Olivia

My Name is Oliva i love the beach, surf life saving, netball and i aslo do dancing. I am looking forward to year8 this year and i hope that i can inprove in hums as much as i did last yearï»¿. :)


 * This is my first piece of writting for 2011 my prisoners stroy. **

I closed my eyes. I thought it would make it easier, so I wouldn't have to look at their faces, so I wouldn't have to look into their eyes their frighted young eyes. It only worked for the seconds before we started shooting, because after that I knew what I had done; I knew exactly what I had done. I walked slowly out of there being careful not to step on the bodies, careful not to see their faces. But I saw them, but it wasn't the rush of sadness I had expected that crept though my - it was anger. Not angry at Captain Matlock or Corporal Foster or even this horrible wasteful war, I was angry at myself. I knew that I would kill people when I enlisted for the army. I didn't think I was I type of person that killed people like that and I know that I did have a choice. It wasn't hard, Walt did it. It would have been easy for me to go with him but I didn't go with him, I tried to stop him because I wasn't as brave as he was - I couldn't do what he did. I didn't look around me as I walked back; I was absorbed in myself I wouldn't have even heard if a bomb had dropped. What we did; what I did, was the rawest thing, a thing I could have never have thought a man like me could do or the man I used to be. I could barely speak, I certainly couldn't eat. As Foster handed out the meat I vomited and again after the taste of the brandy, because how could I eat when they never would. Olivia Cook //I was trying to show in my stroy that. You here about the terrible things people do in war but really most of the don't speak out. Bill had the chace but he wasnt brave enough so he then had to live knowing that for the rest of his life. So you really have to speak up, because in some times that outcome is far better then the outcome of doing what you are told.//

**My next peice is my Bayuex Tapestry report** **.** *** Ms Billett so sorry but the wiki will not show my front page and pictures, for some reson it won't upload them so sorry it is just the text. I also uploaded the file its at the bottom of the page that is the copy with the photos.** *

__** Background to the Tapestry **__ The story of where the Tapestry was made is often debated. One story is that Queen Matilda and her ladies made the tapestry in honour of her Husband King William the Conqueror. The truth although isn’t so romantic. The tapestry was drawn by Normans and was made in England by Nuns. It was made in 1068 to 1077 so it took 9 years to sew. A replica that was made took 35 people 1 year full time to sew it. Prior to 1066 there were a lot of wars in England with four different men and their armies fighting for the right to be the one King of England. The tapestry was made to show the people of England that King William was victorious at the battle of Hastings and proved that he did in fact have the right to be King of England. It has sewn pictures that depict the battle and it has Latin text so that the whole population of England could understand what happened according to the Norman version. It is definitely possible that the Bayeux Tapestry is not an entirely accurate account of the battle of Hastings. It is almost certainly a fact that it is unreliable. The reason we question the Tapestry is because it is only secondary evidence. It also doesn’t match the other accounts that were recorded at the time of the battle. “The Saxon Chronicles” tell a very different account and that was written closer to the time of the battle. In the Norman version and in the Saxon version they both state that they had the right to the crown of England. The Normans won the battle so that is the story that is told.

__ ** What kind of evidence is the Tapestry? ** __ The Tapestry is Secondary evidence. The Nuns that made the Tapestry in England were not present at the Battle of Hastings. The Tapestry was not being sewn as the battle was going on before the Nuns eyes. The story was retold which leaves it open to interpretation and embellishment. It is the Normans account of what happened or what they wanted people to think had happened at the battle. The Tapestry was also sewn 2 years after the battle, so it was still fresh in the mind but the story had time to change. The Tapestry is the story everyone knows but it very well could have false information. It is almost certain that some of the information is unreliable. Because there were other accounts (still secondary) that told a different story. There are still elements of the tapestry that are primary evidence. Some things are very certain about the tapestry and its time; how old it is from Carbon dating. The types of thread used. All the materials are in fact primary evidence that the tapestry dates back to 1068. The colour that we see today is a pale shadow of its former glory. All these things are certain and have been authenticated by expert scientists but unfortunately the tale it tells is not.

** __ First possible cause of death. __ ** The First cause of death is the theory that was believed for years that Harold had been shot with an arrow through the eye. The tapestry shows the scene of Harold’s death. There were a number of people dying in the scene. The person that was believed to be Harold was the Saxon solider with an arrow in his eye. This was believed because earlier in the Tapestry it showed Harold with his hands on a saints bones declaring that he would stand by William. Although we are not sure that this really happened because it could have been added by the Normans to make their story more credible. So it was thought that Harold had committed the crime of perjury. At the time the punishment for perjury was to have your eyes gauged out. So it all fitted perfectly that the Solider with the arrow though his eye was Harold. This theory could work except for the fact that you can live without your eyes.



__ ** Second possible cause of death. ** __ The second possible cause of death is a more recent theory. It came about after questioning why the Normans would show Harold not dead, they would have surely have wanted England to know that Harold had definitely died. The thing is that having our eyes taken out does not necessarily kill you. The only way the solider with the arrow in his eye would have died is if the arrow reached his skull. This man did not look dead. The person that is now believed to be Harold is the Saxon solider next to the solider with the arrow in his eye. He is being disembowelled by a Norman on a horse. He also has a sword though him and looks most definitely dead. This new theory of the disembowelled soldier is more believable as why would the Normans show an image of Harold when he may not even be dead. That would have raised many theories like; Harold could have run away therefore he was still the rightfull leader and so on.

__ ** Conclusion ** __ In conclusion a Norman solider killed Harold with a sword. This is the most recent belief. We now think this is what happened because the Normans would have never left the topic uncertain. The idea of the tapestry was to show the people of England that William was the rightful king and he was there to stay. The solider with the arrow threw his eye would have given false hope. That solider was not dead he was still living just with one eye. It is understandable that people thought the arrow man was Harold because the perjury factor fitted so well and the image was also under the written word ‘Harold’. The other image on the other hand was under the word ‘dead’. The solider with the sword threw him was also looking more regal, he was wearing blue and he also had different socks on. Harold the former king of England was dead and William would live on to tell his story and rule as king. He was the victor he made the history.

__** References **__ || Clare, J.D. (1997) The Middle Ages, Nelson. Google images Middle ages DVD []

*** Many thanks to Ms Billett for many class discussions***

//In my report i have tried to get the point across that history isn't always 100% true. Also that the victors right the history. I have learn't lots and foung it very interesting. Hopefully i have done a good job.// **What significant differences were there between the middle ages and the renaissance period?** **The Middle Ages came to an end in the 1300 hundreds. The times of darkness and strict social structure were over. From this a new time arose. The Renaissance, meaning a time of rebirth. It first started in Italy in the 1350 and finished hundreds of years later It spread all though out Europe. With this new time came new interest. For the first time a very long while people became interested in not just the things that were around them but they wanted to learn and grow. It was a time of art, science and education not just for the wealthy people of the church. The church system started to be questioned and the reformation began and of course it was a time of great exploration.** **The Renaissance was when people first became interested in the world around them. For thousands of years all the land people had none about was the land they could walk to and fro in a day. Towards the end of the Middle Ages people did start learning about new lands and customs like the crusaders who brought back knew knowledge. Marco Polo is a name that we all know well. He was one of the great explorers of the renaissance. He was not the first, he was not the last, he didn’t necessarily cover the most land but what he did do was write a book. A book that would spark people’s imagination and get people asking the questions like ‘what is out there, apart from us?’ With all this new travel and discovery of new lands people started trading. With all this trading and knowledge gained from the exploration the people became interested in in the classical era and the past. From all this exploration came one very important thing, the rise of a good education.** **In the Middle Ages there were not many education people. In the Renaissance that all started to change. Not every individual was educated although on average one child from every family would be sent to school. Previously education had just been available to the extremely wealthy and important members of the church. With all the new exploration people became interested in gaining knowledge and not just history and English skills. Everything became more advanced, Mathematics was further look into and new methods were explored. Science became much more popular and in this time amazing inventions were made lots the inventions that we use today are very similar. Leonardo’s flying machines are based on the same knowledge that we use today. Some of the world’s most famous art works were made in the renaissance. It was the times were art rented everyone’s lives. The idea of humanism arose. With all this new knowledge it was certain that some systems just would work anymore, one very important one being the church.** **The Reformation is one of the most important things to come out of the Renaissance. For thousands of years it and been the church that had dictated most things. People in the renaissance challenged that. Over the many years the church had become corrupt. The system of indulgences was in play which meant people were paying for their crimes. It was time for things to change. A group of people the Protestants challenged the notation of the priest having speaking to God for you. They said speak with him yourselves, every person has the power to communicate with God. One of the most influential people was Martin Luther. He challenged the church and was the first person to translate the bible, so non Latin people could finally read it for themselves and not have to rely on the priest’s interstation. One great invention that helped him with this was the printing press. Finally literature could be read without having to be written out individually by a person. So with all these changes, the church was made to change its ways.** **So as history works, the renaissance couldn’t stay forever. Just like the Renaissance was born out of the Middle Ages, the Industrial revolution an era where fossil fuels were discovered was born out of the Renaissance.** How do you know the children were listening to Ole Ma? The children’s reactions varied based on how the story affected them individually. The boy’s behaviour was very different when listening to the story. For them it was more engaging and interesting because it was the first time they had experienced the story, text shows the boys motivation to understand the story when it said they had “eyes like moons” this show how they were concentrating. The boys were also interested in the horror of the story. The story however was meant to be understood in a very different way for Nona. The text still shows that she was listening carefully but it was told in a different way to the boys it wasn’t told for Nona’s enjoyment it was told more for her to gain knowledge. Both the boys and girls were listening to the story but they were listening to gain different things. **No matter what happens life goes on. Auden explains in is poem ‘Musee des beaux arts ‘the egotism of the human. He displays two main points in his poem. The first being that despite awful things happening to other people, life doesn’t stop. The people who were there when Icarus fell ‘heard the splash, the forsaken cry’, their life doesn’t stop. Icarus fell to his death but ‘the dogs go on with their doggy life’. The seconded point is people are so involved with their own lives that they don’t notice, ‘everything turns away quite leisurely from the disaster’. The ploughman keeps ploughing and the ship ‘sailed calmly along’. Despite the fact that they had witnessed something truly amazing there life goes on. Auden demonstrates the fact that this egotism is recognised by not only him but many wonderful artists**. **Why are there different versions of the story? ** The story of Daedalus and Icarus is told in takes. This gives many different views on how the story is understood. Each take has a different option and style but “whichever way you cut it” the outcome is always the same. “Icarus drowned”. At first when you read it you get the impression that Icarus was an egger silly boy who disobeyed his father. Although we you read the fifth take it shows Daedalus never got to warn his son of the danger that the sun would melt the wax on his wings. So this brings up the point that whichever way you look at it Icarus always flies to close to the sun and drowns. This may not just be from the stupidity of the boy. It could be the gods trying to punish Daedalus for the crime of killing his nephew; his son would fall to his death just like he caused his nephew to. Also the gods maybe punishing Icarus because he was hybris and tried to do something that humans were not made to do. So the different versions of the story were used to show that whatever angle you use to look at the story and whatever theory you think is right, the outcome is always the same. Icarus drowns. **How does the author make the reader believe in the dragon?** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**The author persuades you into believing in the dragon and the magic in a bigger sense by including different characters that believe in it. As you read the start of the story you are thinking that it is just a girl playing childish games however as the strong progresses you realise that it was much more than that. Mary the child places the dolls the represent her parents into the front room to stand “guard in the dollhouse”. She places “the little figure with red hair…and put her carefully onto the small wooden cot”. This small figure represents Mary, she feels safe in her cot from the dragon when her parents are guarding the house. Although in reality when her mother leaves Mary is no longer protected, the dragon can come for her. Throughout the story the idea of magic becomes more believable. The moment that you truly believe that it exists is when Mary takes out the magic lamp that her mother gave her this implies that her mother believes too. Ironically it was the magic lamp that took Mary from her mother.** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Crossing the divide ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">It’s not a physical line that divides us. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">We couldn’t see it. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">But we knew we had crossed it when we got off the boat. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The new people look different. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">They act in a very different way. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The language divides us. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Have you ever been somewhere were you can’t speak the language? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">We live like that every day. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">We thought when we got to this place we would be free. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Like the people who live here. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">But we are not. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Because even though you can’t see it there is a line. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">A line that divides us. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">But then there are the people. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Who could be any one of you. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">They hold our hand. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">And slowly help us. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">To cross the great divide. Aztec people before the invasion of the Europeans had been established for hundreds of years. It lasted from 2000bc all the way through to the 1500 hundreds uninterrupted by the world outside. The preclassic times (2000bc-ad250)was when the Olmecs were powerful, the classical era (AD250-900) was the time people started living in the city of Teotihuacan, postclassical era (AD900-1500) the Toltecs. There were three different groups living in Mesoamerica when the Aztecs civilisation emerged in 1100. || 1100 Aztecs search for new place to live. ||
 * [[file:The Bayeux Tapestry.docx]]The file.
 * Location of the Aztec Empire in space and time. **
 * 1200 Aztecs arrive in central Mexico . ||
 * <span style="color: red; display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">1325 Aztecs find Tenochtitlan ||
 * <span style="color: red; display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">AD900 Maya power begins to collapse. ||
 * <span style="color: red; display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">1519 Spanish invade ||

Mesoamerica:
 * 1564 the birth of Shakespeare ||
 * 1066 Norman’s invaded. ||
 * 476 Roman Empire fell. ||

Europe:
 * <span style="color: #7030a0; display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">1400s Renaissance begins. ||
 * <span style="color: #7030a0; display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">1347 the Black Death hit Sicily. ||

The Aztec Empire expanded all throughout Mexico, controlling almost every part of it. It was extremely hard to travel from place to place because the terrain varied so greatly. The North was full of mountains and swampy lakes; deserts covered many parts of the land. The South however was covered in dense forests and had lots of rainfall, this restricted contact between regions .There were three main eras throughout the time of the Mesoamericans:


 * <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">Map of Mexico- highlighted are the parts the Aztecs ruled. ||

The civilization had its own language, laws and traditions there were also many links between the separate states. The civilization was running smoothly with systems like social and political systems that had been in place for many years when the Spanish arrived.

= <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px; line-height: 115%;">Social and political structure of the Aztecs. = The city states were run mainly by three different groups of people; Army commanders, law makers and priests. It was to be believed that rulers were descendants from the Gods. Rulers were nearly always men. Rulers, priests and nobles made up a tiny part of the population. The Aztec leader was called the ‘tlatoani’ and the ordinary people were called ‘macehualtin’. Men worked as farmers, fishermen or crafts workers, women looked after the family. Slavery was a big part of their lifestyle. Slaves were very commonly used. The wheel had not been discovered, so it was very hard to transport building materials. This increased their reliance on local materials that were most commonly used. Of course children made up a large part of the population. Boys had the jobs of carrying water and wood at the age of 4, learning to fish and take goods to market by the age of 6. Girls were taught at home, they started spinning at 4 and cooking at age 12. The Aztecs social and political structure is different to the one we have today, but it served them well for many years even in big cities like Tenochtitlan.
 * <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">Social pyramid of the Aztecs civilisation. ||

The city of Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec civilization. It was located on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco in the central valley of Mexico. The great city was founded around AD1325. It grew to be one of the largest cities of its time in the world. 200,000 people were living there by 1500. The city was divided into four districts, Flowery Place, Mosquito Fen, Herons Home and in the centre of the town the Sacred Precinct. Markets were held in the city every five days. Rocks and earth had been laid to make a level surface to build on. The island which Tenochtitlan stood on was connected to the mainland by three causeways, the fresh water was carried to the city by two aqueducts. The ruins of Tenochtitlan are buried under what we now know as Mexico City. The city was an amazing place filled with many beautiful buildings some of them being the famous Aztec temples.
 * The great city of Tenochtitlan. **


 * <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">Map of Tenochtitlan. ||

Many groups of people before the Aztecs believed in the Sun God. They believed that unless they made offerings of blood and human lives to the gods, the sun would die and the world would come to an end. They lived in constant fear of this. Ancient legends stated that this had occurred four times in history and each time the world was reborn. Priests and astrologers didn’t think that this would happen a fifth time. Temples were the place that a sacrifice would occur. Each ruler aimed to build a great temple. Temples were not just used for sacrificial uses they were also used as tombs. The sense of the culture and religion was strong in the times of the Aztec civilization. The language is still spoken today.
 * The religion of the Aztecs. **
 * <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">Aztec sacred text ||
 * <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">Aztec temple ||
 * <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">Aztec totems ||

The Aztec empire expanded into a massive civilization. During the 1400s the empire grew until they ruled most of Mexico. They conquered many cities, and they allowed the cities to continue with their traditional way of life but the only exception was that they had to pay tribute to the Aztecs. By 1400 it was the strongest nation in Mesoamerica. A reason for its massive expansion was due to the strength of the Aztec armies. They were huge. War was essential to Aztec life. All men learned to fight. The Aztecs won their land by fighting against the people who already lived there. Without the richest the Aztecs won through war the empire would have collapsed. War was also their source of captives which they used for sacrificial reasons. This was the main reason for the success of the Aztec empire.
 * The way the empire expanded. **
 * Aztec army members ||
 * Green parts were ruled by the Aztecs. ||

In 1493 Christopher Columbus arrived back in Spain after crossing the Atlantic Ocean, he claimed to have found a ‘new world’ full of gold. Spanish soldiers returned to the ‘new world’ which we now know as Mexico in 1519. Nobleman Hernan Cortes led the group hoping to make their fortunes. The Aztecs greeted Cortes and his men as friends. It did not stay that way for long. For the next two years the two parties fought, at first the Aztecs had some success. In 1535 Cortes made a large attack he set fire to the buildings and killed three quarters of the population. By 1535 Mexico became a colony ruled by officials sent from Spain. In 50 years the population fell from 12-15 million to 1 million. Tenochtitlan was flattened, the great temple blown up and replaced with a cathedral. Spain converted the remaining people to Christianity. With the fall of Tenochtitlan the empire fell. Cortes was appointed governor of what the Spanish called New Spain. A few years later he was replaced, when he returned to Spain he was ignored by the king. He died in 1547 unhappy and bitter.
 * How the Aztec empire crumbled. **
 * <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 4.35pt; padding-left: 7.95pt; padding-right: 7.95pt; padding-top: 4.35pt;">Hernan Cortes ||


 * References **

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
 * Websites **

Detrates, j, (1992). What we know about the Aztec, Simon+ Shuster, London. Mac Donald, F, (1998) Step into the Aztec world, Lorenz, New York Wood, T, (1992) The Ages, Hamlin, London
 * Books **

What does tomorrow when the war began suggest that loyalty, courage and goodness are?

John Marsden’s novel __Tomorrow When The War Began__ shows remarkable acts of loyalty, courage and goodness. Marsden shows in his novel that these human characteristics are what enable the group to survive and thrive. The groups showed that they trusted each other, their inner strength shun through they were faced with their fears and they learnt to respect each other. All of those things that were shown are acts of ‘loyalty courage and goodness’ and were perhaps not “human inventions” but “[natural]”. The characters in Marsden’s novel showed loyalty in many different ways. Even the characters referred to as the ‘invaders’. Loyalty can be displayed in many different ways. The group shows loyalty to their country. They fight to not only stay loyal to the people they love, but also they fight for their people, the people of Australia. The reader gets the feeling that the group feel a duty to give back to the country that gave them so much. The ‘invaders’ also showed loyalty to their country. The group were loyal to each other. They trusted each other enough to let two members of the group go. With Corrie they could ‘dump her and run’ but they owed her more than that. Corrie and Kevin left to go the hospital and the rest of the group let them because they knew they were loyal. Finally the group were loyal to their families. This was the hardest because they had ‘to think rationally’ as well as be loyal. They wanted to determine that they were safe so they could reduce anxiety but being loyal also meant they must stay safe. They had to ask themselves ‘what’s rational and what’s logical’.

Loyalty is portrayed as a good thing a universal human characteristic that the good contain. As well as loyalty, courage features greatly though out the novel. Courage is a quality that not all contain inside of them however the group contain a large amount of it. Courage is something you must earn, and the members of the group that did not already possess it do just that. They earn it. To have courage a person must have great inner strength; face fear, take risks and override human instinct. It does not mean doing things ‘with no trouble’ it does not matter if you are ‘really really scared’ you just have to try because even just trying is courageous. An act of courage is something beyond ordinary. An act of courage for Fi may not be an act of courage for Homer. Courage is shown in all different ways, physically, socially and morally. Kevin shows courage when he says ‘I want to do it’ take Corrie to the hospital. Fi showed courage she ‘changed so much’ Ellie says ‘now it was her courage I was admiring’ instead of her beauty. The other member show great courage too. Everyone comes to admire and respect those with courage. It is a human character that Marsden obviously values.

Another quality that goes along with loyalty and courage is goodness. Goodness maybe one of the hardest qualities to possess. Goodness cannot be classified. It changes to every different circumstance. If someone told someone else the things the group had done, they would be horrified. Whereas if someone body read the book they would know that the group was good. The situations they were in did not have the ‘other possibilities’ that normal life has. The group did what they thought was good. Ellie ‘stuck the match’ and killed humans, she heard ‘the screams’ and yet she was still ‘convinced’ she did the right thing. The group is similar to the hermit. Marsden put him in the novel to show the murder in war changes things. The group still hold the qualities that are goodness; respect, they stayed positive; they kept their values and had a strong conscience. Context needs to be considered when goodness is judged. It is much easier to see a good person in ‘the normal world’. War is not normal and therefore ‘goodness’ within the context of war is different. Marsden wanted to show the capability of young people, told in a way to evoke emotion and recognition. Even within a war context and even away from their social network the group maintains their positive human characteristics. They remain admirable. Marsden clearly believes the future is in good hands.


 * Question 2**
 * I killed people. Those words are ones that I would have never expected to write. The thing is if I ever thought I would killed someone I would have thought I was mental or possessed or something. I wasn’t any of those things I was perfectly sane and I am proud. I don’t think people would get it, it is so much easier to sit safely in your home and say you would never kill anyone. If you were a parent and someone was about to kill your child you would think twice about killing them. So isn’t it the same in war? You are killing to save your country, your family, friends and even yourself. Then you think about the invaders they shouldn’t be killing their in the wrong it all their fault, but it isn’t most of those poor people are recruited there lives are just as interrupted. So I would love to say that killing is wrong and in war and there are other ways to fix problems but at the moment there isn’t and the wait could be a while so in the mean time we must fright to protect what we love.**


 * Question 4**
 * 40 people died in a small area.**
 * Think about a big area.**
 * If you times 40 in the big area.**
 * That would be a lot of death.**
 * What is a clean war?**
 * Isn’t that no deaths?**
 * No lives lost?**
 * That hasn’t happened.**
 * Wouldn’t a clean war have no blood.**
 * There has been blood.**
 * Doesn’t clean mean kind in a way?**
 * Any type of war is mean.**
 * Clean or not.**
 * It isn’t nice of anyone.**
 * Not the invaders or the attackers.**
 * 40 people died in a small area.**
 * That’s not clean.**


 * Question 3**
 * I definitely think that the enemy could have refused to teat Corrie. I know I wouldn’t want to treat someone that was involved in killing my friend or acquaintance. I think Corrie was lucky that they did treat her, but if they had known what they did I don’t think the outcome would be the same. It would be good to say that they would help a young girl fighting for her life. In reality it’s war and in war there isn’t really such thing as a young girl. Everyone must do what they can to fight for their country. So I think if they had known what they did they wouldn’t have taken her in.**


 * Question 5**
 * I understand like Robyn that Australia has a lot and it’s people are very lucky to have it. I think it would be so unfair. You can’t come into someone’s house and divide they bedroom up and make them share it unwillingly. These farms that they wanted to divide they belong to people they are what the people are it is a part of them and you can’t just divide that up. I believe that Australia would share if they went about it the right way. If the people wanted to come they should have done it properly. It is unfair because the people of Australia would be punished for something that they are just fortunate to have.**

Who was the leader of the group? It would be too hard to say if there was a single leader of the group. They each lead in different ways using each of their different skills. Ellie lead in a moral sense, she acted like a leader taking responsibility ‘it’s all my fault’ she would say, Ellie wasn’t going to blame other things on people. She also led with honesty. Kevin lead in times when other weren’t sure, he told Ellie to ‘do it’ when she needed a push. He told them to ‘Run, run’ when they were unsure. Homer was a practical leader. He took problems on board and dealt with them. When it wasn’t clean he would take charge and say ‘we’ve got to make more decisions guys’. ‘The way I see it’ he knew he was a leader.’ Robyn had total faith’ she led with kindness and initiative. She would be the person who would think of others are do simple things like ask ‘you ok’. They lead together and that is how they survived.

Who in the group shows remarkable courage? Every character minus Chris shows immense courage. They all must overcome and fight through things that most of us would never imagine. That takes courage. To me one person that really stands out is Robyn. She isn’t noticed as much as some of the others but she is extremely courageous. She was described as a ‘bloody hero’. Ellie found it very important to included ‘how brave Robyn was’ in her writing. In the part of the book where Lee gets shot Robyn shows great courage she ‘took the worst risks’ and ‘had trouble at every street corner’ but she fought though all that. To me I believe that Robyn remarkable courage.

What tests of their friendship do you see lie ahead for the group? Spending that much time with a group of people would test anybody. The group is so close to each other they spend almost every moment with each other. Romantic relationships complicate things. If one of the couples break up there will be tension between them and it could also be uncomfortable for everyone else. This could leave people vulnerable and the group not working as well together. Even if the relationships were ‘going to stay’ that could make it awkward. I think Ellie is concerned for Chris because she thinks, he does care. He doesn’t care about the challenges they must face or the future. He would rather stay safe and stay ‘away from the human race’. He doesn’t have the same drive to succeed as the others. Deep down I believe this is because he is scared, and isn’t equipped like the others. He also doesn’t have the same survival skills. They must ’keep fighting’ for their friendships and hopefully ‘after the war’ they can still be good friends.

Why do you think Marsden included the story of Christie in the novel? I believe ‘Bertram Christie’ was included in the novel because in a lot of ways his story was very similar to the groups. I think the hermit was a diversion in the story to bring you back to humanity and what life is really all about – fitting in, finding your place and having someone to love. ? ‘He was a war hero’ just like the group were shaping up to be. Christie supposably killed his wife ‘Imogen Mary Christie’ and his ‘infant child Alfred ‘. Killing in war was fine but when it was in a different context it was accepted in the same way. Killing changed Christie forever he was never the same again he could no longer fit back into to normal society. Was this going to happen to Ellie and the others? Also the hermit had chosen his oasis in the same location that they had. They both found that Hell could also be a sanctuary.


 * Which character do you think undergoes the most change?**
 * Fi undergoes a remarkable change, more so than the others. Fi was “very sensible” and polite she was the type of person “who said gosh”. Fi changes a lot physically, she was behind in that field at the start, not having as much outdoor knowledge as the rest. Towards the end of the novel “Fi had improved heaps” she was doing things that she would have never dreamed of “with no trouble”. She changes most towards the end, she wanted “to learn all about farming” a thing that before the war she was never interested in. She is a major part of blowing up the bridge which shows a great deal of change. Fi’s developing love of Homer helps her to see new ideas but also new aspects of her own personality. She‘s worried about letting the group down. She feels she needs to change. Fi changes in a very positive way she ‘steps up’ and matures greatly.**


 * Was Homer a ‘genius’ for coming up with the plans to ‘rescue’ Lee and to destroy the bridge?**
 * At the start of the novel Homer does not come off to be intelligent. As the story develops so do Homer’s ideas. It ‘was Homer’s genius’ that was a starting point many of their plans. The group starts ‘to recognise Homer’s leadership’ and genius. They first started to recognise his ideas when he comes up with the plan to rescue Lee, he elected to ‘pick him up in the shovel’, ‘It made sense’ to the group; they went with his plan. It succeeded. He again had the great plan of destroying the bridge, and again it succeeded. In the future the group would be very likely to trust Homer’s new found genius. Homer was intelligent in many ways he had flaws but in the end his ideas were genius.**


 * Was Ellie a ‘good’ person?**
 * Ellie had good intensions. She tried her best to be a good person in very difficult situations. Ellie has done things that a different situation would definitely not be acceptable but Ellie was in war and every situation is changed then. She admitted she was ‘not very proud of how ‘she’ was that night’ when she killed for the first time. She ‘struck the match’ and killed them after she ‘saw their faces’. Ellie ‘was horrified by’ what she and done but she always knew that it was the only way to save her and her friends. Ellie accepted that she had changed and discovered a new side of her. Ellie and the others knew that there was a ‘new reality’ and they would do something’s that they weren’t proud of. Ellie even with all her changes will always stay a good person.**

Task 3 Question 1 How reliable do you think Ellie is as a narrator? Ellie tries to be [CO1] as honest as possible. J She is ‘not holding back’ with her writing, she wants [CO2] people that read her story to know the truth. J Ellie was as reliable J as she can be she does show at times that she has weakness by saying she was not sure she will ‘be able do this’. J Ellie is [CO3] fallible J, she is [CO4] human. J Ellie was a retrospective narrator J she cannot tell what everyone is thinking she has to do the best she can by observing and asking. J The novel is [CO5] written in a particular point of view, Ellie’s. J She makes the reader feel things for her that the reader does not for other characters because it is in her point of view. J You know that Ellie’s has strong emotions ‘for the first time I saw their faces’ she thinks about others. J Ellie is honest by admitting things like ‘we might make some ugly choices’. J She is also biased J. J Ellie is [CO6] a reliable narrator, though she is not super human. J
 * Did Chris belong in the group?**
 * Chris was not part of the group in the beginning and he was not in the end. The group was ‘shocked at’ his lack of motivation to can out of the war making a difference, coming out of the war alive. ‘He risked the lives of’ the entire group ‘by being slack’. He fell a ‘sleep on guard duty’ and the punishment for that is death. It ‘was unforgivable’ so after that the group would really never accept him as one of their own. A member of their new found family.**

Fi undergoes a remarkable change, more so than the others. Fi was “very sensible” and polite she was the type of person “who said gosh”. Fi changes a lot physically, she was behind in that field at the start, not having as much outdoor knowledge as the rest. Towards the end of the novel “Fi had improved heaps” she was doing things that she would have never dreamed of “with no trouble”. She changes most towards the end, she wanted “to learn all about farming” a thing that before the war she was never interested in. She is a major part of blowing up the bridge which shows a great deal of change. Fi’s developing love of Homer helps her to see new ideas but also new aspects of her own personality. She‘s worried about letting the group down. She feels she needs to change. Fi changes in a very positive way she ‘steps up’ and matures greatly.
 * Question 1**
 * Which character do you think undergoes the most change?**

At the start of the novel Homer does not come off to be intelligent. As the story develops so do Homer’s ideas. It ‘was Homer’s genius’ that was a starting point many of their plans. The group starts ‘to recognise Homer’s leadership’ and genius. They first started to recognise his ideas when he comes up with the plan to rescue Lee, he elected to ‘pick him up in the shovel’, ‘It made sense’ to the group; they went with his plan. It succeeded. He again had the great plan of destroying the bridge, and again it succeeded. In the future the group would be very likely to trust Homer’s new found genius. Homer was intelligent in many ways he had flaws but in the end his ideas were genius.
 * Question 2**
 * Was Homer a ‘genius’ for coming up with the plans to ‘rescue’ Lee and to destroy the bridge?**

Ellie had good intensions. She tried her best to be a good person in very difficult situations. Ellie has done things that a different situation would definitely not be acceptable but Ellie was in war and every situation is changed then. She admitted she was ‘not very proud of how ‘she’ was that night’ when she killed for the first time. She ‘struck the match’ and killed them after she ‘saw their faces’. Ellie ‘was horrified by’ what she and done but she always knew that it was the only way to save her and her friends. Ellie accepted that she had changed and discovered a new side of her. Ellie and the others knew that there was a ‘new reality’ and they would do something’s that they weren’t proud of. Ellie even with all her changes will always stay a good person.
 * Question 3**
 * Was Ellie a ‘good’ person?**

Chris was not part of the group in the beginning and he was not in the end. The group was ‘shocked at’ his lack of motivation to can out of the war making a difference, coming out of the war alive. ‘He risked the lives of’ the entire group ‘by being slack’. He fell a ‘sleep on guard duty’ and the punishment for that is death. It ‘was unforgivable’ so after that the group would really never accept him as one of their own. A member of their new found family.
 * Question 4**
 * Did Chris belong in the group?**


 * 1 What inspires Ellie with the idea to use the ride on mower as a bomb?**
 * Ellie was inspired by Homer. Marsden uses the technique of foreshadowing. He mentions earlier in the novel Homers latest prank using petrol trails. The petrol trails made by Homer inspires Ellie.**


 * 2 What techniques does Marsden use to create tension in this scene?**
 * Though out the novel Marsden uses many techniques. Marsden uses shorts sentences like ‘We had to go’ to create drama. He uses Alliteration ‘flashes of fire’ to make interesting writing. Humour it’s used to bring the tension down so it can be built up again e.g. when Kevin says ‘why not just unscrew the lid’ it gives the novel a chance to re built the tension so the reader stays interested. Onomatopoeia is used to make the reader feel the book and be transported into the text. Marsden uses words like; ‘zinged’, ‘rasping’ and ‘thuds’ to create this. Other techniques like exaggeration, metaphors, similes and making the writing visual are also used.**


 * 3 Marsden is careful not to let the reader strongly identify with the people who die. How does he achieve this?**
 * Throughout the chapter until the very end the emery or the people who die are dehumanised. The reader doesn’t feel for them because they are not portrayed as people living and breathing like everybody else. They were referred to as ‘them’, ‘soldiers’ and ‘patrolling sentries’ not people not by their names. They are not made out to have human emotions like feelings; they just seemed to be robots. They were only mentioned as ‘shadows’ and feet. This all changes at the end of the chapter. When Ellie and the others heard ‘the screams’ ‘ripping the night apart’. At this point the reader realises that the’ patrolling sentries’ were human just like them.**


 * 4 Why do we not condemn Ellie for the murders?**
 * People treat murder in war very differently to other circumstances. Killing in a war has more of an it is us or them. Ellie knew the she had to kill the soldiers or they would kill her friends. Both sides in war kill and unfortunately that is the way it goes. Ellie believes that if her plan does not work ‘it’s all’ her ‘fault’. She knew ‘we’re dead’ if she could not do it. The emery would kill them if they did not kill them first. The reader also feels for Ellie will know how she feels when she kills. Marsden makes sure that the reader knows it was Ellie’s only option. Ellie is not condemned for the murders because everything changes in a war. The rules are different.**


 * 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.”**
 * Marsden uses Irony showing the group pass the sign. They pass the ‘Welcome to Warrawee’ sign just as they were feeling it. Warrawee used to a welcoming place it was their home. As they passed the sign they realised it was not anymore it was one longer the place they loved. They ‘couldn’t wait any longer’ to leave they went ‘like bats out of Hell’. The last quote displays many things one being a simile and another being irony again. It was ironic that they were leaving what had become hell and the hell in them to go ‘Hell’. It was also ironic that ‘Hell’ was the only safe places around.**

That one moment was harder than my whole life. Harder than my years at war. I had to write it all down. Not in hope that someone someday would find it but because I need to read it sometimes to know that what I did was right. I had struggled after the war. Every single day. You see things at war and feel things that before you didn’t even know existed. I knew what it was like it feel pain, to see pain. They were in too much pain. The day started the same as any other that summer. Hot. Not hotter than the other days. But definitely hot enough. Imogen and my son were outside playing in the garden and I was inside it was too hot for me out there I was trying to stay as cool as possible I was underground in the cellar it was the only cool place around. It came so fast I wouldn’t have even known if it wasn’t for the screams; the screams of my family. I climbed out of the cellar as fast as I could. I climbed out to nothing just bricks, small fires and my family. They were laying there together in what used to be our garden. I was bracing myself to find them dead. To my horror they were breathing, but god were they in pain so much pain more pain then than I had seen in the war. I could feel the gun next to me. I knew what I had to do. The hospital was too far and even then I knew they were never going to make it. You do you shoot first? Your son who had his life in front of him, or the woman you love. Who do you shoot first? I didn’t go to hell because I was running from prison. I wasn’t meant to go to prison. I wasn’t charged for killing them, they believed my story. But have you ever walked down the street and had people stare at you knowing that you were a murder. It’s not the same look that you get when you get back from war. It’s different when you kill your family; the look. It didn’t write this so people knew the truth. I wrote it so I wouldn’t forget it.


 * ‘Robyn was lying on her back on the bank, reading //__My Brilliant Career’__//. We were meant to read it for English. I’m not sure why she is still reading it. Going back to school isn’t the first thing on my mind. I am not even sure if there will be a school to go back to. I walked over to the bank and sat next to her.” Enjoying it?” I asked.**
 * “It’s okay”, she said. “It’s nice to get into a different world you know, escape all this and feel something really different. She was almost the same age as us”.**
 * “Really? It’s an auto biography isn’t it, I remember reading that somewhere,” I said.**
 * “Yeah, in ways she is turning out to be kind of similar to us”, said Robyn.**
 * “In what ways?” I replied.**
 * “She lives without social approvable”, said Robyn.**
 * “I suppose that is exactly what we are doing”, I said.**
 * “Yeah it is, she broke social conventions, just like us” said Robyn. I left Robyn to her reading, and walked over to the creek. I sat there for ages, think about things before that war, thinking about if the will ever go back to my old life and have to read //__My Brilliant Career__// for English.**

‘He’s weak, he’s gutless, and he’s the new Neville Chamberlain’. This quote is referring Australia’s foreign Minister. It was put in the text to foreshadow the idea that something was going terribly wrong. Europe in the time of Chamberlain was going through a very difficult time, a time that Australia was soon going to experience. It would have been one of the hardest times to govern and some would argue that it was not his fault he acted so weak and cowardly. Chamberlain led Britain through the first eight months of the Second World War. Then stepped down. In a time of war they needed someone stronger than Chamberlain someone would could show more courage, and Australia was about to need someone stronger too.