VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Burial Rites “I felt too much to see it…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites stages a world where emotions dictate decisions, dismantling the illusion that justice…
Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites stages a world where emotions dictate decisions, dismantling the illusion that justice or morality is grounded in reason alone. In the final months of Agnes Magnusdottir, Kent transfigures Agnes’s fear, determining the fate of Agnes herself and the Icelandic community that condemns her. Indeed, this enacts a patriarchal discourse wherein Kent condemns a justice system and society that overlooks female human emotion. IndeedHere, this is argued through both Can the Subaltern Speak?” by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and The Body that Writes: Gender, Class and the Abject Female Body in Burial Rites” by Kiriaki Massoura. Here, both academic readings claim that women on the margins are denied full subjectivity - where their voices are silenced or reduced to their bodies - which ultimately leaves their emotions ignored by patriarchal systems. What emerges is Kent’s condemnation of the illusion of objective justice, shifting towards an understanding of the way emotion and marginalised voices expose the failures of patriarchal systems.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscri…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 72.5%: Australia's rapidly increasing youth crime rate is a source of much conflict within citizens. There are two…
Australia's rapidly increasing youth crime rate is a source of much conflict within citizens. There are two main stances - conservatives such as readers of the Australian who argue that youth crime is an easy fix with disciplinary actions. The other views, being progressive who see the issue as complex, with more context other than the rising crime rates. Writing in the Australian - a national center-right newspaper - Miriko Baragic criticizes the progressive approach and argues that youth crime is a matter of correction, not one rooted in the complexities of victimhood. He aims to establish the conservative viewpoint through mock and praise arguments, influencing the Australian's readers to believe his stance on the correct one.
To establish his argument and the issue's seriousness, Baragic opens his article by arguing youth crime's recent surge is a result of policy failure. He uses high modality words and negative connotations by stating fear of crime should "not" be a problem "paralyzing" societies. By using these emotive words paired with their negative connotation, he coerces his audience to argue that his stance, leaving little room for disagreement. He introduces the opposing viewpoint that youth crime is a "complex" problem, and rebuts it with hsi argument that this issue has an "easy fix". Using such sharp statements indirectly forces readers to believe his argument, and feel that the information presented to them is logical. Ultimately, he is able to persuade his audience of the Australian readers with his expert opinion that there is no other solution that is rational. This persuades the audience and keeps their interests engaged to read further.
Garagic continues by proposing two feasible and efficient solutions -
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Miller’s Circe, power is depicted as…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 62.5%: The contemporary interpretation of Greek Mythos Circe by Madeline Miller strays away from the conventional…
The contemporary interpretation of Greek Mythos Circe by Madeline Miller strays away from the conventional ideologies of power being purely brute strength, and instead investigates different types of power. Miller first lays the foundations of power in the hierarchy of being that all living organisms fall into where the strong diminish the weak, to investigate and criticise inherited and physical power. After, trickery and deception is shown as another means to power by Miller, who condones the practice due to how it is more ‘fair’. Despite this, Miller praises the power of knowing oneself above all, arguing that self restraint and patience will lead individuals to live a fulfilling life.
Initially, Miller lays the groundwork for power in brute strength, building a society that parallels the contemporary one to criticise inherited and physical power. Inherited control over others is investigated through the patriarchal society of Circe, where women are considered solely as possessions of men, going as far as to give the title of “nymph” to women, meaning “not just goddess, but bride.” This title undermines the power of women and thus gives men power. Further, giving the same title to Circe, her “mother, aunt and thousand cousins” diminishes the individuality of all these women, getting rid of their identity. Miller criticises inherited power for how normative it is in society to subtly harm minorities such as women, hence Miller positions the audience to question and be weary of normalised values that shape their unconscious bias. Physical strength also determines one’s power in both the society Miller presents and contemporary. Miller reveals brute strength to also be misogynistic in essence due to the biological nature of man that allows them to be genetically stronger than women through Circe’s rape, where men “threw [her] against the wall” and “choked” her. This display of physical power blatantly ignores divine power over humanity, exposing readers to the fact that men typically hold physical dominance over women no matter of her identity. After revealing the greed of some men, Miller thus urges readers, mainly her female audience, to not give the patriarchy—and men inherent power, criticising it due to how it subjugates women to be subservient to men, and exposes women to physical harm.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: do i dare disturb the universe? stand out
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 92.5%: *23rd of November, 1980* To my dearest self. Your name is ———, and when you were 45 years old you discovered…
*23rd of November, 1980*
To my dearest self.
Your name is ———, and when you were 45 years old you discovered a way to live forever.
*He’s always got to be so dramatic.*
If you’re reading this, I expect your memories are foggy. They’ll clear up fast. You are a military researcher who lives alone in the Colorado mountains, and you have been assigned to NASA’s immortality initiative. Tomorrow, you are going to be the first human to undergo cellular integrity rectification, the procedure will strip every atom of your body down and rebuild it, allowing you to halt ageing forever. Thanks to you, the free people of the United States will fear the hollow cling of death no longer. Humans are no longer just conquerers of land and sea - we have conquered time. Let this letter serve as an anchor - a map back to the man you are, should the procedure leave your identity… fragmented.
You are a genius. From young, you have always been curious, and devastatingly capable. Graduating from the most prestigious high school in your town, you were recruited almost immediately by the U.S secret service’s department of technology and promoted to a leadership position. For a time, you aided in the war effort, constructing nuclear weapons in preparation against the Soviet Union, but soon enough, you were requested to begin a more… experimental project. In less than a day, you were transported from Houston to an isolated nuclear bunker in Colorado and given a single instruction. “Help us live forever”.
*Don’t lie to yourself, ——, do you think you’ll wake up and I’ll be gone? Are you hoping your broken memories won’t include me?*
I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m tracing back along these words that I’ve written, but I have no recollection of ever writing them. It seems to have happened in the paragraph earlier as well. I must be well rested for tomorrow’s operation. I will continue this entry before the procedure.
*[Written a few pages after] He’s so prideful don’t you think? He thinks himself a God. Really. It’s amazing how delusional one can be. No one is going to read this, because this isn’t going to work. We’re going to die alone, trapped in a bunker barely big enough for a dog to live in. How can he speak so well of himself. Has he not seen his starved frame in the mirror? His mangled beard, his bloodshot eyes? The truth is, his-our supplies run out in about a week. This is a last ditch attempt at saving an assignment given to get* rid *of us.*
*24th of November, 1980*
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: https://theconversation.com/why-the-medi…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 72.5%: Youth crime is an ongoing issue that has spiked greatly in recent years. In response to the constant growth…
Youth crime is an ongoing issue that has spiked greatly in recent years. In response to the constant growth in cases, the public and media alike have adopted varying stances on the issue. Progressive audiences such as parents of offenders and youth activists argue the media only aggravates the issue by presenting the same narrow-minded argument every time, while conservatives such as older Australians oppose this by supporting the information they receive on the youth, in general, being a dangerous bunch of individuals. Writing for the Conversation, Andrew Hickey and Rachel Wallis argue the media’s outlook on youth crime presents a view that only harms society, without showing the full picture of youth crime being a response to societal pressures. The Conversation is a non-profit organization, focusing on creating an open forum for discussion on an array of political topics.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Stimulus: A hand reaching upward…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 92.5%: Muted, suffocating stillness filled the air. I looked up at the dirt brown sky, my head the only one still…
Muted, suffocating stillness filled the air. I looked up at the dirt brown sky, my head the only one still moving. A hard cylinder pressed on my back.
“Stay still.”
I didn’t mean to move, but when I did, when my spine straightened, the universe shifted, just slightly, as though it had been waiting for me to breathe. My eyes flew back down to my knees. Around me stunk of unwashed bodies and dirty rags. The quiet rhythm of obedience hummed as I swore I could hear the weight of everyone’s silence pressing against me, a silence that said, “This is safer.”
On the platform ahead, the Commander spoke in the same hollow voice we had all learned to imitate. His words slid through the soil like air like oil - smooth, heavy and without substance.
“Order. Unity. Sacrifice.”
The crowd murmured back the same three words, our voices bleeding into one another until they were indistinguishable. A shiver raced up my spine, as I reminisced of how the world felt smaller when we spoke like that. As though the air shrank to fit the sound.
A scrap of blue lodged in the corner of my eye. A flicker of motion. A bird, impossibly alive, weaving through the smog, darting across the square before vanishing into the clouds.
No one else looked up. For a moment, my chest ached with something nameless, for I couldn’t recall the last time I had seen something of such colour. A blue that didn’t belong to government banners, but the kind that belonged to the now muddied sky. My urge to see it again rose.
The soldier behind me shifted, the barrel nudging harder between my scapula.
“Do not move.”
My gaze lowered itself again. I told myself that it was all just my imagination, that the colour, the sudden spring of life, it was all fake. Yet, the thought still stayed, sharp and insistent. What if I hadn’t imagined it?
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Macbeth's vaulting ambition…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” examines the destructive power of ambition when it operates without moral restraint.…
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” examines the destructive power of ambition when it operates without moral restraint. Through the psychological deterioration of its protagonist, the play explores how the desire for power can corrupt even the most virtuous individuals. Macbeth’s transformation from a respected nobleman into a paranoid tyrant exposes ambition as a double-edged force: one that can inspire greatness but, when left unchecked, consumes the individual’s conscience and humanity. Shakespeare ultimately suggests that ambition, when divorced from ethics, leads not to fulfilment but to self-destruction.
Shakespeare initially presents ambition as a natural human impulse that, when moderated by morality, can coexist with virtue. Macbeth’s first encounter with the witches ignites a conflict between his ambition and his moral judgement. Macbeth's self-awareness of his 'vaulting ambition' that 'o'erleaps itself' reveals his early understanding that this desire could lead to self-destructive excess. Rather than portraying Macbeth as innately evil, Shakespeare reveals how ambition distorts moral reasoning when desire outweighs conscience. The witches’ cryptic prophecies symbolise the seductive nature of temptation; they never instruct Macbeth to act, instead allowing his imagination to turn possibility into obsession. By externalising Macbeth’s ambition through supernatural influence, Shakespeare demonstrates how ambition feeds on suggestion and desire, gradually eroding ethical boundaries.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Macbeth's vaulting ambition…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” examines the destructive power of ambition when it operates without moral restraint.…
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” examines the destructive power of ambition when it operates without moral restraint. Through the psychological deterioration of its protagonist, the play explores how the desire for power can corrupt even the most virtuous individuals. Macbeth’s transformation from a respected nobleman into a paranoid tyrant exposes ambition as a double-edged force: one that can inspire greatness but, when left unchecked, consumes the individual’s conscience and humanity. Shakespeare ultimately suggests that ambition, when divorced from ethics, leads not to fulfilment but to self-destruction.
Shakespeare initially presents ambition as a natural human impulse that, when moderated by morality, can coexist with virtue. Macbeth’s first encounter with the witches ignites a conflict between his ambition and his moral judgement. The phrase “vaulting ambition” captures this internal struggle, ambition that “o’erleaps itself” suggests self-destructive excess. Rather than portraying Macbeth as innately evil, Shakespeare reveals how ambition distorts moral reasoning when desire outweighs conscience. The witches’ cryptic prophecies symbolise the seductive nature of temptation; they never instruct Macbeth to act, instead allowing his imagination to turn possibility into obsession. By externalising Macbeth’s ambition through supernatural influence, Shakespeare demonstrates how ambition feeds on suggestion and desire, gradually eroding ethical boundaries.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: “Do I dare disturb the universe?”
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: The classroom clock had been stuck at 10:47 since last term, though no one had the energy to care. Ms.…
The classroom clock had been stuck at 10:47 since last term, though no one had the energy to care. Ms. Abergarth stood beneath it, radiating that polite authority teachers wear like perfume, and clicked to the next slide of her PowerPoint: Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? The font, Comic Sans, naturally, had the optimism of someone who believed deep questions could be solved before recess. We were 14, some even 13. Our universe mostly consisted of NAPLAN scores, uniform regulations, and the existential crisis that came with forgetting to submit your assignment which was set as homework. The room smelled of marker ink and quiet resentment. I sat in the third row, chewing a pen that no longer wrote, determined to keep my mouth shut.
Then Ms. Abergarth asked it, the question. Not in the abstract, but directly, with that piercing, merciless teacher stare. “So,” she said, “what does it mean to disturb the universe?”
The silence that followed was immaculate. You could hear the ceiling fan stutter. Someone coughed, as though clearing their conscience. I thought if I stayed perfectly still, I might merge with the furniture.
But apparently my survival instincts had the day off.
“It’s like when you hit the vending machine and it actually works,” I heard myself say.
Heads turned. A few laughs scattered through the room like startled pigeons. Ms. Abergarth raised an eyebrow, the kind of eyebrow that could revoke oxygen privileges. “Go on,” she said.
My brain panicked. Words spilled out like coins from a broken slot. “You know, everything’s supposed to stay orderly, predictable. Then something small… interrupts it.” I gestured vaguely at the flickering lights. “And suddenly, everyone looks up.” I hadn’t meant to sound
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: framework - commitment title: my…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which this parliament sits, and I pay my…
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which this parliament sits, and I pay my respects to the elders past, present and emerging.
I thank the residents of Hotham, for placing their trust in me. I express gratitude to my family, friends and campaign, without whom i would not have found my calling
Growing up, I've been seen firsthand how communities thrive when everyone is treated with respect and dignity. My calling has taught me that public service demands listening, humility and persistence. Those experiences shape my understanding of the world and represent the values I bring to this role.
I enter this parliament because I believe we must do something more to respond to the problems, and we must commit to advocacy. An issue that compels with me deeply is gender based violence. It springs from power imbalances, that undermines safety and is so often hidden.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Texts that challenge dominant ideologies…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 65%: Composers use their texts to not only reflect social and cultural values, but to reshape, resist and subvert…
Composers use their texts to not only reflect social and cultural values, but to reshape, resist and subvert dominant ideologies. This is seen in female literary responses to patriarchal paradigms within the 18th to 20th centuries. Manifestations and adaptions of these texts and their representations of women’s role in society that isolated women. Both Charlotte Bronte’s 1847 novel Jane Eyre and Christina Rossetti’s 1862 poem ‘Goblin Market’ challenge dominant ideologies around women’s place in the social hierarchy during the Victorian era by advocating a more empowered, nuanced vision for womanhood through critiquing patriarchal expectations. In contrast, Angela Carter’s 1979 novelette ‘The Bloody Chamber’ emphasises the patriarchal control, and Carter’s intention to escape the patriarchy and subvert dominant ideologies. Through these representations female authors position audiences to consider shifting social paradigms between 18th and 20th centuries, effectively challenging dominant patriarchal ideologies.
Bronte’s Jane Eyre challenges the submissive role of women expected within Victorian society, reshaping literary paradigms to effectively reflect the social and cultural limitation place on women during this time. Despite the era characterised by its female monarch, females were still treated as ‘lesser’ than their male counterparts, reinforcing existing patriarchal paradigms. Bronte used Jane Eyre to capture these restrictions through her characterisation of her protagonist, Jane, establishing her as symbolic of the feminine desire for equality and financial freedom, captured through Jane’s response to the revelation that Rochester is already married and his attempts to restrain her both physically and emotionally, “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with independent will.” The use of metaphor and high modality language creates an imperative tone to emphasise Jane’s assertion of her autonomy. This allows Bronte to reinforce the mistreatment of women through her characterisation of Jane’s inner strength, capturing her resistance of patriarchal expectations, encouraging readers to question accepted social and cultural paradigms. By creating Jane as a mirror of her own personal experiences, Bronte criticised the social expectation that women were to remain submissive and subordinate, shown through Janes musings, and her place in the social hierarchy, “I reflected. Poverty looks grim to grown people, still more so to children: they have not much idea of industrious, working, respectable poverty; they think of the word only as connected with ragged clothes, scanty food, fireless grates, rude manners and debasing vices: poverty for me was synonymous with degradation.” Bronte’s use of imagery, personification and juxtaposition of perspectives of adults and children, embodied through Jane’s character contrasting a cynical perspective with the innocent voice of a child highlighting the dehumanisation of the lower class within Victorian England, reinforcing the set position of women and children within the strict social hierarchy, effectively challenging the expectations placed of women by resisting patriarchal control. Therefore, Bronte’s characterisation of Jane as self-aware and in control of her future challenges patriarchal paradigms of Victorian England, that women are confined to roles of dependence and obedience under men, challenging the limitations placed on women encouraging readers to evaluate their cultural values, and rethink traditional patriarchal expectations.
Similarly, Rossetti’s poem continues to challenge dominant ideologies around the role of women to expose the social and cultural limitations placed on women within the 18th to 20th century. The Victorian Era being idealised female obedience and chastity, Rossetti resists these paradigms through her symbolic characterisation and allegorical narrative of Laura and Lizzie. Rossetti depicts the goblins through animalistic imagery “rats who will run / like a cat’s tail twitching” applying simile and imagery
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “We accept the reality of the world with…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Peter Weir’s 1998 comedy-documentary hybrid film “The Truman Show”, explores the undeniable tension between reality…
Peter Weir’s 1998 comedy-documentary hybrid film “The Truman Show”, explores the undeniable tension between reality and illusion through Truman’s gradual awakening. Created in a time where the manipulation of media was a great issue, Weir creates the hyperreal set of Seahaven, directly critiquing society’s complacent acceptance of illusion as truth. By revolving around satirical exploration, media manipulation, authenticity, and human freedom, Weir masterfully weaves Truman’s story to reflect how reality and illusion can be almost impossible to distinguish. Through the façade of a world that is Seahaven, cracks of artificiality that Truman perceives, and his final act of defiance, “The Truman Show” presents Truman’s awakening as a metaphor for all of society, humanity’s struggle to discern reality and illusion. This, in turn, reveals the seductive power of constructed worlds and the enduring human drive to discover the truth.
From the outset, Weir portrays Seahaven as a meticulously constructed illusion that thrives solely on manipulation and surveillance, mirroring society’s unconscious acceptance of mediated realities. During the opening of the film, Christof is shown in a full-screen for audiences. His declaration that "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented.” serves as the film’s philosophical anchor, elucidating how manipulation can direct an individual’s whole life. By presenting Christof in a close-up shot, Weir portrays him as a god-like creator, symbolic of media control. This is amplified in the fact that even his name "Christof", has "Christ" within it. Deliberately shot in soft-focus and high-key lighting, Christof evokes a saint-like image of creative control, reflective of his acts of creation. Weir immediately visualises Christof’s god-like power by transitioning from his monologue to a sweeping drone shot of his creation, Seahaven. The overexposed brightness and smiling citizens create a sterile, artificial utopia, positioning audiences to perceive Seahaven as a film set, not a real town. Reinforcing this, an upbeat, non-diegetic sound is playing, aligning with the illusion of perfection. Seahaven's artificiality ultimately foreshadows Truman's entrapment within a world defined by visual deception. Not only this, but Truman's daily routine and the quote of "And in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight." epitomises routine and social conformity. The shots depicting Truman are always within obscure objects, reflecting his own obliviousness and the extent of surveillance. Building on from this, his neighbours and wife act according to scripts, demonstrating the dehumanising extent of control. Weir satirises audiences' complicity in this illusion, heavily implying that comfort and routine suppress the pursuit of truth. Ultimately, Weir establishes Truman’s world not as a simple fiction but as a reflection of a society where the tension of authentic reality and mediated illusion is already dangerously suppressed.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Do i dare disturb the universe?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 75%: Two weeks in and I think I’m finally settling in. The eerie silence, muffled crying, constant smell of death.…
Two weeks in and I think I’m finally settling in. The eerie silence, muffled crying, constant smell of death. All the normal things you’d expect to feel and sense at your workplace. So far I’ve buried 11 bodies. All of which were the elderly, ones who had fulfilled their lives. Today was my 12th burial and I had my trusty shovel already with me, I swiftly walked by the rows of crosses and gravestones, it seemed never ending. But I know there was an end. There’s always an end to all things. Good or bad, all things must come to an end.
I had reached the end there were only two people draped in black. A change to the big crowds of my other burials. The air shifted, I could feel my heartbeat, this was new. As I approached the two figures were young, a man and a woman. Perhaps the children? As I approached they saw me and walked up to me. The man spoke in a solemn tone “Good evening Mr Gravedigger, I hope you’re doing well.”
“I’m doing fine my good sir, I wish you many sympathies, and I am so very sorry for your loss” I replied to them
“Thank you. It means a lot to us. Our son was only 8 after all.” The woman said
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “We accept the reality of the world with…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Peter Weir’s 1998 comedy-documentary hybrid film “The Truman Show”, explores the undeniable tension between reality…
Peter Weir’s 1998 comedy-documentary hybrid film “The Truman Show”, explores the undeniable tension between reality and illusion through Truman’s gradual awakening. Created in a time where the manipulation of media was a great issue, Weir creates the hyperreal set of Seahaven, directly critiquing society’s complacent acceptance of illusion as truth. By revolving around satirical exploration, media manipulation, authenticity, and human freedom, Weir masterfully weaves Truman’s story to reflect how reality and illusion can be almost impossible to distinguish. Through the façade of a world that is Seahaven, cracks of artificiality that Truman perceives, and his final act of defiance, “The Truman Show” presents Truman’s awakening as a metaphor for all of society, humanity’s struggle to discern reality and illusion. This, in turn, reveals the seductive power of constructed worlds and the enduring human drive to discover the truth.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset boulevard both challenges and…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Wilder illustrates the patriarchal values of 1950s society, demonstrating that power and authority were largely…
Wilder illustrates the patriarchal values of 1950s society, demonstrating that power and authority were largely reserved for men. Wilder highlights this through the prevention of Norma as an actress. Norma’s shortcomings in her career can largely be attributed to the males who control and dominate the Hollywood scene. They are the ones who grant access to fame and success, or the ones who restrict it. When Norma visits paramount studios, an extreme long shot is utilised to display the paramount studios gates allowing people to enter, and simultaneously turning those away who are not deemed worthy. This symbolises the guarded access to the Hollywood world. When Norma tries to enter, she is simply and outsider looking into a world that she USED to belong to, but was cast aside due to her growing age and fading beauty– attributes which the people in power perpetuate. The guards don't even recognise her, illustrating that she was shunned, not of her own
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Prompt: Discovering Joy Title: Where I…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 77.5%: "Where I belong, I shine." Young teen's environmental school project helps improve the lives of millions in…
"Where I belong, I shine."
Young teen's environmental school project helps improve the lives of millions in Thailand
By Mary Cook. Published 17 September 2025
It all started with an A+, and grew into a global sensation. Jenny Palmer, a 16 year old student has recently developed technology to help clear the waterways from pollution in Bangkok. Her initiative has received recognition from the Thai government and is beginning to be copied all across the world.
Drafting a new craft: Development of Ecotech
Two years ago, Palmer was staying up late, like many other students, trying to finish her report before the deadline. "That's when my interest began to grow" she claims. Through her deep dive into the internet, she came across the concept of 'Ecotech' which revolves around making sustainable technology to reusing harmful wastes such as plastic rather than natural resources like fossil fuels and metals. "I realised that everything in my room was made from these materials and depriving the Earth."
She created the draft of her very own 'Ecotech', which consists of a biodegradable net used from recycled material such as milk cartons which trap litter found in streams. "After it collects rubbish, people can easily scoop it out of the water and into a garbage truck in a matter of minutes."
However, this was a mere idea, until she visited Bangkok, Thailand where her mother is from. She explains that, "Well my dad is from Australia, and since I lived here my whole life I forgot how privileged our lifestyle is. I only realised that when I was on a motorcycle with my cousin and witnessed the brown water amongst the large amounts of packaging above."
Let it grow: How Jenny's idea came into life
"I needed to do something about this and I knew exactly how to do it."
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Despite the violence in Ransom, the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: An individual's pursuit of the authentic self helps them recognize their surroundings — the pure interpersonal…
An individual's pursuit of the authentic self helps them recognize their surroundings — the pure interpersonal connection and the essence of nature. *Ransom*, a novel written by David Malouf in 2009, adapts from Homer’s *Iliad* and reflects Malouf’s own experience during merciless World War II. In order to embrace such pain, Malouf suggests that ordinary is the fundamental status that all human relishes rather than indulging in symbolic dignity. Furthermore, the humanity from feminine power saves people from cycles of violence and fulfills the meaning of themselves, as people’s exposure to the real-world bonds them with natural power. As such, beyond the superficial violence on the battlefield, Malouf posits that optimism driven by self-worth is the true form of how people connect and transform.
Malouf contends that people’s embrace to ordinary deters wreck from violence and fosters self-acceptance. Through recognition of mortality, Malouf indicates that people’s relief broadens people’s acceptance. Priam and Achilles both are framed with symbolic dignity as a king and a warrior. Priam’s childhood misery facilitates his peaceful ransom. Being one of ‘wailing infants’ that is bullied by guards, Priam experiences fragility of being suppressed by power. With regard to the violence he bears, Priam opts for a ‘plain cart’, symbolizing his stretch from the royal sphere where he has privilege. This approach to mundane things inspires his authentic self for stripping away the symbolic dignity of being an upper class. When it comes to his murder by Neoptolemus, he ‘ghastly smiles’, with the connotation of his relief of violence and the embrace to his identity as a real ‘mortal’. Similarly, this kind of ordinary is not only attached to Priam but also Achilles who is convinced to accept ordinary. In response to Priam’s joke of “[being] already among the shades” in case Achilles is willing to ‘come to [Priam’s] aid’, Achilles’ ‘alas’ loads with his optimistic vision of life limitation in a hard-boiled and even-keeled tone. This mood contrasts with his role as an infinite warrior which implies his transformation to the acceptance of mortality. Through Achilles and Priam’s realization of their mortal identity, Malouf opines positive perspective, which enables people to better accept themselves.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Despite the violence in Ransom, the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: An individual's pursuit of the authentic self helps them recognize their surroundings — the pure interpersonal…
An individual's pursuit of the authentic self helps them recognize their surroundings — the pure interpersonal connection and the essence of nature. *Ransom*, a novel written by David Malouf in 2009, adapts from Homer’s *Iliad* and reflects Malouf’s own experience during merciless World War II. In order to embrace such pain, Malouf suggests that ordinary is the fundamental status that all human relishes rather than indulging in symbolic dignity. Furthermore, the humanity from feminine power saves people from cycles of violence and fulfills the meaning of themselves, as people’s exposure to the real-world bonds them with natural power. As such, beyond the superficial violence on the battlefield, Malouf posits that optimism driven by self-worth is the true form of how people connect and transform.
Malouf contends that people’s embrace to ordinary deters wreck from violence and fosters self-acceptance. Through recognition of mortality, Malouf indicates that people’s relief broadens people’s acceptance. Priam and Achilles both are framed with symbolic dignity as a king and a warrior. Priam’s childhood misery facilitates his peaceful ransom. Being one of ‘wailing infants’ that is bullied by guards, Priam experiences fragility of being suppressed by power. With regard to the violence he bears, Priam opts for a ‘plain cart’, symbolizing his stretch from the royal sphere where he has privilege. This approach to mundane things inspires his authentic self for stripping away the symbolic dignity of being an upper class. When it comes to his murder by Neoptolemus, he ‘ghastly smiles’, with the connotation of his relief of violence and the embrace to his identity as a real ‘mortal’. Similarly, this kind of ordinary is not only attached to Priam but also Achilles who is convinced to accept ordinary. In response to Priam’s joke of “[being] already among the shades” in case Achilles is willing to ‘come to [Priam’s] aid’, Achilles’ ‘alas’ loads with his optimistic vision of life limitation in a hard-boiled and even-keeled tone. This mood contrasts with his role as an infinite warrior which implies his transformation to the acceptance of mortality. Through Achilles and Priam’s realization of their mortal identity, Malouf opines positive perspective, which enables people to better accept themselves.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Passing provides freedom and luxury. Do…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 60%: Larsen condemns the social norms and structures that enforce rigid racial boundaries in a racially segregated…
Larsen condemns the social norms and structures that enforce rigid racial boundaries in a racially segregated society, which in turn influences the behaviour of individuals to construct a new race for themselves. In the 1920s, in Chicago, wealth and privilege were strictly associated with whiteness, which acted as motivation for African-Americans to ‘pass’ in order to gain access to opportunities previously restricted to them. Larsen initially positions the readers to consider Clare’s early struggles in a racial hierarchy, by using a juxtaposition to expose how she was a ‘janitor’s daughter’ and then ‘an unpaid maid of her white aunts, who saw her Blackness as religious justification for mistreatment.” Through this, Larsen immediately establishes a society where ‘white’ is associated with luxury, whilst ‘blackness’ is considered low-status. This juxtaposition critiques the stark inequalities in society and invites the readers to consider the motivations behind Clare’s passing. To compound this, Larsen then shifts to examine a more recent observation of Clare’s life, in which she was seen driving with a white man in a ‘packard limousine, chauffeur in livery, and all that.” The imagery of her lavish lifestyle starkly contrasts to her previous poverty associated with her Black identity, which exposes the way
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Reconnection - Nature
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: Centuries have passed, years have vanished with a flick of a finger. New species have risen from the earth and…
Centuries have passed, years have vanished with a flick of a finger. New species have risen from the earth and ruled it with all their might, and they have fallen on that same earth. Death has come and plucked countless lives, like petals, their memories lost in the air, forever gone.
Yet here I remain.
Untouched by death, void of fear.
You humans are right, water does hold memories. We not only immortalize them, we immortalize them. And today I will pass those memories in hope you humans, the present rulers of earth, with your fancy machines and concrete buildings, have mercy on your mother.
Even water has a home. My home is the ocean. 6.7 billion years ago, I resided in the depths of it. I can still feel its youth, its purity, and innocence. Life had just started booming, and new species started appearing every day. The vibrant corals used to call out to me, 'Come let me cleanse you, come'. Numerous bustled through me, some with psychedelic patterns, others with toned blues and grays. Although they all had tremendous differences, somehow they all lived with unity; every predator, prey, parasite, and plant existed in a fragile balance. It was as though they knew deep down that even a tip of the scale would send us all crashing down. I loved the sea; I was a part of it. When the ocean would rejoice, I would holler up to the heavens; when the ocean would wail over the death of its people, I would shriek in pain. The ocean was me, and I was the ocean.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: “Do I dare disturb the universe?”
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: Title: "Do I dare disturb the universe" monologue “Do I dare disturb the universe?”
Title: "Do I dare disturb the universe" monologue
“Do I dare disturb the universe?”
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: “Do I dare disturb the universe?”
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 65%: “Do I dare disturb the universe?”
“Do I dare disturb the universe?”
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Truman’s journey in the film…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Peter Weir’s 1998 film *The Truman Show* navigates Truman Burbank’s journey towards self discovery as a means to…
Peter Weir’s 1998 film *The Truman Show* navigates Truman Burbank’s journey towards self discovery as a means to highlight the innate human need for an authentic identity. Through the protagonist’s gradual struggle towards grasping the reality of both his circumstances and inner sense of self, Weir necessitates human self actualisation. Situated in the context of rising social surveillance, Truman’s journey communicates the urgent and universal fight against systems that corrupt authenticity. While originally naive, from Truman’s first step into discovery - his first moment as an explorer, his understanding of himself expands exponentially, illustrating the power of the first step in the quest for authenticity. Weir’s semi-dystopian film ultimately demonstrates how in even the most synthetic reality - the human need to understand oneself can still emerge triumphant.
From the outset, Weir constructs the artificial idyll of Seahaven to establish Truman’s manufactured innocence, thereby portraying a truly inauthentic identity which provokes his subsequent journey of self discovery. The first scenes of the film provide context for Truman’s pacified persona; when Christof states that “while the world [Truman] inhabits is… counterfeit, there’s nothing fake about Truman himself”, Weir illustrates the synthetic truth of Truman’s character as a result of extensive manipulation, so much so he is able to live a “genuine…life” in the set of Sea Haven. The camera angle positions Christof as a dominant feature in the frame and, accompanied by his calm demeanour, *The Truman Show* presents Christof as an almost omnipotent power - illustrating the extent which Truman and his reality are fabricated. Furthermore, Truman’s iconic line “Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon good evening and good night”, seemingly a representation of his character, is emblematic of the degree of control Christof holds over Truman’s persona, where even the most nuanced details in his life are programmed. The symmetrical and oversaturated mise en scene and set design of Sea Haven establish an illusion disguised as perfection - one which sedates any notion of curiosity. Capitalising on American Television stereotypes, Weir constructs a compelling world in which Truman’s simplistic identity is explained by ubiquitous, oppressive control - demonstrating the inhuman nature of concealing authentic identity through the progression of the film.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Stand out! Do I dare disturb the universe
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: The first second after the candle is lit. A child is born. His family rejoices. The candle flickers with a…
The first second after the candle is lit. A child is born. His family rejoices. The candle flickers with a warmth and a brightness that could illuminate even the darkest of rooms. His first words. The candle burns brighter. His first steps. The candle burns brighter. For the first second in his 5 second life, he seems unstoppable. Filled with ambitions, dreams, and a desire to stand out, the candle sends out blazing sparks, spitting with happiness and delight.
The second second after the candle is lit. The child matures. His family reassures. The candle flickers less brazenly now, no more stable. Its ambitions have been fed a dose of reality. His dreams of ruling as a king over a distant kingdom or a knight slaying a ferocious dragon have been extinguished. The candle burns at a steady rate. He tries to appease everyone, sometimes failing. Now a young adult, the child begins to stress. He ponders and daydreams of philosophical questions that would have once flown over his head. He becomes preoccupied, distant, and yet, determined. The air is thick, choking him with the smoke, the burdens, of everything he’s failed to change. His hands hover, and for a heartbeat, he hesitates. For the first time, he does not wait for permission. He stands out.