VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: The Art Of Becoming Me Stimuli…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 77.5%: Growing up, talking in Somali was the norm in our household. Since my parents immigrated to this country deep…
Growing up, talking in Somali was the norm in our household. Since my parents immigrated to this country deep into their adult years, they only ever learnt English through regular life experiences. My Aabo (dad), due to his job as a taxi driver and meeting new people everyday, was able to pick up on the language much quicker in comparison to my Hooyo, whose only exposure to practice her English was through going to Aldi, going to the doctors and picking my brothers and I from kindergarten. So naturally, my parents always spoke to my brothers and I in Somali, as it was easier for them and also helped us learn our mother tongue, even if we speak it in an obvious Australian accent that gets us made fun of anytime we call our family from back home. It was until I started school where I found out that identifying yourself as Somali is not linear, like at all.
Journey of Discovery
Within my family, my parents were never exactly patriotic about being Somali. As we lived in a very Somali populated area, it was as if there was no need to vocalize being Somali since everyone was. It was until I entered school that I was exposed to Somalis that came from different cities and different dialects. I quickly learnt that I was a Lander, slang for someone who is from Somaliland. From then on, I began my research on these so called ‘separate countries’ and found out where in Somalia or whatever I'm from.
My research first began with my Hooyo, asking her where she was born, determined to better understand why this invisible, unspoken divide existed within our people.
“Waxaan ku dhashay miyiga, waxaan la noolaa waalidkay iyo walaalahay ilaa ilaa aan lix sano jira”
My Somali still being ridiculously weak, meant that I was only able to pick up on some words and had to piece the sentence together which overall said that my Hooyo was born in the countryside, living with her parents and siblings.
“Kadib in aan la galo habaryartay oo deganayd Hargeisa”
This one was a bit easier to understand as a child since it was words I was familiar with up until the last unknown location. My Hooyo had to move in with her auntie that lived in Hargeisa.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Protests Framework, "A Better Tomorrow"
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 65%: A Better Tomorrow: Action over Hope The sound of the shattering glass reverberated off the walls and hit my…
A Better Tomorrow: Action over Hope
The sound of the shattering glass reverberated off the walls and hit my ears. It was then replaced by the thundering of my heart. “You ungrateful brat! The simplest thing you cannot do! You better hope you do what I ask tomorrow right.”He barked at me accusingly.
Heavy footsteps recede from my position on the floor and I hear a distant door slam. With trembling hands, I sit up straighter to view the horrors inflicted on the living room.
The coffee table was upended with strewn papers everywhere, pillows and blankets disheveled upon a displaced lounge and laying on the floor, the root of such an outburst from my father, the discarded grocery bag I offered that did not contain what he most craved, his precious liquor.
My father used to smell of pine and soap. In his most recent years, a potent sour scent has replaced all familiarity. One glass on the weekend morphed into multiple glasses during the weekdays, arriving home from work in fits of rage and demanding his stimulant immediately.
Rehabilitation became unattainable. Somehow, he is able to hide his addictive behaviours from the outside world so well that only I am privy to his actions.
His fury silences my desperations to speak out, instilling fear that prevents me from raising my voice about the honesty and truth surrounding my violent environment. Truthfully, I do not believe that even rehabilitation may save my father.
It insinuates that there is hope for them once they return from their recovery, a hope that yearns for them to choose a better tomorrow without reliance on their addictions.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "We are going to be very happy".…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 70%: Shirley Jacksons 1962 gothic fictional novel 'We have always lived in the castle' is a wide depiction of how…
Shirley Jacksons 1962 gothic fictional novel 'We have always lived in the castle' is a wide depiction of how individuals battle their personal struggles to ultimately liberate themselves. The novel communicates that Merricat and Constance do achieve their freedom in some aspects. While Jackson showcases how individuals escape patriarchal control, and vilify prejudice, in some respects, she emphasises how some individuals remain entrapped in their gender roles.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: finding your way
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 85%: The sterile tang of alcohol pressed into my lungs. My eyes yearned to close, yet the fluorescent lights carved…
The sterile tang of alcohol pressed into my lungs. My eyes yearned to close, yet the fluorescent lights carved through the hospital’s silence. Beyond the white glare, I longed only for stillness—sleep, or something close to it.
I had worked three shifts in a row; the weight of other people’s pain had seeped into my bones. Still, I stayed. It was easier to watch lives restart than to face my own that had stopped long ago.
I began to sink into the pool of thoughts which flooded my mind.
Then—footsteps. Faint. Uncertain.
A tug on my sleeve. Beneath me stood a child, a little girl. Her emerald eyes met mine, wide and unblinking. My reflection swam within them.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I prodded, my voice hollow with fatigue.
My words were met with silence. I clasped her hands, their fragility startled me. Her palms, muddled by dust were littered with blisters and bruises.
I then felt a slight tingle race through my body, goosebumps appeared on my skin, as the cold touch of her luminous bracelet brushed against my skin. I stared at it more closely, it was a Kara. It's touch was one I was not obscure to, but one that had rather disappeared from my life in the past few years, along with the remainder of Sikhi, I once carried. When my father abandoned me, so had Sikhi.
I guided her towards the children’s ward. The corridors pulsed with cries and distant sirens. “The nurse will look after you,” I assured, turning away.
But her grip tightened. Her silence pleaded. I resigned to her non-lexical pleas. “What’s your name?”
“Manat,” she whispered, her silvery voice laced with pride.
Her parents? She didn’t know. Only that “Papa told me hospitals help people,” and that she was to find a Sikh, as they would help her. Something inside me cracked. I directed my gaze towards her Kara, before guiltily shifting my attention at my own naked wrist. It had been stripped of what I once considered an honour, the role of being a Sikh.
Her knee infested with cuts and grazes, caught my eye. I crouched parallel to her, dressing her wounds, though the pain I could not bind.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Sunset Boulevard’ represents a…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Wilder’s 1949 film noir melodrama ‘Sunset Boulevard’ is an insight into Hollywood’s illusory nature in the…
Wilder’s 1949 film noir melodrama ‘Sunset Boulevard’ is an insight into Hollywood’s illusory nature in the post-war era, presenting the ‘dream factory' as an industry that sells aspiration, yet discards many of its participants as soon as they are no longer crucial to the industry. Despite Hollywood presenting itself as a place of limitless opportunity and creative nourishment and freedom, Wilder exposes the darker realities it holds, with the fragility of fame, the exploitation within its power structures, and the emotional and personal destruction it leaves behind.
Wilder contrasts Betty’s hopeful ambition in Hollywood with Norma’s tragic decline and loss of identity to emphasise the cost and eventual outcome of dedicating yourself to a destructive and unforgiving industry. Expectations held for those entering the competitive film industry were highly unrealistic. However, Betty’s eagerness to make her way into writing resulted in her acceptance of these standards and altering her appearance. Betty’s nose job serves as a symbol of the alterations one must make to conform to Hollywood’s perfect image. This dramatic modification was a result of the pressures the industry maintains, and Betty knew it was her only option if she wanted to progress, as she "[doesn't] want to be a reader [her] whole life, [she] wants to write”. Betty approaches the discussion with Joe of how she “fixed” her nose with a nonchalant tone, casually eating an apple; distributing her attention and adding to her air of detachment from the issue as she tells her experience of Hollywood rejection conversationally. Betty’s experience is an observation on Hollywood’s impossibly high expectations on the appearance of the people within its industry. By contrast, Norma is a direct example of the effects that Hollywood can have on a person’s mental wellbeing. Norma’s state of delusion as she believes that “[she] is big, it's the pictures that got small” is a direct illustration of the impact the industry has on a person’s identity. As Norma expresses this belief about the film industry, the shot centres her face close up, with an undercurrent of suspenseful and ominous music (what makes the music ominous - particular sound, instrument etc.) playing in the background as she speaks with dramatic emphasis, as if she is acting for a camera; an audience. This acts as a symbol of Norma’s inability to let go of her past as a silent film actress. (what is her identity now- how has affected her life/what are the consequences) Both Norma and Betty are representations of what Hollywood’s ‘dream factory’ truly brings out in a person, unable to create perfect pictures for its audience without darkly impacting those involved, and whether they can accept the harsh realities of the industry is up to the person.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: the making of me
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 92.5%: Echo- Sada Some journeys leave footprints in the sand. Mine left echoes in silence, written not on roads but…
Echo- Sada
Some journeys leave footprints in the sand. Mine left echoes in silence, written not on roads but in the pauses
between verses, in the quiet tug of war within my chest.
From the beginning, each moment, stumble, pause, triumph, was quietly contributing to the shaping of myself.
Every forgotten verse, every silent struggle, became part of the slow architecture of my growth.
The first time I forgot an ayah (a verse from the Qur’an), I was standing in prayer, my voice faltering under the
weight of a hundred expectant eyes. I opened my mouth, but nothing came. My heart sank.
The mosque’s walls seemed to close in, heavy with silence. I wanted to disappear. [Expand a bit on the struggle in
the moment]
A single word from behind guided me forward; a lifeline in stormy waters. Later that night, my dad gently said,
“We build. Allah completes.
”
Even failure, he reminded me, was a brick. Each brick, each echo, was another layer in the unfolding of who I am.
Struggle – Mujāhadah
When I began memorising the Qur’an, I imagined a marathon: long, tough, but straightforward. Instead, it was
mujāhadah, a battle against my own distractions, doubt, and exhaustion. Some nights, verses flowed like rivers.
Other nights, they vanished like footprints washed from the shore.
This struggle became the chisel shaping my inner self. Each repeated line, each late-night review, each faltering step
contributed to the slow building of my identity. The effort itself was as vital as the memorisation; it was shaping not
just memory, but the weaving of myself.
Balance – Tawāzun
Tawāzun, balance, became my tightrope. Schoolwork, family, friendships, they pulled at me from all directions.
Some days I moved like a juggler in rhythm; others, a plate-spinner always one step behind.
I was the student revising past midnight, the brother who missed dinner, the friend who said no. Yet this constant
juggling was part of the ongoing formation of myself. My mum would softly remind me,
“You can’t carry every burden at once,
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: It is the resistance to his own fate that…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: The Greek Tragedy, 'Oedipus the King', first performed in 429 BCE in Athens and crafted by playwright Sophocles,…
The Greek Tragedy, 'Oedipus the King', first performed in 429 BCE in Athens and crafted by playwright Sophocles, Oedipus the King explores the moral questions surrounding individual freewill and preordained fate. Written in the Golden Age of Athens, which saw Athenians as the embodiment of civilisation, eudaimonia (cohesive society) and arête (moral excellence), Sophocles uses theatrical conventions like the Chorus and Oedipus as an allegory for Athenian excellence, to educate the Athenian audience on leadership and its complications. However, human responsibility or choices made in the face of divine intervention, prompts the audience to reflect on Bernard Knox's comments regarding "ethical dimensions for moral responsibility." In doing so, the play suggests Oedipus' downfall is not just bound by his futile attempt to escape his predetermined fate, but his abhorrent and hubristic actions which contributes to his fall from "greatest of men" to become the human embodiment of the "source of corruption." Thereby, Sophocles invites his Athenian audience to acknowledge the importance of humility and cautions against the "tragic consequences of hubris."
Sophocles outlines the powerful warning to Athenian and modern audiences exposing Oedipus' self-serving agendas, the paradox of attempting to resist fate and challenge destiny can ultimately lead to the fulfillment of it, causing a once intelligent riddle solver to be unable to solve the riddle of his own life. Oedipus' excessive pride, ignorance and arrogance is exhibited in the early stages of the play which contributed to his dismissive nature of his fate. Sophocles' meticulous precision shapes the narratives progression through structural conventions, contrasting the prologue with the exodus establishing the stakes and foreshadowing the tragic advents for Oedipus. Once the "greatest of men," described in stage directions as "majestic" to reflect his power and reverence of people, juxtaposed to reveal his downfall to a blind man who's committed a "catalogue of horrors." The magnitude of Oedipus' downfall portrayed as a "visual and emotional spectacle" according to academic Dr Helene Foley, thereby creating a cathartic experience through fear in the audience regarding the dangers of human capacity for hamartia. Oedipus' knowledge of his prophecies inflicts his tragic fall as it prompts him to act upon his preordained fate. His hubris blinds him of his freewill actions fulfilling his prophecies. The resistance to his own fate can be seen when "the greatest of men's" hubris results in an incapacity to confront the horrifying truth, dismissing Tiresias' visions as "filth" and "absurdities" Sophocles creates this narrative that Oedipus' boastful nature and hubris contributes to his metaphorical blindness as the "best of men" for "solving riddles" mocks and criticises Tiresias for the riddle of his life as "murk." Consequently, Sophocles utilises the motif of sight and blindness acting as a warning of unchecked ambition creating moral blindness and ignorance for the truth. This prompts the audience to question that a resistance to fate can be compounded by the notion of true insight as Oedipus' hamartia creates a barrier between what he can and can't control, affecting his judgement.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: To what extent does Sunset Boulevard…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: The 1950 American melodramatic film noir 'Sunset Boulevard' explores the dominance of power and how it is…
The 1950 American melodramatic film noir 'Sunset Boulevard' explores the dominance of power and how it is expressed upon others for personal gain. Billy Wilder illustrates that 'Sunset Boulevard' criticises a world of exploitation where individuals seek advantages to fill holes in their lives. Norma Desmond subconsciously aspires to return to relevancy and manipulates Joe to fullfill her needs of whom also exploits Norma for financial stability. Although the film challenges the practice of individuals extorting others, Wilder critiques Hollywood as the superior entity of manipulation.
Wilder exposes the harsh truths of extorting desperate individuals from a position of power. Norma Desmond a former silent film star has become out of favour of a pragmatic industry prioritising youth. She is presented with Joe Gillis to writes her script of her acting as Salome, where she demands to "put it back". Wilder highlights Norma as a vindictive woman manipulating Joe to carry out her work to get back into Hollywood. The framing of Joe inferior to Norma paints an image of power, where Norma dominates and extorts Joe for editing her script. Wilder reveals that Hollywood is a system of exploitation leaving stars desperate for a return that they use others. The chilling final scene exposes the consequences of manipulating others as Norma is stuck living in the past, mistaking her arrest for a "close up". Wilder critiques Norma for exploiting Joe to return to relevancy as she is succumbing to the camera lense that created her career. The use of blur to Norma demonstrates illusion taking over her life, fulfilling the ultimate critique of others as Norma completely loses herself. Wilder underlines that Hollywood destroys individuals that exploit others for their own personal gain.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Protest Framework
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: Now is the time we raise our voices. Now is the time we speak not just for ourselves, but for those who can…
Now is the time we raise our voices. Now is the time we speak not just for ourselves, but for those who can no longer do so. Now is the time to call for justice for the lives already lost.
My name is Justin Pham. At just seventeen years old, I should be thinking about school, friends, or my future. Instead, I am here, standing before you at this council meeting, forced to ask: Is another protest truly the way forward? Is this method actually going to create benefit, or are we simply perpetuating a cycle of violence and harm?
Protest is powerful. Protest is necessary. Protest is a human right. Without protest, there would be no civil rights movement in America, no women’s suffrage in Australia, no progress for the LGBTQ+ community. It gives voice to the voiceless, strength to the oppressed, and ensures that no injustice goes unchallenged.
Yet, despite living in a society where freedom of speech is praised and celebrated, the unfortunate reality is that when our voices become too loud, too invasive, too prominent, they get destroyed. And when that happens, it is humanity that suffers.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Women’s rights (protest framework)
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: The Rising of Her Voice (protest framework) In the quiet dawn of every age, before the laws were written and…
The Rising of Her Voice (protest framework)
In the quiet dawn of every age, before the laws were written and the ink of justice dried, there was a woman who whispered no.
No to silence.
No to invisibility.
No to the belief that her worth began and ended with obedience.
Her voice, though small at first, trembled through time. It echoed in the footsteps of those who marched with banners held high and in the trembling hands that signed petitions beneath flickering lamplight. It echoed in classrooms, courtrooms, and kitchens—anywhere a woman dared to demand more than what the world told her she could have.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In flames, Robbie arnott express that…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: "A man couldn't hunt it alone, and a seal couldn't either, but together they could kill a beast twice as heavy as…
"A man couldn't hunt it alone, and a seal couldn't either, but together they could kill a beast twice as heavy as the two of them combined." Flames suggests that for humans to succeed they must cooperate with nature. Discuss.
In his magical realism novel 'Flames', following the journey of the McAllister family in the Tasmanian landscape and weaving themes of relationships, family and grief, Robbie Arnott underscores how that individuals who cooperate with and embrace their connection to their surrounding may lead transformed purposeful lives. Through the use of personification of nature and a fragmented narrative structure, Arnott portrays nature as an all powerful force with the ability to shape lives and journeys and complements this notion by asserting that humans who cooperate with nature may find purpose and success. Nonetheless, Arnott affirms that one may also find success by cooperating and embracing those around them, and as such, suggests that cooperating and an openess to ones environment and surrounding are essential for success.
Throughout his novel 'Flames', Arnott depicts the natural environment as an all powerful force, and asserts its ability to shape ones outcomes and journeys as it wishes. Arnott supports this notion through his personification of nature. Arnott employs a combination of both personification - giving forces
that would normally remain the ability to "thrive," and "act upon their desires" - and Deification - attributing titles such as "gods" and "glorious" to their killers - in order to explore their power over humans, which in the real world, remains hidden. By shedding a light on these forces of nature, Arnott attempts to convey their powerful influence over humanity. Arnott expresses how if only the esk could "jump and spit his life onto the charred boardwalk," or even "drown humans in the gorges," and thereby seeks to demonstrate the immense influence and power nature possesses, often unrecognized by humans. Moreover, through his use of deification when referring to the characters of nature he asserts their inherent moral superiority and authority over humans. Arnott further supports this notion through the "grotesque" outcomes of those who attempted to dominate nature, a third person perspective in the chapter, 'cake.' Arnott exposes Thursten to be a "mean spirited man" who was "unpleasant and vile" towards his surroundings. Here, he seeks to provide an insight into Thursten's character, and shed a light on his treatment of his surroundings. Arnott extends this idea by lighting Thursten's desire to create vindicative justice upon nature, as he suggests to "poison the HE river," for his own personal gain. This evokes a sense of poetic justice when serving Thursten with a punishment deserving of his actions, "being besieged in [his] own home by the denizens of the river," condemning him and
and as he dies alone holding onto the fur of the god, with his body 'ripped and chewed off'.
However, without fail, Arnott lays bare how nature is not a force that can be toyed with, and poses the consequences of such attempts.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Discuss the interplay between wealth and…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 62.5%: Sarah Moss' Ghost Wall revolves around a modern-day re-enactment of Iron Age Britain, and involves themes of…
Sarah Moss' Ghost Wall revolves around a modern-day re-enactment of Iron Age Britain, and involves themes of power, gender, and violence. With the novel, Moss demonstrates that clashes between the wealthy and impoverished may result in a fight for control, but also have the potential to be a source of strength for both parties. Firstly, Ghost Wall highlights that conflicts may arise between two equals with financial differences. Additionally, Moss suggests that, in some cases, such differences may be enlightening. Finally, Ghost Wall outlines the stark differences that individuals of a different financial status may have and the effect that this may have on their interactions.
To begin, Moss demonstrates that being wealthy can mean the difference between having control and power over others or not. This is shown in the relationship of Bill Hampton and Professor Jim Slade, and their interactions. Though Bill harbours a passion for ancient British history, he did not have access to a good education in his youth and so, as an adult, is "stuck behind the wheel all day", driving buses. Paired with his wife Alison's position as a supermarket cashier, the Hampton family can be classed as being low-income. In contrast, Professor Slade is a well-off university professor. His family's financial situation is implied when Silvie predicts that they are "off somewhere nice... France or Italy". The difference in wealth is a source of contention between Bill and the Professor, as they 'butt heads' during the re-enactment. This is highlighted by Moss in an argument between the two men; Bill's sense of nationalism is shown when he suggests that the British "put the wind up" the Romans, but when Slade argues that "the Wall was much more of a symbol than a military necessity", Silvie notes that Bill's "face darkened". With this, Moss suggests that Bill is both jealous of the Professor's position at a university as well as being set in his own interpretations of the past. This is solidified again in Ghost Wall when Silvie states that Bill "knew as much as anyone". Additionally, this statement implies that it was only because of Bill's class that he himself was not in Professor Slade's position. In all, Moss is suggesting with the parallels and differences between the two men that one's financial situation can determine the course of one's life and the extent of their control, including that over others.
Alongside this, Ghost Wall also demonstrates that financial differences between two individuals may be a source of
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: play to win?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 67.5%: PLAY TO WIN? I was 4 years old when my father came back from the office with a special gift a soccer ball. I…
PLAY TO WIN?
I was 4 years old when my father came back from the office with a special gift a soccer ball. I can still remember the industrial plastic-like odor, the wrinkled texture of the stars pattern, the subtle weight and the irresistible urge to play with it.
That small sphere of fun quickly became my obsession, my one and only priority, my world. Me and my dad would often take the train to the park and play till night time, and go back home to a tasty home cooked meal. This was my life for a couple years, but it all changed the exact moment I turned 7.
I had already shown incredible tenacity during the last couple months in my request to be signed up to a team, but that 25th of march I finally succeeded and got signed up to Cobras FC, a local spanish club. The first, in all honesty, was a reality check.
You see, I had acquired my inflated ego as I usually practiced with my dad, and it is safe to say he is a below average player, even if his love for the game is extreme. But when I got there, suddenly everything was frightening. I saw the level of the players, the constant screams, and the impressive infrastructure, and my legs suddenly became weak.
"Don't worry Pablo, you're the best here" said my father, with a warm tone that seemed to be enough to warm my mood as well as my extremities, which had gone cold from my previous state of shock. We quickly warmed up, and moved on to a rondo, but my feet felt discoordinated, and my legs felt like they belonged to someone else. I had to do something about this, and quickly! There and then, I pictured the old park, with its rusty goals, its broken nets, and my dad with a huge smile, and I knew the suffering was over. I felt like my legs were back, and my game IQ and agility seemed to resuscitate. the rest of the session was a sucess, and I was offered to stay for the season, an offer
that I accepted instantly.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Stimulus 1: "Our Duty" Stimulus 2: an…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: For as long as I remembered, I would wake up and feel angry. Maybe not initially. There was usually a brief…
For as long as I remembered, I would wake up and feel angry.
Maybe not initially. There was usually a brief moment; an ingenuous calm as my eyes opened to find a sheet of dawning light sprayed across the floorboards. The early heat of the Western Australian sun feels akin to the safe embrace of a lover whilst the claws of lethargy corral me back to the wisps of my dreamstate.
However, this tranquility is short-lived, as the sun always seems to rise behind a chorus of weeping and moaning that slips its way through my bedroom window.
Well, now I'm awake.
Living adjacent to the Yongah Hill detention centre is not a feature regularly searched for on real estate listings. However, the rent is cheap and it's a fair plot of land, a large backyard accompanying a patio that adequately hosts a recently divorced woman and her pack of cigarettes.
And so there I sat, trying to ease the tremble in my hand as I raised another smoke to my lips. I would sit out there every morning, chain smoking and brooding over the ugly, shapeless blocks of infrastructure and the towering chainlink fence, serving as a constant reminder of the illegal whore who seemingly jumped off the boat and into my husband’s bed. I felt as if I was obligated to sit out there and wait to see her brown, gaunt face staring back at me through the rusted links in that fence. I felt as if my sole purpose in life had been reduced to ensuring her incarceration.
The view would be half-nice too if it weren't for the massive pig-pen overshadowing everything. The barren, sandy land would stretch outward into the lining of banksia and eucalyptus, and then eventually spray out into the shoreline. But alas, I am confined to this rickety chair, sentenced to a front-row seat of watching guards herd cattle around their confinement.
But that morning, something was different. Instead of being ushered into a single-file line towards the building I had attributed to their dining hall, the inhabitants advanced out into the courtyard in an almost sporadic manner. Initially, I wasn't concerned about their unusual behaviour. I instead wondered which of the dogs had caused a disruption this time. Was it more gang activity being quelled after a particularly nasty dog fight? Was it another mother being separated from her offspring, howling and whining at the crack of dawn? I wondered why they weren't being punished for this act of defiance. Regardless, they kept coming, progressing toward something I couldn't quite make out from the constraints of my patio, creating a ring of bodies and sweat, circling it like a flock of vultures.
The apparent lack of security guards was beginning to make me feel uneasy. They had a responsibility to ensure security — to keep a leash on these foreigners — not the neighbors.
Hesitantly, I stood up. With a cigarette dancing along my bottom lip, I craned my neck and squinted my eyes, trying to get a good look from above the mob.
As if on cue, guards adorned in SWAT gear emerged from the central building as if rehearsed. They filed out by the dozen, making the escapees appear as sorry as a pack of stray dogs. I watched on, anticipating a lock down, maybe a herding back inside of sorts. Anything but what began to ensue in front of me.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “I like to think that I can keep the world…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: In her protofeminist, gothic text We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson reimagines truth as a tool…
In her protofeminist, gothic text We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson reimagines truth as a tool through which women navigate - and ultimately resist - oppressive structures of gender and power. Within a patriarchal society that isolates and vilifies female autonomy, Merricat and Constance Blackwood manipulate truth to construct a world free from male authority and ostracization. Merricat’s distorted and unreliable narration and superstitious rituals allow her to redefine and challenge truth as something malleable, granting her control over both the physical and moral order of the Blackwood home. Constance, by contrast, sustains this illusion through silence and complicity, embodying the passive femininity society expects of her while quietly subverting it. By rejecting collective “truths” imposed by the outside world, the sisters seize a fragile form of agency - one, which Jackson portrays, as not being built on freedom, but on withdrawal. Jackson thus exposes how women. denied legitimate power in a male dominated society, must reshape truth itself to survive within the confines of gendered oppression.
By rejecting objective truth, Merricat and Constance subvert patriarchal structures that once dictated their moral and social positions, using denial as a form of resistance against male and societal authority and creates female autonomy within the domestic sphere. Jackson’s choice to narrate through Merricat’s limited and unreliable perspective reveals how truth is subjective and malleable. Using narrative structure, Jackson’s allows Merricat to reconstruct reality to suit her own desires. By withholding key information about the family murders and presenting events through her distorted lens, Jackson demonstrates how Merricat exerts psychological and moral control over her environment, ultimately asserting control over that which is objectively out of reach. Through Merricat’s unreliable perspective, truth functions as mode through which the protagonist regains control even in light of ostracisation from the village and the imposed pressure of patriarchy, In the phrase “I like to think that I can keep the world safe in my hands”, her illusion of omnipotence is encapsulated; her belief that she can “keep the world safe “ through thought and ritual reveals how she fabricates a personal truth where she wields absolute power – a symbolic inversion of the control denied to her as a young woman in a patriarchal, violent world. Furthermore, through this, Jackson reveals how the manipulation what is objectively truth, such as that of the nature of reality, can be employed as tool to promote and protect female autonomy particularly in a world which seeks to undermine it. Furthermore, Jackson uses imagery of the isolated and fortified Blackwood estate to show how Merricat and Constance manipulate their environment control reality. The fenced gardens, dense woods, and secluded house reinforce their partially self-imposed separation from the village, symbolising how they construct a private world where female autonomy and authority are preserved. Therefore, Jackson shows that truth when manipulated acts as a prevalent form through which female autonomy is discovered in the face of the patriarchy. However, Jackson emphasises that this denial of reality breeds another mode through which truth is manipulated: Subjective truth.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: framework: play title/ stimulus: time…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: Time to play: If time travel were possible most adults would likely use it to correct their mistakes, to fix…
Time to play:
If time travel were possible most adults would likely use it to correct their mistakes, to fix restore or redo. But children, if handed the same machine would simply amuse themselves with time: leap from past to future, experiment with paradoxes or visit a day twice to see what changes. That difference says something profound. As adults we treat time as a resource to be managed; as children we treat it as a a landscape to explore. Perhaps this is why when responsibilities of adulthood harden around us, we begin to forget how to play. The question then is not whether adults can play, but whether we can afford not to.
On one hand, play is far more than a childhood past time, it is a vital human instinct that continues to shape creativity empathy and well being. Psychologists argue that play fosters cognitive flexibility allowing us to explore possibilities without consequence. In adulthood, it emerges through imaginative risk taking: a scientist testing wild ideas, a designer sketching without a plan, a parent inventing a bedtime story. Play become a kind of mental time travel, a space where we can step outside the strict present and imagine alternative futures. Many workplaces now embrace “creative play” because unstructured thought often produces structured breakthroughs.
However, critics argue that adulthood demands focus and discipline rather than playfulness. Life’s obligations, careers, bills, families, compress time into schedules and deadlines. Within these constraints play can appear frivolous, even irresponsible. To them, maturity means control: replacing whimsy with reliability. Adults, they argue cannot afford to “lose track of time” when there are responsibilities to meet. Play may refresh the spirit, but it doesn’t pay the rent.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does High Ground explore the nature of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Stephen Johnson's 'High Ground' portrays how characters are influenced by responsibility to allow for their…
Stephen Johnson's 'High Ground' portrays how characters are influenced by responsibility to allow for their personal motives to be met. Set in 1930s Arnhem Land, 'High Ground', explores the scathing colonial history in Australia that First Nations people fell victim to. Johnson condemns the influence duty has on colonisers, used to maintain power over the land. Johnson illustrates how commitment has influenced characters to seek justice for their community. Whilst the nature of responsibility had led to the perpetrating of violence, Johnson acknowledges that the responsibility for cultural connection of the land to be strengthened. Johnson hopes that through 'High Ground' audience will be more critical of Australia's colonial past and strive for reconciliation.
Criticising the unnecessary use of violence, Johnson condemns the influence that colonial duty had over the colonisers to utilise deception and violence to maintain power over the land. The film began with the soft chatters of the Yolngu Tribe blending in with the nature filled soundscape, illustrating how First Nations people coexist with the land. The serenity was shattered as harsh gun shots juxtaposes the soundscape. Johnson condemns the colonisers use of violence on the innocent First Nations people, unforgiving and brutal use of violence to prevent their power from being challenged by the First Nations people. The Massacre that followed soon after prompts audience to uncover the true, unforgiving nature of duty the colonisers abided by to allow for their authority over the land to be maintained. Such atrocities commited by the colonisers are hidden by the others, seen through the flipping of the photograph which demonstrates how it is 'the responsibility of those who make history, to record it'. Johnson reflects on how the influence of colonial duty had led to the utilisation of deception so that history will fit the white narrative, actively disregarding the oppression the First Nations people endured. The First Nations people were stripped from their cultural identity, wearing drably westernised clothing and being labelled as 'black bastards' revealing the assimilation and loss of identity of First Nations people - through deception, the unforgiving and violent nature of colonial responsibility has hidden as the photographs showcased how the colonisers and First Nations people side by side, portraying the extent colonisers are willing to go to maintain their power and authority over the land.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: personal journeys
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 92.5%: The wooden bridge behind my house has always been more than a bridge. When I was a child, it seemed enormous…
The wooden bridge behind my house has always been more than a bridge. When I was a child, it seemed enormous — an old, fragile skeleton stretched across the river, its boards cracked and splintered, whispering warnings whenever the wind passed through. I used to stand at the edge, staring at the dark water below, convinced that one wrong step would send me falling. My brother would sprint across, laughing as the planks rattled beneath him, but I always stayed where the dirt was solid. I told myself the bridge couldn’t be trusted. What I really meant was that I couldn’t trust myself.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “Time is a great healer. It just flows on…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Written in 1994 in Japan, Yoko Ogawa’s dystopian novel The Memory Police touches on Japan’s difficult…
Written in 1994 in Japan, Yoko Ogawa’s dystopian novel The Memory Police touches on Japan’s difficult relationship with its wartime past, particularly the censorship and suppression of Japan’s dark history during World War II from the world. While some of the residents appear to accept their fate, the novel reveals that true reconciliation is impossible in a society where memory, identity, and human connections are systematically erased. Though passive acceptance is prevalent due to the threat of state violence, causing most to surrender to the emotional and psychological consequences in the face of a totalitarian government, the novel also explores how free will can prevail through those that retain their memory of what is lost.
Due to the oppressive regime under which the residents live, the constant fear of punishment compels them to reconcile to their fate that is dictated by the memory police. In a society governed by totalitarianism, individuals are conditioned to feel inferior and navigate their lives within the rigid boundaries of a culture that promotes collective forgetting. This sense of fear which lingers within the residents of the island is reinforced via the recurring motif of the memory police, described for standing with “weapons on their hips, faces devoid of expression,” and are known for their brutal acts against those who disobey their orders. Through this visual imagery, the memory police are depicted as emotionless figures that wield all the power and control in the society they operate and constantly monitor, emphasising the notion of surveillance. Adversely, the mere thought of the memory police serves as a continual psychological threat, reminding the residents about the harsh consequences that await anyone who dares to defy authority by preserving what has been erased. This is further expressed through the residents’ fear of “creating a disturbance, of giving the police reason to notice them” if they had complained about the enforcement of the disappearances. As a result, silence becomes a survival mechanism for most residents living in a society where the government will go to any length to censor all traces of what has vanished, allowing humanity to eventually erode in the process. The impact of this fear is exemplified in the residents’ apathetic response to the disappearance of novels, where “no one made a move to extinguish” the flames consuming the books that once held knowledge and meaning. Conditioned by the constant threat of the memory police, the narrator remains silent and is confronted by their fate, allowing a fundamental part of her identity as a writer to be destroyed. The flames and burning of the books thus act as a powerful symbol of the regime’s control, illustrating how authoritarianism suppresses not only resistance, but the human desire to preserve memory, individuality, and truth. Ultimately, the psychological weight rooted in the presence of the memory police causes the residents of the island to submit to a fate shaped by silence, control, and systematic erasure of self.
Consequently, when individuals passively accept their fate, they are forced to endure the erasure of memory, leading to the gradual loss in their human spirit. In the novel, most residents follow the disappearances without protest, exhibiting apathy as they erase all traces of what has vanished. This conformity stems from the fear of the memory police and contributes to a meaningless existence as people begin to forget why those things which have disappeared once mattered. Even though the narrator’s late father was an ornithologist, birds soon disappear and are reduced to “small, winged creatures that occasionally flitted by,” with the narrator admitting they meant “nothing at all to [her] anymore.” The
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "Trevor Noah's journey is shaped more by…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: "Born a Crime" is an autobiography by Trevor Noah on his life in Apartheid. Patricia is the center of Trevor's…
"Born a Crime" is an autobiography by Trevor Noah on his life in Apartheid. Patricia is the center of Trevor's values and is largely the catalyst of the man he becomes. Patricia was instrumental in having moral expectations for Trevor and discipling him when he would escape justice. Trevor's journey models his mothers journey during her early life for a sense of belonging. However Trevor's journey cannot only be attributed to his mother's values and sacrifices but Apartheid had an enormous effect on Trevor's journey and quality of living.
Patricia's moral expectations of Trevor and her discipline of him helped shape his journey and values at his core. Trevor and his friend Teddy were caught shoplifting. Miraculously Trevor escaped justice while his friend Teddy did not. After being let off the hook by the authorities Patricia was the one to discipline Trevor. Trevor learned a valuable lesson, this showed him that just because you can get away with something doesn't mean you should. Trevor learned that due to him being coloured he was socially invisible, this also meant that Apartheid didn't account for him. This led him to get away with many things that his mother had to discipline him for. Trevor grew fearful of his mothers discipline "I was more afraid of my mom than the police". Patricia also had moral expectations of Trevor, desperately trying to not let Apartheid shape him. Through this story Noah demonstrates that his mother was one of his greatest influences as she eloquently instilled discipline and accountability into Trevor which became a staple of his personality. Patricia nursed and helped Trevor gain morals in a system that lacked it. Patricia was determined to not let Apartheid shape Trevor, but her.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Through Oedipus the King, Sophocles…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 92.5%: Throughout the Greek tragedy, Sophocles places the will of the gods upon a pedestal as one that is absolute and…
Throughout the Greek tragedy, Sophocles places the will of the gods upon a pedestal as one that is absolute and unavoidable in the face of human knowledge and contends that going against the Greek pantheon of gods results in one’s ruination. From the inception of the play, the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi’s prophesy that Oedipus would commit patricide and enter an incestuous matrimony with his mother, Jocasta, haunts the Greek tragedy. As a result, the prophecies serve as the primary vehicle for divine will, with their inexorable fulfillment highlighting the limits of human agency. Despite Jocasta's sceptical assertion that "nothing human can penetrate the future," the accuracy of the oracles proves otherwise. The dramatic irony of her claim that "Apollo brought neither thing to pass" underscores the futility of mortal resistance to divine decree. Through the use of nautical imagery, the Chorus illustrates Oedipus as a “good helmsman” who will “steer [them] through the storm”. By depicting him as a navigator of the vessel, Sophocles underscores that he
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘What is the scene’ ‘Where am I’ How does…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 67.5%: Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, set in the 1950’s era where films evolved from the silent era, depicts Hollywood as a…
Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, set in the 1950’s era where films evolved from the silent era, depicts Hollywood as a dream machine of illusion, where not only films are manipulated, people are too. Through the personification of the illusion of Hollywood within characters within the film, Wilder displays the psychological costs of living within a fantasy. Additionally, implying that it is not only the system of Hollywood that traps people in illusions but also other people that can have the same effect. The director utilises unreliable posthumous narration of the protagonist Joe Wilder, along with numerous mise en scene techniques and layered characterisation to present to the viewers Hollywood as a world where illusion is inescapable.
Wilder implies that Hollywood - a place where accomplishment is achieved - is the central heart of illusion where dreams are manufactured and discarded as it pleases. Wilder presents the Paramount backlot as a place that is ‘drowsing in the sun’ to the audience, symbolising a once vibrant scenery of Hollywood that is now lifeless or in other words, the illusion of fame versus reality in Hollywood. This place is presented to society as a place of success and fame where dreams come true. However the reality of the great amounts of struggle daily is quickly revealed, evidenced by the desperation of struggling ‘b-list’ scriptwriter Joe Gillis. This scriptwriter, along with many others seen in Schwab's Pharmacy, and even those who were in power like ex-director Max Von De, were entrapped by the illusion of success in Hollywood and are instead living in a position where even ‘grinding out’ scripts wasn’t enough to escape financial hardship to the point where Gillis considers moving back to Ohio. This displays the harsh reality of Hollywood where struggling citizens were a common sight because only stories that are able to maintain its perceptive illusions like romance films were sold to be produced. The ‘waxworks’ including Norma were characterised as the old and no longer desirable characters of Hollywood as it progressed from the silent era to the era of ‘talkies’, this collective created no profit towards the modernised audience of Hollywood and had their spotlights moved away from them. Hollywood is thereby critiqued to be a system that is set up to create success within individuals, only if it is profitable, leaving others behind on ‘an empty stomach’ manipulating their perception of Hollywood just enough to instill a sense of faith for success. The drowsing lot, a metaphorical expression of Hollywood that underlines that the place where dreams are made is dormant, hinting that those dreams are no longer as easily attainable, blurring the line of fantasy and stardom of Hollywood and its reality.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: How does Rainbows End depict family…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Rainbows End Essay ① How does 'Rainbows End' depict family dynamics and their influence on individuality? The…
Rainbows End Essay ①
How does 'Rainbows End' depict family dynamics and their influence on individuality?
The First Nations' play, 'Rainbows End', by June Harrison follows a family of three indigenous women as they traverse through the difficulties of day-to-day life in an emerging White Society. Set in the 1950s White Australia, a time of deeply entrenched racism and discriminatory policies against First Nations' people, the play explores the idea that families play a significant role in empowering an individual to reach their full potential. This is primarily presented through family dynamics assisting in upholding an individual's to strive higher but also by acting as a pillar of support in moments of. However, the play also delves into the notion that, at times, family structures can also limit an individual in bettering their life circumstances and opening their world view.
An individual's aspiration and dreams stems from their need to improve their families circumstances. Throughout the play, the multiple unique dream sequence presented by Harrison demonstrate the aspirations that drive Gladys to better her family's lives. Near the beginning of the play, Gladys has a dream sequence in which she "sees Dolly in a robe and clapboard hat", driving Gladys to support and motivate Dolly's education which forms an integral aspect of Gladys's personality. Through this, Harrison reveals how the search for betterment in family situations are greatly driven by the an individuals dreams and goals they have towards their family. This is further demonstrated later in the play when Gladys' dreams about a tap that "flows blue jewels in an approximation of water." Gladys's aspiration for her family to have their basic human needs met, despite starting as a dream, motivate her to challenge her timid nature and advocate on behalf of the Indigenous community. Gladys's dreams and consequently her actions allude to the how an individual can overcome their own nature and achieve greater feats through the simple yet deep belief in their family. Therefore, Harrison highlights the significant role family plays in driving an individual to achieve their utmost best.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: sunset boulevard, ‘Sunset Boulevard both…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Billy Wilder’s film Sunset Boulevard set in the post world war era in Hollywood depicts a society where…
Billy Wilder’s film Sunset Boulevard set in the post world war era in Hollywood depicts a society where traditional gender expectations are upheld through various aspects like the unequal opportunities presented to each respective gender. However, it also represents a world where these societal expectations are beginning to be challenged in ways like the dynamic of males and females (e.g. power). Furthermore, through intentional constructive techniques within the film, Wilder shines a negative light on the continued enforcement of traditional gender stereotypes within society.