RABBIT PROOF FENCE- ideas

Ideology of A.O. Neville-

"unwanted third race"

"stabs out the black colour"

"the native must be helped"

Moore River-

dark artificial lighting:sinister

close ups of locks and bars

ominous background music

whispering echoes, haunting

Moore River erasion of culture-

dirty, they must be cleaned

only speak English

hair cut

beating

checking of the fair ones as they are apparently smarter

Fate of half-caste-

dark, vulnerable, violated

Moodoo-

impressed with Molly's intelligence and courage

"pretty clever that girl"

appreciation and understanding of Molly in her endeavours.

Narrative repetition-

spirit bird: guidance, connection, strength, understanding, determination

RABBIT PROOF FENCE-connection

In the beginning of the film the fence is depicted as a symbolic barrier and difference between the two cultures as it is a way of separation. This fence is worked on by the white men who essentially make this symbol stronger by making the fence stronger and reinforcing it, therefore reinforcing the values it holds.

Although, when times become tough and the aboriginals families are split up and the three girls are running away, the fence reveals another idea of which it can represent under these situations. We are shown a strong connection of families and love through the fence and the film techniques that are involved in these moments. A very strong moment of portrayal of connection is when Molly and the two girls find the fence and hold onto it. The shot then cuts to Molly's mother, Maud, who also stands by the fence and lays her hand on the wires. The cross cutting that happens during this scene shows their closeness and need for each other using the fence as a symbol of their connection even though they are miles away from one another.

RABBIT PROOF FENCE

The Clash Between The Two Cultures

ABORIGINALS:

-Molly especially is shown to be a very strong, proud and resourceful character

-they provide for themselves

-live in the desert not in civilization

EUROPEANS:

-A.O. Neville is immediately shown as a powerful character and one who has a lot of control

-portrayed as civilized

-are in the technological age

-live in cities and towns with cars etc.

COMPARISON:

-Europeans have a higher status than the Aboriginals

-have much control over them

-Aboriginals actually rely on the white race to supply them with things

-Aboriginals have no power to go against the white race

-although they are proud and strong, the Aboriginals are forced to eradicate their culture

Thousands flee as Sumatra volcano erupts

Published: 6:36PM Sunday August 29, 2010

Source: Reuters

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Family covered in ash from the erupting Mount Sinabung volcano leave their village on motorcycles - Source: Reuters

Thousands of Indonesians were evacuated from the slopes of a volcano after it erupted for the first time in more than 400 years, spewing out lava and sending smoke and dust 1,500 metres into the air.

Mount Sinabung, in the north of the island of Sumatra, began erupting around midnight after rumbling for several days, prompting some villagers to panic before the mass evacuation got under way.

Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and geological fault lines triggering frequent earthquakes around the Pacific Basin. The eruption triggered the highest red volcano alert.

Two people died, one from breathing problems and the other from a heart attack, and two suffered injuries in road accidents as trucks, ambulances and buses were mobilised in the rescue operation.

"This is the first time since 1600 that Sinabung has erupted and we have little knowledge in terms on its eruptive patterns," said Surono, head of Indonesia's vulcanology centre.

Authorities took at least 12,000 people from high risk areas on the slopes of the 2,460-metre volcano to temporary shelters. Local TV showed showed women and children wearing face masks in cramped tents.

The area around the volcano is largely agricultural.

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"Since this is the first eruption we've had in Sinabung, we're anticipating residents to remain at the shelters for at least a week while waiting for further status alert," said Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman at the national disaster management agency.

Residents panicked when the volcano started erupting overnight and some of them who live in safer areas chose to take refugee at shelters, Kardono added.

The eruption has not damage roads or bridges. The nearest big city is Medan where there were no disruptions to flights.

Summary:

-Indonesia, Mt Sinabung, in the north of the island of Sumatra

-Thousands evacuated

-First time the volcano has erupted in 400 years

-At about midnight

-Exploding 1500 metres into the air

-Rumbling for several days before hand caused panic in many villagers

-Indonesia is on the "Ring of Fire" in the pacific.

-The eruption triggered the highest red volcano alert.

-2 deaths (breathing problems and a heart attack)

-2 injuries (road accidents)

-Trucks, ambulances and buses mobilised in the rescue operation

-Have little knowledge of its eruption patterns

-Authorities took at least 12,000 from high risk areas into cramped tents

-Evacuees are expected to stay in the shelters for at least a week until further notice

-No damage to roads or bridges and no disruption of flights

-cReAtiVe wRitTinG- (edits)

-add more detail and description

-develop characters

-with description think about senses eg; touch, smell, sight, sound etc.

-stronger story-line perhaps

-go into more depth of situation, surroundings and event

-more emotional connection with characters

"The Village By The Sea" -ANITA DESAI : Diwali

Towards the end of the novel Anita Desai uses the Indian celebration of Diwali to convey many ideas and themes to the reader such as health and well-being, new beginnings and hope. We are shown these ideas through events in the story.

When Hari leaves, we are unsure of when he is to return and this causes much angst for his family, especially Lila. "She thought of Hari with such longing that tears stung her eyes" as Lila needed her brother home because "ever since Hari left, everything had become uncertain". But she soon comes to a descision that "perhaps he will come back at Diwali." This brings a light of hope for her and the sisters as they now have Diwali to wait for in anticipation, for Hari to come home from Bombay. The plot reveals that their mother has been cured and is well on the mend when Hari comes to collect her. This is just in time for the festival of Diwali signifying well-being and good health. As all these events fall into place and everything good is happening we notice a restoration of their lives to what it should be and how they want to be living their lives. Desai uses Diwali as a celebration for the family as well as the sacred celebration undertaken by all Indians. For the family it seems to mean something more than just a cultural thing, it is about them surviving the dark times and making it into the hopefulness of their future that now show great promise and success.

"The Village By The Sea" pages 152-164

In these pages some ideas and themes are formed:

-a sense of hope is created for Lila and her family
-kindness of the de Silvas even though they are rich and have the choice to ignore just another poor suffering family.
-no matter what Lila has gone through so much poverty and suffuring that nothing can shake her everlasting anxiety and worries from her mind.
-it is the turning point of the plot as they are given a reason to live and a reason to carry on trying with just a little bit of help.
-although the de Silvas are being so generous and kind, their way of showing that they are of higher status remains whether it is intentional or not. They still speak to them as their lower class.
-earlier we see Lila as a strong independent girl who comes across as a motherly figure, but we see in these pages her true child self as she admits to not knowing what to do. We are shown for the first time, Lila as a weak, innocent child who doesn't know how to handle the situation.


In these pages much fortune fortakes Lila and her family

-their mother is taken to hospital with it all paid for while they still are able to earn money
-it leads to their previously drunken father taking care for their mother and being off the "toddy" forever.
-it allows them hope for their future rather than just dispair and knowing that only bad thigs can happen.
-gives them a job to be paid for for a long time even once they have gone

"The Village By The Sea" -ANITA DESAI: Hari's Experiences

The Sri Krishna Eating House

About halfway through the story Hari is taken by the doorman to a restaurant where he can get food and shelter for the night in Bombay. The kind man, Jagu, gives him a job in this restaurant, but not before Hari witnesses the kind of place that he is in and it was "the meanest and shabbiest restaurant hari had ever seen." The restaurant has obviously never been cleaned and is therefore possibly the cheapest restaurant in the whole of Bombay "even in Thul and along the Alibagh-Rewas highway there were cafes that were pleasanter." So when Hari begins his new and first proper job, he is unable get enough rest as he finds it near impossible to sleep "in the eating house with its fiery heat and stale smell and stuffy air." Jagu has provided him with "one rupee a day, like the other boys" also he could work for his meals and this is what starts Haris new found motivation and determination to obtain his earnings and save them up for his family. Hari is so determined to earn all this money that he vows never to spends anything during his entire stay there, seeing as Jagu provides him with ever meal. Hari pleases Jagu so that Jagu will not fire him and he is silently impressed by Haris full commitment from day one. This was an experience of battling for what he wanted and making sure he never gave up despite the fact that the Sri Krishna Eating House was basically unbearable (especially in the monsoon season). Hari remained commited, determined and motivated throughtout this experience and had grown up as a man because of it. He understood what was important for him to focus on and pushed forward for his families sake.

Poverty in the novel "The Village By The Sea"

In the novel, poverty is what the main characters and their families and friends suffer from. They lack life's necessities, clean water, sturdy shelter, healthy and sufficient food, medical care etc. This means they struggle through their days fighting to obtain these basic needs, even though they are the simplest of things. We are shown in the novel how Lila is left to do all the chores because of her sick mother and young children. Her mother is sick due to nobody understanding what is wrong and there is no-one educated enough to tell them what to do. They are also unable to take her to a hospital because they have no means of getting there. Lila also has to do the chores herself because her younger sister need to get an education from the nearby school, whereas Lila will never have that kind of schooling. Hari, her brother, has also been forced to give up schooling to get a job in order to make that little bit of extra money that they desperately need for food and other basics. With their small amount of earned money, they can only afford the most plain, cheapest things that do not provide sufficient nutrients for the body, especially not for a sick person.

Throughout the story we are given plenty of examples of poverty, whether it is in the small village where families are very independent or in the large city of Bombay where there are lots of people and we are told of the crowded slums. These slums are a prime example of poverty. Hundreds are cramped into tiny tin shelters that give little or no protection from the weather and should not even be big enough for one to live inside. But whole families cower inside. Water is even harder to come by and food is almost a luxury.

"The Village By the Sea" describes these situations of extreme poverty where the characters still manage to survive somehow. Through sheer determination we are shown how they pull through.

"The Village By The Sea" characters-ANITA DESAI

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Family: Bela, Hari, Kamal, Lila, Mother, Father, Pinto

Villagers of Thul: Ramu, Biju

Bombay People: Jagu, Hira, Mr Panwallah, Sayyid Ali, the de Silvas

Others: Mr Pinto

HARI-MINDMAP:

Challenges

*Being a figure of authority

*Needing to find a job

*Struggling without a mother or father

*Knowing he is not educated enough to get a proper job

*Making the decision to go to Bombay

*Once in Bombay, Hari is basically lost

*Job in eating house in very hard and trying

*The rough life in Bombay is a huge challenge for Hari

*He must save money for his family back home

Important relationships

*Hari and Lila share an earnest to keep their family alive and well as the two oldest most capable children. Both strive to do good for the family and want to care for them and each other as much as possible being brother and sister.

*Hari and Jagu are a complicated pair who do not speak often but ended up with an understanding of each other even after Jagu made the mistake of taking Hari to his home in the slums. The two work alongside each other, and keep finding small details about one another that make them more similar than they had ever expected (such as both being from small villages).

*Hari and Mr Panwallah meet when Hari had begun his work at the eating house in Bombay. Mr Panwallah was kind to Hari in very small ways at first but eventually their little acquaintence led to Hari becoming Mr Panwallah's apprentice in the watch makers shop where he learnt many skills meaning he had a steady plan to make money for his family when he finally returns to Thul. Hari is very, very grateful towards him and his generosity.

Behaviour

*Hari quickly gave me the impression that he had lost all hope in his families survival and that was one to give up quite easily when the going got rough. He proved this when he made his somewhat foolish decision to go to Bombay to get away from his families destiny of ruin and despair. Although, when he was given the chance to try again and make his life work...he jumps at the opportunity, making the most of it and trying so hard to earn as much money to get by on and ended up not spending a single thing during his time in Bombay except for the presents for his sisters. Hari proves to be a very proud man who strives to get by with what he is given even though he seems a little lost at first.

Themes of character

*proud

*strong

*determined

*occasionally seems at a loss

*comes across very serious

*logical

*understanding

"The Village By The Sea" passage-ANITA DESAI

"They pushed and shoved because they were in turn being pushed and shoved by the Bombay crowds that thronged the docks - people in a hurry to get something done, so many people in such a hurry as the villagers had never seen before. It was only out of the corner of his eye that he saw, briefly, before being pushed on, the great looming sides of steamship berthed at the docks, cranes lifting and lowering huge bales, men bare-bodied and sweating carrying huge packing cases, boxes and baskets on their heads and shoulders, grunting as they hurried, women like the fisherwomen at home with their saris tucked up between their legs as they ran with baskets of shining, slithering fish from the boats to the market, straw and mud and fish scales making the ground dangerously slippery."

This passage from the novel "The Village By The Sea" by Anita Desai describes what the villagers of Thul enter into when they venture to Bombay to protest against the factory overtaking their town.

We see how they are overwhelmed with the fast-paced action that surrounds them. With so many people crowding the wharf, the villagers are "pushed and shoved" around and seem to be out of place simply due to their inexperience in these situations. Having never been to Bombay and only ever been a part of the small, relaxed village life, Hari is absolutely amazed and shocked by the size of everything. Desai tells of what he notices, and that being over sized boxes and machines operating everywhere and people rushing around to get so many jobs done. Everything he sees, even if only out of the corner of his eye, is described as "huge" or "great and looming" because this is what struck him most at that moment. Of-course it would, because of the life Hari is used to leading. Small, simple and uneducated.

As well as evoking a crowded, rushed, larger than life scene, the writer also adds the danger factor by saying the ground is a slippery mix of "straw, mud and fish scales." This encourages the idea that the city life is much more dangerous and unpredictable than the simple life in a small coastal village such as Thul. Hari notices the similarities between his insignificant village and Bombay, but notes that these similarities are set apart by the fact that everything is speed up and enlarged in this overcrowded city.

SPEECH-hypnosis

DEFINITIONS...

-hypnosis: neuro-hypnotism "sleep of the nervous system"

-hypnotherapy: therapeutic hypnosis

DIFFERENT VEIWS AND THEORIES...

-induce by hypnotic induction, commonly composed of a long series of preliminary instructions and suggestions

-form of unconsciousness resembling sleep

-contemporary research suggest it is really wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility with diminished peripheral awareness.

-a state of physical relaxation accompanied and induced by mental concentration

-can be entered into at any time of the day and in fact we do on a daily basis

-conscious reasoning part of the mind is less active

SYMPTOMS/SIDE EFFECTS...

-fluttering eyelids

-relaxed/loose muscles

-tingling sensation, coolness of warmth

-swallowing can be more difficult

-rate of breathing changes

-twitching of the legs/arms/fingers

SPEECH IDEA-hypnosis

TITLE: "you are getting very sleepy"

TYPE: Thought provoking/informative

RESEARCH:

-how it works/process

-who can do it

-what happens

-side effects etc.

-history...?

-examples of cases

-personal experience

Describe one challenge faced by a character or individual in the texts. Explain why this challenge helped you understand the character or individual.

In the short story of "The Lemon Orchard" displays a character who has been taken by a gang of white men who wish to punish this black man for his actions against another man of the gangs colour. the captive/victim only ever says two words through-out the short story. This silence tells the reader of his dignity and refusal to be ridiculed by his superiors. It is a challenge for him to obtain this dignity and to remain brave-faced for it is all that he is left with.

As they walk through the lemon orchard he given questions (often indirectly), but will never answer. His silence represents his determination to remain dignified in front of these cruel, jeering men. Although, they soon get frustrated with him not answering and begin saying things such as '"Listen you hotnot bastard," he said loudly. "Why don't you answer?"' His refusal to speak soon provokes one of the men to strike him on the cheek and he is forced to relent his guard and say "Yes, baas." Yet amazingly, as he speaks "he straightens up" and speaks with "contempt that was missed by those who surrounded him." All that is left for this man is to fight for his dignity that he so strongly possesses, despite all else and the situation he is in.

The Lemon Orchard-Character Representation

The group of men that walk through the lemon orchard are described as harsh men who have a deep hatred for the black man they are escorting to a place unknown. There is a certain status within the group, most noticeably a leader. The leader is a large man who wears clothes that give a threatening message and an obvious, violent personality. The men who accompany this figure of authority don't seem to be as 'tough' as him but are still menacing enough to make the small black man absolutely terrified and unable to speak. Although, together these men have the same views on this 'kaffir' and all wish to give him what he deserves for what he has supposedly done. the poor black who was taken refuses to speak from fear of sounding scared. he tries very hard to stop his teeth from chattering incase it may be mistaken for cowardice. He is portrayed as a proud man who will not undermine his dignity even in a situation as hostile as this. His determination to remain brave-faced is somewhat destroyed by the mens jeering manner and cruel actions against him. Also his stubbornness got him into more trouble when he refused to speak and therefore was punished with a blow to the face, again the white men continue to be disrespectful and inhumane.

The Lemon Orchard-passage:pg126

"This man wore trousers and a raincoat which they had allowed to pull on over his pyjamas when they had taken him from his lodgings, and he shivered now with chill, clenching his teeth to prevent them from chattering. He had not been given time to tie his shoes and the metal-covered ends of the laces clicked as he moved."

This small passage gives a little explanation of how the man was taken "from his lodgings" and out into the cold of the night. The reader is given a small idea of the happenings before this moment in time as they walk through the lemon orchard. The man was clearly taken by force away from his previous location (we aren't given information as to what or where this place was) and the fact that he had no time to tie his laces tell us that he was taken quite quickly also. 'They' had "allowed" him to put on trousers and a raincoat over his pyjamas which portrays that 'they' are in charge and that the man would have to do whatever 'they' demand of him.

His shoe laces have metal-covered ends that click as he move which depicts the silence in their procession towards their destination for the clicks to be heard. The clicks give the idea of terrifying mystery as, silently, the time goes by and he his unable to fathom the extent of what they are to do to him. With each click taking him a step closer to his now inevitable fate in the orchard with these menacing figures of authority who have brought this upon him. His teeth are clenched with the cold and not wanting to break the silence that seems to be compulsory as he is lead through the darkness.

Sian Anstis

My Static Image Concept-CULTURE

During the film the 'Rabbit Proof Fence' we are shown the importance of culture and the meaning it has for those within it. They have traditions and beliefs that are strong and meaningful and are extremely importance to their race. The culture that we are shown in the film is the aboriginal culture at its purest. Yet that is how they live and what they love. What the film also shows is the crushing of that culture and the unregarded disrespect towards the aborigines. The freedom that was once their culture was gradually being closed upon and smothered out even though the aim was to 'blot out the black' in only the half-castes. The white began the plan to breed out the black gene to get rid of the half-caste race that would apparently have no place in society in the future.

In my image I can imagine the spirit bird surrounded by aboriginal patterns that, as they move further away from the bird, get whiter and whiter and maybe change into objects or ideas that portray the white race. Also towards the middle, the colours would be earthy colours (reds, browns, blacks) symbolizing the aboriginals and their natural home.

The spirit bird represents the freedom that the culture has within their own land but the encroaching white race are smothering that and taking their culture from them as they close in on the aboriginals as people and an important culture of Australia. The fact that the white are succeeding in the battle shows their power and their opinion of status over the aboriginals.