Scene 1
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” This essentially means that what seems good is actually bad and bad things are actually good. Nothing is as it appears to be. This theme of deception reoccurs throughout the play of Macbeth.

Scene 2
Macbeth is a hero, and his king loves and trusts him calling him “worthy cousin”. Macbeth is loyal to his king in turn and is humble about his skill with a sword, even as he is proclaimed as “Bellona’s bridegroom”. He has the “golden opinions” of his fellow Thanes, but does not abuse them.

Scene 3
The three witches predict that Banquo will be the father of kings, and be both “lesser than Macbeth and greater” and “not so happy, yet much happier” than Macbeth. For Macbeth they hail him as “Thane of Glamis”, “Thane of Cawdor” and “king [to be] hereafter”. Banquo wonders why Macbeth is so disturbed by things that seem to be so good. Macbeth is worried because he believes that to become King he must kill the present King. He and Banquo alike are both wary and disbelieving of the witches’ statements. Banquo’s question, “Are ye fantastical, or that indeed which outwardly ye show.” addresses the themes of deception and fate in Macbeth.

Scene 4
Duncan’s remark of the treasonous Thane of Cawdor “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.” is particularly true. Through the characters’ facial expressions, you can not tell whether they are mad or loyal to you. It is ironic that Macbeth, the newly appointed Thane of Cawdor, is also going to present a false face and commit highest treason, just like the hanged Thane. Banquo’s reply to Duncan expresses his undying loyalty to the King. Macbeth, on the other hand, is not saying all that he means. When he discusses going home to tell his wife about Duncan’s visit so that they can prepare for the royal company, he really is meaning that he must go home to plan the murder of Duncan.

Scene 5
Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth is too cowardly to kill the King and so she asks the spirits to “unsex her” so that she can become brave and masculine like a man. Lady Macbeth believes that she will be able to murder the King herself if she is manlier. She tells Macbeth to pretend that everything is good, and that she will come up with the plan for murdering the King and will tell it to him later.

Scene 6
Shakespeare probably included Scene 6 in the play so that the audience can see how Duncan is loved and cared for by his people, but also to show how trusting and ultimately vulnerable he is.

Scene 7
Macbeth regrets the decision he has made to kill the king because it is morally wrong and will destroy his soul and send him to hell. He likes Duncan, because Duncan is a good king. Also, Duncan is trusting Macbeth to keep him safe in Macbeth’s home and Macbeth is planning to betray him. Lady Macbeth compares Macbeth to herself because she is strong. She insults his manliness and calls him weak and cowardly for not having the guts to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth suggests that they should blame the guards for Duncan’s murder by using their daggers to kill the king and smear blood all over their faces.

Macbeth – Act 2 Questions

Scene 1
Macbeth doubts that the dagger he sees is real because when he moves to touch the dagger it “jumps” away from him. His imagination is getting the better of his feverish brain, projecting images that do not exist to the senses other than his eyes. Macbeth has become obsessed with the whole murder and is very nervous about committing the deed. When Macbeth realises he is procrastinating, he tells himself to start acting. He doesn’t really want to murder the king, but Lady Macbeth tells him he must, or risk looking alike a coward in her eyes. He feels nervous and delirious about committing the deed, hesitating until the bell rings, breaking him from his stupor.

Scene 2
After Macbeth kills Duncan, he cannot believe that he has done it. He fears to think on what he has done, and to look at his bloodied hands. Lady Macbeth fears that he will give them away because he has not followed her plan of leaving the daggers with the guards. The sounds of the night frighten her, because they have upset the natural order and anything can happen.

Scene 3
During the night the natural world has responded to the king’s murder – chimneys fall, strange screams are in the air and the earth shudders. The natural order has been upset. See attached printout for translation of “Had I but….this vault to brag of.” In this touching speech, Macbeth expresses his regrets of the king’s death, because his life was good before, but now it is bad. Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland because they do not believe the version of events setup by Macbeth and his wife. They fear that they will be the next to die because they are next in line for the throne. They could also be implicated for the crime because they would have a lot to gain from their father’s death in normal circumstances.

Scene 4
The discussion between Ross and the old man about the weather and other natural evens is included to further show the upheaval of the natural world. An owl has attacked a falcon, the king’s well-trained horses have started eating each other, the weather was very stormy and the sun did not rise at the correct time, leaving the “day” in darkness. Duncan could be compared to the sun, because he does not rise from his bed and his death signals the reign of darkness by Macbeth. Macbeth is currently on his way to Scone to be crowned king. Macduff refuses to go to Macbeth’s coronation, snubbing Macbeth. Malcolm and Donalbain have fled to England and Ireland and because of this, are blamed for the murder. Important quotes in this scene foretelling the future events in the play are said by both the Old Man and Macduff. The Old Man says “That would make good of bad, and friends of foe.” This actually means that everything is going to be reversed, and that Scotland is no longer safe. Nobody knows who to trust because everyone is trying to hide their true face. Macduff says that “our old robes sit easier than our new”. In our new English this means that the future may be harder to cope with than the past. This is particularly true for Macduff, because he makes his life harder because he sides against Macbeth for the greater good of all.

Macbeth – Act 3 Questions

Scene 1
Banquo probably did not want to help the prophecies about him come true because he did not believe that the witches were speaking the truth. Macbeth as a character has become more callous as the play progresses, as show by his soliloquy justifying his wish to have Banquo killed. Macbeth believes in the prophesies made by the witches, showing him to be a superstitious man. His deductive reasoning however does not excuse the murder of Banquo. Macbeth persuades the murderers to kill Banquo because if they talk, he doesn’t want to be blamed for the murder of an ‘innocent’. If Macbeth makes it appear that Banquo is a threat to the crown, Banquo’s death will not appear so suspicious. Also, Macbeth is trying to convince himself that it is the right thing to do.

Scene 2
The murder of Duncan has not brought Lady Macbeth the happiness she expected because she is being haunted by the blood on her hands. Also, she is no longer in charge of Macbeth. Macbeth arranges to have Banquo killed, without her knowing. He tells her to “be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck.” Lady Macbeth becomes worried about this change in her husband, because she can not control it. Macbeth decides not to tell Lady Macbeth of how he has arranged for Banquo to be killed, because he wants her to be innocent of the knowledge, and not have to lie if she is asked about it. Macbeth begins the ruination of his marriage to Lady Macbeth by excluding her from his plans. Lady Macbeth feels left out and rejected and so she is less interested in her husband and becomes more self-centred.

Scene 4
When Macbeth hears that Banquo has been murdered, but Fleance has escaped, he is still worried about retaining his kingship through his own bloodline. Fleance is a son of Banquo, and according to the witches prophesy, the sons of Banquo shall be kings. Macbeth doesn’t want to go to hell for killing Duncan and not even have his own child on the throne. The people gathered at the feast must have thought that Macbeth was ill or mad, or he had great guilt on his conscience when Macbeth reacts to the presence of Banquo’s ghost. Macbeth fears Fleance and his own future after his death in hell. He decides to go back to the witches and ask for confirmation. Towards the end of the scene, Macbeth realises that his strange visions (Banquo’s ghost) are due only to his fear as a beginner who is inexperienced in crime.

Scene 6
Lennox and the Lord believe that Macbeth killed Duncan. Lennox uses sarcasm to express his hatred of his own king. Macduff has asked for aid from the other kings, namely the king of England, to help deal with the problem of Macbeth. Macbeth is preparing for war on the king of England and to exact his revenge on Macduff, who refused to come to his coronation.

Macbeth – Act 4 Questions

Scene 1
The warnings issued by the three apparitions were: “Beware the Thane of Fife” – beware Macduff, “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” – none born from a woman shall kill Macbeth and “Macbeth, shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill” – Macbeth shouldn’t fear death Birnam Wood comes to Dusinane. The first apparition confirms his suspicions about Macduff, the second and third both boost his confidence of living to an old age. In an aside, Macbeth says ‘The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.” By this he means that the things that he feels in the future will be acted upon immediately. Macbeth has become cruel and mean.

Scene 2
Lady Macduff regards the flight of her husband with dismay and anger. She feels that Macduff’s running away will only make him appear guilty because his actions make him appear guilty not his fears. Lady Macduff doesn’t want to flee because she is happy where she is. She now feels that her husband is a traitor to her, because he has forsaken her and his marriage vows. Lady Macduff feels that the world she lives in is corrupt and deceiving, stating that she could easily find a new husband at the market! Also, in her back to front world, to do harm is praise worth and to be nice is stupid. She believes that this is all the fault of the natural order being upset.

Scene 3
Malcolm is suspicious of Macduff because Macduff tries to persuade him to return to Scotland with an army to overthrow Macbeth. Malcolm fears that Macduff has been sent by Macbeth to lure him into a trap. Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty by pretending that, if he were to become King, he would be an even worse tyrant than Macbeth. Malcolm is fit to rule because he cares about his country, and wants to do something about the blight of Macbeth on it. Also, he describes all the things he would do to his country if he was King, but Macduff feels that these things could not happen because of Malcolm’s generous nature. Malcolm is pretending that he is the opposite of what he really is.

Macbeth – Act 5 Questions

Scene 1
Lady Macbeth has taken to sleepwalking and getting out of bed at night, writing on paper, then folding it and returning to bed. She rubs her hands and talks to herself about the blood of Duncan on them. Lady Macbeth is obcessing over the murder of Duncan, and also that of Macduff’s wife and children.

The doctor says that Lady Macbeth’s illness is “beyond [his] practice” because he does not deal with things like murdering kings. However, he has known others who have walked in their sleep and he feels that Lady Macbeth’s rare condition is due to the horrific things she has taken part in.

Scene 2
Macbeth is said to be either mad, or filled with fury, because he is fortifying his castle home of Dunsinane. Macbeth is unable to control his undisciplined followers with his rule alone.

Scene 3
Macbeth has become disillusioned with his life and the venents happening in it. He wants the doctor to cure Lady Macbeth of her disease, but he really doesn’t care much about her anymore.

Scene 4
Malcolm intends the soldiers to disguise their numbers by carrying branches. He doesn’t realise it but he is also fulfilling the witches’ prophecy, by bringing Burnam Wood to Dunsinaine.

Scene 5
Macbeth does not really react to his wife’s death, because he doesn’t really care about he and he really is thinking “Oh well, she would have died eventually anyway.” Macbeth does not believe that the wood is moving, he doesn’t want to believe it. He thinks that the servant is lying, but still he is afraid, so now he must depend on the other prophesies.

Scene 7
Macbeth is still relying on the prophesy of “None of woman born shall harm Macbeth”. Macbeth feels very scared of his future, because he is no longer protected by the woods.

Scene 8
Macbeth wants to avoid Macduff in the battle because he has already killed the rest of Macduff’s family. He feels that there is already enough of that blood on his hands. In Macbeth’s last few moments of life he doesn’t want to be considered a coward. This feeling is stronger than that of fear of death.

Scene 9
Order has been restored because Macbeth has been slain, and the rightful king is not on the throne. The Macbeths are now considered mad murderers – “the dead butcher, and his fiendish queen.”

A set of questions/quotes highlighting the synopsis of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

These stories cover important issues such as birth, life, death, identification, dreams, parenthood, belief in god or not, mental stress, emotional breakdowns and renewal, family, beginnings and endings and ambitions.

“The Water was Dark and It Went Forever Down” is centrally set on a beach during the Summer school holidays. It traces the feelings of an un-named girl who has an alcoholic, badly burnt mother, through her recognition that to live life to the fullest, she must leave her mother. This comes at the cost of realising that “[living, surviving] they are the same thing.” “No difference.” The linear timeline with flashbacks created by Tim Winton clearly displays that birth, death, life and renewal are prominent themes.

“.By her foot, she saw the carcass of a small bird all over the island she found dead birds: whole, mutilated broken

that was it the web of life.

.The sick and the week died and the young and the strong lived and thrived

. there was no more room, she decided, for feeling sorry for dead things and dying things and sick things: for her mother or even herself . now there was only time to live, survive.”

“Death Belongs to the Dead, His Father Told Him, and Sadness to the Sad” is set in a café, down the road from a bookshop. It is probably set in Melbourne because there are “Moreton Bay figs in the park.” It is told in the third person as a linear narrative, with the narrator observing everything impartially in the present tense, in the same way that The Man observes the life passing though his café.

The central issue that the story revolves around is The Dying Gentleman’s daily visit to the cafe. At the beginning of the story, The Man does not allow anything to impact on his life, ignoring even the screams for help from a man being chased by an axeman. However, he is attracted to The Dying Gentleman, becoming involved with the struggle that The Dying Gentleman is having with death. At the end of the story, The Man catches The Dying Gentleman as he falls from life, and is left with a dead body.

The ending to the story is effective, bringing the story to a close, practically before the tale has started. The entire story is only about 4 pages long, but it makes an impact on the reader because of the poignant images brought to life by Tim Winton. In this story about death, life is portrayed as something to be looked after, because you never know when death is going to come for you.

At the start, the story “Holding” is situated in Calvin’s car in the city. It’s also set at the houses of the three main characters Calvin and Jan’s and Hart’s, Hart’s work, and the restaurant ‘Picnicks’. The entire short story is set over a period of one to two weeks. It is a third person narration, told in the present tense as a linear narrative. However, Hart has dreams which relate to the future.

“Unexpected but good news, Jan’s pregnant”. Then there was a sad angry tone when Jan has a miscarriage.

The main crisis is that Hart has been having nightmares that Jan gets pregnant and she dies because of a miscarriage. Not long after his dreams Calvin announces in a joyful, happy tone that there is “unexpected but good news. Jan’s pregnant.” Nonetheless, soon after this, Calvin calls Hart and tells him the devastating news, Jan’s had a miscarriage and that it is “fucking awful, worse than having a live one”. Hart’s dreams do not come true however, because Jan survives. After her miscarriage, both Jan and her husband want to keep on moving with their lives and go to the ‘Picnicks’ restaurant to continue past the problem. This end to the story is emotional and has a large effect on all the characters because that’s when Calvin calls Hart to let him know that Jan had a miscarriage.

“Distant Lands” is set in the newsagency which is owned by Fat Maz’ father. The bulk of the story is set at lunch hour and also at night, as a linear narration. The story revolves around the novel Distant Lands and the man who reads it every day in the newsagency. Fat Maz is unhappy about her weight, looks and life but she enjoys watching the man reading the novel because it makes her feel happy to see someone else enjoying something so deeply. Fat Maz is intrigued by the man and goes out of her way to keep the book there for him to read. The ending is effective because when the man finally finishes reading the book and leaves the girl picks up a piece of hair he left in the book. The feeling is of excitement, but also of confusion.

All of the stories in this collection contain the message that you should move on when troubles occur. It is impossible to turn back time, so there is no point in dwelling over things that can’t be changed.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a memorable story of desire colliding with responsibility. Gilbert Grape must look after Arnie 24/7, but also stop himself from becoming like his father, with no hopes or needs. This fine line is sliced by his relationship with Betty Carver, who has her own problems or desire and responsibility conflicting, but repaired by his new relationship with Betty.

Gilbert Grape is a prime example of the conflict between desire and responsibility. His responsibilities include looking after Arnie to “keep him out of trouble” and to “keep up the repairs” of the Grape family home. After Gilbert becomes involved with Becky, he wants to spend a night with her watching the sundown but needs to bath Arnie. Gilbert attempts to teach Arnie to wash himself so that Gilbert can go to Becky, but this fails. Arnie spends a miserable night in the bath, because he is unable to understand Gilbert. Here, desire collides with responsibility and wins with bad consequences, because Gilbert does not yet know how to balance the two.

Gilbert attempts to keep everyone happy – having a love-less affair with Mrs. Carver and looking after the house. In this case, Gilbert’s attempts to keep Momma ignorant of the house’s state are successful but his repair jobs are unable to fix the problems. This leads to guilt, and eventually an implosion in which the house is destroyed, along with his previous life.

Mrs. Carver has responsibilities to her family, but she ignores them in order to fulfill her desire of Gilbert. Whenever Gilbert appears, she tells her children to go outside and “play”. By ignoring her responsibilities, Mrs. Carver creates tension in her family home and eventually this is reflected in Mr. Carver’s heart attack. However her desires ultimately lose to her responsibilities because Gilbert stops obeying her orders.

Becky is the catalyst of change that provides a new outlook on life for Gilbert. She asks Gilbert what he wants, but he replies with all the things his responsibilities to his family require of him: “for Momma to go to aerobics classes, for Amy to have a new job.” When she asks “What do you want, just for you?” he replies “I want to be a good person.” This is a major turning point in the film. After this, Gilbert starting thinking of his own wellbeing more, but still fulfils his responsibilities. At the very end of the film, a year after Arnie’s fateful 18th birthday party, Gilbert takes Arnie (symbolizing his responsibilities) and joins Becky and her Grandmother in their travels around the world (fulfilling his desire). The conflict between desires and responsibility finally ends and a peace is brought to Gilbert’s world.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a film presenting desire colliding with responsibility with different results. Gilbert himself is the main target of this collision as well as Betty Carver.

Another year 11 english essay.

Macbeth is mostly a victim of the witches’ prophecies. Macbeth would never have considered killing Duncan without their words about the future, and his wife’s powerful hold over him. Macbeth regrets the deed after he has done it and wishes that he could bring Duncan back to life. The witches were expected by the people in the play to be tricksters and untrustworthy, yet Macbeth ignored these feelings because of their “fair” prophecies about his future.

Macbeth considers the murder of Duncan carefully and decides “[that] we shall go no further in this business.” He is really an honourable man who respects and loves his king. He already has the “golden opinions” of the other Thanes and his king, and he is Duncan’s friend.

Lady Macbeth goads Macbeth into killing Duncan by saying “and live a coward in thine own esteem.” and various other insults. Without Lady Macbeth as a “spur to prick the sides of [his] intent”, Macbeth would never have killed Duncan. When Lady Macbeth stated earlier that her husband was “too full of the milk of human kindness” she was right. Even if Macbeth had heard the witches’ prophecies and then not told his wife, he would still have become king, but he would not have had to kill Duncan and damn himself. Lady Macbeth works with the witches (unintentionally) to bring about her own downfall and her husband’s.

The witches wanted to create havoc in the human world by targeting Macbeth. They are equivocators, twisting the truth or telling half truths to confuse their victims and drive them to ruin. The first witch says of Macbeth “by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” By this, the audience can tell that the witches have a hand in Macbeth’s nature, because he was not wicked before they told him the prophecies. Without the witches’ prophecies, killing Duncan would never have occurred to Macbeth. Macbeth was not ambitious enough to think of killing Duncan to become king, and he would not have known that he would become King after Duncan died because of Duncan’s two healthy sons, ready and named to rule after Duncan.

Macbeth regrets killing Duncan almost as soon as he has done the deed. He says to Lady Macbeth after killing Duncan “Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!” He loved his king, and killing him was a betrayal as well as treason. By killing Duncan, he has damned his immortal soul and killed his sleep.

When Macbeth is first told of the prophecies, he is afraid. Banquo remarks “Why do you start, and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?” Macbeth is afraid of what he might have to do to become king. Macbeth’s powerful imagination is also his downfall. He was the one who first imagined that he must kill Duncan to become king, and he is drawn to Duncan’s chamber by an imaginary knife.

Macbeth is mostly a victim of the witches’ prophecies because he would never have considered killing Duncan without their promises of Kingship. However, his ambition and his wife’s ambition also attributed to his regicide.

Year 11 English Essay

Racism is an underlying force in the novel Montana 1948, by Larry Watson. It is an attitude that motivates people, by which they justify their actions. Certain people, such as Julian, Frank and Wes, are very racist. So is the general community of Montana.

In the community of Montana, racism is blatantly obvious. Daisy McAuley , as an example of the local women, refers to the Indian women as “squaws.” This is a kind of racist terminology, which includes terms such as “black gin”, “nigger”, “redskin”, implying racial inferiority. Daisy knows that Frank Hayden has raped Indian women, but she doesn’t much care. Because the community is prejudiced against the Indians, people ignore what is going on between Frank and the women. The general feeling is that the Indians are ignorant , so how could they know what a doctor is supposed to do when examining them? Bentrock is “really in 1948 still a frontier town in many respects.” In other words, the European invaders have pushed the indigenous landowners into the reservations – people generally accept that this is the way things should be.

Racism is shown as a function of ignorance and misunderstanding, Julian Hayden providing a prime example. His two story “dude ranch” is a symbol of his opinions. He believes that he is more clever than the Indians just because he is white. The Europeans have conquered the West because of their brute force and guns, not necessarily because of their knowledge or intelligence! This does not stop Julian’s racist way of thinking. He refers to the Sioux as “red meat” and denigrates them – ultimately, just objects to be used by his son, Frank. Details used by the author to highlight Julian’s boorish, crude nature include his references to bodily functions and his frequent use of foul language.
The Hayden sons represent two different degrees of racism as the powerful family ‘progresses’. The younger generation has the advantages of education and wealth, causing them to modify their expressions of racism. Frank, the villain, is an opportunist, using the prejudice of the community to support his own evil ends. He abuses his position of trust as a doctor. He knows that the community will take his word rather than an Indian woman’s. Frank relies on the bias in the legal system (institutionalised racism) to save his slimy white arse.

Wes “probably thought he was free of prejudice (against Indians)”. However, the reader notices his more subtle expressions of prejudice. He prevents David from wearing a gift of moccasins, because he believes that they would make his son “as flat-footed and lazy as an Indian.” David knows that his father believes that Indians “with only a few exceptions were ignorant, lazy, superstitious, and irresponsible.” Wes respects Ollie Young Bear, “an example of what an Indian could be.” …in this, Larry Watson nicely observes how the exception can be made to prove the rule. Watson shows the unfairness of the education system towards Ronnie Tall Bear who seems to be equally capable as Ollie, because Ronnie is judged to be “good enough for the army, but not for college”.

Gloria and Gail, the wives of the Hayden sons, are the only two white people in the novel free from prejudice against indigenous people. This may have been because they come from different states and have moved into Montana. David shares his mother’s ideals, seeing only Right and Wrong, not European and Indian. Through these characters, and also through Marie Little Soldier and Ronnie Tall Bear, the novel presents images of hope, moving forward towards social justice.

The novel shows a community that is changing and people in conflict over the issue of racism. The reader, like David Hayden, becomes sceptical of human nature, history and the law, because the novel has dramatised racism in many forms.

Year 11 english essay

In the film “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” Lasse Hallstrom shows us that the traditional family is not always the best family. This raises the question: what is traditional? Is it a family with a mother, father and children? By this rule, the only traditional family in the film is the Carvers, who definitely have problems.

The Grape family may be called typical of the current times, being a single parent family, but not traditional. The best family in the film consists of Becky and her grandmother, two happy souls travelling the country.
Hallstrom’s example of a traditional family, the Carvers, shows the audience that it is not always the best to be traditional. Although the Carvers are “respectable”, their relationships with each other are superficial. Mrs. Carver doesn’t care for her children, telling them to “go outside” so that she can organise Gilbert’s “delivery”. Mr. Carver is very insecure and this is noticeable in his daily life. He has no idea how to play with his children, and his marriage is falling apart because his wife is having an affair with Gilbert. He tells Gilbert that they “need to talk”, possibly about the affair. Soon after this, the strain kills him, leaving his wife and two children slightly happier and able to do what they want to do – leave Endora. When the family becomes modern, things become better.

Becky and her grandmother are the best family in the film, modern and “worldly”. Consisting of only two members, they are happy in their caravan “just passing through”. They are not even close to being a traditional family, but they are still the most functional out of any of the others. However, Becky became the person she appears to be in the film because of her suffering as she grew up. This shows that good things can come from bad beginnings, such as Gilbert’s static life in Endora. Becky brings Gilbert out of his self-imposed shell and stops him becoming like his father, who gave up on life and committed suicide. By bringing Gilbert into her family, she lightens the load of Arnie and helps him to begin a new life, and eventually family, of his own.

The Grapes are concentrated on by Hallstrom as an example of a dysfunctional family. Every time the audience sees the family sitting together, there is an argument taking place. When the kids and Momma are making plans for Arnie’s 18th birthday party, it becomes a fight, especially between Gilbert and Ellen, over who does what. Momma says “Can’t we do anything as a family?”, further highlighting the irony of the situation. The children are the ones looking after the parent, not the other way around as in traditional families. However, when Momma dies, in spite of all the arguments, the remaining Grapes ban together to save their mother from the shame of being lifted out of the house by crane.

Gilbert and Arnie are inexplicably bonded together by family love. Gilbert protects his brother from anyone who might hit him because “nobody hurts Arnie”, even though at some times he feels very frustrated with him. Compared with the Carver family, the Grape family are happier, because they are supportive of each other and attempt to understand each others needs at a basic level.

Traditional families, the Carvers, are shown to be lacking something important in Lasse Hallstrom’s film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? The members are self-centred and are unable to fit into society, unlike the members of the modern family, Becky and her grandmother. The Grape family is an example of a semi-modern family which is dysfunctional, but throughout the film, things become better for them. Momma’s death is the final release for all of the Grapes to be free to do their own things.

Year 11 English essay.

The young male characters in Minimum of Two are not a homogeneous group in their life experiences or in the ways in which they deal with society. Most of them however, are characterized by a sensitivity that makes them very aware of the world around them and the demands of that world. They struggle, with varying degrees of success with the changing expectations that Australian society places on men. In the series of stories in which he appears, Jerra learns to cope with a number of issues, including a lack of job satisfaction and being a house husband. He also has to grow into an adult relationship with his parents and to cope with becoming a parent himself. Madigan tries to maturely cope with the rape of his wife, but descends into an almost primeval revenge response to the situation. Hart finds his sensitivity and heightened perception make him venerable to the trials of life and he relies strongly on good friendship to cope. None of these male characters find their struggles easy.

Winton depicts society’s expectation that young men have a job through Jerra. Jerra, in Forest Winter has a job sawing wood, which he thinks is bitter work. By reading further stories about Jerra, the reader realizes that Jerra had once wanted to pay for his family his music. However, society forces Jerra to give up his dreams and work at a menial, boring day job because musically, and also for his father, he “wasn’t good enough.” Jerra struggles to come to terms with his role as a house husband in The Strong One. He feels ill-equipped to deal with “looking after a baby.” As Jerra grows into adulthood, he becomes surer of himself and has an affair in More, which his wife Rachel is aware of but does not like mentioning. Jerra was too young to have a child, but in having one he becomes older, more hardened to the knocks and blows of life. His relationship with his parents is strengthened by Rachel’s trust in them, but also the nearness of death in the shape of his father.

Hart, in Holding works as a nurse, but is unable to deal with the pressures involved in maintaining a professional attitude towards his patients. He becomes emotionally involved with the Pusher trying to “break into that ten year old before the case conference at the end of the week.” Hart doesn’t want other people classifying the boy as hopeless, a lost cause, because in the Pusher he sees something of himself. Hart is “not coping” with his life, desperate to change but unable to. Only his relationship with Clive and Jan holds him together.

In the title story of Minimum of Two, Madigan struggles to come to terms with his wife’s rape, but is unable to maturely deal with the situation. He eventually ends up murdering Fred Blakey in revenge, but this does not make things “right and whole” again with Greta. Instead his actions repel her from him, making it hard for him to live his life. If Madigan had considered further, or had been more experienced he would not have forced the truth from his wife and become a murderer.

All of the young male characters face difficult issues in their lives. They are a diverse group, offering many different responses to the reader. Some successfully come to terms with their situations, while others despair and either retreat from life or react with anger and frustration. Although they have varying degrees of success, they are all sensitive to the world around them and struggle with the changing expectations of Australian society.

Year 11 English essay

PG Wodehouse liked to write amusing stories for the general public – “gay if you see what I mean, rollicking if you still follow me and debonair” (Author’s Preface to “Thank You Jeeves”). His unforgettable characters, especially Bertie Wooster and his butler, Jeeves, make the stories funny.

Bertie is a member of the English privileged class, a real gentleman. He is often put upon to share his ample supply of money with his friends, Bingo being the main perpetrator. Bertie likes to gamble, his people skills are lacking and so he often gets into trouble. He has a passion for outlandish clothes, such as his fruity cummerbund, Old Etonian spats and bright purple socks, much to the dismay of the conservative Jeeves.

Jeeves is very brainy, putting his superior intellect to use in the various difficult circumstances in which Bertie finds himself. Jeeves is the brains of the outfit although he is a member of the working class. He has his face straight at all times, never fazed except by Bertie’s fashion crimes. Jeeves always backs the winning horse. Much of the humour of the stories derives from the servant being smarter and luckier than the master.

Bertie is fun to be with, but is just an olive short of a martini. I like him because he always tries to do what he thinks is the right thing, but it always backfires. In life you always see the people who are full of life (Berties) getting into trouble and the clever, studious people (Jeeveses) trying to get them out of it. That is why these stories, written in the 1930s, still touch nerves as well as involving us.

Wodehouse uses a casual mixture of upper-class speech patterns and educated English. The style can be confusing for the first couple of pages but once you get used to it you have a good laugh and realize that it is very clever. There is racy dialogue.

PG Wodehouse also attempted to tackle the issues of his day, including the need for social reform during the depression, in “Comrade Bingo”, and the hazards of being single in a sexist society – in all the stories. Wodehouse claims, “I believe that there are two ways of writing novels. One is mine, making a sort of musical comedy without music and ignoring life altogether; the other is going right deep down into life and not caring a damn.” (“The Inimitable Jeeves”, Introduction). However I believe that he went deeper than he was prepared to admit. “The Inimitable Jeeves” contains light satire as well as ultra light farce.

Wodehouse was born in Guildford, Surrey, in 1881 and was educated at Dulwich College. He became a popular journalist and novelist, writing over 90 books, including “Carry On, Jeeves”, “Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit”, “Jeeves in the Offing”, “Thank You, Jeeves” and “Very Good, Jeeves”. He was made a Knight of the British Empire in 1975 and he died that same year on Valentine’s Day, at the ripe old age of 93.

My favoured genre is the fantasy novel. I appreciate a writer’s use of imagination in creating an alternative world into which the reader can escape. However, after being introduced to these books by my persistent mother, I branched out into some other areas of literature. I like historical novels and “The Inimitable Jeeves” interests me in the same way.

My challenge to my readers is, see if you can tear yourself away from your usual fodder and try a Jeeves-and-Bertie book. You may want to consume them all.

Year 10 English book review