2016- VCE LITERATURE - UNITS 3 &4
HOLIDAY HOMEWORK
HOLIDAY
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and arrangements will be made for this work to be completed after school.
Homework must be submitted on loose leaf and may be handwritten or typed. Work downloaded/copied
from the Internet will not be accepted.
Reading the texts for the first time during the holidays is essential as the school year becomes increasingly
busy and SAC and Exam results are strongly affected by a thorough knowledge of the texts.
A. The Piano
Complete the questions on Context and The Film from “Considering Alternative
Viewpoints” handout.
B. Reading
The following texts must be read and annotated:
- a) “The Best Australian Stories”:
o 1. Nam Le : Love, Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice
o 2. Robert Drewe , The Lap Pool
o 3. Kate Grenville, Mate
o 4.Peter Goldsworthy, Shooting the Dog
o 5. Steven Amsterdam, Dry Land
b)”Agamemnon”, Aeschylus
- c)“My BrilliantCareer , Miles Franklin
C. Text Summaries
1 page summary of : a) 5 Short Stories
b) “Agamemnon, Aeschylus
c) “My Brilliant Career, Miles Franklin
VCE LITERATURE - UNIT 3
CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE VIEWPOINTS - “THE PIANO”
1. Context:
a) Jane Campion’s “The Piano” takes place in mid 19th Century New Zealand. Research
Colonial history in New Zealand at this time.
b) Research Jane Campion’s other films. Make a list of her films and identify common
themes in her work.
2. The Film:
a) Make a list of the major characters and the actors’ names. Write a character analysis for
each of these characters. Minimum length, 15 lines.
b) Write a synopsis of the film.
c) Find the meanings of the following terms which are used in the film:
Adultery, Arranged Marriage, British Expatriate, Caress, Colonial, Dumb,Feminism,
Frontiersman, Lullaby, Maori, Mute, Selective Mutism, Narcissism, Patriarchal,
Seduction.
d) Comment on the opening sequence. What does the audience learn about Ada?
e) Why is Ada described as a “mail-order” bride?
f) What does Ada’s muteness signify in the film?
g) Describe the New Zealand landscape. How does it compare to the opening scenes in
Britain? How does it contribute to the effectiveness of the film?
h) Compare Stewart’s house and Baines’ house. What does this reveal about these two
characters? Examine Stewart’s and Baines’ clothes and comment on what they reveal
about the two men.
i) Discuss Stewart and Baines relationship to to Ada and to the Maori people..
j) What does “land” mean to Stewart? What does it mean to the Maori people?
k) Examine the piano metaphor in the film. What does it mean for different characters? Why
does Ada need to claim it back?
l) Comment on Ada’s appearance. What does it reveal about her and the society she lives in?
m) Analyze and comment on the emphasis on “buying” and “selling” in the film.
n) What is the function of the Bluebeard play?
o) What does Flora represent in the film? Explain the change in her attitude towards her
mother.
p) What is the symbolic value of Stewart’s cruel punishment of Ada? In this part of the film
how does the director encourage the audience to identify with Ada? How are patriarchal
conventions in filmmaking challenged in the film?
q) Examine Campion’s portrayal of the Maori. Is it stereotypical? Explain.
r) How are patriarchal conventions challenged in the film? How is the idea of “power
struggle” addressed in the film? What link does the film establish between colonialism and
patriarchy?
s) Examine the relationship between Ada and the men around her.
t) What is your interpretation of the film’s ending?
u) The film closes with a quote from Hood’s poem “Silence”which also opened the film ..
“There is a silence where that been no sound. There is a silence where no sound may be in
the cold grave under the deep deep sea”
Comment on its effectiveness.
3. A Review:
Write a review of “The Piano”.
It must include discussion of the following :
a) Credits (title, year, director, genre, music/soundtrack, awards)
b) Setting – time and place
c) Actors/Characters
d) Plot
e) Themes
f) Literary techniques (film techniques, language, tone)
g) Judgement/Opinion