Teenage dreams

1. What are the first two sentences of the story and how do they create a tension in the story? The first two sentence of the story create tension because it talks about a very negative six sense which is the ability to tell when someone is going to die. This creates the basis and tension within the story because it sets-up the thought that someone is going to die within the story.

2. What has happened to the author’s father as a result of his wife’s death? The author's father looked for something to care for and be passionate about which is Leslie Cheung. This made him more susceptible to be disappointed in things he believed in and the fear of death.

3. How does the description of the father removing his hands from his face as ‘unmasked’ related to the seriousness of his following statement? By removing his hands from his face by 'unmasking' them it shows that he is showing his full emotion and that it is very solemn occasion. This also shows that he rarely is serious and that he is a different person when he needs to be serious.

4. Consider how the father lives his life and conducts himself and the other people in the theatre for the film the author and his father are watching. How does this relate to the title of the story? The father lives his life and conducts himself much like a 'teenage dreamer'. This is seen through his passion for an actor/musician who is popular at the time. He also begins to cry like teenagers (the other people in the theater) when confronted with a idol in pain. He also gets very emotional when he doesn't get what he wants, shown through the author saying 'no' to going to Honk Kong to go to a predict funeral.

Conversations with parents

1. What is ironic about the way the author and the father become close? What has to happen to the father? It is ironic about the way that the author and the father become close because they become close through the sickness and suffering of the father. It is also mentioned that the author began to like being in the hospital because it meant that the author could get closer to the father.

2. How would you characterise the conversation that the author has with her parents? You would characterise them as very brief and very cliche. They would also be characterised as very awkward and those similar to acquaintances rather than family. 

3. What is it that worries the author most about these conversations? The biggest worry about the conversations that are had with her parents is that she never tells them that she loves them and is not sure how to. 

4. There is a gap between the author’s need to express feelings common in western countries and her family’s lack of desire to express their feelings verbally. How does the family still express their feelings for their child, just not verbally? Reminiscing about memories about happy times and that they always try to call and listen to the child are how they express there feelings. They also pressure her to live like they did such as by buying Vietnamese groceries and talking about meals such as Banh Xeo. 

The early settlers by Ken Chau

• 1. How does this title refer to two groups of ‘settlers’? Who are they? The two groups are the ones who are foreign and arriving now such as the great-grandfather and the early settlers who have branded the new arrivals.
• 2. How is the first line of the poem successful at being ‘forceful’ regarding the Great-Grandfather’s presence in Australia? It shows his position in the socio-economical status within the two settling classes, him being an outsider in the early settlers guild.
• 3. What action are the ‘early settlers’ doing that gives them equally a strong presence? They are branding the new arrivals with very derogatory terms such as 'devil' and 'terrorist'. This shows there dominance and there ability to make people feel uneasy about there lifestyle.
• 4. How is the intention of the Great-Grandfather juxtaposed to the beliefs of the ‘early settlers’? He juxtaposes the early settlers because he is branding them as well by calling them 'bastards' but by saying it in his own language shows him as an outsider standing up by hypocritical means.
• 5. What action does the Great-Grandfather do that ties him both to the ‘early settlers’ and to his own culture? The great grandfathers brands others in much the same way the early settlers do, with derogatory terms such in the way the great grandfather brands 'bastard' upon someone which ties in with the early settlers branding people with 'foreign devil' and 'potential terrorist'. By the great grandfather branding in his own language he ties back in with his culture and his way of life

Growing Up Asian in Australia: Intro + Pigs Questions

Introduction by Alice Pung

1. What were Asian-Australians referred to as when the author was growing up?power points

2. How does she interpret this title?with caps lock and a -

3. What did this title actually refer to? Did the author find this demeaning? Why/why not?The author thought it was because it was because Asians  had electric brain power. She wasn't quiet sure though

4. ‘All that untapped potential! All that electrifying brain power!’ What techniques are being employed by the author? How does they highlight he misunderstanding?She uses !, making it seem that she is exaggerating or speaking with enthusiasm.

5. What did the teen author take away from teen fiction? What did she feel that she needed to do? Why? What does this say is essential to fitting in to a culture?

6. Who are the authors that she turns to? Why?

7. In the third paragraph how does the author use repetition. How does it highlight the focus of this book?She uses repetition to show that school is a big time in a child's life. There first day of school, first friend, it shapes there whole life

8. What metaphor does the author use to highlight the writers and the writing style in the third paragraph?She says that the authors are the tree, comparing them to distant observers

9. Why does the author use a quote in the 4^th paragraph? What does it say about her reaction to the stories in the book?The quote means that if you change the name, it would be about you because everyone experiences these things and feelings, Asian or not. 

10. On page 2 the author talks about the themes that she loosely choose for the collection. What are they and why is it ironic that they show up in this book?Tom Cho, Vanessa Woods, Paul Nguyens, Chi Vu's. The main themes she uses is Aussie slang, which is ironic because she uses Australian slang when she comes from an Asian background

11. At the bottom of pg 3 on to page 4 the author says that sociologists have described Asians as the ‘model minority’. What is meant by this? What difficulties arise out of this label for young Asian-Australians? Model minority is like that because there small and different, but mostly smarter than everyone else on average because they study more and all that stereotypical stuff, that people should look up to them and model them because of it

12. What are the editor’s hopes for the collection of stories?

Pigs from Home by Hop Dac

 

1. How does the author start this story which is in direct contrast to the title of the story? What effect does this have on the reader and their expectations of the story? The author starts the story by stating the positives of pigs, which is in contrast because the title says go home

2. What core Vietnamese value is instilled in the author? its that any Vietnamese family is a self sustaining one

3. What is humorous about the mother’s ‘flair for natural medicine’ in regards to her personality? its humours because the mother was good with medicine and thinks that her house is very messy.

4. How does the description of the killing of pigeons continue the style utilised in the introduction of the story? Its utilized with the style of brutally killing pigeons for food.

5. What is the author’s opinion of pigs? Give two quotes to support your conclusion. That there unimportant and are only used for food

6. In the paragraph on pgs 53-54, give two examples of alliteration employed by the author. 'Blowing raspberries on babes bellies' and 'feeding frenzy'

7. On pg 54 what simile is used to describe pigs? How does this simile work for the situation it is used? a pig is like a wave, and you can't turn your back on a wave because you'll get dumped and if you turn your back on a pig it'll bite you

8. What simile does the author use to describe her mother sunning herself? How does this relate to the core focus of the story? 

She suns herself by standing in the drive way and slowly rotating like a 'rotisserie chicken'. This relates to the core focus of the story which is killing animals for food.

9. What does the author describe as ‘the divide between the old world and the new’? What do you think is meant by this statement? She starts to see that the way there killing and slaughtering pigs and animals like that is bad.

10. What is the author’s reaction to the slaughter of the pig at night? What statement does the author make about the neighbours which displays the way he feels about the whole experience? What is important about including this statement? She was shocked by the display of killing the pig with the blood coming out of its neck and she wandered if the neighbours had heard the commotion and the killing. She thought it was bad and wrong and that she didn't want anyone else to be involved in the murder of the pigs

11. Why don’t the parents have pigs anymore? How does this relate to the description of the burial of the last pig they owned? They stopped having pigs because there neighbour is a pig farmer and this relates to the description of the last pig dying and they buried it and stopped having pigs because they didn't want pigs dying so they could eat them

12. How would you characterise the description of the mother’s treatment of the pig’s blood? Is it appetising? It makes it seems a lot of effort for an unappealing effort

13. What is ironic about the way the author has a popular Vietnamese dish? What is it about the way the author describes the experience of having pigs that makes it ironic? Its ironic because it was a meal with beef and its the only animal they don't have on there farm.

14. How does this story relate to the title Pigs from Home?

15. Why do you think this story is in the Battlers section of the book?

What visual techniques are employed in this painting?
There is juxtaposition between the two colours, the red representing the Jews as seen by the star of David. The hand in the foreground is reaching out to the black side for help while everyone of the faceless people just watched while one of them reaches his hand as well.
How do these visual techniques highlight major thematic elements of holocaust art and literature?

Holocaust Poem #3

How is juxtaposition used in this poem to highlight an important theme of Holocaust literature?
The juxtaposition used in this poem is that at the start it was happy and colourful and then at the end it was all dark and fast and death came so quickly.
How is descriptive language used to enhance the reader's reaction to the poem?
Its used because the more description used, the clearer the picture in our minds are so we can picture what's really going on and makes the reader feel more emotion from the poem. 

Daniel
	Laura Crist

And the child held her hand
A child tiny for almost eight,
Deep blue eyes that dominated his face,
When he explained new events to her,
     that funny doggy,
     that pretty rock,
And the freckles on his cheek,
No one saw a sunrise more perfect,
     to her,
She so vividly smells the fragrance of
     his hair,
     his ears,
     his breath in the morning
She vividly hears that little heartbeat,
     that was hers
     always hers,
     and the laughter,
     that raspy little laugh,
     when he caught her in a conundrum.
All this,
But this is merely the surface,
As she watches her little God sheared,
     and stripped,
For the gas chamber.

Boy in the striped PJ's Chapter 14

(150-1) What information do we get that makes the reader start to feel that he is becoming less innocent and more ignorant?

(151-3) What is interesting about the weather and how does it relate to the overall emotion of this stage in the book? Its raining like crazy and it sets the scene as sad and dark and gloomy such as the holocaust

(153) What does Bruno accidentally say to Gretel?
He mentions Shmuel
(154-5) Is Bruno able to consider Gretel's feelings? How do you know?
Bruno is able to consider Gretel's feelings to an exempt because he thinks she to must be bored at Auschwitz as all she has to do is rearrange her dolls.
(155) What is it that motivates Bruno not to tell Gretel the truth? How does this portray Bruno as being selfish?
He thinks that Smuel will be taken from him, he doesn't want to lose him to Gretel
(158) What is it that Bruno realises when he starts recounting what Shmuel tells him? Why do you think that this is when he finally starts to realise what Shmuel is experiencing?  Bruno starts to put the pieces together and he recounts Shmuels stories about his grandpa. Bruno starts to lose his innocence as he gets more information about what's really going on in that camp.

(159) What is ironic and hypocritical about what Gretel tells Bruno regarding imaginary friends
It's ironic because she has her dolls which are her imaginary friends, more than what Bruno has