ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English & EAL => Topic started by: tzacchary on August 18, 2014, 11:43:50 am

Title: Surviving Survival?
Post by: tzacchary on August 18, 2014, 11:43:50 am
Hi, I've been given an essay prompt of 'surviving survival', and I'm stuck. The text we're reading alongside the topic of survival is Night by Ellie Wiesel (going through the holocaust) and we've been given general creating and presenting ideas, such as surviving a near death experience or surviving a survival situation, such as surviving a plane crash where others have died. I'm stuck coming up with further ideas in more detail though, we've been encouraged to find other topics and ideas which no one else has come up with, but I'm utterly stuck with this one. Any ideas anyone could pass my way?

Thanks heaps guys!  :)
Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: YoonaLuva on August 20, 2014, 06:15:18 pm
Soz Boz dunno...
Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: YoonaLuva on August 20, 2014, 06:37:47 pm
http://npsw.weebly.com/survivalself-preservation.html
http://prezi.com/styiegz0qrcz/night-themes-hope-and-survival/
http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/265616-la-nuit
https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110131182324AAhbdGs
How to write a hybrid context essay?
http://www.englishworks.com.au/creating-and-presenting-writing-a-hybrid-essay/

take a look at these
Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: joseph_wu on August 21, 2014, 04:23:17 pm
HAHA ZACC YOU DAWG! Getting people to do your essays for you :P
Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: auds on August 21, 2014, 05:52:57 pm
You can talk about surviving survival in relation to PTSD sufferers, because even though they may have physically survived a traumatic event, they may not necessarily have fully survived mentally. Depends how you define survival.
Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: joseph_wu on August 21, 2014, 06:40:09 pm
You can talk about surviving survival in relation to PTSD sufferers, because even though they may have physically survived a traumatic event, they may not necessarily have fully survived mentally. Depends how you define survival.

Hey Auds,
We've been given four formats that we are allowed to write in, I personally want to choose the hybrid essay; and we've also been given the audience in whom we should write to, which is people who have been abused or/and their helpers (family/friends). Having this, I guess barrier, really makes it difficult for me to think of anything "good" to write. I was thinking about PTSD, and was hoping to write about a fake experience about me having Schizophrenia and how I survived that, but I don't know how to tie it in within a worldly context or the book. Any ideas?
Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: auds on August 21, 2014, 07:31:47 pm
Hey Auds,
We've been given four formats that we are allowed to write in, I personally want to choose the hybrid essay; and we've also been given the audience in whom we should write to, which is people who have been abused or/and their helpers (family/friends). Having this, I guess barrier, really makes it difficult for me to think of anything "good" to write. I was thinking about PTSD, and was hoping to write about a fake experience about me having Schizophrenia and how I survived that, but I don't know how to tie it in within a worldly context or the book. Any ideas?

Isn't schizophrenia a life-long illness (I'm not quite sure?), in which case you could talk about the struggles you face in battling it. However, it might be difficult to capture the feelings of a schizophrenic person because you aren't schizophrenic yourself. You could discuss the idea through the view of a parent/friend/relative. (maybe in an open letter??)

Maybe you could tie in the ideas from the book, by writing about how your "experiences" with schizophrenia are not that much different from those who have survived the war? For example, talking about your own experiences, and then tying it in with how it seems you are not alone in your struggles, as countless others from _______ also do their best to survive their own form of mental illness/experiences, etc.

Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: joseph_wu on August 21, 2014, 08:13:14 pm
Isn't schizophrenia a life-long illness (I'm not quite sure?), in which case you could talk about the struggles you face in battling it. However, it might be difficult to capture the feelings of a schizophrenic person because you aren't schizophrenic yourself. You could discuss the idea through the view of a parent/friend/relative. (maybe in an open letter??)

Maybe you could tie in the ideas from the book, by writing about how your "experiences" with schizophrenia are not that much different from those who have survived the war? For example, talking about your own experiences, and then tying it in with how it seems you are not alone in your struggles, as countless others from _______ also do their best to survive their own form of mental illness/experiences, etc.

Yeah, the schizophrenic idea has kind of bombarded over itself, and I struggled to find a way to capture that, so after some thinking, I've decided to go with a soldier who has experienced a traumatic event (undecided), who after coming back, is now suffering from depression. I can easily then tie that to Elie's "Night" and possibly just talk about soldiers and PTSD as a worldly example.
Title: Re: Surviving Survival?
Post by: auds on August 21, 2014, 08:26:25 pm
Yeah, the schizophrenic idea has kind of bombarded over itself, and I struggled to find a way to capture that, so after some thinking, I've decided to go with a soldier who has experienced a traumatic event (undecided), who after coming back, is now suffering from depression. I can easily then tie that to Elie's "Night" and possibly just talk about soldiers and PTSD as a worldly example.

Sounds good !