athenian tragedy “Oedipus The King”, explores the contextual nature of the inevitability of fate and its importance towards the drama. Sophocles contends that the attempt to escape fate proves it futile, and rather leads to its fulfilment. The playwright demonstrates this through the irony of the character’s failed attempts to escape prophecy, the symbolic contrast between sight and blindness, and the relentless investigation for truth leads one into the turmoil of their own fate.
Sophocles employs dramatic irony to demonstrate how the attempt to circumvent prophecy is the key that leads to its fulfilment. In an Ancient Athenian society, the words of an Oracle were sacred, as they were believed to be messages from the gods, meaning defying these words would lead to catastrophic consequences. After hearing the prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi that Laius and Jocasta’s son would “strike [Laius] down” and “couple with his mother”, they “fastened his ankles” and abandoned him on Mount Cithareon to die. This act of infanticide is what separates Oedipus from his family lineage, allowing him to mature as a “stranger”, who would inevitably kill their father at the crossroads. Through this, Sophocles demonstrates how the act of cruelty has no impact in the face of fate, warning an Athenian audience that the more that one fights to circumvent it, the more they contribute to its materialisation. Moreover, the symbolism of the crossroads serves as a physical manifestation of the inescapability of fate. Oedipus, believing that fate can be avoided, runs away from Corinth to ironically encounter Laius. This moment represents how one can believe they are making a choice out of freewill, yet the “paths” depict the endless alleys leading to a predestined fate. Sophocles' choice of placing the murder at the crossroads symbolises the illusion of free will, suggesting that for ‘a prisoner of fate’, all roads lead to the same preordained ‘cell’. Ultimately, the characters attempt to outmanoeuvre prophecy by physical displacement proves that they are prisoners whose every step towards supposed ‘freedom and safety’ lead to their inevitable demise.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'Sophocles' play reminds his audience that…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Oedipus the King, a tragic play written by Sophocles, illustrates the religious and moral beliefs of ancient Greek…
Oedipus the King, a tragic play written by Sophocles, illustrates the religious and moral beliefs of ancient Greek society, exploring how divine authority, fate, and human limitation shape suffering within a tragic world governed by the gods. Sophocles showcases the pointlessness of denying the will of the Gods. This is evident throughout the play as the characters’ ability of free will is limited. Additionally, knowledge of the truth can lead to fulfillment of fate. Finally, attempting to deny the will of the Gods can lead characters to receive punishment not only from the gods.
Sophocles portrays free will as limited to the boundaries of fate and is seen through attempts to escape destiny. When the Oracle told Oedipus about his fate, he “heard all that and ran”. This conveys the king’s attempt to run away and escape his fate. Sophocles’ use of irony, which ultimately led Oedipus to fall into his fate, reminds the audience of the power of the gods. Oedipus showed relentless determination to find the truth by forcing the shepherd to “talk with pain”. This portrays the extent to which the king wanted to escape his fate by bearing the truth. Thus, Sophocles highlights that the efforts to escape fate through free will will not overturn the will of the gods. Furthermore, Oedipus aims to save Thebes from the plague and claims he is “ready to help” the people. Thus, highlighting the pride that Oedipus has and his self-confidence to save Thebes from the plague. Sophocles presents Oedipus’ hubristic personality through this and highlights how his attempts to save Thebes led to his own downfall. Sophocles showcases how the free will of Oedipus is refined due to his destiny through his attempts to escape fate, as well as wanting to save Thebes.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: The world is divided due to different…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 70%: World views, political and cultural beliefs play a significant role in how people view the world around them,…
World views, political and cultural beliefs play a significant role in how people view the world around them, creating division within society. Many traditions influence the ideas about gender roles and interactions; what may be acceptable for one religion may be odd for another. A perennial debate concerns the existence of God. Many monotheistic religions say that God is a singular, all-powerful, indescribable being that must be loved and cherished to enter the gates of heaven. In contrast, polytheistic religions oppose this and believe that there are multiple gods. Because of these differences in ideologies, we tend to limit and narrow our perspectives on opposing beliefs. This creates gaps in our knowledge about other religions, leading to misunderstandings and biases that fuel bitterness and conflict.
After the tragic events of 9/11, fear of Islamic beliefs struck America. Some media outlets referring to the terrorists as simply ‘Muslims’ constructed an ‘us versus them’ reality. It associates the entire faith with extremism, suggesting the people of Islam are in a battle for religious superiority. Racism and segregation against Muslims led by false assumptions and biases created resentment between Christianity and Islam. It demonstrates how a lack of knowledge of other belief systems in conjunction with one’s own values can paint a false reality where discrimination and violence can be justified.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: The world is divided due to different…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 62.5%: World views, political and cultural beliefs play a significant role in how people view the world around them,…
World views, political and cultural beliefs play a significant role in how people view the world around them, creating division within society. Many traditions influence the ideas about gender roles and interactions; what may be acceptable for one religion may be odd for another. A perennial debate concerns the existence of God. Many monotheistic religions say that God is a singular, all-powerful, indescribable being that must be loved and cherished to enter the gates of heaven. In contrast, polytheistic religions oppose this and believe that there are multiple gods. Because of these differences in ideologies, we tend to limit and narrow our perspectives on opposing beliefs. This creates gaps in our knowledge about other religions, leading to misunderstandings and biases that fuel bitterness and conflict.
After the tragic events of 9/11, fear of Islamic beliefs struck America. Some media outlets referring to the terrorists as simply ‘Muslims’ constructed an ‘us versus them’ reality. It associates the entire faith with extremism, suggesting the people of Islam are in a battle for religious superiority. Racism and segregation against Muslims led by false assumptions and biases created resentment between Christianity and Islam. It demonstrates how a lack of knowledge of other belief systems in conjunction with one’s own values can paint a false reality where discrimination and violence can be justified.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Small Acts, Big Wins Stimulus:…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 70%: Small Acts, Big wins Executive Summary In response to the minor dissent activity that has come forth against…
Small Acts, Big wins
Executive Summary
In response to the minor dissent activity that has come forth against our client, the Standard-Dissense-Response-Protocol (SDRP) has been initiated. This protocol outlines attacks made against our client, and suggests mitigation strategies to reduce risk. Predictive modelling of the micro scale protest due to decreased tax on Prime Distribution Services (PDS) suggests:
Increased negative exposure has led to surface level company fractures. Risk mitigation strategies must be put in place to ensure further fractures do not occur.
Thorough analysis of protesting individuals, media outlets, and company revenue have found 3 clear conclusions:
1. Protesters’ small acts have caused minor structural fractures, causing customer hesitation and investor uncertainty.
2. Protesters and media have framed the ‘small acts’ as a successful attack against Prime Distribution Services.
3. Increased negative exposure of Prime Distribution Services is a large risk. These risks must be monitored and mitigated.
Attacks Against the Client
Exhibit #1 – Vandalism
56 instances of graffiti criticizing our client have been reported across NYC. Slogans portraying hostility and aggression explicitly target Prime Distribution Servies, and the specific new decreased tax reform.
Interpretation of social media, and news outlets aims to learn what the vandalism sought to achieve. This is outlined below.
Graffiti, a form of art, has historically been used to express opinions of individuals, without the need to speak out loud. In this instance, analysis suggests that graffiti was used to express hatred towards the ‘unfair wealth inequality of NYC’, primarily by people of low socioeconomic status. The graffiti has gained popularity on social media, and increased exposure of the new tax reforms set upon by our client. According to an anonymous ‘artist’ that a news outlet has posted, ‘This is the first fracture in breaking the extreme wealth inequality in our city. We can change our city’s power imbalance, and today was the first successful small step towards it.’ The post was titled ‘Big wins for protesters against wealth inequality.’
Exhibit #2 – Workplace Acts
A small number of employed individuals have expressed defiance against Prime Distribution Services. Examples of this include, but are not limited to; refusing to pack orders, defying direct orders by corporate, and terminating employment. Below is an exhibit of a former PDS termination contract.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: examine how love is portrayed as a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: Examine how love is portrayed as a destructive force within Sunset Boulevard. In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset…
Examine how love is portrayed as a destructive force within Sunset Boulevard.
In Billy Wilder’s 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, love is presented as a contradictory phenomenon, having the potential for both destructive and positive consequences. Industry adoration of young stars is presented as a profound danger due to the lurking threat of a downfall from fame, and even ostensibly sincere love such as that Max has for Norma and that Norma has for Joe result in destruction such as delusion and loss of independence. However, love is also presented as a shining light in the dark, providing hope, passion, and creativity.
Hollywood’s infatuation with young stars is presented as a destructive force when the stars are eventually cast out from the industry. The character of Norma Desmond is a representation of the lives of numerous real-life faded silent-film stars, highlighting the dangerous consequences that can result when stars are no longer considered appealing to the industry. A common analysis of Norma’s name is that it is a combination of the names of silent film star Mabel Normand and director William Desmond Taylor, where Mabel Normand was a hugely popular silent film actress whose film career declined after she lost industry favour, and William Desmond Taylor was a famous silent film director whose unsolved murder was heavily
sensationalised by the media and exploited by the industry. This name choice is therefore a reflection of how the industry quickly turns on the stars that it was once infatuated by, leaving them to fade away in obscurity or exploiting them for industry benefit. Hollywood lifted Norma to a position of stardom so immense that “men bribed her hairdresser to get a lock of her hair”, a level of fame that Norma is depicted as trying to preserve. This is epitomised by the unsettling number of old photographs of Norma that she displays in her mansion as well as her privately screening her older silent films, creating a sense of claustrophobia within hermansion that is symbolic of the suffocation of aging stars by the industry, ungracefully abandoned once the industry no longer sees them as appealing. The fact that the photographs and films depict her in her heyday represents Norma’s inability to move on from a time where she was loved by the industry, highlighting the dark side of Hollywood’s infatuation with young stars by presenting the damaging consequences of the withdrawal of industry love and attention. Furthermore, the tango theme composed by Franz Waxman for Norma’s character was based on a scene in the film where Norma talks about dancing the tango with Valentino, a reference to real-life silent-film star Rudolph Valentino. Basing her theme entirely around this memory is an auditory reflection of Norma’s refusal to move on from the past where she was a beloved star within the industry. However, in the final scene where Norma descends the staircase in a state of complete delusion, her earlier tango theme becomes darkly distorted and transforms into a grotesque parody of traditional film ending music. This dark subversion represents the dangerous consequences that have resulted from the industry’s infatuation with Norma and then the subsequent abandonment of her once she lost her appeal, therefore highlighting the potential for love to be a force of destruction.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Orbital human life is portrayed as…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: The 2023 novel Orbital, written by Samantha Harvey examines the varied perspectives of six astronauts as they…
The 2023 novel Orbital, written by Samantha Harvey examines the varied perspectives of six astronauts as they navigate not only physical challenges of living in space but the perspective shift that occurs as they can do nothing more than observe life on earth from a distance. While Harvey presents individual lives as inevitably fleeting and subject to the ailments of mortal life humanity itself will last longer than each of us therefore we have a responsibility to care for the earth's life so it can continue to protect us.
Throughout the novel, Harvey examines the inevitably fleeting nature of human life by highlighting death as an ever present possibility. Harvey's early descriptions of the astronauts being “shot into the sky on a kerosene bomb” underscores the violence and risk inherent in space travel, suggesting that human advancement is inseparable from mortal danger. By emphasising that they are 'shot' upward, Harvey implies a recklessness and a lack of control, positioning humanity to blame for placing itself in proximity to death in the pursuit of 'more.' In this way, mortality is not merely an external threat but a consequence of 'man's hubris.' Aboard the ISS, the astronauts exist in a space where survival is precarious, emphasised through the metaphor that 'some metal' stands between them and 'the void' with death being described as 'so close.' The novel's setting in space reinforces how fragile the human body is when removed from Earth, with life dependent on only a thin barrier; a 'void' referencing not only the physically empty space but the coldness and terrifying vastness that being in 'raw space' is especially for humans. Harvey repeatedly refers to the ISS station as the astronauts’ 'life support,' which when coupled with the nine-month span of living in space, underscores their complete dependence on this artificial system for survival. The repetition of 'nine months' evokes gestation, casting the spacecraft as a metallic womb in which they are sustained yet confined as they 'weightless[ly] drift' defenceless and vulnerable. The astronaut's prolonged enclosure highlights the fragility and temporariness of their existence, reinforcing the idea that while life in orbit is sustained, it is never secure and Harvey constantly reminds readers of their inevitably fleeting life despite the lengths we take to prolong it.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Oedipus the King act as a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: Written in 429 BCE, during the uncertainty of the Peloponnesian war, Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus the King explores…
Written in 429 BCE, during the uncertainty of the Peloponnesian war, Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus the King explores suffering as a sign of moral disorder in a world governed by the gods. Through the persistent search for truth, which ultimately uncovers the devastating reality of the mystery, Sophocles invites Ancient Athenians to reconsider willful ignorance and disrespect to the gods, suggesting that ignorance and excessive pride leads to the fragmentation of society. Sophocles attempts to warn Athenians, through critiquing hubris, disrespecting natural order and ignorant leadership. In doing so, Sophocles ultimately warns readers against believing that they are superior, and encourages them to display humility by encouraging introspection.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "The Blackwood family's isolation is both…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: Introduction In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson shows that the Blackwood family’s isolation is…
Introduction
In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson shows that the Blackwood family’s isolation is both protective and destructive. While separating themselves from the village shields Merricat and Constance from ridicule and danger, Jackson also reveals how this seclusion warps their perception, traps them in trauma, and prevents personal growth. The sisters’ isolation may give them a sense of safety and control, but Jackson presents it as ultimately unsettling and psychologically damaging. Through the novel, isolation is shown as both a gift and a curse.
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Jackson presents isolation as a way for the Blackwoods to protect themselves from the village’s cruelty. The villagers mock them with the rhyme, “Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea? Oh no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me.” This chant shows how suspicion and fear have turned into ritualised cruelty, leaving the sisters vulnerable to constant humiliation. Within the estate, Merricat reassures herself, “I could not help thinking that we were safe here, safe.” The repetition of “safe” emphasises that while isolation brings comfort, it also highlights how fragile that security is, as it must be constantly repeated to feel real. Even Constance recognises the pressure of public scrutiny, admitting, “Someday I’ll go.” Jackson uses this line to show that isolation is not entirely chosen; it is a response to fear and shame, suggesting that retreating from society can protect the sisters physically and emotionally, but it comes at the cost of choice.
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VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Several of them would have protested if…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: George Orwell’s 1945 allegorical novella Animal Farm is based on the Russian Revolution and depicts how tyrannical…
George Orwell’s 1945 allegorical novella Animal Farm is based on the Russian Revolution and
depicts how tyrannical leaders are capable of controlling the populace through the use of fear
and ignorance, which entrenches oppression. In Animal farm, the use of fear is highlighted to be
one of the main methods of oppression in order to control the masses. Although, the use of
exploiting the animal’s illiteracy allowed ignorance to prove effective in indoctrinating the
populace. However, without the use of propaganda, oppression would not have been as easily
possible. Whilst fear and ignorance did lead to the animal’s subjugation, Orwell demonstrated
how it was propaganda which ensured the animals continued compliance, allowing for
tyrannical leader’s regimes to thrive.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: POSSESSING POWER DOES NOT NECESSARILY…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: POSSESSING POWER DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUATE TO HAVING ABSOLUTE CONTROL. TO WHAT EXTENT IS THIS TRUE. Directed by…
POSSESSING POWER DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUATE TO HAVING ABSOLUTE CONTROL. TO WHAT EXTENT IS THIS TRUE.
Directed by Billy Wilder, the noir and gothic horror film, ‘Sunset Boulevard’ was released in 1950, it provided insight towards the evolution from silent films to audio. Wilder presents authority causes total control through manipulation of one’s psyche through decades of deceit, and the concept of ambition and how when obsessed enough, can control one’s life, yet when the backbone of the power is wealth and money, it does not carry enough strength for control.
Wilder exhibits that when one is deceptive enough to earn false trust, he earns full control. This was highlighted through the manipulation of Max Von Mayerling. In dim lighting and close shot, Max admits to Joe Gillis about his past with Norma, and how he went from being the one who ‘discovered’ her to her first husband, and after their divorce, her personal butler. He justified his demotion with his care and love for her, ‘I found everything unendurable without her.’ Through the dim lighting used, the dark contrast on Max’s face symbolises Max’s dark past and gives a more sadistic approach to guilt trip Joe, aiding in the lie of him loving her. The truth is he was her biggest fan; however, he also was one of the few causes of her mental health deteriorating. He’d regularly send her fake ‘fan-mails’ to deceive her into believing she is ‘still big’ so she would not learn the harsh reality of how ‘30 million fans have given her the brush.’ Max seems innocent to preserve her happiness, however psychologically it is ruining her as she gets ‘moments of melancholy,’ yet Max never takes her to a therapist to help her, instead he feeds her ‘lies and more lies’ to build on her delusions. In the end when the delusion got to her of how much of a ‘star’ she is, she killed Joe. It was implied that Max called the police as there was no one else near the property nor knew about the murder. Before her arrest, once again Max deceived her into believing she was about to record the first scene of her new film ‘Salome’ when in reality she was getting arrested. Max controlled her as a director from when she was young, to her last moments of freedom as a butler. Hence, Wilder illustrates decades of dishonesty; complete control is achievable.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Jackson use the town's attitude…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: Across literature, although communities strive to maintain an image or harmony and order, they are often shaped…
Across literature, although communities strive to maintain an image or harmony and order, they are often shaped by underlying conflict and contradiction that influence how difference is perceived and policed. The world in which Jackson creates not only discusses issues within itself but mirrors those of the issues of her time. The world is inherently complex, and individuals within it must navigate a place shaped by conflict, tension and contradiction. Through her neo-gothic novel, Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, mirrors these ideas (name them) alongside the heavy affairs of the time. Jackson establishes a world that feeds off envy and hatred, mirroring that of the society around her, utilising the antagonistic relationship between the insular Blackwood family and the surrounding village as a microcosm for the inherent cruelty of human society. Jackson reflects this through the town's abhorrence of the Blackwood family, not simply through distaste but deeply rooted in fear of the other and a need for social conformity. Furthermore, Jackson utilises the collapse of society into a predatory mob to critique the fragility of civilisation and human nature. Finally, Jackson critiques the performative nature of communal guilt, demonstrating how the construction of local folklore serves to exculpate the townspeople from the reality of their own atavistic cruelty.
Jackson utilises the village’s pervasive hostility toward the Blackwood family to expose a society that prioritises rigid conformity and surface-level normalcy over the acceptance of those who exist outside the traditional social order. By positioning Constance and Merricat outside the expectations of marriage, domestic contribution and social participation, the villagers cast them as aberrations whose very existence threatens the illusion of social order. Jackson filters this antagonism through Merricat’s visceral depiction of the town as “dingy” and infected with “rot,” transforming communal prejudice into a moral decay that festers beneath the village’s façade of civility. In contrast, the “fine china” and ritualistic order of the Blackwood estate symbolise an alternative self-contained world that refuses assimilation. The villagers’ resentment of the family’s inherited wealth and isolation reflects a broader societal tendency to demonise those who resist economic and social conformity. Jackson further reinforces this division through stark binary imagery that separates the “rotten” town from the enclosed estate, illustrating how communities construct ‘otherness’ to preserve their own fragile identity. By reducing the Blackwoods to the subject of mockery rhymes and gossip, the villagers trivialise tragedy and legitimise cruelty, revealing how collective prejudice transforms suspicion into sanctioned persecution. Thus, Jackson uses the towns sustained hostility to critique a society that sustains its cohesion not through compassion, but through the exclusion and dehumanization of those to refuse to conform. Whilst the villagers’ hostility towards the Blackwood sisters exposes a society that prioritises rigid social standards above empathy, the community’s readiness to embrace figures who reinforce conventional authority further underscores its obsessive investment in restoring a controlled and recognisable social order. Jackson reinforces this critique through the town’s immediate acceptance of Charles, whom they openly “liked” and with whom they conversed “easily.” These seemingly casual affirmations reveal how swiftly society rewards those who embody familiar structures of masculine authority. His effortless assimilation is sharply juxtaposed against the villagers’ enduring resentment of the sisters, exposing the conditional nature of communal patriarchal approval. Jackson positions him as a symbolic restoration of patriarchal order, a “ghost” of the sisters’ dead father whose presence signals the reassertion of male dominance within the household. His greed and desire for control are not condemned but implicitly encouraged, suggesting that moral corruption is acceptable when it reinforces traditional hierarchies. By privileging a “normal” villain over “abnormal” victims, the villagers expose the hypocrisy underpinning their supposed moral concern. Jackson, therefore, critiques a broader societal impulse to “fix” unconventional women by reinstating patriarchal control, revealing that what the community truly fears is not immorality but female autonomy. Through this disparity in treatment, Jackson demonstrates how societies preserve their sense of order by rewarding conformity to gendered power structures while punishing those who exist outside them.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Personal Journey
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: Amidst cold of winter, the mirror tends to disappear before I do. Steam climbs up the bathroom walls and fogs…
Amidst cold of winter, the mirror tends to disappear before I do.
Steam climbs up the bathroom walls and fogs the glass until my reflection dissolves into a pale, distorted blur. For a moment there's no face look out, not an expression to correct. Just a silhouette suspended by the heat in the bathroom, creating a suffocating warmth.
I always wipe a clear circle.
This gesture is quite automatic. I drag my huge palm through the condensation and carve out with certainty. I stand with my eyes slightly too alert, to hide the dark eye circles, shadowing my face. Then I tighten up my jaws, to hide my droopy face and I adjust my smile to maintain a nice presentation of myself.
In school careers are spoken about as though it's already been decided, as people claim their future in clean sentences.
"I want to do engineering"
"... study medicine" or
"Law at Melbourne uni,”
The words land clearly without hesitation; everyone had it all figured out.
When they turn to me, I say something equally polished. Something plausible. Something that sounds as a plan rather than a possibility, being rehearsed enough that it almost feels real.
The mirror begins to fog again while I'm thinking. I wipe it harder this time. The surface smears, splitting my reflection down the middle. I stare at the uneven image and smooth out my expression in order to maintain symmetry, but it can’t be forced too long.
During the night, questions start lingering longer and broader than the steam covered up.
My Mum usually says that this is the year that "counts".
Dad reminds me that opportunities don't wait.
And my teachers tell me I have potential, but I’m wasting it.
Potential is something that feels fragile which can snap if pulled too far.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Poor strangers….they have so much to be…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Shirely Jackson's novel, ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ written in 1962, explores the justification of one's…
Shirely Jackson's novel, ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ written in 1962, explores the justification of one's fear as a result of the patriarchal and cruel social norms. The novel signifies the strict, conformist, and patriarchal, and consumerist culture of 1950s America. Therefore, Jackson endorses individuals who use their fears as a means of protection, rather than others who dwell upon their fears out of envy and resentment. To begin with, Jackson demonstrates that individuals used their fear as a disguise for their jealousy and greed, critiquing that it is unreasonable for those who acted out of envy due their fear of the other. In continuation, Jackson embodies those who use their sense of unease as a means of protection against the patriarchal society. In addition, justifying those who seclude themselves from the insular community is a means of protection against the cruel society. Ultimately, the novel warns individuals of the dangers of harboring their fear.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard shows that the pursuit of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Billy Wilder’s 1950’s noir film, Sunset Boulevard, paints a cautionary tale of the perilous journey of upholding…
Billy Wilder’s 1950’s noir film, Sunset Boulevard, paints a cautionary tale of the perilous journey of upholding Hollywood’s facade of perfection and eternal stardom. This is explored through Hollywood deceiving stars entrapping stars into an illusion of ageless success, the moral destruction that arises from pursuing sold dreams of success and wealth, and the extensive lengths stars go to in order to reach Hollywood’s unattainable expectations. Wilder disdains the destructive and delusive world that Hollywood constructs by veristically showcasing the costs of fame that Hollywood masks from audiences.
Wilder explores how Hollywood deceives people into an illusion of eternal fame, even if ones’ time has passed. Furthermore, Norma is presented in a mid-body shot of herself surrounded by portraits from the days of her silent film glory, being “afraid that it would remind her that her time had passed”. This reveals how Norma is lured into a fantasy that she is still in the spotlight, even though the world had moved on from “yesterday’s glamour queen” and Norma is rather, living in the shadow of a version of herself that no longer exists, as indicated by the portraits being placed on a higher level than Norma. This alludes to Max “feeding her lies” whilst she is not looking “too closely at the postmarks” and truly believing that she still receives “fan letters every day”, providing Norma with a false sense of hope that she is still living in a time of success and youth. Hollywood figures like Max are presented to be ‘protecting’ Norma, by curating the illusion-driven world that she is entrapped in, however this poses consequences of completely disconnecting with reality. Throughout Joe’s stay at Norma’s self-museum, the mansion is demonstrated as decaying, through a close-up shot of the deteriorating ceiling and a rat-infested pool that had been “stricken with a kind of creeping paralysis” and is “crumbling apart in slow motion”. Wilder's depiction of Norma’s mansion symbolises her refusal to accept that her time of fame has passed, alongside the consequences of mental and emotional destruction like her mansion. Throughout Sunset Boulevard, Wilder exposes the gap between promise and reality by Hollywood feeding into misconceptions of eternal fame, whilst supposed success is blindly fading into emotional and mental decay.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "You are the curse, the corruption of the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Oedipus the King, a tragic play written by Sophocles, illustrates the religious and moral beliefs of Ancient Greek…
Oedipus the King, a tragic play written by Sophocles, illustrates the religious and moral beliefs of Ancient Greek society, exploring how divine authority, fate and human limitation shape suffering within a tragic world governed by the gods. Sophocles positions the audience to reflect on justice and punishment throughout the play. This is evident through how fate brings justice and punishment upon characters inevitably. As well how the truth becomes a punishment in itself. Additionally, how justice can lead to self-punishment and responsibility.
Sophocles highlights how the destiny of Oedipus is predetermined, which leads to the king being punished for his wrongdoings. In the play, once Oedipus found the truth, he cried out, exclaiming how “Apollo ordained [his] agonies”. This positions Apollo as a powerful God who set this path out for Oedipus through fate. Sophocles conveys how Oedipus was led through his destiny to kill his father and marry his mother, which allows the audience to question whether the justice and punishment were deserved. Additionally, once Oedipus learned about his fate in Corinth, as soon as he “heard all that, [he] ran”. This conveys how Oedipus’ destiny was already pre-arranged, and no matter his attempts, he would always end up falling into the lines of fate. Thus, Sophocles illustrates to the audience the attempt of Oedipus to flee Corinth to run away from his destiny and therefore the fairness of his punishment. Finally, in the play, the king shows his worries about the “prophecies [he] feared” when talking to Polybus. This highlights the lingering worry for Oedipus because of the prophecies that were told to him. Therefore, the writer portrays that Oedipus did not want to fulfil his destiny, which encourages the audience to query the validity of the justice served against him. Sophocles provides an opportunity for the audience to reflect on the punishment of Oedipus because of the his willingness to escape his fate and the penalties that were bound to occur.