VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: TITLE: Deeds not words Stimulus 1.…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: Mr. Beckheld never raised his voice. That’s the first thing I noticed. His actions were always restrained, as…
Mr. Beckheld never raised his voice. That’s the first thing I noticed. His actions were always restrained, as if waiting for release. I was only young when we met. Broken, cold, hungry and waiting on his welcome mat beneath exposed brick. He took me in without question, fed me without words, gave me a place to rest without judgement. A mentor. His eyes told more than his mouth could. They told me familiarity, they told me understanding.
Like a father, he gave me parts of the world that were strangers to me: a home, a parent, love. Warmth he made abundant for me, he struggled to allow himself to feel. Until Elise.
Soft-spoken, gentle, kind — those are fractions of how I would describe Elise.
They met at the brink of night that tiptoed into sunset, in an array of waves and sand. Things moved quickly from there, but not rushed. Their relationship grew fast with intention. Before I knew it, Elise was living amongst us, from a stranger to family in a blink. I’d never seen Mr. Beckheld so fulfilled, so free.
He struggled, but he learned what it meant to be loved.
Elise cooked dinner most nights, as Mr. Beckheld always worked late. Under a bright candle flame, we would talk about nothing in particular — school, art, music, aspirations. Elise shone brightly, like a beam of pure light. A considerate one that knew its brightness and dimmed for others’ comfort. The candle flame danced free while she hummed and stirred a pot that coated the room with sweet aroma.
Mr. Beckheld arrived home, hung his jacket on a hook and took off his shoes upon the creaking floorboards. His actions were louder than usual; they felt tired and aggressive to my ears through the hallway. Elise’s stirring slowed as he entered the kitchen and she became more mindful of any sounds she made. Her body stiffened, movements hesitant — I’d never noticed how she shrank when he came home on edge.
I started to take notice more after that. How her pants never went above her ankles. How her sleeves were never short. How quickly she laughed at my mentor's jokes. How her eyes stayed locked on her plate at dinners.
I convinced myself she was shy, but shyness doesn’t shrink a person so completely.
A little while after, I became an adult. Living in my own home now, I still made time to visit daily.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Personal Journeys
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: - When people ask me where I’m from, I need a moment to think. Do I tell them my parents are from Hong Kong, or…
- When people ask me where I’m from, I need a moment to think. Do I tell them my parents are from Hong Kong, or do I tell them I was born here in Australia? Which comes first. Not long ago, the answer would have been clear as day.
- My parents migrated from Hong Kong to Australia in 2005. Every year, we go back to Hong Kong in January. Its school holidays for me and my brother, so it’s easiest to arrange. Every year, it’s a mad rush to the airport because dad thinks time is a myth, and mum’s last minute luggage inspections are agonising.
- When we arrive in Hong Kong, we take the same bus every time to my grandma’s apartment in Sheung Shui. Its small and modest, because she lives alone.
- We ring the doorbell. My mum, my brother and I wait awkwardly. Eventually, she opens the door. “Hi PoPo,” my brother and I say. No smile, no nothing. Just a comment on how skinny I am. She scolds my mum for this.
- Walking in, there is a peculiar scent that I can only describe as incense and cleaning chemical. There’s no living room, just a black leather couch and a circular dining table, one of those that can be pulled out in case of emergency family gatherings. A pillar of Cantonese homes.
- Sprawled beneath the TV are framed photos of Popo’s grandchildren, and a bowl of apples still wrapped individually in their Styrofoam sleeves.
- Besides them, stands a tall orchid in a porcelain vase, inscribed with Chinese characters I can’t read. Each petal is an abstract dotted pink, which fades into a soft white towards the edges. It bears the weight of unwanted attention, which seems to intrude the humble space of Popo’s home.
The afternoon goes by quickly. Unpacking the suitcase feels routine, like retracing steps I’ve taken before—shirts folded neatly into Popo’s drawers, toiletries lined up in the bathroom.
- But as dark clouds begin to smother the sky, like cotton pads dressing a wound, the anticipation of evening ceases, and in its place, comes the ritual of dinner.
- The Yum Cha restaurant should feel familiar, but I feel nothing but dread.
- The elevator doors open onto the fourth floor, and I brace myself for the press of voices that will rush at me like a toccata- impossible to keep up with unless you already know the notes. Inside, the interior is deceptively spacious- at least 50 tables packed like mosaic. It takes practise to walk to your table without knocking an auntie’s purse or an uncle’s walking stick. The trick is to turn your hips and shuffle sideways, although easier said than done. We’ve booked 2 tables, 24 seats in total. I choose the one with the most direct line of sight to the TV.
- The rest of the seats are filled by people I don’t recognise. It’s awkward sitting with strangers, though Mum claims we know them.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘Sunset Boulevard reveals the destructive…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder, is a 1950s noir melodrama that investigates how the popularity of the…
Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder, is a 1950s noir melodrama that
investigates how the popularity of the Hollywood film industry encouraged a
social fixation on the glory of celebrity. Throughout the film, Wilder explores
the nuances of success and fame, sometimes pitting the two qualities against
each other. Sunset Boulevard demonstrates that striving for career success
can have both positive and negative outcomes; however, it suggests that
those who are swept up in Hollywood’s preoccupation with fame will almost
always experience negative consequences. Furthermore, the film interrogates
the role of the audience in this destruction, insinuating that audiences
perpetuate Hollywood’s obsession with fame through an intense fascination
with gossip and scandal, in a way that conceals its true costs.
Wilder uses the character of Joe Gillis to warn the audience about the
harmful effects of self-interest and an obsession with success. At the
beginning of the film, Joe, a struggling screenwriter, devises ‘a little plot’,
lying that Norma’s ‘silly hodgepodge’ script is ‘fascinating’ so she will
hire him as an editor. This suggests that Joe’s self-interest has destructive
implications, as he is willing to indulge Norma’s self-delusion in order to
gain money and eventual success, even though the relationship he establishes
with Norma is founded on dishonesty. Wilder also uses the ‘dead monkey
upstairs’ as a symbol of Joe’s impending doom. When Joe refers to the
monkey as Norma’s ‘only child’ and ponders the emptiness of Norma’s life, he
acknowledges that the monkey was a wild animal that had been kept locked
in the house as a pet – a plaything for Norma. As Joe watches over ‘the last
rites for that hairy old chimp’, the close-up shot of Joe’s face, framed by the
blinds and the bars of the window frame, implies a sense of confinement,
signalling to the audience that it is now Joe who is trapped in the house.
Wilder’s implicit comparison between Joe and the monkey can be seen as
a warning to the audience that Joe’s desire to get ahead could lead to him
sharing the monkey’s fate. The characterisation of Joe, and his character arc,
demonstrate that ambition and selfishness can be disastrous for an individual
and their relationships.
However, the film does not always show ambition and a desire for success
to be wholly negative. In particular, it juxtaposes Joe’s self-interest with the
characterisation of Betty Schaefer, an aspiring writer who has ‘not once’
wished for fame, and who ultimately views success as writing ‘true’ and
‘moving’ screenplays. Betty’s emphasis on creating work that holds its value
contrasts with Joe’s choice to work on Norma’s ‘idiotic script’ for short-term
gain; Betty’s ambition is presented as being more admirable than Joe’s. Near
the end of the film, Joe recognises the potential in Betty’s ambition and Analytical
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Jackson’s novel suggests women must choose…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: From the outset, Jackson exposes conformity as a coercive force, suggesting that women are denied genuine choice…
From the outset, Jackson exposes conformity as a coercive force, suggesting that women are denied genuine choice and instead are pushed towards submission or madness. Merricat immediately establishes the families profound isolation, noting that “the people of the village have always hated” the Blackwoods, exposing the mutual rejection between both groups. Furthermore, Merricat's reduction of the villagers to just ordinary ‘people’ holds negative connotations, as it strips them of their identity and individuality, highlighting her complete and utter rejection of reintegration with society. This rejection of the villagers illustrates a defiance of the patriarchal, collective behaviour thrust upon her. Through this, Jackson condemns how this mob mentality, demonstrated by the villagers and individuals in 1960s Vermont, is a degrading force which drives women to succumb to conformity. Moreover, upon visiting the town for necessities, Merricat recalls hearing a “horrified little laugh” behind her. Jackson highlights both the villagers' amusement
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In my brilliant career characters have…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Written during a time of nation building, patriarchal dominance and emerging feminism, Miles Franklin’s “truly…
Written during a time of nation building, patriarchal dominance and emerging feminism, Miles Franklin’s “truly Australian” novel, MBC explores the tensions between individual desires and social constraints. Written against the backdrop of a drought-stricken Australia, Franklin highlights the lack of control those in poverty have over their circumstances, critiquing the emergence of a class division in a changing Australia. Challenging the dominant patriarchal society of the period which oppresses and limits women's self-expression and agency, Franklin advocates for a society which enables women the right to choose their own destiny. In doing so, she defies social conventions which demand women marry and forfeit their independence. However, through the stubborn refusal of her protagonist Sybylla to submit to convention the “yarn” itself is a testament to the capacity of an individual to choose their own destiny, even if she is “only a- woman!”
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In “Oedipus the King.” Sophocles warns…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Sophocles’s Greek Tragedy play, Oedipus the King, was written and performed around 429 BCE, in the “Golden Age”…
Sophocles’s Greek Tragedy play, Oedipus the King, was written and performed around 429 BCE, in the “Golden Age” of Athens, a time of democracy and intellectual development. Sophocles explores the central themes of fate versus freewill, truth and knowledge and the consequences of human flaws. Throughout the play, the audience is warned about the dangers of our flaws. Sophocles’ exposure of personal flaws in “Oedipus the King” determines that hubris, ignorance and anger can be detrimental, however can also imply positive qualities in individuals. The play navigates the development of these flaws, the shortcomings they bring upon characters and the impacts of these flaws on relationships in the play. Therefore, serving as a warning to audiences about the dangers of our personal flaws.
Sophocles critically exposes how pride, anger and ignorance are not only flaws but also inherently dangerous qualities. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus’ pride is immediately communicated to the audience as he presents himself by the “world know[ing] [his] fame” before declaring himself to be “Oedipus.” He believes that his reputation precedes him, not requiring him to even say his name, demonstrating his hamartia of overconfidence and his inflated sense of authority. Oedipus considers himself to be one with the Gods, telling the commonfolk to “let me grant your prayers.” His pride and self-belief cause him to be relentless till he finds the “murderers of Laius,”, demonstrating his loyalty to the people of Thebes, even if it leads him to his own downfall. Oedipus’ pride interrelates with his anger and ignorance, as he is unable to accept Tiresias’ riddles and that he “is the man [he] hunts.” Instead of understanding Tiresias, Oedipus’ anger rears him to curse Tiresias as a “scum of the earth,” which fuels’ Oedipus’ ignorance and inability to listen to Tiresias because of his pride. Tiresias deems that Oedipus’ “precious eyes” are “blind to the corruption of [his] life. Sophocles juxtaposes Oedipus's "precious eyes" which can physically see with his “blindness” to the “corruption,” in his life. Oedipus’ ignorance causes him to be unaware to the visible truth, unlike a blind Teiresias who is blind who "sees" Oedipus's future, further foreshadowing his future of physically self-inflicted literal blindness. Sophocles’ sharp contrast between Oedipus’ human ignorance and Teiresia’s divine wisdom reinforces Greek culture which has weighted emphasis on the divine and prophetic following which humans like Oedipus often rejected. Through Oedipus’ pride, anger and ignorance, Sophocles exhibits the dangers of these flaws in ultimately shaping fates and being profoundly detrimental to the futures of individuals.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'Gladys and Dolly are torn between the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Set in 1950s Victoria, Jane Harrison's "Rainbow's End" follows the lives of three generations of Aboriginal women…
Set in 1950s Victoria, Jane Harrison's "Rainbow's End" follows the lives of three generations of Aboriginal women who each deal with their own challenges as they navigate the division between white Australia and Indigenous Australia, in the face of racism, systemic injustice, and community. Throughout the play, Harrison challenges this notion of a divide existing between white and Indigenous Australians, and instead shows a possibility of empowerment that can arise through her character's development and theatrical symbolism.
Glady's political activism allows her to reclaim agency over her cultural heritage. Harrison first portrays Gladys as a dreamer, clinging to her desire to be accepted as an Indigenous woman in white society. "Instead of being formal, the Queen pulls her into a hug", Harrison's theatrical connventions of "dream sequences", she portray Gladys as being acknowledged and to be seen at the same societal value as a white person. Which is quickly shut down with the bitter reality that is labelled by Harrison, "The lights come back to reality" of the racist views and values white society has pressed upon Aboriginal communities. This usage of dream sequences requires audiences to understand the stark contrast between reality and the dream that Harrison is portraying in Indigenous communities. The transition from Glady's being a dreamer to becoming an activist in her own community, "We demand the right to control our own destiny", allows for empowerment to arise. As she confronts the systemic oppression faced by her community, she shifts from her desire to be valued by white society to taking pride in her Indigenous heritage, through her address to the Queen in her speech ------ "We request... no, we don't…” from accepting the racist views Aborginals face, to challenging this opression, “we demand to be heard". Harrison demonstrates how a reclaim of one's agency can occur in an environment and time where it is torn apart.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset boulevard demonstrates that fame…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Billy Wilders Sunset Boulevard provides a scathing critique of Hollwood’s deceptive promises of fame, exposing the…
Billy Wilders Sunset Boulevard provides a scathing critique of Hollwood’s deceptive promises of fame, exposing the excessive physical and moral sacrifice required to obtain fame, Created in the aftermath of WW2 and influenced by German expressionism and film noir Wilder presents fame as a seductive trap that traps, exploits and destroys individuals that pursue it. Through character arcs such as Joe Gillis’s moral collapse and eventual demise to Norma Desmond’s psychotic breakdown and Mox Von Mayerling’s obsessive loyalty Wilder depicts Hollwood’s promise of fame leading to success and validation as an intoxicating force that strips individuals of their autonomy and identity. Sunset Boulevard serves not only a critique of fames illusionary promises but as cautionary tale for all who seek external validation at the cost of ones moral integrity.
Wilder constructs Hollywood as a decaying dreamscape where success is not born of artistic integrity but extracted through the sacrifice of morality and individuality. Hollywood is positioned as a relentless machine commodifying people into consumable images exploiting them while profitable and then ruthlessly discarding them. Joe Gillis’s rejection by Sheldrake who sneers that “that’s last year’s story” epitomises the industry’s obsession with novelty and disposability stripping away the façade of Hollywood as a site of originality. In this moment Wilder dismantles the illusion of meritocracy exposing instead a system driven by profit that punishes those who refuse to compromise. Joe’s furious claim that “audiences don’t know that someone sits down and writes a picture” foregrounds Hollywood’s disdain for artistry while implicating audiences themselves as complicit in sustaining its superficial culture. Through cumulative listing and appeals to injustice Wilder emphasises the systemic nature of this corruption. Symbolism reinforces the critique as Joe’s car functions as a recurring motif of his autonomy and identity with his desperate line “if I lose my car it’s like having my legs cut off” equating material possession with survival in a world that erodes individuality. The repossession of the car visually marks the beginning of Joe’s downfall and foreshadows his entrapment. Norma’s mansion similarly operates as a grotesque metaphor for Hollywood’s materialism. When Norma proclaims “I am big it’s the pictures that got small” Wilder amplifies her delusion through a low angle shot drenched in chiaroscuro lighting an unmistakable borrowing from German Expressionism which visually exaggerates her grandeur while simultaneously exposing her fragility. The mise en scene of the mansion cluttered with grotesque luxury and oppressive shadows resembles an expressionist prison a distorted dreamscape that mirrors Norma’s warped psyche. This reflects the wider post war context where the decline of silent film stars like Gloria Swanson and the rise of consumer culture left many actors commodified and abandoned by a rapidly modernising industry. Wilder harnesses film noir fatalism and expressionist distortion to frame Hollywood not as a site of aspiration but as a cultural machine that seduces with glamour yet entombs those who enter.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Green and Kinsella only describe modern…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: In 'False Claims of Colonial Thieves', Yamatji woman Charmaine Papertalk Green and non-indigenous Australian John…
In 'False Claims of Colonial Thieves', Yamatji woman Charmaine Papertalk Green and non-indigenous Australian John Kinsella engage in a narrative discourse that discusses and past and present implications of colonialism. Often referring to modern Australia, the poets share a scornful outlook on the ongoing destruction of land through mining practices and underscores a need to hold contempt on the process. Although the collection frequently voices condemnation on modern Australia, both poets underscore a need to appreciate beauty even from two very different perspectives.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Oedipus the King shows that knowledge can…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King” endures not just for its shocking revelations, but for its profound…
Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King” endures not just for its shocking revelations, but for its profound exploration of fate, blindness and human identity. Set against the backdrop of a society deeply shaped by the will of the gods, the play traces the downfall of Oedipus, a ruler whose relentless search for truth ultimately leads him to destroy the very identity he seeks to understand. Through the use of dramatic irony, anagnorisis and paradox, Sophocles positions wisdom as both in favour and jinx, inclining the audience to view knowledge as both heroic and a fatal flaw
Sophocles initially frames Oedipus’ intelligence as a heroic force through the use of mythic allusion and choral praise. The play recalls Oedipus’ defeat of the Sphinx, whose “riddle of death” had “brought the city to its knees.” By solving the riddle, Oedipus not only liberates Thebes but also elevates himself to a near-divine status, as the chorus hails him as the man who “lifted up our lives” and “first of men.” This choral exaltation underscores his civic role as saviour. Yet Sophocles complicates this moment through irony: Oedipus’ triumph is rewarded with marriage to Jocasta and the throne of Thebes, honours that unknowingly bind him to the very crime he seeks to expiate. Oedipus himself revels in this glory, declaring in a prologue of hubristic pride, “Here I am myself, you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus.” Sophocles thus deploys Oedipus’ self-aggrandising tone and the dramatic irony of his ignorance to foreshadow that the very knowledge that elevates him will also undo him.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘On the moon we have everything…’…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: In the novella We have always lived in a castle, Shirely Jackson explores the complex relationship between fantasy…
In the novella We have always lived in a castle, Shirely Jackson explores the complex relationship between fantasy and reality, illustrating how fantasy serves as a coping mechanism in confronting harsh truths. Through the evolving characters, especially through the unreliable narrator Merricat and recurring motifs, Jackson contends that fantasy can become not only preferable, but sometimes necessary to protect oneself from a painful reality. The novel ultimately reveals how the boundaries between fantasy and reality can blur, with fantasy providing true liberation for some.
At first glance, reality appears to be the preferable and rational choice, defined as the state of things that actually exist. However, Jackson embodies reality through the cruel, invasive and often dismissive villagers who live outside the Blackwood estate. Merricat recalls how the townspeople constantly lampooned the Blackwoods by singing ‘Would you like a cup of tea? Oh no,… you’ll poison me”. This nursery style chant reinforces the sister’s outsider status and embeds the idea that Constance poisoned the Blackwood family. Their deliberate seclusion is symbolised by the positioning of their house with them primarily living at the back of their house far away from the village, ‘where no one else ever came’. This displays the physical and psychological isolation of the Blackwood sisters from the outside world. The house becomes a sense of protection against the villagers’ hostility, suggesting that the reality outside the Blackwood estate only offers cruelty and fear for Constance and Merricat. Hence, withdrawing into fantasy offers the sisters safety, where they can also retain some of their dignity.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 1. In what ways does the apartheid result…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Set against the backdrop of the Apartheid and its aftermath, Trevor Noah’s memoir, “Born a Crime (BAC)”, reveals…
Set against the backdrop of the Apartheid and its aftermath, Trevor Noah’s memoir, “Born a Crime (BAC)”, reveals the extensive and often institutionalised suffering of non-white individuals during this time period. As both the author and protagonist, Noah documents how the apartheid and post apartheid periods in South Africa inflicted extensive suffering through physical hardship and systemic inequality, yet depicts that resilience and strength could be cultivated by those who endured it. This adversity included extreme violence, emotional abuse and barriers to finding a sense of self and belonging.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “You can trust me. I’m ready to help…” ‘In…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Performed in 429 BCE, during Athens’ Golden Age yet under the shadow of plague and political instability,…
Performed in 429 BCE, during Athens’ Golden Age yet under the shadow of plague and political instability, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King explores the paradox of honourable leadership. The tragedy dramatises how noble intentions, when distorted by pride and blindness, can unleash devastating suffering upon both the individual and the polis. Oedipus’ determination to “bring what is dark to light” initially signals integrity and responsibility, yet Sophocles uses dramatic irony and the chorus’ shifting responses to reveal how such honour is fatally compromised by hubris. The play ultimately warns an Athenian audience that honour alone is not destructive, but when sought with rash and arrogance, it collapses into tragedy.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: Feature Article: Our Future with…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 87.5%: Our Future with Robots - 2018 NHT With the growing ubiquity of robots and automation in our lives, there has…
Our Future with Robots - 2018 NHT
With the growing ubiquity of robots and automation in our lives, there has been significant debate surrounding the notion of robots coexisting with humans in our everyday lives. In a reproachful yet objective feature article titled: “Our Future with Robots”, a well-known writer on social concerns, John Jones, emphasises that robots and humans cannot coexist because of the capacity for technological innovation to displace humans from their rightful place in society. Targeting the readers of a daily newspaper, the feature article, alongside a visual, aims to encourage readers to demand legislation against robots and automation. In response, Ashley O'Hara published a letter in the newspaper the following day, shedding light on the benefits of AI and discrediting Jones’ argument in a vehement yet rational manner, imploring readers to approach the future with an open mind.
From the outset, Jones appeals to the importance of human autonomy, overlaying a humanitarian argument in which they establish the gravity of the situation, detailing the “problem in the increase of automation in our workplace and homes”. By strategically placing such an argument first, Jones immediately bolsters the dangers of transhumanism, drawing upon the connotations of relentlessness and assault from the word “bombardment”. In doing so, Jones immediately positions the readership to look upon robots and automation with skepticism, since they could pose a threat to human livelihood. Reinforcing this, Jones imbues the audience with a sense of fear through the cold, procedural element of robots “perform[ing] surgical procedures” evoking a mechanistic approach to human wellbeing, unnerving readers by eliminating emotional care from medical treatment. Indeed, by juxtaposing the inhuman characteristics traditionally associated with robots with the hospitality and tenderness experienced during surgery, Jones implies that having faith in robots to enhance our lives and wellbeing could even result in death. Thereafter, Jones briefly acknowledges the potential that robots may have in enhancing our wellbeing, noting that “we all like the idea of a robot cleaning our house for us”. In doing so, Jones bolsters their ethos by portraying themselves as someone who has considered other facets of the debate, appearing as a holistic and objective individual to the newspaper readers in their argument to allay their potential scepticisms against Jones. Jones appeals to the human need for privacy, detailing how robots can “retain and share our later affairs”. Indeed, Jones leverages the forceful and unwelcoming connotations of the word “prying” to suggest that robots have the potential to completely invade our lives and personal details which could lead to unwanted locations. Compounding this, Jones’ extended metaphor, involving the use of “Big Business”, then “science fiction novel come to life” and “Big Robot is watching!”, functions to warn the audience who reads the newspaper and are likely to read widely, about the dystopian threat that faces humanity if we espouse robots into our everyday lives. Evidently, by making an implicit reference to a well-known dystopian novel, Jones’ extended metaphor suggests to the audience that advocating for transhumanist ideals means humanity tending towards dystopia. Hence, Jones elevates the audience’s feelings of fear and apprehension for the future, positioning them to acknowledge the writer’s forthcoming points with greater proclivity.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: "There's nothing tragic about being 50,…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 82.5%: In the “popcorn business” of the burgeoning Hollywood Industry, it is only natural that youthfulness and beauty…
In the “popcorn business” of the burgeoning Hollywood Industry, it is only natural that youthfulness and beauty are cornerstones of the industry’s production of cinematic success. In his 1950 film noir Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder castigates the deeply ingrained valuation of beauty in the Hollywood industry, to which women across generations are subjected, and which they must internalise and conform to as a means of “making it” in the industry. Extending this, Wilder tentatively critiques the ageist double standards imposed in the industry, where older men seemingly thrive despite age, with many reaching their prime in the later years, whilst women such as Norma are scrutinised and eventually discarded upon their failure to satisfy such superficial standards. Ultimately, Wilder turns the lens to the audience of the time, inviting them to reflect on their complicity in sustaining the objectifying milieu rooted in satisfying their demands for youthfulness on the screen.
In his initial critique, Wilder highlights how Hollywood's obsession with youth and beauty has become internalised by women. Upon entering Norma’s mansion, Joe is surrounded by portraits of her younger self filling the room, drawing attention at the extent to which Norma clings to an idealised image of her past. Indeed, the suffocating mise-en-scene entailing her own images reifies the psychological toll of Hollywood’s fixation on youth, as Norma finds comfort and identity in the time she was valued. Wilder extends his condemnation with Norma’s visceral desire to return to the screen as “Salome”, a biblical femme fatale symbolic of beauty and seduction, reflecting her internal desire to return to her youthful days of adoration by Hollywood. The pervasiveness of such ideals is evident in younger women too, with Betty’s decision to “fix” her “slanted nose” reflecting her willingness to undergo physical sacrifice to meet Hollywood’s rigid standards. However pragmatic Wilder portrays her to be, the rhinoplasty scars Betty harbours from a series of failed acting auditions physicalises the internal wounds inflicted by trying to please the unpleasable Hollywood machine. This shared internalisation ultimately culminates in Norma’s declaration “I’m ready for my closeup” - a camera shot commonly cognised to epitomise beauty in the silent era now trapping Norma in a delusion of revitalised relevance. In doing so, Wilder laments how the industry’s obsession with youthfulness permeates across generations, ensnaring even the minds of those who are yet to be deemed “past their prime”. Wilder’s critique is telling of the emotional cost of an industry which prizes surface over substance.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Prompt: The characters in Flames learn…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 100%: In Flames, Robbie Arnott suggests that genuine learning is neither triumphant nor comfortable; it arrives only…
In Flames, Robbie Arnott suggests that genuine learning is neither triumphant nor comfortable; it arrives only through loss, failure and destruction. Arnott argues that true understanding requires surrender — to grief, to the natural world and to cycles beyond human control — and he stages this truth across character, form and setting. Through Levi’s embodied collapse, Karl’s vocational dispossession and Allen’s prophetic isolation, Arnott shows learning as a corrosive, reshaping force rather than a moment of mastery. Formally, the novel’s shifting focalisation, diaristic fragments and elemental imagery convert inner rupture into public action and altered perception. This essay will demonstrate how Arnott uses language, narrative perspective and landscape to dramatise learning as a process of relinquishment, revealing how loss remakes identity and compels characters to reckon with realities they cannot command.
Arnott frames learning as the painful product of guilt and irrevocable consequence, insisting that characters often discover what they need only after they have lost what they wanted. Allen’s trajectory shows this most starkly: his slaughter of the wombats initiates an ecological and moral collapse that he cannot reverse, and the resulting culpability corrodes his reason until ritual and paranoia replace stewardship; Arnott stages this through escalating diction and the diary form so that private justifications harden into public madness. Conversely, Levi’s education is quieter but no less severe — his obligations as protector are fractured by Jack’s fire and obsession, and Arnott stages Levi’s recognition through bodily language, shifting him from “calm and timid” to “not well” and finally “retching,” a movement that literalises internal shame and forces a reckoning with responsibility. In both arcs Arnott refuses tidy redemption: consequences are material (killed animals, ruined land), psychological (guilt, collapse) and social (estrangement), and the lessons learned are about humility rather than mastery. By weaving mythic motifs, animist belief and stark realism, Arnott teaches that life, death and landscape are inseparable and that human arrogance must give way to ecological humility.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: HOW DOES TWELFTH NIGHT SHOW LOVE TO BE…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Love is depicted in Shakespeare’s carnivalesque comedy Twelfth Night as both cruel and fair, benevolent, and…
Love is depicted in Shakespeare’s carnivalesque comedy Twelfth Night as both cruel and fair, benevolent, and malevolent, depending on the intent and extent of the affection itself. Shown through multiple forms such as romantic, familial, and self, love as a whole is depicted as both emotionally profound and deeply unstable. Explored through deep knowledge, intellect, and general intensity, profundity in love has the ability to be modest and sincere, or excessive and damaging. The instability of love is further explored through constant change, uncertainty, and harmful repercussions. Shakespeare utilises this concept of profound and unstable love to highlight how confusing, transformative, pernicious, and fickle endearment can truly be.
Shakespeare explores the concept of profound familial and romantic love through it’s intensity and ability to overrun an individual’s thought process. Both Lady Olivia and Duke Orsino expose how easily the feeling of love can take over all other emotions and reason. As Olivia’s familial love is revealed through grief, she personifies how intensely profound love can cloud judgement. Vowing to “pay this debt” of love to her late brother for seven cloistered and sheltered years, she reveals her sibling love to be dutiful, one which she must exert. Labelled by Shakespeare as a “debt”, he metaphorically illustrates how not only is her mourning a required one, but one which she owes, as if she is upholding an obligation which will result in punishment if unfulfilled. Olivia’s intense commitment to her “debt” of seven years reinforces the profound and intense lengths love can take an individual. Profoundly intense romantic love is also displayed to have the capacity to take control of one’s behaviours and psyche, as seen in Duke Orsino. While framed as a well-manner and reasonable “noble” aristocrat of “great estate,” Orsino’s romantic personality allows inflated love to guide his actions. Wishing for the “excess” of romantic love till he “sickens and die(s),” Orsino expresses his vogue for love as highly conceptual, gluttonous, and addictive. His perception of love itself isn’t intellectual or deeply knowledgable, rather it is so dramatic it controls his course of action throughout the play. Describing his search for romance as an “appetite,” Shakespeare depicts Orsino as highly obsessive and attracted to the notion of love, one which he believes must be replenished to keep him alive. The profundity of his love is displayed as not one focused on morals or longevity, but rather fantasy and emotion. Shakespeare hence provides these excessive characters in attempt to explore the tipping point of profound love, as it controls the actions and consequences of the play.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Playing my part Stimulus: “All…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 100%: Who are we if not performers? And what is living if not performing? Would you squeal at spiders if no one was…
Who are we if not performers?
And what is living if not performing?
Would you squeal at spiders if no one was watching?
Would you smile just for yourself?
We perform joy, fear, ambition, and restraint. We rehearse our dreams, improvise our failures, and revise our identities. Life is not just a stage—it’s a rehearsal room, a costume closet, a script still being written.
The biggest stage we’ll ever stand on is our own life. From the moment we arrive, we’re cast into roles we didn’t audition for. We eat and grow so our parents feel fulfilled. We study and work to contribute to society. We love and sacrifice so others don’t have to. We perform not just for applause, but for approval, for belonging, for survival.
And yet, there are moments—rare and fleeting—when the mask slips. When we step out of the costume stitched by expectation and into something raw, unfiltered. These moments feel like freedom. But are they? Or are they just another act, one we’ve convinced ourselves is authentic?
As children, play was instinctive. We didn’t perform for anyone—we simply existed in joy. A cardboard box became a spaceship. A puddle became an ocean. Raindrops weren’t acid—they were racers, sprinting to the ground. The world was magical because we hadn’t yet been taught to explain it. But knowledge came, and with it, complexity. We learned the rules of the stage. We learned to smile on cue.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Topic: ‘Inner conflict can manifest in…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Essay: In Flames, Robbie Arnott presents inner conflict not as private psychology but as an animist force that…
Essay:
In Flames, Robbie Arnott presents inner conflict not as private psychology but as an animist force that reconfigures perception, identity and place. Through bodily diction, fractured focalisation and symbolic landscape, Arnott stages grief and purposelessness so that they literally reshape what characters see and do — from Levi’s somatic collapse to Karl’s vocational dispossession and Allen’s prophetic delusions. This essay will show how language, form and imagery make internal rupture visible and often strange.
Through showcasing the impact of grief, Arnott exposes how identities can be destabilised by the mourning for a loss of purpose in one’s life. Arnott portrays the imprint of mourning through the characterisation of the detective being tough and careless; her actions echo more of “something brittle behind her hard face… Something breakable,” with the lack of personal element in the detective’s narrative. The author frames the overwhelming power of grief as his object of scorn, heavily on the seemingly established identity and rationale(purpose) of a person. This is further reflected through the central storyline of Levi and Charlotte's chase. Levi’s grief is staged somatically so that emotion becomes behaviour: Arnott moves the reader from “calm and timid” to the stark, physical register of being “not well” and “retching.” The progression from adjectives to a violently corporeal verb literalises inner collapse; “retching” displaces psychological description with visceral action, dramatizing grief as embodied breakdown. This bodily staging also undercuts Levi’s purpose — the text repeatedly frames his role as protector, and when that role is compromised the grief is enacted through the body rather than explained. This motif is also reinforced through the sacred bond between Karl and his seal. Karl’s bond to the sea demonstrates grief as vocational dispossession: the orca’s killing of his seal removes not only a companion but the anchor of his identity. The phrase “his other half” implies doubleness and completion, so the sea — once a space of belonging — turns into a trigger. Arnott then codes retirement from fishing as symbolic renunciation: losing the seal equals losing the labour and language by which Karl understands himself, so grief remaps vocation into void.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Title: Playing my part Stimulus: All…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 87.5%: Who are we if not performers? And what is living if not performing? Would you squeal at spiders if no one was…
Who are we if not performers?
And what is living if not performing?
Would you squeal at spiders if no one was around?
And would you smile for yourself?
Emotions, feelings, dreams, and ideation.
What is life if you have nothing to prove, to earn?
The biggest stage anyone could ever be on is our own life. We came into the world to live for others; we live our lives for everyone else, but ourselves.
You eat and grow, so your parents would feel fulfilled with themselves.
You study and work so that you can contribute to a better society.
You love and sacrifice, so your loved ones don’t have to.
And only when you are out of the rigid costume that others put on you for the stage, only when you put the act down, only when you step out of your very own skin that keeps you for your comfort, only then are you truly free.
The world is always more magical the less you understand it, when raindrops mean there’s a marathon for which droplets would reach the ground first, when a hot summer day means the sun is feeling pretty. Instead, raindrops aren’t just water but also acid, and a hot summer day only gets hotter. Sometimes I wonder if we were ever meant to know so much about the world, if we were ever meant to know so much at an age that just seems to get smaller and smaller.
When did living get so complicated?
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Framework: Protest Title: Engage…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 77.5%: There needs to be disruption for things to change. This is what I want you to take away from my speech today,…
There needs to be disruption for things to change. This is what I want you to take away from my speech today, because as I stand on this podium looking out at you, young men of 2025, I understand that you not even care about what I’m about to say. Because frankly, if our care was even as big as a mustard seed, I wouldn’t have to fight the increasing pandemic of violence against women. In a world where the first few questions that arise after hearing about a woman being mistreated by a man includes concerns like “What was she wearing?” or “What did she say to make him so mad” or even “Why was she with him anyway?”, we need to really need to be asking ourselves “Why is this happening and how can I be engaged in ensuring this never happens again?”
Globally, statistics reveal that 1 in 3 women will experience violence in their lifetime. That means approximately 33% of women have had to tolerate a man’s lack of self-control. 33% have been the victim of physical harm due to a man. 33% and possibly more are living a life where every second is a risk of violence. That’s far too much and until this number becomes 0%, our fight will not end. It's time we, both women and men, protest against the entrenched acceptance of violence, not with whispers of disapproval but with loud, disruptive demands for transformation.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: High Ground explores the heavy cost of…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Steven Maxwell Johnsons film High Ground examines imperial conquest and its destructive nature, impacting both the…
Steven Maxwell Johnsons film High Ground examines imperial conquest and its destructive nature, impacting both the coloniser and the colonised. Set in Arhnem land, 1919, the film waves between the lives of both First Nations peoples and the colonisers through the characterization of Gutjuk. Johnson seeks to reveal the true nature of colonisation through his uncomfortably close to the truth fictional film, in order to challenge the Australian narrative of a peaceful settlement. Through his depiction of colonial violence and the lack of morality as a result Johnson implores that reconciliation will only occur through acknowledging the foreign doctrine the colonisers brought, and the undeniable destruction along with it. Ultimately, Johnson enlightening film endeavours to expose the true historical events of colonization in order to encourage viewers to challenge systemic racial oppression and re-evaluate its ongoing legacy.
In response to the atrocities of colonisation, Johnson unequivocally condemns the settlers calculated violence, predominantly destructive for the First Nations peoples, but also for the colonisers themselves. Through a postcolonial lens, Johnson uncovers the horrific violence disguised under the Australian narrative and exhibits its brutality. The commencement of the film depicts an aerial shot of the rising sun on serene Arnhem land, although this shortly shifts to the abrupt synchronised starting of the colonist footsteps, whose desire to avoid “trouble” is swiftly abandoned with the impassioned cry “what are we waiting for?” through signifying the colonisers as an approaching threat, Johnson reveals the systemic brutality of colonisation, a consequence of conquest to forebodingly warn viewers of its inevitable bloodshed. Additionally, Eddie’s command “nobody shoots but him” is abruptly met with the piercing shrill of gunshots, uncovering the encompassing and possessive nature of warfare, leaving behind lasting destruction, a heavy cost of conquest. Despite the commotion of “killing a white woman”, the settlers exploitation of Gulwirri remains overlooked, revealing the racialized hierarchy of colonial justice and exposing the systemic xenophobia stemming from colonisation with a harrowing ongoing legacy. By reinforcing the brutality of violent colonial conquest, Johnson reveals the consequences on victims as well as the colonist systemic issues to encourage viewers to challenge colonisations enduring legacy in contemporary Australia.
Having established colonial brutality, Johnson asserts that conquest leads to fleeting morality and loss of spirituality. As depicted by the settlers religion as well as the First Nations deep connection to country, Johnson illuminates the consequences of colonization as deep wounds not only affecting both cultures physically but spiritually and ethically. The spiritual advisor of the colonists, John Braddock embodies the Christian image, adorned in
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Wilder shows Hollywood to be an industry…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Billy Wilder’s 1950s classic film noir, “Sunset Boulevard”, follows an aspiring b-list writer and a forgotten star,…
Billy Wilder’s 1950s classic film noir, “Sunset Boulevard”, follows an aspiring b-list writer and a forgotten star, while exposing the dark underbellying of Hollywood. Set during the Golden age era, Wilder acknowledges how Hollywood can create dreams of fame and fortune, however, he ultimately condemns Hollywood’s destructive nature of destroying people who are chasing after their dreams and those who already achieved their dreams Ultimately, Wilder intends the audience to see how corrupt Hollywood is towards people behind and in front of the camera.
Wilder underscores Hollywood does create dreams, as it has provided success and fame to those who are able to get into the industry. Norma, a famous silent actor, showcases how Hollywood was able to make her successful, through the use of Norma’s “Isotta-Fraschini” car, her pool, and her dead monkey. Wilder symbolizes these ideas as excessive wealth, over exaggerating how far rich people would spend their money on. Hence, Wilder wants the modern audience to realise the post-war economic boom has brought people to become consumerism. Wilder highlights Hollywood for giving opportunities to young actors, leading them to gain fame and wealth. This is evident through Norma, as a “lovely little girl of 17”, bringing her huge success for herself and paramount studio, as Norma emphasises “without [her], there wouldn’t be any paramount studio”. Additionally, Wilder utilises the camera panning the workers sending a message to Demille about Norma’s arrival. Giving the impression that Demille is a busy and important person that he relies on people giving him the message rather than directly. Wilder’s depiction of Demille’s and Norma’s success, portrays how Hollywood gives people hope in succeeding like them. Wilder presents this through Joe and his apartment; it's small and not fully furnitured. Wilder showcases how Joe’s desperation for a better financial state, despite the significant sacrifices he has made, demonstrates how alluring Hollywood could be. Therefore, Hollywood does give people the chance to create dreams as it gives them success and fame, but it is never a guaranteed pathway.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: discuss the ways GW portrays identity
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: The conflux of ancient sacrificial practice and contemporary gendered violence is explored through Sarah Moss'…
The conflux of ancient sacrificial practice and contemporary gendered violence is explored through Sarah Moss' novella 'Ghost Wall' enabling her to underscore characters' journey to find their sense of self - both through violent and empowering methods. Moss first condemns character development of a fabricated past in order to fill their self desire for power, along with how characters look their sense of self when under the influence of unjust power figures. Yet Conversely, Moss celebrates characters ability to explore individuality, ignoring their confined gender roles set by manipulative figures.
Moss first demonstrates how characters their desire for power through establishing their identity, by romanticising a fabricated past. Through the characterisation of Bill, and his extreme, authoritarian attitude, Moss explores how his inability to obtain present day power - his unfulfilling proletariat role as a 'bus driver' - allows him to exert dominance over the Hampton women. This is through his patriarchal figure as the security and provider for the women, thus the Hampton women are forced to abide by his synthetic ideals of the subservient position of women, akin to Iron Age societies , he forces upon the girls. Yet, Moss condemns Bill's ability to imagine a fake past, where unlike the present, he believes in the past he would obtain agency, symbolising his faux ideals and ‘claim on something’ through 'bog bodies'. Whilst the 'people' are indicators that ancient sacrificial practice was in fact real, their skin being intact, thus they are hollow on the inside are representative of Bill's nostalgia for an extremely romanticised past - all a facade for him to believe his male status and power identity would give him control. Thus, Mss illustrates Bill's identity soley shaped by a romanticised past by his constant indictment of abuse upon his own daughter. Bill's control and constant authoritarian grasp over Silvie is so extreme, that when Silvie leaves camo early to 'relive herself' , an act as universal and fundamental as a human right becomes fraught with danger, depicting Bill's invasive reach of his traditional, patriarchal control. Silvie's thoughts begin to 'flicker' as she searches for a place to hide, her visualisation of Bill catching her urinating. Her fear, which is circled around Bill's patriarchal image that Silvie would be 'consorting with men' embodies his patriarchal beliefs that Silvie's worth is bound to chastity, enabling his patriarchal control to turn Silvie's environment depicts a world of fear and disgust. Hence, Moss's depicts how characters that build her identity upon patriarchal, faux versions of the past.