Classics slideshow

Unfamiliar Texts - Limestone & We are the tenants

S - State a strong case - write an introductory sentence or two addressing the question and clearly stating your argument. 

T - Technique - Identify and explain in detail the writer's use of one significant technique.

E - Example - Provide a range of relevant evidence and supporting quotations

E - Effectiveness - Make a judgement about the effectiveness of the feature in conveying meaning and achieving the writers overall purpose

L - Make links to the other parts of the text, and go beyond the text to make links to the world, society, human nature. What insights have you gained?

"Limestone":

Explain how contrasts of ideas are important in the passage. Give details from the text to support your answer.

The author uses contrast through the passage to convey different ideas and portray different imagery for Ireland and New Zealand and the way she views them. In the first paragraph, this is apparent when she describes the view from the window seat on the plane, as it goes over Europe. She uses multiple positive connotations and adjectives to create vivid imagery of the beautiful view she sees from 30,000 feet. She talks about the snow-topped mountains and the forested hills. Contrast is then tied in when she discusses how the view from above doesn't show the rusted cargo, chemical spills and human destruction, making it not the place it seems to be from the view above. She uses listing and negatively connotated words to paint a picture of the place she is leaving, as it isn't what it seems. This is very effective as the reader can see in their mind what she describes, and achieves the relatable feeling of false reality, the expectations vs reality. 

In the second paragraph, the author deepens this contrast when discussing how she remembers and dreams of New Zealand, compared to how it actually is, and the true reality of the country. She once again uses adjectives and an appreciative tone to create beautiful imagery of how she remembers New Zealand and its scenery. "Primeval beaches scattered with driftwood, dark forests and plains burned to a tawny hide." She states it's a dream that is already corrupted by the reality of the landscape. She then describes the truth, with subdivisions instead of beaches, trees threatened with clear-felling, and tawny plains changed due to the vanishing trees. This paints a picture of modernisation and how humans impact the world and its naturally beautiful state. The contrast she creates of what she dreams and reality creates intense imagery for the reader and gives them something to reflect on, how industrialisation and the evolving of humans and technology can impact the environment and change something that was once untouched and beautiful.

'We are the tenants':

With close reference to the text, discuss the poet's use of imagery to describe the North. 

In "We are the tenants", the poet uses imagery to showcase their dislike towards the North and to paint a picture of the unpleasant place. They discuss things like "cemeteries lush with centuries of flesh", and large seagulls "hungry for lost souls". This makes the place sound scary and unpleasant, rather offputting. The author also says "We wake up with the cockroaches" and "..smell the hopes, the disappointments of months before" These metaphors and implied metaphor really send home the message of how nasty and disappointing the North is and uninspiring. This really puts off the readers from the North and gives them a picture in their mind of how bad the place is.

Compare and contrast the attitude to departure and arrival presented in each text. Give details from the texts to support your answer. 

The two texts have very different perspectives, despite one discussing departure and the other arrival.

Unfamilar Texts English Question Answering

S - State a strong case - write an introductory sentence or two addressing the question and clearly stating your argument. 

T - Technique - Identify and explain in detail the writer's use of one significant technique.

E - Example - Provide a range of relevant evidence and supporting quotations

E - Effectiveness - Make a judgement about the effectiveness of the feature in conveying meaning and achieving the writers overall purpose

L - Make links to the other parts of the text, and go beyond the text to make links to the world, society, human nature. What insights have you gained?

‘Lament’ by Glenn Colquhoun

Question:

A lament is an expression of sadness. With close reference to the text, discuss the style used in the non-italicised section of the poem to convey this sadness.

Lament is very apparent and used effectively by the author in the non-italic parts of his poem. He uses similes to deepen his poem and the meaning to create the emotion of lament throughout the poem. “Or if the front door trembles like a lip”, “or if trees keep their shadows tightly to themselves”. These two similes used in the non-italicised both convey loneliness and sadness which creates an overall mood and style in the poem, particularly how these are placed at the start of the poem which sets the tone immediately and showcases lament. As the poem continues, the non-italicised tone changes, and he says “it does not matter if i am happy”, “it does not matter if I am sad”, “it does not matter if he is gone”. His repetitive use of “it does not matter” and disregard to emotion contributes to the lament feeling of the poem. He uses these techniques like similes and repetition to incorporate into the style of his poem, and purposeful choice of font and non-italicisation in certain parts of the poem to highlight the differences, take on different tones and displays of sadness within his poem. This is effective as it drives home the sadness and laments felt by the author in relation to his friend dying which we gather from reading his poem. It can tug at the audience's emotions and help them relate to his loneliness and numbness as a result of someone close passing. This is a sadly common topic that has a wide audience able to relate and connect with by reading the poem and understanding his expression of sadness and coping, through personal experience. 

Murder of Philip questions - Alexander the Great

Source Analysis 

Justin 9.7.1-3

Who does the source blame?
This source blames Olympias. It says Olympias was resentful towards the marriage and Pausanias was just as resentful because of the insults he had received. Olympias must of gathered her rage together with Pausanias and convinced him to kill Philip. Alexander was also fearful of losing the throne so must have been okay with the decision

How is the source bias?
Justin wasn't known to be as reliable as others and usually summarised earlier works as a source.

Plutarch, Alexander 10

Who does the source blame?
Olympias. It says she spurred on Pausanias because she knew he would be easily encouraged with his resentment towards Philip. It also says Alexander is a little guilty, where he quoted Medea, 'threatening the bride and groom, and father of the bride" after Pausanias confided in him about his hurt, though Alexander punished the people responsible of the death afterwards.


How is the source bias?
He is said to use 2nd hand material, and to use anecdotes (stories) that may or may not be true, so he could have embellished the story to make it more interesting. He also refers to many sources from Callisthenes and Cleitarchus. Callisthenes was restricted on what he could write, only things approved by Alexander and Cleitarchus didn't accompany Alexander on his expeditions.


Do you believe the sources?
There were more characters that had strong motives, but both sources seem quite likely and support the perspective of the characters with the strongest motives and most likelihood so I guess yes probably but I guess we will never really know for sure.

Alexander the Great History Channel Documentary Notes

Alexander the Great

• He was a Macedonian warrior at 14, an army general at 18, King of Macedonia at 20 and commanded 40,000 troops.
• He conquered Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the course of 12 years
• He was born 356BC and died 323BC, living only 32 years, raised in Pella, Northern Greece in 4th Century BC. 
• He was raised to conquer the world and was considered a god. 
• He was educated by philosopher Aristotle who was one of the most influential thinkers in the world.
• Macedonians are considered beneath and illiterate, and dangerous, but are considered very wealthy, King Philip assembled, trained and equipped one of the finest armies.
• In 357BC, Philip at 26 marries Olympius (Alexanders parents). Olympius's main interest through her life was to get her son on the throne and was ruthless about the succession of this happening.
• Philip saw in a dream Olympius with a serpent and became put off by this, afraid she'd cast an evil spell or believed she was a consort of a higher being. The Greek God Zeus was commonly disguised as a serpent and Philip grew suspicious of whether he or Zeus was the father of Olympius' unborn baby. He talked to the Oracle of Apollo in Delphi to find out what he had witnessed had meant, and in not receiving the answer, he was told he'd lose the eye in which he had seen Olympius and the serpent together.
• He grew up in a life of royalty but was not a spoiled rich kid, and had limitless ambition and curiosity about the world. He went to a reserved Macedonian Academy and was trained in athleticism, academics and military.
• Alexander tamed a wild horse named Bucephalus, and it became his favourite horse, Alexander riding him into many wars afterwards.
• Alexander had his closest friend Hephaestion, who was also believed to be an intimate companion.
• Alexander took no pride in his father's exploits and was anxious to lead in the battles
• In 338BC, Alexander was 18 and Philip decided it was time he became a commander and put him in charge of 2000 horsemen, in a war against the Thebeans and Athenians, the Battle of Chaeronea to take control of Greece, and together they are successful.
• Months after this victory, Philip made 20-year-old Cleopatra his new bride. She had a strong Macedonian family. Alexander and Olympius were angered by this, as if Cleopatra was to have a son, he would take heir to the throne instead due to her Macedonian family roots. The wedding night is a disaster and destroys the father-son relationship between Alexander and Philip.
• Olympius and Alexander go into exile, but Alexander soon returned to become a military commander. Cleopatra shortly after gave birth to a son.
• In 336BC, Philip decided to throw a festival in honour of the gods. Pausanias was a royal bodyguard who was beloved by Philip. He is treated very poorly and is unhappy at the festival and when he tells Philip and Philip does nothing Pausanias stabs him. He tries to run away but before making an escape he is killed by Alexanders old school friends. Alexander runs to his father but Philip passes away due to the stab wound. There were conspiracy theories about how Philip died, some believing Alexander or Olympius had something to do with it.
• It then had to be decided if Alexander would be accepted as king. He had to prove to all the citizens of Macedonia that he was worthy of King at age 20.
• Within 6 months, Alexander leads the Macedonian army to regain control of Greece, earning a lot of respect with his troops. Olympius orders the execution of Cleopatras son, leaving Alexander as the only possible heir to the throne.
• His life goal becomes the conquest of Persia. In 335BC, he goes to The Oracle of Delphi and is told by the priestess that he is invincible and can defeat Darius the King of Persia and that he will then rule all of Asia.
• Alexander has a passion and desire to please the gods, and seek their guidance, which is an occurring theme in his life.
• He embarks on a 12-year journey, and before leaving for Asia, his mother tells him when he returns, she will share a secret with him, which many believe was whether his real father was a god (Zeus)
• He decides in 334BC to have a full-scale war to conquest Asia and the defeat of Darius. He starts his invasion by transporting a 40,000 person army across the Hellespont body of water separating Europe and Asia. Darius’s army was three times bigger than Alexander’s army, and Alexanders army was very vulnerable to naval attack but he is lucky. He was accompanied by Parmenion, Hephaestion, and Callisthenes. The Persian army had a 20,000 man cavalry and a 20,000 man infantry. In the end, Alexander was successful in defeating them.
• His victory of Granicus allows him and his army to continue their invasion of Persia.
• They then move onto Gordium. Gordius, an old king dedicated an ox cart to the Shrine of Zeus. There was an invisible knot, which was said that whoever could untie the knot would be the ruler of Asia. Alexander uses his sword and unties it, and a thunderstorm breaks over Gordium which Alexander believes was Zeus showing approval.
• Alexander used every single opportunity of photos for propaganda to impress his army and subjects.
• Historians say that Alexander was one of the only people in history who act with supreme confidence and no fear.
• The Battle of Issus in 333BC was bloody and fierce. The only chance of victory for them lay with Alexander and the cavalry. They chose to attack Darius’s best and most trusted soldiers and Darius is directly attacked by Alexander. Darius realises the strongest part of them is the cavalry. He runs away after seeing his bodyguard being cut to pieces and the Persians retreat.
• After the battle, Alexander finds out that Darius’s mother, wife and two daughters have been taken prisoner, and wrongfully believes that Darius had been killed. Alexander tells them not to be afraid and that Darius was alive. He allows them to keep the same attendance and privileges that they had when Darius was king and presents himself as the new legitimate Persian king, and sends out the message to the world.
• At this point, he has defeated the most powerful army in the world, led by the most powerful ruler.
• In 332BC He continues his quest to Tyre and wishes to control Tyre because of its strategic location as a harbour. He isn't allowed on the island and becomes so furious, and to everyone's surprise, he begins building a half-mile long causeway from the mainland to the island.
• It causes a big war, and twice Alexanders men are attacked and killed. Alexander is enraged. The Tyreans explode the causeway by filling a ship with explosives which destroys the causeway. He begins building a new one.
• By July in 332BC, the new causeway is ready. They attack the walls of Tyre, and Macedonian commander Admetus leads the assault but is killed. Alexander then takes his place. The siege of Tyre takes 7 months. In the end, they are successful, and 30,000 Tyreans are sold into slavery while the rest are killed. This sends out a message to the world once again about his power.
• After this, Alexander confidently leads his army toward Egypt. When he gets there, he is given the title of Pharoah and by tradition, this makes him King and son of a god.
• He founds 30 cities in his own name, and then founds a city of Alexandria, hoping for it to become a central trading area. Today a population of over 4 million lives in Alexandria and 80% of Egypt's export and imports move through its harbours.
• In 331BC He then visits the Temple of Amun after travelling six weeks through the Sahara desert. Its one of the most spiritual experiences he faces, all to find out if he is the son of a god. To Egyptians, Amun was the equivalent of the Greek god Zeus. He was allowed to enter the chamber and question the god directly. He was said to ask if he would conquer the world, if his father's murderers would be punished and if he was the son of Zeus. His answers were yes, yes and he was indeed the son of Zeus, a god. There were no witnesses to these answers.
• In 331BC, he once again was faced with a battle with perhaps the only other mortal who considered himself a deity, Darius. They decide to have a final decisive battle, and Darius chooses the location of Gaugamela. The Persians have much more brutal weapons this time and the Macedonians struggle. Alexander leads his calvary which benefits them once again. Around 100 of his men were killed in the battle and 1000 horses lost. There was said to have been 300,000 of Darius’s men killed, and many more taken prisoner. In the end, Alexander had clearly won the battle and Persia.
• This victory is now considered one of his biggest triumphs. Alexander was proclaimed King of Asia. At the beginning of 330BC, he takes over Darius's palace and the city of Persepolis. He gained a lot of silver and gold and becomes the richest man in the known world. He hated the city of Persepolis and his men plundered it, killing many men, stealing riches, and when Alexander was drunk, he was convinced to burn down the palace, which he regretted after sleeping off the drunkenness.
• He is now pretty much the ruler of all of Asia, but just Darius's palace is not enough, so he continues his search for Darius so he can make him prisoner. He wanted Darius alive in his possession. He discovered Darius had been kidnapped by his own commanders and led his army after the Persians. Darius claimed the gods had come to avenge him, refusing to go with them and called for Alexanders protection. They were furious and left Darius wounded and barely alive. When Alexanders men found him, he was in his last gasp. Bessus who murdered Darius was captured by Alexander and then tied to two trees and his body was torn in half.
• Alexander the greats mission was pretty much complete.
• In 330BC made Hephaestion a joint commander of the calvary.
• In 327BC, Alexander takes a wife, shocking all his associates and his close companion Hesphaestion. He marries a woman named Roxanne as it was a good political alliance and there was a chance of producing a legitimate heir of his empire. It is believed he did actually love her though.
• He now saw himself as a god, and so he demanded to be treated as one. He began to imitate the Persian luxury, dressing in a white robe and a Persian sash. He partied and got drunk every day, which resulted in losing the respect of his subjects and associates, and most of his friends now began to view him as an enemy.
• He wanted more, and in early 326BC he begins a campaign in India. The army they fought was the most difficult battle they had fought in, with the other army riding elephants. This battle discouraged them, and they decided to not go further into India. Alexander was angry and disappointed but he finally relented.
• When he reached Mali, the home of the Malian tribe, he was begged to leave it alone and was warned he would be badly hurt in this battle, which he ignored. He chose to lead, and was eager to reduce it by force, he climbed into the enemy fortress alone, now a perfect target. He had three of his army with him, two cut down immediately and Alexander was pierced in the lung by an arrow. The remaining army member defends him with the Shield of Troy. When the other men make it over the wall, they see their invincible leader, dying on the ground in a pool of blood.
• He somehow survives after they cut out the arrow, and after almost dying. He required great care for a while.
• Over the duration of the next two years, he leads his army back to Greece.
• In July 324BC, his best friend Hephaestion died from an unknown illness. This affected Alexander greatly and he was said to have gone greatly downhill afterwards and was said to have lost some will.

• Less than a year after Hephaestion’s death, Alexander goes to Babylon planning a possible conquest of Arabia, but he becomes ill. It takes ten days to turn from a mild fever to a mysterious life-threatening illness. At the thought of losing their king, his associates begin to realise how much they actually admired him, and how there was no one else like him. They began questioning what would happen if he died, and who would rule the outer territories, as no single person could take his place. They also wondered whether he would die a mortal death, finally answering the question of Zeus being his father.
• 323BC, the night of the 9th of June, they gather around Alexander as they ask him the critical question of who his kingdom will go to. Weakly, he whispers his last words, that his empire should go to the strongest. Early the next morning, he passes. Historians have debated his cause of death, with conspiracies such as it could have been his arrow wound, self-destruction, the pandemic of malaria, poisoning, alcoholism, pushing himself too hard, or many other things.
• While his corpse is on route to his home of Greece, it finds its final resting place in Alexandria. He had originally wanted to be buried with his father, but his body was hijacked by the men of the new ruler and taken, then lost control of where his remains are.
• Today, no one knows where his remains are, most believe they are buried beneath the streets of Alexandria. His empire was divided between more than 20 rulers.

English Django Unchained Discussion

Django Unchained
Slide 20
Quentin Tarantino

Blaxploitation:
"Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The films, while popular, suffered backlash for disproportionate numbers of stereotypical film characters showing bad or questionable motives, including roles as criminals"

(quote from Wikipedia 2020)

Main authors points:
I feel like Quentin Tarantino uses more facts in his films, blaxploitation is seen but at the same time there is more redeeming things in there, like when Dr Shultz dies, he isn't still seen as the main hero or white man that saved the blacks, and Django is the hero and re

Classics Ancient Hero vs Modern