Context Study - Whose Reality Sasdgfsdmple Responses

7/18/2019 Context Study - Whose Reality Sasdgfsdmple Responses

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NOTE: The following compilation of VCAA essays contains medium to strong responses.

Consult the assessors’ report of each respective year for feedac! given.

These sample essays have een printed without corrections.

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VCE ENGLISH EXAM 2008

#$e can evade %reality& ut we cannot avoid the conse'uences of doing so.’

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SAMPLE A – 2008

(n our 'uest to determine and shape our perceptions of the world) we as

individuals are inevitaly guided y our own self*interests and desire to see

ourselves in a positive light. Conse'uently) we fre'uently immerse ourselves in

particular ehaviours or construct facades to avoid the lea! and mere

confronting aspects of reality. +et) in doing so) we create an alternate reality

which can spar! heated conflict with those around us) or ris! plungingcompletely into a ma!e*elieve world which appears much more enticing and

palatale than realism. ,oreover) for those see!ing to mas! and ury a past

riddled with pain and suffering) the heavy urden of guilt cannot e infinitely

escaped. Thus) for those individuals who endeavour to avoid confronting the true

nature of their actions y constructing a fantasy world) conflict is inevitaly

triggered with oth those around us) and on an internal level.

-ollowing involvement in tragic and painful events) we fre'uently see! to avoid

our ealting feelings of remorse) ut in the process) only heighten the turmoil we

must endure. /uilt revealed and eamined often in literature as an emotion and

sensation of such an unfathomale potency that it will inevitaly defy our effortsto the contrary) and encroach on our present reality. (n Enduring 0ove) (an

,cEwan draws on the notion of uncleanliness in descriing 1oe’s guilt after the

traumatic allooning incident) #li!e the feeling of not having washed.’ $ithout

dout) 1oe’s #manic osession with researching 1ed’s condition can e seen y

many) including 1oe’s wife) Clarissa) as stemming from a desire to asolve his

deep*seated remorse. ,oreover) in ,aceth) 2ha!espeare draws on a similar

motif of dirtiness in his portrayal of the heavy sense of responsiility plaguing

0ady ,aceth for her role in 3uncan’s murder. 3espite having initially scorned

her husand’s softness) elittling ,aceth as #too full o’ the mil! of human

!indness)’ 0ady ,aceth is 'uic!ly reduced to a state of lunacy) feverishlyscruing at invisile mar!s on her hands) crying #out) damned spot4’ 5lanche

too) in A 2treetcar Named 3esire) attempts to avoid memories of her role in

Allan’s death y fre'uently indulging in the escapism of athing. +et) 2tanley)

who is presented in dialogue and appearance as in inary opposition to 5lanche)

allows $illiams to highlight how we cannot avoid haunting past eperiences

ecause they will e eposed y those around us. Therefore) the notion of

uncleanliness as a metaphor for guilt encapsulates the etent to which processing

our remorse is an unavoidale) if difficult) process. 6nowledge of our past

wrongdoing is so enduring that not even the most desperate actions will cleanse it

from our minds) and failure to confront it can have disastrous repercussions.

Often) in our relations with those around us) our attempts to avoid reality can

undermine our aility to co*eist harmoniously. 5y evading elements of the truth

and creating false) deceptive facades) we can appear threatening and even

dangerous to those who possess divergent outloo!s. Certainly) the famous



declaration made y T.2. Eliot in his poem #5urnt Norton’ that #human !ind

cannot ear very much reality)’ encapsulates the lac! of tolerance within society

for the eistence of realities which deviate from our own. 2tanley 6owals!i

eemplifies those individuals in society who favour realism and factual evidence

aout all else in achieving vindication for their view point. 5y conse'uence)

5lanche’s demure facade and false pretences aout her innocence and purity)

confessing) #( don’t want realism’ immediately come into conflict with 2tanley

who revels in eing as #common as dirt’. The rape at the culmination of the play

allows $illiams to convey to his audience the suffering and pain inflicted uponindividual who see! to avoid the dominant reality and immerse themselves in a

ma!e*elieve world. (ndeed) 2tanley’s conflict with 5lanche is in many ways)

reminiscent of the schism which emerges etween 1oe and 1ed in Enduring 0ove.

7aradoically) oth are convinced that the other is evading reality) at the

detriment to their personal growth and rationality. On one hand) 1oe is convinced

that 1ed is crouched in #a cell of his own devising’) yet to 1ed) it is 1oe who is

#trapped in a cage of reason’. The violence that erupts etween the two men

further typifies the conflict generated y individuals who are convinced the other

has aandoned reality. Thus) our efforts to escape an unpleasant perception or

outloo! are ultimately rendered futile) as they will e painfully shattered y thosearound us.

(n attempting to ease the suffering and turmoil that we eperience within reality)

we often draw upon fanciful illusions) yet simultaneously ris! losing touch with

reality altogether. Certainly) the figure of 5lanche epitomises the dangers of

daling too heavily in fantasy. (nitially constructing an #incongruous’

appearance to avoid descending to the s'ualor and poverty of 2tanley and 2tella’s

lifestyle at Elysian -ields) 5lanche 'uic!ly comes to rely so heavily on the

illusions she creates that y the play’s end) her entire grasp of reality has een

corrupted) reduced to an almost comical) pathetic figure who is portrayed as

#murmuring ecitedly’ to her #spectral admirers’. (n a similar fashion) 1ed 7arryalso loses the capaility to discern the difference etween fiction and the truth)

even constructing evidence to validate his distorted view. #/reat idea with the

curtains’) he congratulates a affled 1oe in his letter) creating physical symols of

their love to convince himself of the truth in his osession. Aove all) Auden’s

poignant) 'uestioning words in his poem #2eptemer 8) 899’) #who can live for

long in an euphoric dream’) illuminates the utter unsustainaility of a fantasy

world. Thus) despite the alluring nature of illusions) which offer an escape from

realism) it is easy to ecome so reliant on their comforting presence that reality is

completely and disastrously aandoned.

$ithin our eistences) haunting and traumatic eperiences often have such a

disturing and unsettling effect that we are tempted to ury them under a layer of

illusion or directed through. +et) in turning to fanciful constructs) we render

ourselves vulnerale to conflicts with others) who do not comprehend our

internal turmoil and the reasoning ehind our alternate reality. ,oreover) we ris!

either spiralling completely out of control into a world of delusion or facing an

even more potent sentiment of guilt and remorse than we would have otherwise.

Thus) our efforts to evade and escape reality are ultimately rendered oth futile

and dangerous) as we will e forced to face oth eternal and internal retriution.

1,070 words



SAMPLE B – 2008

The other day as ( sat completing one of those 'ui;;es that promises to tell you

what personality you have and how your life will turn out) ( was confronted with

a 'uestion that truly perpleed me. Now) unsurprisingly it was hardly the

'uestion itself that ( found challenging ut rather what it demanded of me< $hat

is your worst childhood memory= ( sat dumfounded) unale to thin! of a single

memory. Now) don’t get me wrong) (’m sure ( have encountered manyeperiences which would fit the ill here) ( did have to survive as the youngest in

a family of !arate !ids mind you) >lac! elts nonetheless4?. 5ut despite rac!ing

my rains so diligently that ( was in desperate need of a panadol afterwards) the

now overly lan! page stared ac! at me. $hy can’t ( rememer= 3oes it mean

that ( have no personality= That my life lac!s meaning=

These were the 'uestions that plagued me long after the 'ui;*earing trashy

taloid had een sent to the recycling heap so ( sought out some trusted friends to

help with my dilemma and discovered that such lapses in memory) particularly

with respect to difficult or unearale circumstances are perfectly normal. (n fact

psychoanalyst 2igmund -reud discovered this tendency to evade difficult realities

many years ago @ it’s called denial. ,any literary tets and psychoanalytical

ournals have since dealt with the ideas which underpin such a desire to evade

reality and eamined the reasons ehind this tendency. Tennessee $illiams’ A

2treetcar Named 3esire is one such literary tet) wherein the romantic

protagonist 5lanche 3u5ois presents a falsified image of herself so as to create

#magic’ and portray #what ought to e the truth’ rather than truth itself. 5lanche

see!s to gloss over aspects of her past which she finds unappealing or difficult to

deal with) a practice that many psychologists elieve to e not only natural ut

also a crucial aspect of our humanity) enaling us to overcome the challenges

with which we are invarialy presented and persevere in life. $e need to e aleto withdraw from our reality sometimes) to regain our strength and to cling to the

hope and optimism that the harsh eternal world threatens all too often. Bncertain

of mind) feele of ody) our capacity to control) to some etent the reality in

which we find ourselves) our opportunity for escapism may sometimes prove the

only thing from which we are ale to draw strength.

5ut how far can this withdrawal from reality e ta!en efore it represents our

sumitting to a fictional eistence= ow far can 5lanche go in upholding her

fraudulent portrayal efore she egins to elieve it and accept it as her actual

reality= -or 5lanche) a denial of reality leads her to spin a we of lies and deceitand though she herself recognises the differences in her constructed and actual

reality) ac!nowledging that she is motivated in her actions y an innate desire to

reignite the spotlight of love which she so suddenly discovered in her husand)

and later) so tragically lost) does that ma!e the tric!ery acceptale= ow can

others recognise what aspects of a person’s character are genuine and which are

faricated when such a meticulously construed image is so diligently proected=

$ill reality invarialy catch up with 5lanche or is it actually possile to

completely evade our true reality=

7sychologists concur that to see! to completely reconstruct reality is a perilous

endeavour and one which will invarialy result in a cruel awa!ening. Even if a person is aware that they are misguiding others) psychologists argue) the

disappointment which they will inevitaly feel when those who they have sought

to deceive discover that truth) is not something that this awareness prepares them

for. (ndeed this proves eerily true in 5lanche’s case as her hopes are dashed when



her rother*in*law) 2tanley 6owals!i sees through 5lanche’s fragile veneer and

conveys the truth of her past to his friend. 5ut is 2tanley right in his desire to

completely destroy the reality which 5lanche has created for herself and in doing

so force her into the cruelly right light of truth= (s it true that the truth is always

etter=

(ndeed) where do we draw the line etween fact and fiction= ( am reminded in my

musings here of another literary tet) Doert 3rewe’s autoiographical memoir

The 2har! Net which attempts to reconstruct his childhood eperiences growingup in 7erth at the time of the Nedland 6iller) Eric Edgar Coo!e. 3rewe elieves

that Coo!e had denied his reality to such and etreme that he was leading a life

of fiction) trying to repress the reality of his physical deformity and the pain of a

life wherein he was constantly ecluded from society. The ramifications of this

descent into denial are undenialy and star!ly clear in Coo!e’s case and lead him

to wrea! destruction and pain on others so as to alleviate his own feelings) ut

where does this leave the rest of us=

7erhaps the est that we can do is to see! to deny only the most difficult) the

most painful memories) momentarily. $hen we allow ourselves to contemplatehardships) without allowing these hardships to overwhelm us) we are left with a

healthy alance and one which is constructive in contriuting to our aility to

meet and overcome hurdles in our life. -ollowing my contemplations of the way

that we evade reality) ( myself proved ale to recall difficult childhood

eperiences from the dar! recesses of my mind and if you prove similarly ale to

demonstrate an awareness of the difficulties you have endured) you may find that

you are ale to loo! ac! and smile at your strength.

948 words



SAMPLE C – 2008

The paper lantern cast a deep lavender silhouette across the room. Duy sighed to

herself as she too! in her reflection) arely a shadow in the stage mirror. 7eople

would often as! why she preferred her ma!e*up room so dar! ut what did she

care= 2he had ma!e*up artists to do the o so why should she worry= 5esides) it

gave the room an atmosphere of mystery and intrigue.

2he loo!ed to the wall and saw the framed newspaper cuttings of herself smiling

her rilliant smile ac! at her with the title< #0ights4 Camera4 Action4 +oung)

eautiful and talented Duy Douge ta!es the spotlight4’

2he had loved< she still loved the feeling of adrenaline pulsing though her as she

entered the stage< the audience waiting in hungry anticipation ready to devour

every morsel of her ody) her voice. And to thin! that after all these years no one

suspected her of eing over 4 >$ell) she hadn’t put on an ounce in over 8F

years4?

2he stood up and watched her silhouette turn to the side. 2he eamined her legs)

her ac! and then her arms) carefully not to frown so as to preserve that eauty

which she had maintained so well for over F years. 2till perfect) she thought.

2ighing with satisfaction) she drew a !ey out of her purse and swiftly opened the

ottom drawer of her des!) searching for what she needed. (t was her refuge) a

retreat into a pool of memories< of youth) of young love. 2he egan to pour the

whis!ey into an unremar!ale lue mug. 2he reminisced gleefully< the sensation)

the colourful and right lights pouring in at you from all sides) until you were

illuminated in light and it was ust you and the spotlight) you and your world. 2he

would often delve far into the minds of her characters without a thought of ever surfacing. (t was ust one character to another< there ust wasn’t time to e #out of

character’. 2he laughed lightly) now that was show usiness) she smiled.

(t was curious though) the act of performing. There was a definite sense of

pretending) of faricating life into the world of the ma!e*elieve. Of drawing

audience memers in) the tale of the hero indulging their inner most passions and

desires...

ad life een a lie= ad we een lying or ust telling little white lies to help us on

our way= And if we were lying) who was it that we were rally lying to= Theaudience= Each other= Ourselves=

2he dismissed the topic aruptly and poured another mug of whis!ey. 2he sipped

it slowly) li!e sweet syrup) soothing golden and light.

The audience would never !now she had drun! efore the performance) they

never did.

2he ust felt safe in this world. 2he didn’t live for the outside world anymore) ust

the thrill of the past) the real magic within. 5eing ale to retreat ac! to the F’s)

the time of glamour) spotlights and fame. er time.



The drug would wor! 'uic!ly) luricating her mind in the comforting li'uid

shield of her memories. 2ometimes) it ust helped to simply num the pain< all

the pain) of loss) of love...

No. 2he wouldn’t thin! of that now. 2he hastily wiped away the signs of wetness

efore they smudged her mascara and smiled in the mirror.

#( used to e Tennessee’s favourite)’ she said to the fading shadow.

2uddenly) she caught a glimpse of something red hiding in the shadows. (t washer first stage dress) ruy red with a lace odice at the ac!. $hy4 2he even had

the same pearl nec!lace to wear4

This dress had made her) had given her the name #Duy Douge’. 2he smiled a

devilish smile and 'uic!ly slipped into the red dress. (t was a old) dar! flame)

screaming seuality and seduction.

Clipping on her pearl nec!lace and sliding on a white feather oa) Duy egan to

glide unevenly across the room. #No) no please don’t stand up for me)’ she said to

her admiring audience. #$hat= Doses) for me= $hy) now that is etravagant.’

2he stumled to the des! and this time pic!ed up the whole ottle) tossing it

down in one swig. $ith faintly hysterical humour she egan to dance the two

step) a 'uic! rustle dance) tossing her feather oa around her. 2urrounding her

was the chorus) her orchestra) her audience) cheering her) applauding< #Encore4

Encore4’ they shouted.

Around and around she spun) until all the colours of the room ecame one< a

fusion of lilac and dar!ness. 0aughing hysterically she danced) the ottle nearly

slipping from her grasp. 2he raised the feather oa aove her head twirling it

around in rhythmic movements as the world around ecame dar!er and dar!er.

(n a matter of moments Duy fell) the scarf wrapping around the paper lantern

and tearing it off) the violent harsh light rippling through the lavender mist.

Crippled y the sudden rightness) Duy staggered to her des!. /raing hold of

her mirror she hauled herself up to see an old woman) staring ac!) mascara

smudged and streaming along her worn face.

2uddenly this face was contorted with rage) as she threw herself against the

horrifying image. -or a moment glass hung) suspended in the air and glitteringli!e fairy dust. And then) nothing. Clutching her leeding hand she loo!ed up at

her ro!en reflection.

895 words



VCE ENGLISH EXAM 2009 #$e do not see things as they are. $e see them as we are.’

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SAMPLE A – 2009

,usical Chairs

#3o you thin! it was a safe day to e out flying a alloon) ,r /add=’ the man

as!ed) surveying though clear spectacles 1ames /add) who was sitting at the

front of the room.

#( @ well) yes)’ /add replied) sweat shining off his forehead. #( mean) ( !new there

was a it of wind) ut oviously ( didn’t epect @ well) noody epects

something li!e that to happen to them.’

#And was the alloon in good wor!ing order=’ the man with the glasses in'uired.

#+es) asolutely)’ answered /add firmly. #(’ve een flying for years) ( wouldn’t @

( couldn’t @ ma!e a mista!e li!e that. (t ust all happened so 'uic!ly) and ( tried to

organise @ ut it was chaosGand then it was ust 3r 0ogan hanging on Guntil he

couldn’t hang on any longer.’ There was an audile sniff from the seated crowd)

and a pale woman with dar! hair pulled ac! lin!ed ac! tears. On either side of

her) two small children watched their legs swinging under the ench. -orwards)

ac!wards. -orward) ac!wards.

#Than! you) ,r /add)’ egan the man with the glasses. #( would now li!e to hear

from arry /add) grandson of ,r /add.’

A young oy made his way up to the seat at the front) replacing /add. e was

accompanied y an older woman.

#Now)’ said the man with the glasses) adusting the volume and pitch of his tone.

#Can you tell me what you saw=’

#( was going for a alloon ride and it was fun ut it didn’t stop and ( was scared)

and it !ept going higher and ( got more scaredG’

#+es) yes) that’s how you felt)’ interrupted the man) #ut what did you see=’

#NothingG( was in the as!et and ( shut my eyes ecause there was so much

screamingG’ he trailed off) his voice cho!ing with rememered terror. The

woman net to him shushed him and rued his arm.

#Very wellGyou’ve een a very rave oy)’ sighed the man with the glasses

automatically. The oy was led ac! to his family) who were waiting to catch him

with tissues and words of comfort. (t was li!e a game pf musical chairs) where

noody !new when to stop) and each time the music played) it was slightly

different. (n the front row a woman with startlingly green eyes held the hand of aman net to her.

#All ( !now is) if we’d sorted ourselves out and anded together) we might’ve

een ale to sort it out)’ /reene said) running a hand distractedly through



thinning grey hair. #5ut that /add pilot panic!ed) and only me and 0acey !ept

our heads together. Then people started to let goGnot me4’ he added hastily. #5ut

other people were acting funny afterwards)’ he finished evasively.

#Can you please eplain what you mean y @ ’

#$ell he laughed4’ /reene eclaimed) pointing an accusatory finger at a man in

the front row. #1oe Dose) he loody well laughed4 Now that’s odd) if you as! me.

There’s 0ogan) hanging on for life) and he laughs4’

1oe rose to spea!) ut the woman net to him placed her hand on him) wary

caution in her emerald eyes. #7lease) ,r Dose) you will have your chance to

spea! shortly)’ stated the man with the glasses. #(s there anything else) ,r

/reene=’

#$ellGno. ( didn’t let go) utGno) that’s aout it.’ And so the music died away)

and another person was called to e the focus of the espectacled man.

#(t wasn’t li!e that4’ urst out 1oe angrily.

#Very well. 7lease eplain the) in your own words) what it was li!e.’

#There was no chance) no timeGit was surreal) as if watching something in a

cartoon. That’s the laugh. Adrenalin) dangerGwe all perceive and respond to

these stimuli differentlyGand that was ustGmy response.’ There was a pause.

#And ( didn’t let go first)’ he said suddenly) loo!ing out at the crowd as if for

validation. 5ut this was nothing new to them. That statement) #( didn’t let go

first)’ was one of the few elements consistent with each witness< even if) under

the microscope of reason) it oviously could not hold true for them all.

#7lease) need ( remind you all) that this is an in'uiry)’ egan the man with the

glasses) with some easperation. #And the aim of an in'uiry is to otain an

oective account of what happened. -ree from speculation or innuendo) and

removed from personal ias as far as possile. (t is not) however) a goal to

portion lame. Dather to conclude whether or not changes to current procedures

are necessary in order to avoid accidents of a similar nature occurring.’

And so the game continued. ,ore players were called. A pair of lovers sang of a

guilty affair) a professor of aerodynamics hummed aout laws of physics) and a

meteorologist whistled aout high pressure systems. All melodies comining) oining together in contrapuntal dissonance and harmony) to create a symphony

of truth) a synthesised reality) woven from many disparate threads to form a

whole. This continued until the man with the glasses decided that the symphony

was complete. And so the music ended.

#No single action rought aout the death of 3r 1ohn 0ogan)’ he egan. #is

death was the result of a series of events which regrettaly culminated in the loss

of a rave man.’ e paused) loo!ing down at his musical notation of the

symphony. #5ut it is clear to me that some stops must e ta!en. -irstly) the flying

of a alloon in such dangerous conditions constitutes a severe lac! of udgementon ,r 1ames /add’s ehalf. ( therefore call for the revo!ing of his piloting

license.

-urthermore) it ehoves to ensureG’



On either side of their mother) two young children lost the rest of his words. The

world of adults was a confusing and painful place. Their attention was held y

something much more interesting. Bnder the ench) their small legs continued to

swing li!e pendulums. -orwards) ac!wards. -orwards) ac!wards.

998 words



SAMPLE B – 2009

The grey car screeched to a halt) stuc! in the rush*hour traffic of ,elourne on a

dri;;ly) grey winter evening. (n doing so the cd scratched) the music momentarily

pausing efore the street melody pic!ed up once again. As the soft piano chords

and acoustic guitar filled the silence) ( turned and remar!ed) #2alvador 3ali once

said that the only difference etween him and a mad man was that he wasn’t

mad.’ ( laughed) thoroughly amused y the distinction.

#Oh yeah=’ the driver replied. #$ell) the only difference etween me and

2alvador

3ali is that ( !now the definition of mad.’

0oo!ing out the window at the myriad of cars surrounding me) all cloa!ed in

dar!ness as the sun said its last faint goodyes) ( wondered if the distinction

could really e that easy.

2alvador 3ali) a master of the surrealist school) was a man who devoted his lifeto 'uestioning and challenging our perceptions of normality) of acceptaility and

most importantly of eauty. e too! the mundane) the ordinary) the simple and

sometimes the rather ugly and he transformed it all into something with meaning.

Or after something that escapes our conventional understanding and forces us to

loo! eyond what we epect and try and comprehend what is outside of

ourselves. ,aye the man who turned losters into a telephone or @ as legend has

it @ saw the disintegration of time in the melting of cheese was right in arguing

that #what we christen to e reality may turn out to e a more elaorate illusion

that the world of our dreams.’

As ( stared out into the indiscernile dar!ness) humming the piano chords thathad een accompanying my musing) ( wondered ust how much of my reality

eists eternal to me. ow much of what ( !now can actually eist and e

comprehensile outside of my own eperience=

5lanche 3u5ois once said) #( want magic @ yes that’s what ( want) magic’.

Tennessee $illiams’ delicate heroine lived out #what reality should e’) 5ut hers

was a different eperience to mine. er life was polarised etween desire and

death) love and money. 5lanche has !nown sorry) death) love and seual desire

eyond my limited eperience. ers was a reality once illuminated and then

dimmed. (f she were to spring out of the maestic literature of $illiams andeperience the reality of the modern world) would our realities e congruent= (

thin! not. 2he and 3ali are two souls that enale their emotions) desires and

eperiences to manifest themselves within their realities to the point of distortion.

They have oth !nown death) 3ali through the death of a young rother whom he

tried to encapsulate and 5lanche the death of a lover she could never replace.

5oth have !nown seual desire< 3ali painted lam shops hanging in e'uilirium

on his lover’s ody to sudue his appetite whilst 5lanche lost herself in

#intimacies with strangers’. 5eyond this though) oth have felt forces eerted

upon their realities to change. 3ali painted himself lue to eplore who he

thought he was inside) whilst 5lanche clinging desperately to what others

perceived of her put on #pastel colours’ and tried to #glow’. And they have oth

encountered conflicting realities< 3ali’s isolation from the surrealist school and

the overwhelming of 5lanche’s glowing pastels y 2tanley’s discordant old

primary colours.



2till humming the sweet melodic song to myself) the car lurched forward

rea!ing away from the usy night streets of ,elourne and into the enveloping

dar!ness of the suurs. The 'uestion) ( thought) was not only what ( defined

madness to e) ut also @ and maye more importantly @ how 3ali’s reality

defined madness for him. -or the collapse of 5lanche’s eternal understanding

into the dream*li!e reality within her) has long een viewed as one of the most

eautiful disintegrations of literature. $e all rely on the !indness of strangers in

one way or the other to reaffirm our own elief in our realities. $e must all !nowreality through the lenses of our eperiences and our values. 5lanche could not

tolerate delierate cruelty) whilst 2tella happily continued to live with a

physically ausive husand. $hilst we may 'uestion 2tella’s reality we can never

understand them for 2tella’s reality is fiated upon the love she feels and not the

pain.

(t is the role of artists such as 3ali and female heroines such as 5lanche and

2tella not to simulate a reality for me) ut rather to enlarge my understanding of

myself and my reality through my own interpretation as distinct from a movie

adapted) an art critic and indeed the author itself. No ( do elieve) dear reader)that your understanding of the piece ( have ust written will e 'uite different

from the eperience ( had writing it.

The only difference etween me and 2alvador 3ali is that...( am not 3ali.

803 words



VCE ENGLISH EXAM 2010 #2ometimes people find themselves living in a world created y other people.’

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SAMPLE A – 2010

#There is an oective reality out there ut we view it through the spectacles of our eliefs attitudes and values.’ 3avid / ,yers.

ence reality is fic!le and seldom consistent) ust as similarities etween the

realities of others seldom arise. Our eliefs) attitudes) values and ideals all

contriute to the individuals perspective and thus are the determining and

constituent factors of one’s suectivity. Our suectivity) the specific and

defining factor of the individual) is shaped y the individuals circumstances.

-urthermore) the suectivity of human eperience and emotion relate to this

perspective of reality which is specific to the individual. 7erspective alone

however is not the only influence in the individuals version of reality) rather) the presentation of reality has an e'ual influence in contriuting to the way in which

that which is oective or impartially so continually eludes the individual. Deality

may e #constructed’ or manipulated to further detract from that which is real)

and oective and presented as a version reality.

ollywood eemplifies the #manipulation’ and #construction’ of reality and how

the suse'uent presentation of this #constructed world’ detracts from that which

is oective. ollywood presents a #constructed’ reality which is reflective of the

manipulation of the editors) directors) and film crews which construct it. E'ually

however) this version of reality is constructed in parallel with the dreams)

fantasies and endeavours of the intended audience) as ollywood see!s to gratifyits audience with a version of reality deemed palatale and satisfying. This

#constructed’ world and indeed its #constructed’ characters emody perfection in

the physical and are often the oect to which a viewer aspires yet for many it is a

reality unattainale. The characters emody the aspects at the viewers li!e in

which the viewer is lac!ing. ence) a ollywood eperience is fulfilling at this

sense of lac!) these insecurities which are ultimately instilled y ollywood. As

ollywood’s presentation of reality is for many unattainale) the viewer lives

vicariously) eperiencing no through their own perspective ut rather through that

of their idealised film star) the life which they wish to ut are unale to lead.

1ust as ollywood constructs reality and presents this to others) so to do faceoo!

users who display doctored or visually enhanced images of themselves in a id to

e considered more appealing and more attractive. Bltimately such users see! to

alleviate the insecurities of their own imperfections which ollywood instils)

eploits and manipulates. The advocacy of these users to present a false version

of reality) a constructed visual person) is a y*product of ollywood’s portrayal

of perfection. (ndeed) such individuals inspire to emody the perfection which

their idealised ollywood stars do. (n doing so) these individuals eist in a

created world) a world encouraged and integrated y that which ollywood

instigates.

Doert Altman’s #The 7layer’) y way of its metafictional 'ualities lurs the line

etween reality and fiction. An eample of this metafiction to #a!eas Corpus’

#the film within a film’ which proves to e the constructed product of #The

7layer’) wherey presenting #The 7layer’ itself as that which is oective) instead



they are Altman’s constructed version of reality which is confused and undefined.

-urther eemplifying this metafiction is the casting and characterisation) wherey

actors play themselves alongside others who play characters. (n essence those

that play themselves are presented to e real and those playing characters<

constructed. #The 7layer’ therefore) ironically analyses #ollywood’ and displays

the manner in which this film presents the constructed world at #a!eas Corpus’

as the product of yet another constructed reality< that of /riffin ,ill.

/riffin ,ill through his ehaviour portrays the way in which the human mind) ust as ollywood is capale) constructs a version of reality thoroughly detached

from the truth) from that which is oective. ,ill #constructs’ 3avid 6ahane to e

his stal!er a fallacy which ,ill was adiment to e truthful. This false elief was

the product of anonymous postcards for which ,ill elieved 6ahane was

responsile. The psychological anomaly) his intense paranoia and pervasive

mistrust in those around him) was the result of these postcards) postcards which

were indeed facilitating in ,ills construction of a false reality. The anonymous

individual responsile for the postcards was directly attriutale to ,ills reality)

hence those around us the reality which the present) our circumstances which

contriute to our perspective) directly) influence one’s own version of reality.

Deality is fic!le and seldom consistent) it is suect to constant manipulation)

alteration in its presentation) and the filtering effect of the individuals

suectivity. Deality itself may e constructed ut indeed such a reality is not

oective or impartially so. 2uch construction and manipulation of reality may e

the direct influence of those around us or those who li!e ollywood present a

version of reality. (n essence however our version of reality is the product of our

suectivity.

798 words



SAMPLE B – 2010

(t’s different sunlight @ one which imparts ustice upon the world @ that enters

courtrooms) and it’s cutting through the crumpling shadow of a man that is Eric

Edgar Coo!e. (ronically) it is almost an inustice that he is to commit the single

murder alone * it is well !nown and widely accepted that he is responsile for si

of 7erth’s murders over the past four years) possily more. is gutless) loody

!illings have shattered this city’s innocence and culture. Our windows and doorsare now loc!ed) whereas once we had the freedom of openness. 2alty ocean mist

would find no arrier to eploring the corners of our homes. No longer. The foul

actions of one man have eaten away at our freedom. Our world has een forever

changed.

Everyone in the room is staring at him @ at us. The accusing stares of the

prosecution) the witnesses) the victims’ families not only center on him) ut they

also sear into me as if () in some way am responsile for his gruesome crimes @

the crimes which have destroyed the 7erth which they once !new. ( feel guilty. (

am guarding a murderer @ one who has utchered their family and friends. One

who doesn’t deserve the privilege of someone protecting them.

(t is light on the legal system that we must sit here and watch him have his

moment in the sun) for he has forever shaded ours. No more do we sleep on our

verandas< the cool) even rushing of the waves filling our ears has een replaced

with gunfire and sirens. There is no need to put the families of the victims

through this ordeal @ the man is a murderer and should e committed) and then e

convicted of murder) that much is certain. The voices of the prosecution and

magistrate are dreary and drawn out. 2urely everyone must !now that there is

only one possile outcome to this farce. Even he seems to !now it. e revels in it

@ he is cruel smile unfading as he surveys the photographs of his loodiedvictims @ the means y which he has ta!en our innocent) eachside world and

crafted it into one of misery and despair. (t is incomprehensile to me as to how

one so devoid of good is formed. is murders have challenged my faith) and

though no one wishes to comment on such religious issues at present) a

communal rethin! of our eliefs is sure to follow in the aftermath of this man’s

murderous rampage. The man is evil) something ( !new not to e possile on

Earth. e must have nothing to lose) ( dout he would even e married) even if

he wasn’t so malformed in ody. Out of the corner of my eye ( can see his twisted

mouth ittering as he laughs at the photographs of his loodied victims. is lac!

of remorse is chilling) and his amusement at his handiwor! and suse'uent stateof affairs is not secret to onloo!ers< their ga;e forming into a glare of disgust. (t is

unsettling) ( feel uncomfortale eing in the same room as him) let alone sharing

the individual attention which he is paid. (’m desperate for the magistrate’s final

worlds @ the inevitale committal.

(t’s a different sunlight that enters courtrooms. 7olice) lawyers) the 7ress) they’re

all strea!ed y it. (t’s the sunlight of ac!nowledgement. ( can feel its rilliant)

luminous rays through this heavy) lue suit ( inherited when my father died. (

rememer him wearing it home one night. (n his drun!en rage he straps my

mother with the uc!le end of this very elt and loc!s her outside for the night. (

protest) only to have this dull) lue tie pulled around my nec! and tightened @ he’s anging my head against the wall @ it’s still wrapped tight when ( wa!e up.

+es @ this suit has een party to monstrous acts. 7erhaps it’s only apt that (’m

wearing it. ( am a monster.



2plashed with sunlight) they’re all watching me now. (’m not a #misfit’ anymore)the world accepts me now) (’m numer one. -inally (’m eing recognised @ after all) ( have changed their lives. They all thought that they were superior to me @ they thought the world was theirs @ ut the tides have turned) they’re not so highand mighty anymore. They !now (’ve seen them in their cars) through their windows) on their verandas @ they !now the power (’ve held. #5irdmouth)’they’d never call me that anymore) particularly not those posh girls from3al!eith) they’re all too scared. (’m too good for those girls anyway. They laughat me) ut (’m too smooth for them. Too clever. Their arrogance faded as soon asthey stopped uilding those huge windows in houses) and when padloc!s eganappearing on doors. 5ut that couldn’t stop me. ( still rememer the eact house

plans from the newspapers @ my memory is eceptional.

( see fear and uncertainty in their eyes) their attention is unwavering. ( hope this

is drawn out for as long as possile. They only have themselves to lame. They

cast me from their world) their society. (t’s not their world now though. ( am in

control) and they fear me ecause of this. Even my guard is nervous of me. ( find

it very amusing @ (’m eginning to laugh. Everyone is watching me nowG

everyone ecept that young ournalist at the 7ress tale. $hat is he doing= $hy

don’t ( have his interest too= ah @ he’s fainted) no wonder he’s not payingattention to me. ( recognise him) its 3rewe’s oy @ Doert @ ( haven’t seen him in

years. Nice !id) always trying to impress me. ( rememer he was pumping up his

i!e tires on the way to North Cottersloe 5each in a pin! usiness shirt. (f only

everyone !new how good my memory is. #2carorough 5each’s the est’ ( told

him. ( was one of the est openwater swimmers at the clu) plenty of practise on

the way home from the emassy of course. The water was my world. ( had

con'uered it) ( could hide from the harsh words of the Nedlands girls in it) ut

there is no need to hide now.

e’s come around) aout time too @ he must have een out for at least 8

minutes. e’s the same as ( rememer: e still wants to impress someone< he’s

still trying to ecome a man. e wants to e what ( am @ recognised. e wants

igger) etter things< the world at his fingertips. e’s staring at me through the

sunlight now. ( see more fascination than fear or uncertainty in his eyes. ( li!e

him.

( thin! (’ll win! at him. ( wonder if he recognises me.

ow aout that @

e does.

1,120 words



VCE ENGLISH EXAM 2011 #2hared eperience does not mean that people see things the same way.’

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SAMPLE A – 2011

Deality is ultimately suective in nature. As Doert 3rewe states in the novelThe 2har! Net) #memory may falter) and portraiture is a highly suective

endeavour ut ( have tried to tell a truthful story.’ -or Doert loo!ing ac! upon a

past life with newly gathered eperiences) to retell his past with the perspective

initially associated with it would have een nigh on impossile. (ndeed this

suective nature of reality leads itself into the possiility of multiple realities

which can do eist at one time. The /ree! philosopher 7lato argued that an

#oective view’ on reality will continue to evade us as we remain trapped in our

own suectivity. As a result we will never estalish one #truth’ as people will

continue to hold their own uni'ue perspective of the world and their place in it.

Our morals) our eliefs) eperiences and values all help shape the s!ewed lens

through which we see the world. Our world view is the changing intersection of

the world and our interaction with it. No two people can live the same life nor

share the same eperiences and as a result each of us will continue to hold a

different perspective of the world and our place in it. 5lanche 3u5ois in

Tennessee $illiams’ A 2treetcar Named 3esire lived a life at 5elle Deve that

shaped her view of the way things #ought to e’. owever this perspective did

not fit with the harsh and often rutal nature of life in New Orleans. 2tanley

destroyed the faHade of which 5lanche lived y. 5lanche was punished for

rea!ing herself free from the commonly accepted view of reality held y those

in New Orleans. owever) had her version of reality een accepted y someodysuch as ,itch her story may have ended 'uite differently. The eample of

5lanche serves highlight the eistence of multiple realities. The clash of realities

etween 2tanley and 5lanche underlies the significance of morals) values)

eperiences and eliefs in shaping and moulding our perspective of the world.

,emories are unreliale< many fade over time ut it is often memories of oy and

pain that stic! with us over our lifetime. ,oments of great success or moments of

great personal loss. (t is the significance that these moments played in our lives

that allow these memories to shape the person that we ecome. +et while

memories shape us) we too shape our memories. The eperiences that we gather over time inevitaly alter the original perspective that is originally associated

with a memory. ,emory is a reflection of our perception. The novel 2pies

highlights the role in which our everchanging perspective shapes and modifies

previous moments in life. -or 2tephen) as a child the elief that 6eith’s mother

was a /erman spy was very real and yet loo!ing ac! with the !nowledge that

she was not immediately changes 2tephen’s perspective. At the time the oy’s

#mission’ was highly dangerous and secretive ut again loo!ing ac! with new

eperiences and !nowledge it is merely an eample of #oys) eing oys’.

5lanche’s view of the past as well shaped her view of the way things #ought to

e’ as did 2tanley’s rough past forge his violent and aggressive nature. Their

reflections on the past led to their clash of realities and 5lanche’s tragic end.

Again) these eamples serve to highlight the ultimately suective nature of

reality. This suective notice allows us to alter our perception of previous events

which in turn shape who we are in the present. This too can lead to the eistence



of multiple realities and will continue to result in human eings having their own

uni'ue perspective of what is reality.

An #oective reality’ will continue to evade us as human eing while we remain

trapped in our own suectivity. This is what is argued y the /ree! 7hilosopher

7lato in his #Allegory of the Cave’. $ithin the story prisoners are ound y

chains on oth their arms and legs so that all they see is the wall directly ahead of

them. A flame ehind provides light allowing the formation of shadows on the

wall as people pass through the cave. This is what forms the prisoner’s reality)anything else is non*eistent. $hile the prisoners never leave the cave) does this

ma!e life outside the care any less real= 7lato argues that we as humans are yet to

reach the limits of our understanding as a result of our suectivity. $ho is to say

that the universe does not epand forever= -rom a religious perspective while we

cannot physically see our /od that does not mean that there is neither a eaven

or a ell. (t is this suectivity that will forever halt us from otaining a certain

#truth’ or an #oective reality’. This is what leads to one event eings seem as a

multitude of ways and for us as human eings to continue to hold our own uni'ue

perspective of what is reality.

Deality is ultimately a suective endeavour. This suectivity leads itself into the

possiility of the eistence of multiple realities serve to highlight the fragile and

tenuous group that we have as a common reality. $e should always 'uestions our

reality in order to roaden) deepen and etter our understanding of the world and

our place in it.

882 words



SAMPLE B – 2011

3ear 2ir)

3avid 6ahane’s scathing comments in his article >The Age) 8st Octoer? were)

if not a call to arms) certainly a call to pen for me) a longtime lover of the film

industry. is suggestion that people who sit in a cinema of a ollywood

loc!uster share the same thought) feelings and emotions than!s to the clever manipulation of ollywood producers) was) 'uite fran!ly) insulting. e reveals

the eight ingredients which have een mied together y ollywood to provide

audiences with a #shared eperience’ @ one that will e palatale to all. They are:

se) nudity) violence) hope) fear) suspense) laughter and happy endings. e

deludes himself into thin!ing that he has lown the lid off some secret

closelyguarded y money*hungry movie moguls. e elieves that these movies

are manipulating the minds of the audiences around the gloe and teaching us to

thin! the same way and share the same values. $ell) 6ahane) the shared

eperience of watching a movie does not mean that people see things the same

way.

,ovies are) for me) something very personal. They provide two hours in which (

can escape the realities of my world: the starvation in Africa) the war in

Afghanistan) terrorism in 7a!istan) the gloal financial meltdown...( see my

world through the eyes of the media and watch as 1ulia /illard implements a

caron ta) refugees wait ehind ars for a chance of freedom. These are many of

the sad realities of life and ( forget aout them for two lissful hours in the world

of ollywood. (t is a fantasy world constructed for me) where the perfect man

does eist and good can defeat evil...owever) ( am not so simple minded that (

simply morph into ollywood’s views and values. The minds of an audience do

not merge into one. ,ovies mean something different for everyone.

( grew up with the magic of ollywood. ,ovies have always een a part of my

life. $e were the first home on the street with a colour television and overnight

we ecame the most popular house in the neighourhood. Their motivations were

ovious) to admire the magic of colour and to oin us on our great escape into the

world of ollywood. ,y father loved movies.../one $ith the $ind) a story of

the sassy 2carlett O’ara set amongst the ac!drop of the Civil $ar’ They 3ied

$ith Their 5oots On) the last adventure of /eneral Armstrong Custer and my

childhood favourite) The $i;ard of O;) a movie which saw 3orothy and Toto

enter a world #somewhere over the rainow’. +ou see) my father was a child of the /reat 3epression. e escaped the hard realities of his life @ the hunger) the

poverty) the suicide @ y sitting in a dar!ened cinema which illuminated hope and

happiness. The movies they showed were eacons of hope for a generation

dar!ened y the despair of depression. ( can only imagine what 6ahane must

thin! of these movies...ollywood #trash’) unrealistic and romanticised versions

of reality. -or me) they are a memory of my childhood and a symol of support

and hope.

The power of movies etends eyond the silver*screen and into other art forms.

0oo! at 1ohn 6eats) for eample) a man who could #fly upon the viewless wings

of poetry’ and soar into the world of his -ancy. This was necessary for a man

whose young life was shrouded y death’s threatening promise. 7oetry was to

6eats what movies were to my father: an escape route. $hen you read the

glorious language of 6eats you too) can fly eyond the realm of reality and into a

constructed one. 5ut does this mean that we see the same things= -eel the same



way= ( highly dout it. Art is a powerful thing. (t was strong enough to lift 6eats

to a higher world of eternal oy and eauty. (t is also very personal and can affect

people in an infinite numers of ways. That’s the eauty of the human rain. (t is

so comple and we each carry a different one’ capale of imagining) creating and

eperiencing different things.

Of course as we get older our rains egin to mature and walls eing to form. (

am slightly ealous of my five*year*old daughter’s ama;ing aility to dream and

to imagine. Christmas morning is one time at my house when reality is dissolvedand 2anta’s illusionary magic infiltrates my home. (t is a shared eperience for

myself) my husand and daughter @ we wa!e up at Iam) open presents eat

together and enoy the magic of Christmas together. owever) my daughter sees

it in an entirely different way to me and my husand. ( protect the secret of 2anta

ruthlessly ust to see her loo! of charming incredulity at the sight of the half*

eaten carrots and empty eer can. er naivety is so eautiful. 2he readily accepts

the reality the world has created for her as truth. 6ahane must) too) elieve that

audiences of ollywood loc!usters are li!e my five*year*old daughter:

ignorant) naJve and ready to elieve anything. Bnfortunately) ( am older now and

( can draw the lines reality that ollywood has lurred. ow can 6ahane suggestthat an entire cinema sees the same things= $e all watch the movie) yes) ut we

see it differently. ( went to the movies only last wee! and was sitting in a cinema

of young children) proaly still elievers is 2anta Claus) and old people with

white hair) the memory of the depression proaly still lingering their minds.

3o not generalise a ollywood audience) 6ahane. ,ovie eecutives and

produces may target audiences ut they most certainly hit different spots.

+ours)

1ohn 2mith

943 words



VCE ENGLISH EXAM 2012 #Our fantasies can e more powerful than our reality.’

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SAMPLE – 2012

7DE7AD(N/ -OD TE 2O7OCA0+72E

5y ,ichael 0eunig

#,an can never get enough of what he doesn’t need to ma!e him happy.’ @ Eric

offer

2pring has finally arrived ringing forth a sense of hope for humanity that

seemed somewhat inhiited y the preceding winter months. The land glistens in

all its natural glory) ut why waste my morning in the sun when ( can spend it

drowning in the punitive glow of a thousand fluorescent lights= On this particular morning) ( find myself casually duc!ing in and out of stores in Chadstone

shopping center #Chaddy’ @ the holy sanctum of the modern consumer.

The domed glass roof and tac!y palm trees only accentuate the vast gap etween

life and this soul destroying cathedral to emptiness. This shrine to

massconsumption and #mass*mindedness’ is the haitation of the modern

consumer. #(ndigenous people have long said that the uni'ue and comple 'uality

of the land significantly forms the authenticity of the culture and people.’ No

wonder the gap etween authenticity and a synthetic fantasy is ecoming

increasingly lurred.

Everyone loo!s anaesthati;ed. 2occer mums harouring pram loads of snot*nosed

preschoolers whilst sipping s!inny lattes. -at people with an etra large uc!et of

fried chic!en in one hand and a grant pret;el in the other. Consume consume

consume... that’s what it’s all aout. ( enter into a mild da;e as ( lan!ly weave

my way through the endless rows of pointless speciality stores) oserving the

oundless supply of new fangled gadgets and gi;mos @ each one screaming at me

to give in to temptation.

#The rot of conformity sets in’. Cheap clothes) processed food and anything with

a remote control is the only way to distract the consumer from the vacancy of his#wilting soul’. e can e seen trying on a pair of luury trousers or handing his

credit card to the dreadloc!ed lady ehind the ench with the scented candles.

7rocurement is his herroin. The effect is not lasting) however) soon the fantasy

will wear off and once again) he will find himself on the mad pursuit to attain his

net hit.

As ( enter one of the saundry !itchen supply shops) ( find myself uncontrollaly

reaching for my ac! poc!et at the sight of that radiant 'uesadilla ma!er. After

all...( am only human.

,an has ecome trapped in the fantasy in which the ac'uisition of pointless

material items is the !ey to a happy life) our so*called happiness measured y the

economic indicators of society. #$e have delayed our souls with all sorts of toic

un! and chaos’ in pursuit of happiness) however) is the consumer genuinely



happy when the fantasy wears off and he sits alone on his designer couch in sil!

paamas= 1ust as the great poet*philosopher 0ao T;u claimed that #True art does

not loo! li!e art’) perhaps the same can e said aout happiness.

#The alienation that we feared is the very alienation we end up creating for

ourselves and society’. #$hat consumerism destroys it replaces with crude

synthetic sustitutes for life and personal truth.’

$e learn to applaud this fantasy and #shun the real thing’. ( hope (’m not aroundwhen the world wa!es up from this ostentatious fantasy to find no authentic

happiness in sight. $hen the #mania posing as KhappinessL’ wears off) all we left

with is that pathetic collection of miniature warships that we got on sale at 5ig

$.

#(t is not unusual these days to hear that the world is coming to an end.’ $ith the

doomsday fast approaching) the Apocalypse a fre'uent topic of conversation) we

may as well spend up and indulge in this fantasy while we still can. Muesadillas

anyone=

608 words



VCE ENGLISH EXAM 2013 #0osing touch with reality is often dangerous.’

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SAMPLE – 2013

(t is crucial to !eep in touch with reality. The ris! of falling into dangerouscircumstances is heightened when individuals choose to ignore reality) or are not

allowed to see the truth) and instead emrace illusion. Arthur ,iller’s vision of a

post war America out of touch with reality due to the influences of the

aspirational American 3ream displays this through the character of $illy 0oman.

,ore recently) the /loal -inancial Crisis has highlighted how vital it is to

remain fied on reality) while 1ulian Assange and the $i!ilea!s movement have

given contradictory messages on ust how dangerous illusions are.

$illy 0oman is a struggling salesman on the verge of retirement) struggling with

financial epenses and aout to lose his o. The American 3ream) which promised so much for Americans in the aftermath of $$(( @ a luurious house) a

perfect family) an enoyale o and an endless supply of money @ had eluded

$illy. +et he fooled himself into thin!ing it hadn’t. e maintains that he is #vital

in New England’ when in fact he is aout to lose his o) and ac!nowledges that

#usiness is tough) it’s murderous) ut not for me of course4’ This remar!ale

denial of the truth is particularly dangerous for $illy) as he ris!s losing the

support of his own family over the mounting saga of illusion. is son 5iff laels

him a #phony old fa!e’) implying that $illy is consciously choosing to ignore the

actual circumstances of his life in favour of a more comfortale illusion created

y the intangile American 3ream. Arthur ,iller highlights ust how dangerous

losing touch with reality is through $illy) with the salesman havinghallucinations) flashac!s and contradicting himself regularly. e laels 5iff a

#la;y um’ efore immediately changing his opinion to 5iff eing a #hard

wor!er’. The ludicrous nature of such illusion is what ,iller see!s to highlight.

$hen a person confuses reality with illusion) the dangerous mi that develops

wea!ens the aility to distinguish what is real and what is not. $illy’s wife 0inda

acts as ,iller’s mouthpiece in the novel) warning that #attention must e paid’ to

those who ignore the fact that the aspirational American 3ream is in fact no

wor!ing as hoped. 0osing touch of reality is certainly dangerous @ ,iller sees it

as responsile for creating a consumerist culture living paychec! to paychec!)

while the urden of mortgage ring honest wor!ing people to their !nees. ,iller warns that a solution must e found) or that the nation of America will sin! into

an illusion that will pose a terrile threat in the future.

That threat emerged in the form of the /loal -inancial Crisis in late ) as the

American 3ream created suprime lending crisis conspired with the urst of the

housing price ule to send America fumling into recession. -or decades)

speculators and hedge fund operators had played a dangerous game) trading dets

and investing stoc!s they held in principle. The an!ers played with institutions

they foolishly thought were #too ig to fail’. ow wrong they were. The financial

sector lost trac! of the reality of investment and ranched out into dangerous

uneplored methods of lending. ,eanwhile) ,iller’s nightmare materialised as

the pulic over*spent and over*orrowed) defaulting on loans and putting the

an!s to the sword. The people hadn’t stayed firmly in reality. The an!s had

ecome slac! in approving loans. The government didn’t have any control. A

dangerous game was played and lost< millions found themselves unemployed)



clutching at the i7ods and No!ias as capitalism itself ro!e. (t was as if a young

child had thrown a toy away with anger @ the American nation had lost touch

with reality) its terrile conse'uences. +et the American pulic did something

unthin!ale. They didn’t act li!e $illy 0oman had) li!e Arthur ,iller

pessimistically thought. The people) instead of continuing on) waiting for the

American 3ream to swoop down) an eagle dressed in an American flag) and save

them all) marched on the financial institutions in $all 2treet. Thus) the

worldwide Occupy movement egan. The intentions of those with the idealistic

vision of the #99P’ ta!ing power ac! from the elite were good in nature) yetthey were unfortunately not realistic. The protestors themselves lost trac! of

reality and thought they could enact lasting change. 2'uatters and serial

protestors don’t enact lasting change) as the media coverage depicted the

movement. No 0ehman 5rothers figures were charged with financial crimes. The

8P remained in power. The fallout from the /-C showed that collectively)

America had to stic! to the true circumstances) the true potential for change)

instead of foolishly thin!ing of few to!en protests would change history.

Closer to home) infamous hac!er 1ulian Assange has een living dangerously.

Through $i!ilea!s) which he founded) he pulicly aired the dirty laundry hiddenwithin the secret government cales etween nations. e founded $i!ilea!s

hoping for transparency) eing worried) li!e ,iller was) of a gloal society losing

trac! of reality with government hiding the truth. $i!ilea!s was ale to move the

curtains of illusion of the geopolitical stage) yet Assange himself has fallen into

the very part he was attempting to fill in. 2tuc! in 0ondon’s Ecuadorian Emassy

due to pending etradition for rape charges to 2weden) Assange thought it wise to

run for a 2enate seat in the Australian -ederal Election in 2eptemer) 8. e

won 8.FP of the vote in Victoria. ( suppose that eing stuc! on the other side of a

planet isn’t a good way to campaign. That said) $i!ilea!s) lost touch with reality

too< party memer 'uiet due to a lac! of transparency. (t was all very ironic) and

goes to show that however much changes is desired) stic!ing your head in thesand li!e Assange did) losing touch with any form of logical through) is not going

to win you elections or pulic support for that matter. $i!ilea!s is ecoming

irrelevant) and Assange’s poorly constructed solution to the lac! of diplomatic

cales to air as resulted in a pulic relations disaster. $i!ilea!s lived dangerously

yet ultimately stepped across the line into a world of illusion they wanted to

destroy forever.

(t is essential to maintain a firm grasp of reality. The sanity of society rests on the

premise that the maority of individuals so. Arthur ,iller saw that the American

3ream was causing a whole generation to shroud themselves in illusion and ris! terrile damage to their personal welleing) financial staility and family. The

/-C displayed this too. The funeral of capitalism) a system once thought

impregnale >at least till China came along? and) li!e its monstrous financial

institutions) #too ig to fail’) occurred ecause ureaucrats) an!ers and

consumers were foolish enough to lose trac! of reality with dangerous

conse'uences. 1ulian Assange’s actions suggest that all the good intentions in the

world are not enough if you do not practice what you preach. Deality must e

!ept in a tight grasp @ the financial security) the political transparency and health

of society depend upon it.

1,158 words

Context Study - Whose Reality Sasdgfsdmple Responses

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