TASK: Take your readers on a journey into a childhood memory.

It was an extremely hot day, probably in the mid thirties, in central Australia. I was really excited for what we were about to do. We got on a bus early in the morning and travelled through the vast dessert of the Kata Tjuta National Park. For miles all I could see was red dirt with the odd tree standing alone. The dirt road was bumpy and left a cloud of red dust in it's wake. Within a few minutes, I could see an enormous rock standing out in the distance. As we approached it grew larger and clearer. In front of us was the magnificent Uluru. As we got off the bus, I realised how big Uluru actually was and how high I would be once I climbed it. As we began to climb my sister got really scared and stopped. My mum and brother stopped with her, but I ran off up the rock even though I could hear them yelling at me to stop. I sped up the extremely steep incline and climbed up and down the deep ridges. It was hard for me considering that I wasn't tall enough to reach the bottom of the dips or the top of them once I slid down to the bottom. Some people stopped to help me get up and down. At one stage I was slowly sliding down a ridge that had a sharp turn at the end and I realised how dangerous it actually was up there, but that didn't stop me from making it to the top as quickly as I could. The view from the top was absolutely break taking. I could see for what felt like forever. I stayed up there for a while, just admiring the view. I then made my way down, much more slowly and carefully than I made my way up. Down the bottom I met up with my mum, brother and sister who were not happy with me for running off. We looked around the base of Uluru at some of the Aboriginal artwork. Once we had seen everything we made our way back to the bus for the drive back to our hotel.

Everyone is on a journey

TASK: Experiment with language choices to create a story that paints the picture of your journey to or from school each day. Rely on showing rather than telling the audience what you see, hear, smell, etc. on your daily journey.


My brother rushes, over the fence, away from our crazy dogs, jumps in the ute and slams the door with a bang. "Sorry" he whines, knowing exactly what my mum was about to say. The little car wizzes down the quiet road, passing the rolling golf course and the crazy lady with her manic dog. Everything is peaceful, only seeing one or two cars on the winding road surrounded by enormous trees and little houses, that is until we hit the motorway. Here our journey reaches a halt. All I can see ahead of me is lanes banked up with cars and trucks so big you can barely see their roof as you slowly creep by. Mum is getting angry, "I told you we should have gone the other way! Why are people stopping? This is ridiculous!" she exclaims. I sit there, bored and listening to my brother trying to tell my sister about different types of cars he sees, even though she isn't the slightest bit interested. Mum is still raging about the traffic to anyone who will listen. I turn the radio on, relieved when the traffic speeds up and spreads out and mum stops stressing so much about being late to work. I listen to the upbeat song playing on the radio and look out the window. "What is that smell!" my sister suddenly yells. At first I don't know what she's talking about, but then I to notice the most horrible smell I've ever smelled. We all turn and glare at my brother who is laughing hysterically. "It's not funny! It's disgusting! I yell. And at that, all the windows are wound down to let the refreshing breeze into the cars and drown out the smell. The traffic has lessened now and everyone is traveling quickly, in a rush to get to their destination. Eventually we exit the freeway onto a road that is only slightly more interesting. A few gloomy factory-like buildings and a bus station are all that line this busy road. The radio is still playing as we turn onto a quiet street. We pass little wooden houses, all painted in pale colours, and continue down this road, past people walking their dogs and riding their bikes to work. Past strips of shops and cafes just opening their doors, until finally reaching our destination. School.

Homework Task: Journeys in Poetry

1. List all the things that Frost sees. Rank them in the order that you would find them attractive.

1. frozen lake
2. snow
3. woods

2. What are the images and ideas that Frost reflects upon when he has stopped?

Frost reflects upon the things he sees in the woods when he pauses. He sees the woods and the frozen lake. He notices that it is the darkest night of the year. He reflects on the idea that it is strange to stop without a reason, just to take in his surrounding, and that his horse finds it odd that they have stopped away from a farmhouse.

3. Imagine that you are Frost. Write what you would say to your wife when you returned home from your journey.

As I was riding home through the woods, I stopped just to watch the woods, the snow and the frozen lake. Did you know that tonight is the darkest night of the year? My horse seemed to think it was strange that we stopped so far away from home. It was so quiet, all I could here was the wind.

4. Is there a deeper meaning to the poem? What do you think it is?

Yes there is a deeper meaning to the poem. I think the meaning is to stop and take time to admire things.

5. Comment on the use of three poetic devices in the poem. (Especially the use of rhyming and repetition in the last line).

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

The rhyming of the last four lines and the repetition of the last two lines indicates that this section of the poem is important and is being emphasised. The repetition of "And miles to go before I sleep" shows that even though he has a long way to go he still took the time to admire the woods. The rhyming of this section emphasises the fact that even though he has promises to keep and a long way to go he takes the time to admire how lovely the woods are. The third poetic devise used is imagery. Frost uses this to create an image of peaceful woods that are beautiful and snowy. His choice of words creates a strong image in the readers mind.

6. The poem draws attention to two conflicting desires: the desire to be alone and to explore mysterious, challenging or even dangerous places, thoughts or objects, and the desire to a sociable person who responds to the company of others. Trace these ideas through the poem.

The desire to be alone and to explore mysterious, challenging or even dangerous places, thoughts or objects is shown when he talks about how lovely and peaceful the woods are and how peaceful and quiet it is in the woods. The desire to be a sociable person who responds to the company of others is shown when he says that he has promises to keep, these being to people back home, and his belief that these are important and that he must keep his promises.

7. What aspects of the journey are being emphasised?

The aspect of the journey that is being emphasised is when he pauses to take in his surrounding and he reflects on the woods and also his responsibilities to people back home. This is more of an emphasis on his inner journey taking place on a physical journey.

8. Explain why this poem does or does not appeal to you. Justify your answer with quotes from the poem.

The poem does not appeal to me because it is hard to figure out some of the things in it such as when Frost writes:

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

I am unsure of who he is talking about. This made it hard for me to make sense of the poem. Also when Frost writes:

But I have promises to keep,

I was unsure who he had promises to. This confused me for a while.

Something of Value by Eric Boyle

1. What criticism does Bogle make about white Australia in the first 5 lines?

Bogel criticises that white Australian's are content with their lives and are not thinking about other people who are struggling.

2. In what manner was Australia 'taken' according to the poet?

Australia was 'taken' "by the gun and the sword," meaning that it was violently and forcibly taken from the Aboriginal people by the British white people.

3. How did the British justify their taking of Australia?

The British justified taking Australia by saying it was "the right of our race and in the name of God."

4. Why should those who came and took Australia have known better?

They should have known better because they were "exiles [them]selves, transported [and] condemned. None knew better than [them] the injustice of men" This shows that these people had been treated the same way they treated the Aborigines and should have known not to treat them this way.

5. What words were used by the white invaders to describe the Aboriginal inhabitants?

The Aborigines were reffered to as "drunkards, wastrels and whores."

6. According to Bogle what opportunities did the whites have?

The whites had the opportunity of " a new dream, a new life, a new hope [and] a new land." They had "one last chance to break the chains of the past, to build something of value, something to last."

7. What is implied by the poet in the rhetorical question at the end of the second verse?

The poet rhetorically asks "is paradise here, after 200 years?" This was asked so the reader would consider whether the white people did the right thing when they arrived. It is meant to show the reader, that 200 years on, there are still many problems that have never been fixed and that Australia is not a paradise, at least not for the Aboriginal people.

8. In the last verse what does the poet urge Australians to do now and in the future? List words and phrases which deliberately position the reader in promoting Bogles ideology about the future.

He urges Australian's to "tally up the cost" of all the damage done by the white settlers to the Aboriginal people. He urges Australian's to change the future so this place really becomes the paradise it always could have been.

• "who wander through life, most helpless and blind"
• "our hundred steps forward, ninety-nine back"
• "the wise and the fools"
• "the indifferent, the caring, the kind and the cruel"

These lines all make the reader choose what they want to be or who they are.

Extension Task:

How do the texts "Advance Australia Fair" and "Something of Value", position the reader to accept their invited reading? In your opinion, which of the texts is the most successful?

The texts "Advance Australia Fair" and "Something of Value" position the reader very differently. "AAF" makes the reader believe Britain is good where as "SoV" positions the reader to feel the opposite. In my opinion, "Something of Value" is much more successful in positioning the reader and making them feel something.

Comparing Representations of Australia

Advance Australia Fair

1. The original poem is different as it does not address as many people as the new version. It says "Australia's sons" rather than "Australian's all," this referring only to males in Australia. There is also a whole 2nd verse that is cut out of the new one that talks about Britain.
2. The poem addresses British men and does not acknowledge anyone else such as women, children or Aborigines.
3. Women, Aborigines, immigrants, children and anyone who is not a British male is excluded from this text.
4. Wealth, abundance, freedom, status and Britain's rule are important to Australia's sons.
5. The reader is positioned to see Britain as a fantastic place with brave men and to Australia as a beautiful and rich country. They are not 'shown' the way Aborigines, women or children were thought of or treated.
6. The changes identified in question one suggest that today women are equal to men. Australia values woman as much as they value men. Excluding the middle paragraph shows that Australia does not value Britain's rule as much as they did when the original text was written.

HOMEWORK: Gold Coast - Australian Identity

The beautiful city, the Gold Coast, fits into the Australian identity in many ways as well as contradicting many of the stereotypical views of Australia. The Gold Coast fits in with the Australian identity as it is famous for it's amazing beaches, tanned people with 'perfect' bodies, barbecues, drinking and having a very laid back attitude, just like the way Australia is more than often perceived by others. Although the Gold Coast has all of these things, it is also a very commercial city and is highly developed. It is home to the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, yet there are people who believe that Australians are rowdy 'bogans' and aren't capable of being civilised. The Gold Coast has a large population and is not at all desolate nor does it have wide open plains filled with nothing but kangaroos and emus, as many people believe is a common occurrence in Australia. Although this is true in some parts of the country, this does not apply to the Gold Coast what so ever. These are just a few ways the Gold Coast fits into the typical Australian identity as well as some of the ways it is very different to this.

English 2011

Mrs Damen