Conor

=Hello=

In Humanities I hate doing grammar and English but i love doing history, geography and group projects. My goals this year are to advance my knowledge of history up to the modern day and to get good marks.

Now, enjoy some lovely Chuck Norris humour Chuck Norris made a happy meal cry. Chuck Norris was asked if the world would end in 2012, he replied " depends how i'm feeling that day". Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door. Chuck Norris sleeps with a pillow under his gun. Every night before he goes to bed the Boogeyman checks his cupboard for Chuck Norris. Jesus can walk on water, Chuck Norris can swim through land. There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals Chuck Norris hasn't killed yet. When Chuck Norris jumps in water he doesn't get wet, the water gets Chuck Norrised. Chuck Norris died 10 years ago the Grim Reaper just hasn't built up the courage to tell him.

Chuck Norris be with you all and death to the gnomes!!!

My Bill Nugent Story ** The Prisoners ** ** Bill Nugent ** ‘Walt,’ I called as Walter Drury ran off into the woods. I suddenly realised that I would be the one that was given the job of murdering all of the young, innocent German prisoners in cold-blood. As I turned to face Corporal Foster I gulped loudly and had and I showed large amount of fear in my eyes. “Well now that coward Drury is gone I guess the job is up to you Nugent,” said Foster casually. Fear and panic rushed through my head. I can’t desert like Walt, I’ll be shot. As Foster led me down to the gravel pit to execute the prisoners I started to shout, “I won’t do it, I won’t, I won’t!” Foster wasn’t leading me but I just kept going down the gravel path. As I walked down, everything around me came into great perspective: The crunch of the gravel, the slight blowing of the wind, the tweeting of birds in the distance. Suddenly everything around me had changed. Then I noticed the prisoners that were to be condemned by my hand, they were young and innocent and were just being killed because it made things simpler for the unit, it was a disgrace but I kept on moving, I couldn’t stop myself. Then as I came in range I noticed that the soldier at the front of the tightly huddled group was talking to his comrades and smiling, at me. I couldn’t understand him but I knew what he was saying, “don’t worry, it’s going to be alright”. He knew that I didn’t want to do it, that I wouldn’t if I had enough courage to back down. It was going to be hard, knowing that I had looked into their eyes and seen their innocence. Then without thinking I lined up the cold iron sight with their heads and shot. By Conor White 8A

Here is my Bayeux Tapestry Report. (The Pictures didn't transfer)

The Bayeux Tapestry was made some time between 1068 and 1077 though the absolute date is not sure. It was designed in Normandy by nuns and then the designs were taken to England and sewn by English nuns. It tells the story of the conquests of William the Conqueror and his Norman army all the way up to the battle of Hastings. It also tells us a lot about the Middle Ages and life back in that time. The Bayeux Tapestry is our main source of knowledge towards the Battle of Hastings in this current day and it has also advanced our knowledge of Latin by giving us over 2000 Latin words. It is currently on display in The Centre Guillaume le Conquerant (The William the Conqueror centre) In Bayeux, Normandy, France. **__ Is the Tapestry a Biased or Unreliable version of the Story? __**


 *  The Normans counter attack the Saxons. ||

The story is most likely both biased and unreliable, since the Normans wanted to make it out as they would have wanted it to be, had they been able to change the outcome of the conquest. They made it out as a completely one-sided conquest even though it wasn’t, they also altered some political scenes throughout the tapestry to make Harold look like a traitor and a perjurer. Although the story is true it is told differently than what really happened in Hastings, this may have been done as a use of political propaganda and influence on the barbaric Saxons that they were trying to persuade to join them. It also helped gain popularity with the masses back in France and showed them as a force to be reckoned with. **__ What Kind of Evidence is the Tapestry? __** The Bayeux Tapestry is primary evidence in the way that it is from that time and it tells us many things about the Battle of Hastings and the culture of that time. It tells us that the language of the church was Latin (and also improved our vocabulary in the language), what nuns did, sewing techniques and much more about the church. It also tells us the story of William’s conquests with his Norman army (although it is slightly altered) and also some political events that happened throughout the duration of the conquest.

Although the Bayeux Tapestry tells us a lot about the story of William the Conqueror there is still a part of the Bayeux Tapestry that makes it secondary evidence. Because although it is from the time of the Middle Ages it is not from 1066 and was more a re-telling of the story (and not a reliable one).Although it is our main source of knowledge about Williams conquests and his reign as King, it is not an object from the Battle of Hastings or from any of William’s conquests. So it is debatable whether or not it is a form of primary evidence, since it was not made in 1066. The Bayeux tapestry is not an artefact from the conquests of William the Conqueror but a slightly inaccurate retelling of the story so it is more of a secondary evidence for the topic of the Battle of Hastings. **__ Possible Causes of Death __**
 *  The recreation of a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry. ||

The true reason for King Harold’s death is not certain but there are two main versions of the story, both were depicted from the last scene in the Bayeux Tapestry. The most commonly told version is that he was shot through the eye by an arrow, this is believed because in the last scene a man is seen pulling an arrow from his eye. The Normans may have had good reason for making it Harold being known to be shot in the eye, since earlier in the Tapestry King Harold is seen swearing an oath on a dead saints bones to never turn on William; and in that day it was commonly known that if you betrayed an oath that your eyes would be plucked out, so it seems like a good way for the Normans to portray the death of Harold, as an unworthy king. They may have done this as a form of propaganda to show King Harold as a sinner and a perjurer and in general a bad person and in return this would have probably have helped to keep popularity with the Saxons and gain some much needed loyalty to keep the feudal system running well. The other version of Harold’s death, which is not as commonly told but more likely true because of the information that we are presented with, is that he was simply cut down by Norman cavalry. In the last scene of the Tapestry a Norman cavalry soldier is scene disembowelling a Saxon knight who is thought to be Harold. This would have been a good way to portray Harold’s death because it shows him being killed and in pain, whereas the other character in the scene with the arrow in his eye isn’t dead and seems somewhat relaxed and isn’t in pain. **__ Conclusion __** It is more likely that Harold died by being cut down than with an arrow in the eye because the man being cut down is in more pain than the person casually pulling an arrow out of his eye. The character who has been shot by an arrow may have just been a random soldier that is shown to have been shot in the eye so that people believe Harold was a perjurer and a sinner but is just there to show the evil traits of a perjurer; while next to him simultaneously Harold is being struck down by a sword and disembowelled, therefore bringing an end to his perjuring life and completely killing him with no chance of survival. By Conor White 8A
 *  The Death of King Harold ||


 *  The Norman’s besiege a Saxon Fortress. ||


 *  The Original Bayeux Tapestry in France. ||


 *  Harold swears an oath on a dead saint’s bones to not turn on William. ||


 *  Duke William’s fleet arrives on English shores ||


 *  The English flee from the powerful Norman cavalry. ||


 *  The Normans raid and pillage a Saxon town. ||

 **__ Bibliography __**

Clare, J.D. (1997) **__The Middle Ages,__** Nelson The Bayeux Tapestry, [] Where is the Bayeux Tapestry Kept?, [] Wikipedia,(16/02/2011), []

Here is my paragraph on the Horror of Grendel.
 **__ Beowulf __**  ** By Conor White ** The author of “Beowulf” has used various writing techniques to show clearly the horror of Grendel. The author has used many metaphors and similes to create a visual imagery in the reader’s head. Grendel is described in simile as having breath “like a polar wind” and in metaphor as having a body that cast a “blanket of shadow” over the world. The author has used powerful adjectives such as being: mottled, deformed and having “claws [that] were sword-sharp” to convey a disgusting and brutal image to the reader. The author has used alliteration to describe Grendel’s home: the traveller’s “shuddered with fear when [they] saw the (s)ea-(s)nakes and writhing (s)erpents that lived in the reeking (c)esspit she called home”. As the writer describes the “water [stilling] and [turning] a liquid silver” as “an early-evening sun warmed [the warrior’s backs” the victory of Beowulf is foreshadowed through the dramatic vivid image shown through metaphor and use of powerful adjectives. The writer has personified the first sighting of Grendel in the tale as “terror [stalking] the land”. The writer has also used short sentences and paragraphs to break up the writing and to incorporate a dramatic tense into the tale. Throughout the tale of Beowulf the writer has blended clever English with powerful poetic techniques to convey the terrible monster Grendel in a very visually descriptive way which gives the reader the ability to see the characteristics of Grendel in their head.

This is my version of Beowulf told in 100 words
 **__ Beowulf __**  ** (Retold by Conor White) **

My friends come closer and hear the tales of a legend, the one known as Beowulf. He was of the Geats, the greatest warrior of them all. The slayer of Grendel and his mother the evil trolls from the swamps of the dead. He was the bravest, for he wore no armour as his opponent would not either. He ripped Grendel limb from limb, a feat that even the strongest of us would never have been able to accomplish. He my friends, is the greatest warrior to ever cross the face of the Norse lands, his name was Beowulf.

In this peice of writing I tried to convey as much as I could about why Beowulf was such an important norse legend in a small amount of writing, I also tried to include as much of the original story as I could.

This is my story about bullying based on the story Mwangi and the World Game
 __ A Tale of Bullying __  Creative Response for Mwangi and the World Game <span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"> By Conor White “Ha! Stop it!” “You deserve it you annoying little rat! I’m going to make you wish you never lived!” “But I didn’t do anything.” “You do so much better than me in class and you just had to show it off don’t you?” “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” “Well, it’s a bit too late for that, isn’t it?” “I was really happy with my result; I didn’t mean to make you...” Then a fist slammed into his face and blood started to flow from his nose and he was knocked unconscious on the toilet floor. I was walking past the toilets and I saw a group of kids running away with a dreaded look on their faces. I looked into next cubical and there lay sprawled on the floor a boy who looked about 14.He was moaning dreadfully. “Are you alright mate?” “What?” “Are you alright?” “Not really, Kirk Washington through me through the toilet door and then dunked me in the toilet and punched me in the face.” “Why did he do that?” “Because I got a better grade than him in the test and he didn’t like it.” “Well let’s go tell the principal, alright?” “No, that will just make it worse.” “He will keep on doing it if you don’t tell someone.” “Alright, thanks Mr. Polfry.” “No worries mate.” As they walked down the corridor Mr. Polfry saw Kirk leaning against a wall talking to his friends about what had happened.” “Kirk! Come here right now.” “What?” “Come here we’re going to see the principal and I think a suspension is in order.” Which is what happened and Kirk was suspended from school for a week.

<span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;"> __ The End __

In this story I tried to base the situation on the story we recently read and show the consequences of what happens when you bully someone and what happens if you have the courage to tell someone about it. Though I found it hard to include everything with the 250 word limit.

This is my paragraph on Why do people bully?
<span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: center;"> **__ Why do people bully? __**  I think that people bully because it makes them feel powerful over other people. They most commonly choose these people because they are suffering already or are disliked by other people. They may choose to hurt these people because they are angry or have grown up in a bad social environment. Often people who have grown up in violent homes think that it is the right way to treat people that they don’t like because they have grown up being treated like that. Other people just do it for popularity or for power over another person. They often do it to show people they don’t like that they have power over them and that they hate them and that they should be suffering.

This is my essay on why the fuedal system ended.

<span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: center;"> **__ Why did the Feudal System End? __** <span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">After the fall of the Roman Empire Europe started a system of government called Feudalism through which the majority of the population had direct loyalty to the noble of their land. Although there was no empire Europe shared a governmental system and a religious belief. This system of government was eventually undermined by three major events: The Crusades, The Black Death and the rise of towns. <span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">By commanding the first Crusade of the Holy Land, the Pope instead of strengthening the Feudal System made it weaker than it had ever been and ultimately led the Feudal system to its demise. The Pope called the first Crusade in 1090 and expected to get 5,000 men. To convince them he offered them the loot that they found on the Crusade and a spot in heaven, whether they came back or not. He told the people that they had to ‘liberate’ Jerusalem and slay the ‘infidel’. Instead of getting 5,000 men he received 100,000 people willing to walk to Jerusalem and liberate the city. They arrived at Jerusalem after over 3 years of hard travel and only around 20,000 men had survived. When they arrived they found that Jerusalem didn’t actually need liberating since it already had Muslim, Jewish and Christian people all living together in harmony. Even though they saw this they went forth and ‘liberated’ Jerusalem and massacred the ‘infidel’. The army returned many years later to have discovered many new ideas, products and technologies such as: hygiene, sugar, apricots, trade and more developed versions of science and maths. These discoveries that were made led the feudal system to its demise by enabling peasants to produce more wealth and have more self-independence and the burden that had been put upon this system of government was only further burdened by the Black Death. <span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">The Black Death was a destructive disease killing many but in the end helped further to bring down the Feudal system and bring democracy into the world. Known to have started in Sicily the Black Death was the largest pandemic the world had ever seen and was very contagious. In four years it killed around 70,000,000 people with only 1 in 3 people surviving. This disease frightened many Barons and Lords off their own land thus breaking the tacit agreement that had been made between the peasants and the Lord. This made the peasants feel betrayed since the Lord had promised to keep them safe as long as they stayed and worked for him on his land. Although two thirds of the population died this was more of a blessing than a hindrance and meant that peasants became more valuable and could start charging money for their service which contradicted further the purpose of Feudalism and ultimately led to the Rise of Towns. <span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">The Rise of Towns was the last event to undermine the Feudal system and led to the eradication of the system. After the events of the Black Death people had started charging pay for their service. At the same time people were starting a method of farming known as four-field crop rotation which gave the farmers hugely bigger crop intakes. This meant that more food was being produced so not everyone needed to be farming anymore, people started becoming artisans of trades such as: smithing, carpentry and building. Small democracies also started, like elected mayors to run the towns. The towns would be built at crossroads to increase trade by getting travelling merchants and farmers that were coming through to buy from them. This was not just beneficial for the townsfolk though. The Lord of the land was also very beneficial of the towns since they had to pay him rent for living on his land and was now receiving food and money instead of just receiving food. The peasants also started to form guilds for each of their trades which gave the possibility of education to all of the townsfolk. The people of the town wanted better lives for their children so they started educating them through the guilds and soon most adults had a paid profession and were able to make money on their own and there was no longer any purpose for them to be controlled by Feudalism. <span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">The peasants then went on to form cities from towns and soon populated living was everywhere, the feudal system had died and been long forgotten. It was then that new ideas started to form and people started doubting religious belief. Out of this the Renaissance began and a more equal way of living started throughout Europe. <span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">By Conor White

Analysis 1: The Death of Jinini

Using many poetic techniques such as alliteration and onomatopoeia the writer has underlined the two responses on the story from both the boys and the girl Nona. Nona had “calluses on her dark skin from the work she did around the camp” and was being prepared for adulthood and although the story told by Ole Ma Jilamara was told around the campfire to the whole family it was mainly directed at Nona and imposed different views throughout the children. The two boys took the horror of this story on board rather than the actual moral of the story and in turn had a very different response than Nona. Nona’s response to the story was very different to the boys because “she had heard the story before and she [always] knew what was coming next” and whilst she had heard it before it created a large burden in her head about what the future would hold and what would happen if she didn’t do what she had to. So while the boys had an excited response Nona had a more educated, sullen response that showed her maturity compared to the two boys. The story which was filled with death and sorrow managed to grasp two responses, one mature and one not; the boys who did not understand the story completely were not affected whilst Nona who knew the moral of the story had a very sullen reaction.

By Conor White

Analysis 2: The Dollhouse

Through using many well used poetic writing techniques such as anthropomorphism, simile and metaphor the writer has created characteristics that bring the image of the dragon to life. By linking similarities between natural occurrences such as linking the wind blowing through the window with “the Dragon’s breath” the writer has made the characteristics of the dragon appear very real. The girl’s dollhouse was used extremely well to convey the story of the dragon. She believes that if she is left alone at home without her mummy or daddy the dragon will take her, which is what happens in the story. The mummy leaves her at home alone and she is swallowed up in flames by the “dragon”. The reader has used anthropomorphism to create a life for the fire, shadows and wind all of which are traits of a dragon. By using many well placed writing techniques the writer has managed to create a setting with such characteristics that the reader truly believes it is a dragon and is fully enthralled in the story.

Analysis 3: Daedalus and Icarus

Why are there so many versions of the same story? There are many versions of this story because the writer has tried to show all the various points of view on this story. Some views are very short because some people only took on the fact that Icarus drowned when some people captured the whole story and re-wrote it in detail. Whilst some people only took in the aspect of death and other takes indicated that the writer had noticed the great hybris in this story and then retold it in great detail. Take 1 for example is a simple to word statement which gives you no background on the story and doesn’t even tell you how Icarus drowned, this shows that the writer did not take in the story very well and couldn’t be bothered to write it in detail. Take 2 gives you a bit more detail but still doesn’t give you enough detail on the story, although this is the case it does give you enough detail to see the arrogance in Icarus and to understand the moral of the story. Take 3 explains the story really well because it goes into just enough detail to tell you the whole story and let you really understand all of the concepts but it doesn’t drag on too long. Take 4 doesn’t explain the story well but uses the modern day attitudes of a ‘rash headstrong youth’ to make the understanding of the message in the story easier but in turn it doesn’t give enough detail to make the story interesting. Take 5 was obviously written by a writer that really enjoys both writing and this story, this is shown by how the writer has used about 3 pages to go into great detail about what happens when ‘the door clanged shut’ and Daedalus and Icarus are stuck inside a cell left to rot. Task 6 has been written by someone who obviously does not care for the detail and morals in the story because they have just said that ‘whichever way you cut it, it always comes out the same. Icarus drowned.’ These various responses to the story tell us that the big concepts of this story were only understood by some and lots of people didn’t care for the details of the story. By Conor White.

Renaissance Essay
What were the major differences between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance?

The Middle ages was a time where powerful monarchs had absolute control over the lesser populace, an age of dictatorship and tyranny; where the feudal system governed all and none had rights. After a period of around 1000 years people started to think outside the square, they realised they were just the pawns in the chess game of their ruling noble. They started to think independently and create towns where they could trade with outside nations; this started the thought that they were not stuck in one place; they were free to roam wherever they pleased. People started to explore things physically and mentally that had never been thought possible before. This was the founding point of the Renaissance.

When people started to trade with other nations, people started to question why they were confined to such a small space. Why couldn’t they roam free? The answer was simple, they could. That is just what they did, people like Marco Polo from Venice ventured on huge intercontinental trade mission with his father and uncle, hoping to claim trade and wealth from the new countries they discovered. His trip ended after a great many years and he had managed to find what he had set out to find. He gained riches, knowledge and trade. His story was published by his cell mate after he was arrested and sent to prison. After the story had been sent out others started to do the same as Polo had, new countries were discovered and trade routes established across the globe. Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas and others discovered Asia, Africa and Australia making expanded settling and trade routes possible. Exploration does have one other meaning though, the exploration of the human mind, what is and is not possible for man to accomplish and the reason this type of exploration was brought about was through the humongous rise in education levels since the middle ages. Shortly after towns had been established in the middle ages, artisans and scholars set up guilds, some for trade, carpentry, education etc. Many people started to spend the money they earned on their children’s education. This thought came about because the parents knew that they would possibly become destitute when they came of age if their children did not turn over enough income each year. So firstly only the oldest child was educated at school. This created a chain link, because after that person became a father they would be educated and be able to get a well payed job, which led to all of his children being educated, thus creating wealthy family lines. Many of these people would grow up to become famous names we know today such as Archimedes or Leonardo Da Vinci. These were Renaissance men, a term used to categorize the people of that age that were exceedingly smart in all areas: science, literature, art, maths, the lot. These bright minds discovered new things about science that helped technology to advance massively, things like guns and physics were found making life a whole new adventure for those who wanted to explore the world. Another major invention was spectacles, they helped increase the time a scholar was useful, because eyesight was so bad back then scholars were only useful until a certain age but with the invention of spectacles it meant they were able to spend more time researching which led to greater discoveries. Another thing that evolved was the belief of everyone being equal in society; this was shown through art. Things like the linear perspective and the vanishing point made paintings have much more depth and realism. Another major noticeable difference between Renaissance and Middle Ages paintings is that individuals are given more detail and more body features; this shows that people had a lot more respect for one another in the Renaissance than in the Middle Ages. Another thing that was thrown around in Renaissance society was the questioning of the Catholic Church. As people became smarter and started to understand more about the world they started to realise that they couldn’t speak Latin or Greek, so how could they trust the words of the priest? The thing is they couldn’t. That is where Martin Luther comes in, the man that single-handedly set afoot the Reformation. Even with the fall of the Feudal system and the Middle Ages the Pope of the Catholic Church still flourished with power over a large percentage of the European populace. The thing that people started to question though was: why can I not have the Bible written in my language so I understand it? People started to become Humanists, Humanism is a belief that brought about the Renaissance, the thought that all people should have access to education and that there were no boundaries for the human mind. This is where a man called Martin Luther comes in. Originally studying to be a Lawyer he pulled out of the course to study as a Priest. He became so obsessed with the Bible that the Church asked him to find a new hobby to do other than read the Bible. After careful consideration he decided that the Catholic Church was not entirely true to their holy laws and one of the reasons for this was indulgences. In the Renaissance priests started receiving things called indulgences from people, conning them into giving them money. How indulgences worked is that if someone committed a sin worthy of a trip to Hell when they died they would pay the priest some money so that he could ask God to forgive their sins. The thing is that nobody knew if they were actually giving God the message or were just taking the money. This is the reason Martin Luther started spreading the word of this sacrilege. One morning Martin Luther went up to his Church in Germany and nailed to the door his book, ‘The Ninety-Five Theses’. This book explained what was wrong with the Church and how it should be. At that same time another European had just invented a revolutionary machine known as the printing press, with the ability to print books at a speed incomprehensible to people of the time. He tried to keep his invention secret but failed. Soon after it was released to the public Martin Luther started using the printing press to print off his German translation of the Bible as well as ‘The Ninety-Five Theses’. The Catholic Church greatly disagreed with his thoughts and sent assassins after Luther though he was never captured. The books spread quickly across Europe with the help of the press and Protestantism soon overtook a large portion of Europe. Protestantism was the belief that everyone was able to have a direct relationship with God without having to get the help of a Priest. This series of events known as the Reformation created a whole new level of freedom for most people and it furthermore started greater social interaction between people which helped the Renaissance flourish as it did. The Renaissance was an age that basically underlined all of the mistakes of the Middle Ages and turned them into positives. When humanism was brought about it created new thought and created social freedom and the chance for education. The three factors of exploration, education and religion together combined to create the possibility for a new age, The Industrial Revolution.

My communications project proposal.

My communications proposal.

I am going to design a fairer system for entry into the country for ‘illegal’ refugees seeking asylum in Australia. I am going to raise awareness in the class and in the community and maybe do some fundraisers

=My Aztec Report=
 * || ** The Aztecs **
 * By Conor White ** ||  ||

**//__ The Aztecs __//** **//__ The Aztecs in Time and Place __//** The Aztecs existed around 1200 to 1525 and consisted of what was known as the triple alliance which was made up of three tribes: the Mexica, the Acolhua and the Tepaneca. The Aztecs believed that they migrated from the mythical land of Aztalan. This has proved to be only a myth. Although there is no documented evidence that underlines the exact location of Aztalan it is believed to be somewhere in northern Mexico. One thing that is known though is that the Aztecs settled in the surrounding areas of Lake Texcoco around the year 1300 and Tenochtitlan became their capital in 1325. In this same century over in Europe many things were happening; the Ottoman Empire was rising, the Peasants’ Revolted against their King in England and most profoundly it was the dawn of the Renaissance in Italy and the start of a new era. The Europeans saw the Aztecs as an extremely primitive civilisation as they had barely any advancement in their technology past using basic materials such as: stone, iron and copper. So even though they had conquered nearly all of Mesoamerica by the time the Spanish arrived they saw the Aztecs as lesser beings and as they had done with many other primitive societies, the Europeans took them over. **//__ Aztec Timeline __//**
 * || 1100- Aztecs leave Aztalan in search of a new home. ||  ||

**//__ Aztec Social and Political Structure __//** The political structure of the ancient Aztecs is not completely understood by people today but what we do know is that it was a semi-democratic government and surprisingly only had a slightly hereditary system. So although the complete details of their political system are unknown it is thought that civilians did have some part to do with the elected ruler it is believed that the rise to leadership was often slightly to do with family lines. The order of Aztec society was very simple and consisted of about four positions: Citizens, Calpulli, councils and Huey Tlatcani. Although all basic citizens owned land the land was not theirs, the land would have been owned by what was known as a Calpulli. The Calpulli was a group of families that acted as the council for a particular town, they acted as a mayor and his office would today. Their job was to collect taxes, pass bills etc. The next stage up was the executive councils they Whilst villagers did not have complete democratic freedom all children were educated in the basic skills of life. By the age of four boys were carrying firewood and pails of water and girls were learning how to spin wool. At six boys would learn how to fish and sell at market. Girls would then learn to cook at twelve, unless they were noble in which case they would learn how to become a priestess at the age of 13. But above all of this there is the common and stereotypical happening that the women would //always// be the one that stayed home, looked after the family and cooked dinner.

An artist’s impression of the great Aztec king, Montezuma II.

**//__ Tenochtitlan __//** The island of Tenochtitlan, which sits in the middle of Lake Texcoco in the site of modern day Mexico City, was the capital for the Aztec empire and was settled by the Aztecs in 1325. Tenochtitlan was constructed on a large island in the even larger Lake Texcoco; it was connected to the mainland by massive stone bridges and was continuously used as a capital for new ruling nations. First for the Aztecs, then as the capital for the settlement of New Spain and now it is currently being used as the Mexican capital city of Mexico City, though it is no longer an island city.

**//__ Aztec Religion __//** As was predominantly found throughout ancient tribes, the Aztecs believed in a sun god. They believed that they had to sacrifice one person each day so that the sun would rise the next day. Some other customs were for citizens to draw two drops of blood each morning as an offering to their god. Sometimes You may have thought that nobody would have offered their selves up to be sacrificed but it was paid very well and if an Aztec family had become destitute or was struggling to sustain themselves the father would offer himself up as a sacrifice in return for money for his family.

An Aztec painting of their sacrificial ritual.

**//__ The Aztec Empire __//** The Aztec empire was constantly expanding up until the time of the Aztec’s demise. The Aztec empire started with the ‘Triple Alliance’ forming to be the major war force of their time. They based themselves at Lake Texcoco and slowly expanded out to eventually own most of Mesoamerica by around 1519. Their empire ended quickly after the Spanish conquistadors arrived on the coasts of Mesoamerica as they had next to no weaponary technology compared to the Spanish conquistadors. One of the reasons that they had to conquer so many people was because they had to have people to sacrifice to their god. Sometimes they had festivals where thousands of people were sacrificed; this is a main reason for their urge to conquer. They sacrificed people to such a large extent that they had to continuously conquer new land o supply their bloodthirsty needs; through this they ended up owning a large portion of Mesoamerica and became the military superpower of the area.

**//__ The Fall of the Aztecs __//** The Aztecs met their demise in 1519 under the rule of Montezuma II when some Spanish conquistadors came across the Atlantic Ocean to discover the Aztec empire at its peak. The Spanish came with firearms and therefore had a much bigger advantage in combat with the Aztecs. The Aztecs saw the power of the Spanish immediately and tried to bribe their way out of being destroyed but the Spanish saw this as weakness and quickly attacked the Aztecs and annihilated their empire within a year or two. They soon took control of the empire and took over Tenochtitlan. They destroyed the great city but then rebuilt it as the capital for their settlement of New Spain.

An artist’s depiction of the fall of Tenochtitlan and the Aztec empire.

**//__ Bibliography __//** Defrates, J., (1992). __What do we know about the Aztecs?,__ Simon + Schuster, London. Macdonald, F., (1998). __Step into the Aztec World__, New York. Wood, T., (1992). __The Aztecs,__ Hamlin, London. [] [] **//__By Conor White__//** **//__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 1__//** Task 1 1. I believe that they should both sit tight and try to inflict damage on the enemy when possible. They have to make sure they consider their parents’ view on things and not make any rash decisions like charging at the enemy when there is no hope of rescuing their parents. Whilst it is good to just sit tight and wait out the battle they would start to feel selfish if they just let their parents suffer like that. So I think that they should only try to inflict damage when they have considered all risks and they know that there is little risk in what they are doing but they must make sure that they try to help often otherwise they may lose out to emotions. 3. I believe that the enemy soldiers would have been very justified not to treat Corrie, because even though they are invading and they most likely took into account that somebody would try to attack them, they have no reason to treat an enemy that is trying to kill them and they could easily use the situation to get the others to come to them. They could easily just say that they won’t treat Corrie until they hand themselves over. In my opinion I think that the soldiers didn’t have to treat Corrie and it wouldn’t have been very unfair on anyone if they hadn’t. 4. In my opinion there is only one way to possibly have a clean war and that is to have absolutely no casualties and that is near impossible because chances are people aren’t going to surrender their country to invaders and somebody is going to put up a fight. So I would express it as a ‘cleaner war’ rather than clean because if there is a death toll then it is still not clean. In a way there is no such thing as a clean war because the word war itself entails violence and if something reaches the stage of being called a war the chances are it is going to be very violent so in my opinion no war can be clean. 5. I think that Robyn’s point of view on how Australia doesn’t share its wealth to lower class countries is true in a way but doesn’t justify what the enemy have done. It may be true that Australia doesn’t share their resources as well as they could but other countries need to take into account the Australian economy and why we need these valuable goods. I think that the role reversal would be ridiculous and unnecessary and would be completely unfair on the general populace of Australia. This is because all of these decisions are made by the government and yes we may be a democracy but Australian citizens don’t get a say in everything that the government does so I think that the basis for the enemy attack is stupid and they have not considered some of the greater factors of the situation. By Conor White.

//__**Tomorrow When The War Began Task 2**__// In my opinion nearly everybody in the group showed leadership at some point but all up I think that Homer was the main leader of the group keeping everybody in check and ultimately controlling the decisions the group made. At the start of the book Marsden portrays Homer as a ‘wild [and] outrageous’ and ‘always seemed to be in trouble’ but by the end of the book his once bad traits became useful and ultimately helped the group succeed.
 * 1) 1. Who is the leader of the group?

Homer is starting to show himself as the leader of the group when he gives the group three choices ‘we can sit tight and do nothing’ which he emphasises as not being a bad idea; ‘second, we can have a go at getting our families and maybe other people out of the showground’ which he deems as risky an probably not worth it; third he says that they could just do a bit here and there to help the fight back against the enemy which is chosen by the group. This shows that while they were all worrying and stressed about what was happening Homer was the person with a cool head that calmed them down and showed them what to do; a big sign of leadership.

At the end of the book Homer is starting to take on responsibility for creating ideas for traps and tells the group that ‘while you guys were walking towards Wirrawee last night with your eyes shut, I was noticing a few things’, he then goes on to create a plan to blow up the bridge, something that none of the others in the group attempted to do this shows that he has taken on the role of a leader.

> I think that Ellie is the person who showed the most remarkable courage in the group things like when she looked in the eyes of an enemy soldier and then killed him showed remarkable courage because not many people can bring themselves to do that even in a life and death situation. When Ellie is writing the story she doesn’t hold back she says that she sees their faces ‘for the first time’ ‘then [she] struck the match’. Most people can’t kill somebody once they look them in the eye because you have seen them and you know who you are killing but Ellie knows that they are ‘about to die’ if she doesn’t do it and she knows that she has to and braves her fears. Another time where Ellie shows her remarkable courage is when she drives the tanker under the bridge once again she knows that it will most likely kill someone and secondly she is putting her own life at risk to put it under the bridge with enemy soldiers nearby. Overall I think that when Ellie showed courage it was in some quite remarkable circumstances and she showed the most courage out of the entire group.
 * 1) 2. Who in the group shows remarkable courage?

I think there are massive tests of friendship that lie ahead for the group as they are all getting into relationships in a time of high stress there is bound to be some fighting. She also lets the reader into her emotions and lets the reader know about not just her feelings for Lee but also with Homer and Fi and Corrie and Kevin. She also gives Fi advice on her relationship with Homer telling her ‘better to have loved and lost then to not have loved’ this shows that they are starting to delve deep into each other’s feelings and emotions and that doesn’t always end happily. I think that over the next few books the group is going to struggle to not fight over things like friendships and relationships and focus on the real goal of helping save their town.
 * 1) 3. What tests of their friendship do you see lie ahead for the group?

I think that the story of Bertram Christie was a great inclusion in the novel because it added an ability to juxtapose the group with Christie’s situation. When Lee and Ellie find the concealed papers underlining the crimes of Bertram Christie they set about reading them and soon discover that in his testimony he wrote that a ‘bushfire [consumed] the Christie residence during which both [deceased] were terribly burnt’ and that Bertram Christy ‘believing their injuries to be mortal and unable to bear’ he ‘killed both deceased with single shots to the head from a rifle’. This raises the point that he may not have killed them unreasonably and makes his situation almost exactly like his. Christy may not have done anything morally wrong but society deemed him as evil and so he was forced out of his home and he went to live by himself in Hell. The same thing has happened to the group. They may not have done anything to trigger an attack from the enemies but they have been driven from their homes left to fend for themselves. So I think that the main reason that the story of Christy was included was to k=juxtapose the group with Christy.
 * 1) 4. Why do you think John Marsden included the story of Christie in the Novel?

By Conor White.
 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 3__//**

Throughout the novel Homer underwent the most change as his once ‘wild child’ traits became useful and he became an important asset to the group. At the start Homer ‘didn’t care what he did or what anyone thought’, he used to break school windows and steal workmen’s ladders. Even though nobody picked it Homer became the one person in the group who saw ways to counter the enemy and made innovative plans that ultimately helped the group succeed. Many people who knew the Homer portrayed at the start of the book might think that he was not useful at all and basically just a nuisance to society. These traits changed as soon as the enemy invaded and Homer with his great plans started to find himself useful and I think this ultimately changed him as a person. Also when he started going out with Fi he found somebody really liked who he was and I think that that broke down a big mental barrier for him. After Homer’s great success making the tanker bomb he ‘wept when he found [them all] safe’ this showed that Homer had dropped the whole tough guy attitude and become a new person emotionally. By the end of the novel Homer had become one of the major leaders of the group and his innovative ideas became a great benefit to the group. Homer was a genius when he devised the plans to rescue Lee and blow up the bridge because they were very innovative ideas and nobody else in the group would have thought of. Very soon into the book the group were looking to Homer for ideas and he seemed to be the only person who was calm and could think straight. Ellie described ‘Homer’s genius’ as ‘[combining] action with thought and planning ahead’ all his years of being a ‘wild child’ had payed of and his once crazy ideas became extremely useful. The thing that made Homer such a ‘genius’ when he devised the plans is that they were so farfetched that nobody else would have contemplated them but he made them work very successfully and with seldom resources available he managed to devise simply incredible plans. Homer definitely was a genius throughout different stages in the novel.
 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 4__//**
 * __Task 4 – Question 1__**
 * __Which Character do you think underwent the most change throughout the novel?__**
 * __Question 2__**
 * __ Ellie at one stage outlines what she sees as “Homer’s genius” – was Homer a ‘genius’ for coming up with the plans to ‘rescue’ Lee and to destroy the bridge? __**

As Shakespeare once famously stated ‘there is no good or evil but thinking makes it so’ this is true in many ways and when stuck in a time of war you can’t go around calling people good or bad unless they have done severely atrocious things. Ellie and the group have simply had to go into a kill or be killed state of mind because if they don’t fight back the enemy will kill them. After she had killed the three enemy soldiers with the lawn mower bomb she feels ‘guilty and ashamed about what had happened’ and this shows that Ellie has a sense of empathy because even though she ‘didn’t know their names or ages or families or backgrounds’ and they were trying to kill her and her friends she still feels sorry for them and ashamed of what she has done so Ellie was definitely a good person.
 * __ Question 3 __**
 * __ Ellie worries that she might become ‘like a war criminal’ because of the acts she’s committing. She says she uses “a sense within [her]” to determine what was “good or bad”. Was Ellie a ‘good’ person? __**

No, quite frankly Chris ruined their chances of evading the enemy and was a nuisance to the group and it is totally logical to say that sleeping sentries should be shot. Chris had ‘had quite a lot of [sleep] compared to [them]’ so ‘he go dumped with the first sentry duty’ along with the second, third and fourth so they were relying on him to stay awake for a long time while they ‘slept and slept and slept’. Ellie ‘was furious [she] shouted [she] screamed and then kicked [Chris] hard’, Chris may have put their lives at risk but they were just sleeping for 20 hours so she shouldn’t have been too harsh on him. Even though Chris tried to help the group lots of the time he just got them into further predicaments and you could argue that Chris wanted the group but the group didn’t want Chris, so Chris didn’t really belong in the group as far as they were concerned as he was more of a hindrance than a help. By Conor White
 * __ Question 4 __**
 * __ When Ellie finds Chris asleep on sentry duty she loses her temper with him. She understands why sleeping sentries should be ‘shot’. She becomes ‘logical, cold-blooded and merciless’. Later she says that “I guess he atoned.” Did Chris belong in the group? __**


 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 5__//**

Earlier in the book Marsden describes Homer making petrol trails on the local roads where he would sit in wait of a car then light the petrol on fire which he found very amusing. In the scene with the lawn mower bomb Marsden used a large repertoire of vocabulary and writing techniques to gradually build up and decrease the tension to make the reader excited. He uses onomatopoeia to show ‘the crunch of gravel under soft, menacing feet’ and this gives the reader a sound in their mind and they can imagine the scariness of the enemy soldiers slower getting closer until they are upon them, then as the ‘screams behind [them] were ripping the night apart’ the reader gets a bit a chill down their spine as they imagine the horrifying screams of the burning soldiers. He uses alliteration to describe the flame as a ‘stuttering snake’ to slow down the reader and build up the tension and then release it when the bomb explodes it also keeps the reader very eager for when the bomb is going to explode. Marsden also personifies the match saying that it makes a ‘harsh little sound’ something like what a human would make and also makes the feet of the soldiers feel ‘menacing’ to personify them. Marsden throughout the book keeps the reader wondering who the enemy are by not giving away any major details but makes the reader just know them as the enemy nothing more. Ellie later in the book says that she doesn’t know their ‘names or ages or families or backgrounds’. Marsden doesn’t even humanise the enemy soldiers not once in the book are the enemy portrayed as people only ever ‘soldiers’. He is careful not to describe the features of the soldiers because if he had even mentioned skin colour it would have narrowed down the options for the reader and when ‘for the first time [Ellie sees] their faces’ there is absolutely no description. When they find Chris he tells them about how he has been watching the enemy for days and still doesn’t know what country they are from let alone anything, this shows that Marsden has made the soldier be very conspicuous about their identity and it seems like they don’t want anybody to know who they are.
 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 6__//**
 * __Task 6__**
 * __Question 1__**
 * __What inspires Ellie with the idea to use the ride on mower as a bomb?__**
 * __Question 2__**
 * __What techniques does Marsden use to create tension in this scene?__**
 * __Question 3__**
 * __Marsden is careful not to let the reader strongly identify with the people who die. How does he achieve this?__**

We don’t condemn Ellie for the murders of the enemy soldiers because she has been shifted to a ‘kill or be killed’ mindset. The unknown enemy are attacking and all she knows is that if they find her they will kill her and her friends. Another reason why we do not condemn her is because she and her friends were not the aggressors they were just living their quiet normal lives and they were invaded by an unknown enemy that want nothing but to ruin their lives, so it is fair enough that she and her friends want to defend their families, friends and country. Ellie later in the book also expresses her empathy for the enemy soldiers that she killed she only caught a glimpse of their faces and they were out to kill her but she still shows her sorrow for ending their lives so it wasn’t a cold-blooded kill. Marsden uses this clever simile to describe them as going as fast as they can to get away from hell. There is also a lot of irony involved as they are leaving one hell to go to another. Ellie describes herself as having the need ‘to keep up with the others, not to be left behind’. This gives the reader an idea of how bad Wirrawee has become for them to regard it as Hell the reader can only imagine the circumstances. When Marsden juxtaposes them to bats it gives the reader a visual of them speeding away from Wirrawee on their bikes and the reader is left with a great visual and is left wondering what is going to happen next. By Conor White
 * __Question 4__**
 * __Why do we not condemn Ellie for the murders?__**
 * __Question 5__**
 * __Why does Marsden have them pass the “Welcome To Warrawee” sign in the last sentence and why does he describe them as going “like bats out of Hell.”__**

In the novel __Tomorrow When the War Began__ by John Marsden there are mentions of various other non-related texts, one of which is __The Scarlet Letter__ by Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which the main character Hester Prynne is accused of committing the sin of adultery and forced to wear a red letter ‘A’ on her chest forever as well as being furthermore rejected from society. Although the situation of Hester Prynne was different to that of the group, they are very similar to that of the ‘Hermit’ Bertram Christie in many ways and Marsden’s choice of using this novel to juxtapose his own novel was a very good choice. In __The Scarlet Letter__ Hester is ultimately shunned from society because she committed a sin that the community thought worthy of a trip to hell which is also ironic since the ‘Hermit’ ends up in ‘Hell’ after he is shunned from society, so in a way it is in perfect relation to the story of ‘The Hermit’, Bertram Christie. And I think that Marsden used the mention of this novel solely to juxtapose the ‘Hermit’ to Hester Prynne since their stories are almost identical apart from the setting. Both characters had been shunned from society over things that they thought unworthy of such a sentence and In the end of both of the books you never actually find out if either of the characters did anything wrong. In a way Marsden has actually taken __The Scarlet Letter__ and just replaced Hester Prynne with Bertram Christie as well as changing from Massachusetts to Australia. Marsden chose the perfect novel to juxtapose __Tomorrow When the War Began__ but he may have overused the storyline of __The Scarlet Letter__ too much.
 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 7__//**
 * __ TWTWB Task 7 __**
 * __ Part 1 __**

In the novel __Tomorrow When the War Began__ there is mention of Neville Chamberlain the former British Prime Minister who was in power during the start of World War Two. He was known for his procrastination and gutlessness when it came to attacking the enemy and helping Britain’s allies. He was known for just continuously trying to let the situation die down instead of going in and helping out the allies and eventually he retired in 1940 because he thought that a government could not function in a time of war unless all of the political parties could agree with each other; and with all the other parties turning against him, he resigned. The comment came about from a politician on the television that was using Neville Chamberlain as a metaphor for the new Foreign Minister who he also calls a wimp. This shows that people have a small amount of respect for Neville Chamberlain and that he didn’t fulfil his job of Prime Minister very well at all. By Conor White
 * __ Part 2 __**


 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 8__//**


 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 9__//**


 * //__Tomorrow When The War Began Task 10__//**