UNSEEN HSC 2023 Flashcards
OWhy des Dnk prefr ‘tht gravel & dust cmfort, away frm tht other place’?
Text 1 — Prose extract We Come With This Place by Debra Dank
One extraordinary time, I felt the strangeness of an unfamiliar terrain . . .
A strange new pressure of wet pebbles and the tickle of moist sand
pushing itself between toes that until then had walked only in dry, dusty
earth. As I pushed my feet into that new gritty dampness, the sensation
grew upwards and soaked my body in its rough, but velvety, texture.
The rubbing of those grains of sand made dry, almost-humming noises
that were strange in my ears. I hear that uneasy teeming still, and how
its noise became grinding reverberations, discordant* with the rhythm
of my goodalu** and of my kujiga.***
I was a child and I’d travelled a long way from my home. I was visiting
the ocean. They said:
go walk on the beach,
go swim in the ocean
and the sand I found there was such a foreign thing. It wasn’t anything
like the hot dust and gravel of my place . . .
The sand on that beach created a million minuscule pressure points
under my soles. It tried to swallow my feet and the salt water rushed to
carry off small shells and seaweed that caught in my toes. For me, then,
sand and shells and seaweed remained just what they were. I struggled
to listen or think or feel or see or believe their indecipherable story.
There was no story talking to my bones, into my soul . . .
At home now, the sharp edges of the gravel biting into my feet remind
me to tread wisely and the dust between those hard edges softens and
gentles the way into new stories. On that long-ago day, standing on the
edge of the ocean, I struggled to take that salty air inside my body and
though during the course of my life I have built a friendship with the
ocean sand, it is the gravel and dust that are home for me. And, like
the becoming of good friendships, I crave that gravel and dust comfort,
away from that other place, the place of sand, that makes odd noises
in my ears.
DEBRA DANK
This question asked why Dank preferred “that gravel and dust comfort, away from that other place?” 3 MARKS
Your response should identify why the individual prefers their home over the unfamiliar landscape of the beach. It should then analyse succinctly two examples from the prose extract.
Dank prefers the familiarity of ‘that gravel and dust comfort’ because it represents the fulfilment of home. In contrast, the ‘strange new pressure of wet pebbles’ and ‘velvety, texture’ of ocean sand is confronting and ‘foreign’ to the ‘dry, dusty earth’ to which she feels a deep connection. Dank’s inability to find the same ‘comfort’ and connection at the beach is evident as the ‘sand and shells and seaweed remained just what they were … There was no
story talking to my bones’. The contrasting feeling of the ‘sharp edges of the gravel and soft dust’ is where Dank feels grounded, providing a comforting and enriching ‘way into new stories’ that is soul-affirming. (HSC SAMPLE)
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“We Come With This Place” explores how a physically and spiritually unfamiliar landscape can be uncomfortable and overwhelming in contrast to one’s home. Visiting the ocean for the first time, Dank illustrates with auditory imagery how the unfamiliar environment “made dry, almost humming noises that were strange in my ears.” The uncomfortable feelings that arise when the individual does not know a place physically but also spiritually, is conveyed by their references to their heart and soul, “its noise became grinding reverberations, discordant* with the rhythm of my goodalu** and of my kujiga.” The negative connotations of “grinding” and “discordant” emphasise how they do not understand this new landscape as it is not connected to them. Thus they prefer the “gravel and dust”, the tactile imagery representing their familiar desert home.
Other answers could include:
The value of home as the persona can understand it fully through the power of cultural stories
The changing relationship with a new landscape but home always remaining a constant comfort
Analyse Langbrek’s representation of the emotional impact of new places.
Text 2 – Memoir Extract – Ciao Bella! By Kate Langbroek 4 Marks
It is no great revelation that certain countries or cities can become
shorthand for a feeling; that their very name becomes one with an ethos
or experience. Hawaii. Thailand. New York. The name of the place
automatically conjures a mental picture. So much so that when you say
you are going there others immediately intuit what sort of holiday or
experience you will have.
Of course, this is not necessarily the case . . . Just as we don’t
know the inner workings of each other’s lives, so it is with a foreign
country. We have no idea of the way in which it will open up to us, and
us to it. And yet we think we do.
Few places on earth, it seems, conjure up more of an emotional
response than Italy. It is a land that transcends cliché by simply piling
on more of them: afternoon slumbers and wine, church bells and
saints, terracotta-coloured villas and washing hanging over balconies,
grapevines and pasta, and glittering seas and venerated* old people.
It is cobbled thoroughfares and picture-book villages, Pinocchio and
families in the piazza, sliced meats and summer fruits, and music on the
streets and romance. It is golden light caressing – not just the ancient
stone buildings upon which it alights but also those blessed to bask
in its rays. Falling in love with a country is like falling in love with a
person. You are initially tentative. You start off with a few dates. With
a country drive; with dinner. If that goes well, you return for more.
Magical outings in which it feels everything is brushed with possibility.
Suddenly, your heart is singing. You have never looked better. You
feel alive – like your true, unfettered** self. You are open and happy
and free. You laugh. You see things differently.
Mostly, falling in love is not so much about the reality of the
other person as it is about how they make you feel about yourself.
I wasn’t looking to fall in love with Italy. I wasn’t expecting it.
It just happened.
* venerated respected
** unfettered unrestricted
KATE LANGBROEK
This question asked students to analyse the text’s representation of the emotional impact of new places.
Your response should identify what the “emotional impact” of the new place is and how it has affected the individual.
You should then succinctly analyse three examples from the memoir.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
Langbroek’s memoir illuminates the power of a country to evoke lasting positive feelings in an individual, not only about the place but also about themselves. With **high modality language, “We have no idea of the way in which it will open up to us, and us to it”, Langbroek explores how each destination will have a different impact on the individual that cannot preempted, heightening its power, however emphasising through the collective pronoun “we” how everyone can be changed by experience of a new place. The personal experience the author captures is falling in love with Italy; “Falling in love with a country is like falling in love with a person.” Through the simile that is extended by references to “a few dates” and “dinner”, the persona captures the feelings of excitement and newness that the new destination of Italy conjured for her. She extends this by illuminating that the impact of new places is a shift in self perception, that falling in love (with a country or person) “is about how they make you feel about yourself.” Thus with the direct address of “you”, Langbroek makes her personal experience relatable to all audience members, reminding us that new places can fill us with excitement and shift our self perception. **
Other answers could include:
The excitement of a new destination despite the seeming cliches of it
The unexpected nature of emotion evoked by a new place
How dOes Hlin expand reader’s undStding of the paradoxes of consumerism?
Text 3 — Feature article extract
Buy Experiences, Not Things by James Hamblin ( 4 MARKS)
Live in anticipation, gathering stories and memories.
By James Hamblin In the journal Psychological Science last month, Gilovich and Killingsworth, along with Cornell doctoral candidate Amit Kumar, expanded on the current understanding that spending
money on experiences “provide[s] more enduring happiness.” . . .
Essentially, when you can’t live in a moment, they say, it’s best to live in anticipation of an experience. Experiential purchases like trips, concerts, movies, et cetera, tend to trump material
purchases . . . Experiential purchases are also more associated with identity, connection, and social behavior.
Looking back on purchases made, experiences make people happier than do possessions. It’s kind of counter to the logic that if you pay for an experience, like a vacation, it will be over and gone; but if you buy a tangible thing, a couch, at least you’ll have it for a long time. Actually most of us have a pretty intense capacity for tolerance, or hedonic adaptation*, where we stop appreciating things to which we’re constantly exposed. Phones, clothes, couches, et cetera, just become background. They deteriorate or become obsolete. It’s the fleetingness of experiential purchases that endears us to them. Either they’re not around long enough to become imperfect, or they are imperfect, but our memories and stories of them get sweet with time. Even a bad experience becomes a good story.
When it rains through a beach vacation, as Kumar put it, “People will say, well, you know, we stayed in and we played board games and it was a great family bonding experience or something.” Even if it was negative in the moment, it becomes positive after the fact. That’s a Lot harder to do with material purchases because they’re right there in front of you.
Hamblin expands the reader’s understanding of the paradoxes of consumerism by showing that ‘we stop appreciating things … They deteriorate or become obsolete’. Paradoxically, we usually think that material goods bring happiness but the connection from ‘trips, concerts, movies … tend to trump material purchases’ and provide ‘more enduring happiness’. The adjective ‘enduring’ suggests that experiential purchases form memories that connect us.
The direct address ‘when you can’t live in a moment … live in anticipation of an experience’ and inclusive language ‘our memories and stories … get sweeter’ invites the reader to share Hamblin’s perspective on the paradoxical nature of consumerism. (HSC SAMPLE)
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This question asked students how the author expands the reader’s understanding of the paradoxes of consumerism.
Your response should identify what the paradoxes are and how the author unpacks them
You should then succinctly analyse three examples from the feature article.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
The feature article exposes how consumerism has established a paradoxical relationship between what we buy and the happiness it provides us. Hamblin elucidates that experiences, counter to common logic, are more conducive to happiness through referencing expert Amit Kumar who states experiences provide “more enduring happiness”. This reference establishes credibility and supports an idea counter to consumerism’s main claim: that buying things will result in contentment. Hamblin expands on this, “Actually most of us have a pretty intense capacity for tolerance, or hedonic adaptation*”. With collective pronouns, he illustrates the collective experience of how material things, “Phones, clothes, couches,” become normalised and thus less exciting, supporting this claim with the jargon of “hedonic adaptation” that gives it scientific merit. In contrast, the changeability of experiential moments,“Even a bad experience becomes a good story”, **juxtaposition **of “bad” and “good” emphasising how over time an experiential moment can become satisfying, reveals the paradox that although something does not last ‘forever’ it can provide more sustained enjoyment. **Thus, Hamblin counters the cultural paradigm that consumerism pushes, by revealing the anomaly that material things do not provide the greatest happiness. **
How does R’sn challnge trend towrds ‘self-narativisatn’ in modrn cultre?
Text 4 — Nonfiction – opinion piece 4 marks
One of the most regrettable trends in the modern habitus* is that of
endless self-narrativisation**. Think of how the contestants describe
themselves on any . . . reality TV show: they cannot just be living
their lives – they must be overcoming adversity. Nobody describes
themselves primarily in terms of their role in society or community;
nobody is simply chilling. They are triumphing over [insert hardship
real or imagined]; they are just a kid from [whichever state they’re
from], trying to make it in the world. They present themselves as being the hero of their own monomyth, currently slogging their way through Act 2 of 3, striving to reach the cathartic denouement when they have slain all the dragons standing between them and success.
The ever-present mark of this infuriating way of speaking is the word journey’. How I have come to hate this word, which is now encrusted on the discourse like pigeon [poop] on public furniture. My interiordecorating journey. My reactive-dog journey. My sciatica journey. My breastfeeding journey. My yoga journey. . . . please, make it stop . . .
The main problem with everyone constantly nattering on about their journeys is that most people’s lives, unless you know and care about them as an individual, are excruciatingly boring. Their joys are boring; their tragedies are boring; their passions and grudges are boring. But the ubiquity of My Journey makes people think that their lives will become interesting, if only they are shoehorned into this redemptive story of adversity, resilience, hard work and eventual reward. It’s just not so! . . .
Another problem is that, to the extent other people’s lives are
interesting, this one-size-fits-all way of talking about them instantly
extinguishes anything you might care to hear about. It sands off all the rough edges, all the bits that don’t make sense, the parts where people broke the rules or didn’t get what they expected. All of this is reduced to “an obstacle on the journey”, made to play a pre-defined part in the story . . .
In the face of this adversity, and in an effort to overcome the hardships that have been visited upon me . . . I am embarking on a journey to ban the word ‘journey’. Yes, it will be difficult . . . But these are just obstacles on my journey, and I will triumph over them in order to achieve my destiny: living in a world where the word ‘journey’ is banned ELEANOR ROBERTSON
Text 4 – Nonfiction – opinion piece by Eleanor Robertson
This question asked how the author challenged the trend towards ‘self-narrativisation’ in modern culture.
Your response should identify what the feature article describes as “self narrativisation” and what issue they take with it, including the emotions they feel towards it
You should then succinctly analyse three examples from the text
DYMOCKS SAMPLE ANSWER:
Robertson’s satirical piece challenges the reader to consider the trend towards ‘selfnarrativisation’ in modern culture as limiting for self-expression. Robertson’s **humorous voice **highlights the prolific use of the hero’s journey in reality television, which has come to dictate the way individuals construct their public identity; ‘nobody is simply chilling. They are triumphing over [insert hardship real or imagined]’. The reader is challenged by the irony of “self-narrativisation’ in modern culture where individuals, in pursuit of an interesting personal narrative, metaphorically ‘sand off all the rough edges’, removing anything about their lives that makes them interesting. **Robertson’s parody culminates in her ‘embarking on a journey to ban the word ‘journey’ , prompting the reader to reconsider the way in which we construct and share our personal stories. **
Analyse how O’Sullivan captures the idea of being in the moment. 5 MARKS
Text 5 — Poem
Being here
It has to be a thin world surely if you ask for
an emblem at every turn, if you cannot see bees
arcing and mining the soft decaying galaxies
of the laden apricot tree without wanting
symbols—–which of course are manifold*—–symbols
of so much else? What’s amiss with simply the huddle
and glut of bees, with those fuzzed globes
by the hundred and the clipped out sky
beyond them and the leaves that are black
if you angle the sun directly behind them,
being themselves, for themselves? I hold out
my palms like the opened pages of a book
and you pile apricots on them stacked three
deep, we ask just who can we give them to
round here who haven’t had their whack of apricots
as it is? And I let my hands tilt and the plastic
bag that you hold rustles and plumps with their
rush, I hold one back and bite into it and its
taste is the taste of the colour exactly, and this
hour precisely, and memory I expect is storing
for an afternoon far removed from here
when the warm furred almost weightlessness
of the fruit I hold might very well be a symbol
of what’s lost and we keep on wanting, which after
all is to crave the real, the branches cutting
across the sun, your standing there while I tell you,
‘Come on, you have to try one!’, and you do,
and the clamour of bees goes on above us, ‘This
will do’, both of us saying, ‘like this, being here!’
VINCENT O’SULLIVAN
This question asked students to analyse how the poet captured the idea of being in the moment.
Your response should identify **what moment **is being described and why it is important
You should then analyse **four examples **from the poem
DYMOCKS SAMPLE ANSWER
O’Sullivan transports readers into a warm, rich moment, emphasising the importance of being connected with the world’s sights and sounds for the creation of detailed memories. O’Sullivan captures an afternoon picking apricots and watching “bees / arcing and mining the soft decaying galaxies / of the laden apricot tree”, the metaphor of something so small becoming the enormity and detail of a galaxy illustrates how even the smallest things can be captivating and complex when brought attention to. O’Sullivan expounds that being in the moment is taking things as they are, “without wanting / symbols”, and accepting them as “being themselves, for themselves”. The **repetition **of “themselves” is an anomaly from the common formic feature of poetry to create symbols and hidden meanings from everyday things, O’Sullivan disrupting our constant need to create more meaning. With **rich tactile imagery **the poet captures the “warm furred almost weightlessness / of the fruit” and the joy of biting into an apricot, transporting the reader to a very simple and sensory pleasure. The poem expands on the value of being in the moment by conveying how a moment will in time become a memory, “and this / hour precisely, and memory I expect is storing / for an afternoon far removed from here”. **Through the metaphor of “storing” the poet conveys how these rich experiences, when fully attended to, are committed richly to memory and drawn on in times of need. **
