Satire

10) Why this made my laugh becuase it highlights the idea that we teach our kids by giving them grades and how ridiculous it is to grade kids that young, the cartoon successfully utilities exaggeration.

1) This made me laugh becuase the person as seen 20 to 30 years ago was known as a revolutionary who fought for many countries to result to change where as today he is just seen as a cool image. Irony is used when we see the shirt he wears shows the image of Bart Simpson as the new revolutionary figure only because how different he is as a character and what he represents. 

7) This made me laugh as it is presenting a caricature of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard as they have a constant struggle for power. Exaggeration is used for Kevin being the moon with a big face and Julia with the big nose. Also the fact that when Kevin is regarded as the bad moon rising suggests that back in 2007 when Kevin was elected PM he wasn't a very good leader for Australia.

11) This made me laugh when I saw in the background it say's Australia Idle meaning who is the most useless. And when we see John Howard we get the picture that him just losing to a worm is a direct attack saying that he is useless. Sarcasm is used in this cartoon making it look like a big deal to win the competition when it's obviously not.

Anh Do - Winner of Australian Literary Prize 2011

Who did Anh’s father rescue from the concentration camp?

a)      His eldest son who would later become Young Australian of the Year

b)      His wife’s two brothers who had worked for the Australian military

c)       Two of the armed guards at the camp who were really employees of the Australian military and were in disguise.

2.       What was the length of the fishing boat in which they escaped and how many people were on it?

a)      40 metres long with 9 people

b)      9 metres long with 40 people

c)       20 metres long with 20 people

3.       What honour was Anh’s brother given in 2005?

a)      Australian Refugee of the Year

b)      Australian of the Year

c)       Young Australian of the Year

4.       What was the main lesson which Anh’s parents insisted that he learn after coming to Australia? The main lesson was for the boys to get involved with as much as they could so they could give back to the country who gave their family a second chance.

5.       Why was Anh able to attend a prestigious school like St Aloyisius?

a)      He worked in a sweatshop to earn enough money to pay his fees

b)      He won a half scholarship

c)       St Aloyisius always takes in a certain number of refugees as part of their charity work

6.       Explain how Anh tried to overcome the problem of having no text books for his lessons.

7.       Describe what he wore instead of the official sports uniform.

8.       True or false:

a)      His mother earned less than $7 an hour as a cleaner in a hotel.  T   or  F

b)      At school, Anh was the class clown and this was when he knew he had a future as a comedian.    T   or   F

c)       He was often punished at school with a strap.    T   or   F

d)      No-one at school knew at the time that Anh and his family were poor.  T   or   F

e)      Anh’s father left the family when Anh was growing up.   T   or  F

9.       What did Anh study at University?

a)      Fine Arts, majoring in Drama

b)      Law

c)       Pure Mathematics

10.   What did Anh do for his mother when he was only 23 years old?

a)      Gave her money for a holiday back in Vietnam

b)      Arranged for her to come and see his first public performance as a comedian

c)       Bought her a house

11.   How old was Anh at the time of this interview?

a)      30

b)      33

c)       40

12.   What was the motto which Anh’s father taught his children to live by?

 They were told to do as much as they can to give back to Australia who gave them a second chance

13.   Was Anh the victim of racism as he grew up?

14.   Write ONE extra question which you would like Adam to have asked Anh, and what do you think the answer would have been?

Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)

Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)

1.  What word in the opening sentence means ‘short and flat’? Pug nose

2.  What is so ‘Australian’ about Barry West? Barry is described to have the red stained face like Australian Summers.

3.  What is the opening interaction between the two characters about? Barry and the author are fighting becuase Barry thinks she is dirty becuase of her Indian background.

4.  What is the protagonist’s home country? Delhi India.

5.  What word means “noble and splendid”? (p75) aristocratic

6.  In what way is the protagonist’s home country “aristocratic”? Delhi described by the author with it's Places, towers and temples seems very aristocratic. 

7.  Where did the protagonist’s father move his family to? Why? The authors father moved the family because he felt that there was no opportunity in Delhi. In Australia being such empty nation had lots of opportunity for the family.

8.  What is the protagonist’s attitude towards the citizenship ceremony? (pp75-6) The author didn't really think the ceremony meant that much as she 'Met Australia' in the playground.

9.  How is Barry West the antagonist? Barry West is the antagonist because he is the character who is in conflict with the author who is the protagonist.

10.What is the irony of the comments made by Amy and Cris? (p76)The irony of the comments are that Amy and Cris are discriminating the author to be 'dirty' becuase of her Indian background despite both of them being of Eastern European decent telling from their last names.

11.What is “you have to face the world” a metaphor for? (p76) This means that no matter what happens you have to experience it whether its good or bad becuase that's just what happens in life.

12.What is the teacher’s hair compared to? Is this an example of a metaphor or simile? (p77) The teachers hair is compared to a halo, this is an example of a metaphor becuase she isn't saying its like a halo she is saying a halo.

13.How is the children’s cruel creativity put into action once Wei-Lei arrives? (p77) The childrens cruel creativity is an obvious cliche of children changing around people's name into something funny. Wei-Lei making his name sound like pee.

14. Explain the relevance of the ‘cat and toy’ metaphor. (p77) The relevance of this metaphor is a true indicator of the kids brutality. Their cat like actions are a strong description of their harsh treatment of Wei-Lei.

15.How does the children’s cruel creativity have a more sinister side? The childrens cruel creativity could well as be an indicator or a dark side to them which gives the reader an idea to feel fear for this person in the future.

16.What does the protagonist mean by “the afternoon passed like a death sentence”? (p78) The author meant that all day she was worried of what might happen becuase of what she had done to Barry. There was always that adrenaline feeling when you know something bad might happen in the future.

17.Why does the protagonist see everything Indian “lit by a spotlight”? (p78) When she goes home after being so heavily evolved with the tradition of Australia as soon as she comes home she realised how traditional her family is.

18.How does the story build to a climax? (p79) The story builds to a climax by giving us the cliche version of a immigrant working hard through tough times to success. We see through the harshness of the authors childhood and how it turns to a more positive and better life as the author grows up.

19.What is the irony of Barry’s fate? (p80) The irony of Barry's fate is how he made fun or and discriminated the authors Indian background and where he's going is going to be very similar people to the author.

20.Explain what the protagonist means by “as our faces changed, so did Canberra” (p81). The author means as they grew up and became more mature their lives changed in Canberra to the harshness of school to the wonders of university and what they wanted to do for a living and how they wanted to live their lives.

21.What do you think the protagonists’ definition of being Australian would be? (p81) I think the authors definition of being Australia is feeling a sense of belonging. I think once the author fitted into society and did the little things like go to the cafe everyday and go to the bar and talk with her friends after many years she had finally felt like she belonged, therefore her idea of being Australian.

why does it matter?

Anzac Day by James Chong pg239 

In this story the author presents a confronting experience of a boy in highschool who was born in Australia but has grown up in an Asian family trying to fit in society by taking part in Australia's tradition.


What is most important about this story is that it gives confronting experience about how a boy who was constantly taking part of Australia's traditions is totally shut out of Australia's heritage. "I was not allowed to be apart of the Anzac Tradition" This experience really defies the stereotypical view of Immigrants carrying on their own tradition in a different country. We are shown how the ABC denies a person of a Asian background the right to take part of this tradition.

The irony in this story is when ABC comment on the picture of the author in his kilt playing the bagpipes "true blue?" we can understand why immigrants wouldn't want to be like a country full people who stereotype people based on their looks. Essentially are the actions of the ABC against the author "True Blue?"

The importance of this story is it removes the cliche version of a immigrant who overcome exclusion by handwork over time and really focus's on the problem. The result to this story is the reader is left wondering how can a whole nation support the idea of excluding a certain people which make us understand the struggle of living in society.

why does it matter?

Read any story that we haven't read yet and write a review of the story and explain why it matters. Why should anyone care about the story/read it?

Papa Bear pg 183 

In this story the author talks about his father how he grew up through primary school and what he did throughout highschool and in university before he moved to Australia. He talks about how his dad lived a very dangerous rebellious type life in Shanghai begining with starting to smoke and 14 and soon joining a gang in highschool. The author describes how has father was like and he he treated him throughout the authors school life and how his life was with his parents mainly focusing on his dad. Also the author  really honestly describes his father and how even though he was involved in so much wrong and how ironic the authors father's personality was how the author still looks up to him.

I think people should take the time to read this story becuase the author makes a very interesting description about his father and this reiterates how important role models are for kids. "In primary school, my dad would coat his daily homework sheets in a thin layer of wax so he could scrape off the teacher's big tick and hand in the same sheet again another" The author cleverly depicts his father as someone who always cheats in life and what is important is that throughout the story when we learn about all the bad things the author's father has done throughout his life it is interesting to see how even in different cultures this story being an Asian culture the author still looks up to his father as a role model.

Also another reason why I think you should take the time to read this story is the author has used humor to describe his life and the adventures his parents had in university and how they met which give the story a bit of spark and make it very interesting to read. "Considering my dad looked like an anorexic Chinese mafia messenger, it's a wonder he pulled at all. Mum says she saw a kind of heart. She wears glasses" The author successfully uses humor to describe how his father's personality was. We get evidence that the author is really insulting his father but really we can infer he is just stating how he was and what kind of character he had.

Lastly the most important reason why you should take the time to read this story is based upon the very last page of the story. When the author uses repetition to describe the last few characteristics of his father. "This is the same man who used to mix a little whiskey with my milk to pacify me, the same man who recorded me snoring when I was six and played the audio everyday like it was a top 40 CD" what is very  important becuase it is evident to see in the story is this Asian family is very different to a typical Australian family becuase of what the father experienced growing up is pretty rare but it is especially rare to see despite all this the author still wants to be exactly like his father. "He's the same, yet he continues to surprise me. He's my dad. And I want to grow up to be just like him"

Assessment notes

* Another cultural perspective
cultural naunces
immigrant struggles
greater insight
Historical perspective
Evokes sympathy
Common themes
Belonging- Racism
struggle
family
motivations

My First Kiss by Lian Low

1. How does the author describe Malaysia in regards to showing affection? The author describes Malaysia as a place were showing affection for another person is illegal. Which makes us conclude that people in society don't really show any affection towards each other at all due to strict censorship.

2. What happens to the author when she hits puberty? At the start of puberty the Author starts to become very shy and self conscious about herself. She retreats from the tom boy childhood that she lived and starts to literally escape to the atic in her house to be alone.

3. What is the author’s experience at school when she first arrives to Melbourne? The author experiences the new culture that she has been thrown into. At the start of school she experiences the xenophobia of the Australian school kids which is why she feels so alone. She is only approached by the students who were overseas born Asians as none of the white kids took an interest in her.

4. What is it that made the author feel that she wasn’t Australian even though she spoke English fluently? Since the author wasn't born in Australia she had grown up with the culture of Australia in her childhood. So when she came to Australia after living in Kuala Lumpur all her childhood this meant that she had to conform into a society that she wasn't used to in the peak of her childhood. The author also had an accent from growing up in Kuala Lumpur which also gave her a sense of not fitting in so we can understand her lack of confidence from living in a different country during puberty which resulted in the author having the mindset she was different to everyone else.

5. What else was it about the author that further alienated her from her peers? When the author tells another girl that she is in love with kd lang her friends suddenly put pressure on her to be straight rather than being the person she is. This peer pressure that she was placed under made her confused about her sexuality which started with her peers.

6. What does the use of description like ‘crash hot’ do to the audience’s perception of the author? As an audience people may think that using language which is typically 'try hard' modern language is strange for someone who has grown up in a different country. So from this we get the sense that the author is not begin herself due to her trying to fit in.

7. What opportunity does university give the author? What is it about university which would allow her to express herself more freely? Through the university the author was able to have the opportunity to write and perform. When the author is given a short film project this gives her a great opportunity to express herself through creativity in this work.

8. What role does creativity play for the author? Why do you think that creativity would be so important to her? Creativity for the author was the key to unlock her confidence about being a person and having a sense of belonging. Creativity for the author was so important becuase she was able to overcome her lack of confidence through writing and performance to explore her multiple identities and to gain acceptance from her family and her peers.