ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English & EAL => Topic started by: ganges on October 25, 2008, 05:43:34 pm
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Wat mark wud i be looking at for this?
Prompt: a journey of self discovery is either full of pleasure, or filled with pain.
Texts: catcher in the rye, witness
form: expository ( i think)
A journey of self discovery to determine your true identity is a frustrating and an alienating experience. Initially, this can be a due to the past disappointment that the individual carries as a result of its past, failed identity, that causes it to search for a more fulfilling role in life. However, this is made more difficult by those around them, who feel threatened by the change within the individual that occurs during the journey. This ill feeling can often stem from a misunderstanding in determining the motives behind the change within an individual’s identity. However, if they understand this reason, they can often become more accommodating towards the individual in making the journey seem more fruitful.
In the ‘catcher in the rye’, Holden Caulfield is a depressed and an isolated teenager who wants to become mature and overcome his feeling of alienation. Holden’s initial identity, which was based on his childish view of the world. caused him to be expelled from his college ‘Pencey’. Holden’s journey into New York is in a sense, his journey of self discovery. However, his attempts to connect with those around him are often thwarted by their neglectful attitude.
This is shown during his date with sally. This date signifies Holden’s attempts to connect with the society by using his old friends as a medium. However, the date goes badly when Holden asks sally to run away with him, a fantasy that shows his inner desire to solve all his problems and start a fresh life. Sally is freaked out by Holden’s idea. This is because sally fails to connect with Holden on a deeper, emotional level and therefore does not realize Holden’s interests. Instead, she dismissed him as being ‘crazy’ and leaves him on his own. This rejection only depresses Holden, further denting his path towards self discovery.
Holden makes further attempts to connect with others during his stay in New York, showing his desperation to become part of the mainstream society. Holden’s encounter with a prostitute, where he chooses not to have sex, but just talk, shows his yearning to connect with others emotionally. However, yet again, the prostitute dismisses these attempts, partly because she has no interest in his well being. When Maurice, her secretary comes back to falsely demand for more money, resulting in Holden being physically abused, it shatters Holden’s self esteem and sinks him to an even deeper level of depression. The uncaring attitude of those around him is a serious obstacle in Holden’s journey of self discovery that causes him a great deal of pain.
But Holden does manage to find more joy in his path towards self understanding when he is able to connect with others. This connection comes through his meeting with his sister phoebe. Phoebe is the only person in Holden’s journey that genuinely cares for him and understands him. She notices that Holden faces an internal struggle in finding his identity. Her constant questioning of the nature behind Holden’s expulsion as well as his dislike for everything else in the world shows her care for Holden’s well being. Holden finally feels connected to someone and it helps him determine his identity, and that is to become a ‘catcher in the rye’ which is a role to stop adolescents from falling down the tracks. In this sense, in finally connecting to the others, Holden sees the positive implications that come with finding your true identity that comes from your journey of self discovery.
Similarly, in the film ‘witness’, john book’s journey towards self discovery is also influenced by those around him. When book joins the Amish society, he wants to escape the violence and bloodshed of the western society that came from belonging to a corrupt police body and finally learn the more quaint and peaceful ways of the Amish.
However, the Amish are taken aback by books presence that they view as an ‘outsider’. This is because they don’t see book’s internal desire to become a better person, in his case, simply getting away from the corrupt western society is his journey to become a better person. This misunderstanding that exists between the two sides is further reiterated by Eli, the guardians’ strict and surly attitude towards him.
Nevertheless, book is able to connect with Rachel, a widow in the community. It is Rachel who helps him adjust to the ways of the Amish and make book stay worthwhile. Her attempts to include book in the Amish culture is shown by her invitation to make book participate in the building of a barn house for an Amish couple. However, these attempts to bridge the connection with the Amish are often thwarted by notorious incidents where books principle from his past identity collides with the Amish ways, as shown by when he beats the thugs in town, justifying it as just being ‘my way’. In the end, books connection with Rachel helps him finally fit in with the Amish, because he understands in the end that violence does not always bring about the right solution. Book gets to practice this principle when he non violently disarms the police offer, Mcphee, in the presence of the entire Amish community. This act is commended by the Amish, as shown by Eli’s approval at the end where he tells book to be ‘careful amongst the English’. Again books connection with Rachel and finally in the end, with the Amish made his journey towards self discovery seem worthwhile.
It can be said that when an individual embarks on a journey of self discovery, they can experience the positive and negative implications of altering your identity. This is determined by how others view your change. If an individual’s change in identity that occurs during the journey is not understood, it can lead to misunderstanding which can strain the person’s connections with others and the journey itself, making it painful. However, if the individual is somehow able to connect with others, their journey is successful as the person feels secure in this new identity, leading to everlasting contentnes.
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You're only allowed 1 primary text, and this is about half-half so get used to having one primary before the exam. I'm reading this roughly how an examiner would and all I see is a mess of story telling and I'm pretty much just scanning for some sort of topic sentence, and I can't find one. PLEASE USE TOPIC SENTENCES.
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You're only allowed 1 primary text, and this is about half-half so get used to having one primary before the exam. I'm reading this roughly how an examiner would and all I see is a mess of story telling and I'm pretty much just scanning for some sort of topic sentence, and I can't find one. PLEASE USE TOPIC SENTENCES.
no in the context part you can do two if you want. Can't u?
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Does it say anywhere on the VCAA website?
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No, you have to indicate ONE primary text as it says in the instructions. You can use your other, but that'll count as 'supplementary material'. As for how tight examiners are with having to have an obvious primary text, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't go below around 1/2 of your essay being based on it in some way, otherwise you might be risking marks. But yeh, no one really knows.
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Seriously wtf, this is what i've been doing all year. I was told it would be better to use both text.
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You can USE both texts, but not equally.
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You're only allowed 1 primary text, and this is about half-half so get used to having one primary before the exam. I'm reading this roughly how an examiner would and all I see is a mess of story telling and I'm pretty much just scanning for some sort of topic sentence, and I can't find one. PLEASE USE TOPIC SENTENCES.
Thankyou, i can see that this essay is a bit of a mess. :(
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Actually u do not EVEN have to explicitly refer to any of the texts in your context, as long as you can explore ideas related to the prompt and ideas realated to the texts!
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If you're doing an expository essay like he did, I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO USE THEM. It's quite hard to have a piece INFLUENCED by them (this is a must) without directly referencing them in an expository, unless you simply take an idea and use other evidence to support it. But still, that's risky since an examiner might not see the connection given how fast they read these. Basically, just use your texts >_> Don't see why you wouldn't...
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Certainly. I would too, cause I would prefer to have something to base my writing on.
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Just while we are on the topic of referring to stuff.......
How many of you guys refer to the text and plus some of their own research outside the text.
Like my friend does international studies, and he can realte identity with the culture, political systems of different culture and how their identity shapes their belonging to crap.......
I havent bothered with that much research so i only have to stick to the texts, which sounds boring.
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the 2nd time i repeated culture, i meant their country. sorry
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i think i need to find some things before friday to refer to outside the text because i think it will stand out in the examiners mind.
lets make an identity and belonging 'outside the text' bank of things!
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I'm doing 'whose reality?', but this is my take:
Too much text material in there!
You can prevent your context expository essay from reading like a text essay by using general topic sentences and then exploring this idea further in the paragraph.
So basically, present each idea in a separate paragraph, using a topic sentence and linking this to SOME, not an excessive amount of textual evidence to back up your ideas. Something like this:
1. Topic sentence
2. Elaborate/explore this concept broadly, can comment on how it affects individuals in our own society
3. Link to the text
4. Tie up paragraph with a general comment (thus...) and link to next idea (therefore...)
What you have basically done is tacked on some general comments in the intro/conclusion and then filled the paragraphs with what reads like a text essay.
Other than that, your expression is fine and your ideas do show a level of complexity of thought (this is what the examiners are after).
I like to refer to my own research, but only when its relevant to the prompt/ideas.
Hopefully this helps, I'm not the greatest at explaining things ><
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i think i need to find some things before friday to refer to outside the text because i think it will stand out in the examiners mind.
lets make an identity and belonging 'outside the text' bank of things!
very nice idea.
I have already gotten u started on the International studies crap.
Like members of the united nations modfying parts of their identity to belong to the UN group.
Take russia, they had to let go off their communist, authoritarian approach to work with the UN in the 90s, yet they still retain parts of their identity as shown by their takeover of georgia.
Try reading the good weekend as wel.......