Sample HSC Exam Questions for Section 1
Text 1: Poem - ‘Drifters’ by Bruce Dawe (see link on right)
a i Discuss the problems conveyed by the composer about belonging in the text. (2 marks)
ii How has the composer used language techniques to express an attitude to belonging?
(3 marks)
Possible answers
a i
· The family is unable to establish roots because they keep moving house/communities.
· Some people in the family like moving from place to place, but others don’t (the kids are
‘wildly exited’ and the oldest girl is ‘close to tears’).
· The mother has abandoned control of where the family is headed.
ii
· Belonging to a place is closely tied to belonging in a family. All people in this family are affected by the father’s decision to relocate. To belong in this family, movement is necessary, despite individual wishes.
· Family members often have to compromise or sacrifice what they want in order to belong in their family. Some members wish to establish a permanent sense of place and others don’t. This is demonstrated through the juxtaposition of the differing perceptions of moving based on how they belonged in the place they were living – the oldest girl is on the verge of tears and the youngest girl is ‘beaming’. This is also shown in the mother’s acceptance of her ‘drifter’ lifestyle through the image of the ‘bottling-set / she never unpacked from Grovedale’.
· A lack of permanent place to live can provide for a spontaneous lifestyle – anything can happen. This is shown through the repetitive dialogue from the mother, ‘Make a wish, Tom, make a wish.’ The spontaneity of the lifestyle and the excitement caused by the announcement that they will be moving on is shown through the unusual ending of certain lines – ‘…tripping / everyone up’ and ‘…she was / happy here’. The position of the lines echoes the exited movement of the dog, getting in the way of the family packing.
Text 2: Newspaper article: ‘Welcome Stranger’ by Stephanie Dowrick (see link on right)
b i What comment is the composer making about including others in this newspaper article?
(2 marks)
ii Choose two language techniques and explain the way it supports an idea about belonging expressed in the writing. (3 marks)
Possible answers
b i
· That including others has a profound effect on an individual’s well being and self esteem.
· Going out of your way to include others is just as important as being included.
· Teaching our children to be conscious of including others affects the way they see the world as they grow up – as either friendly or hostile.
· Actively including others improves a person’s social and personal confidence.
ii
· The composer uses the word ‘includer’ to establish the significance of helping others to belong in situations that are foreign to them.
· The composer develops the idea that including others is relevant to all of us through imagery of common ways people exclude others such as the ''child alone in the playground’ and the ‘school girl being exiled’ in the playground. She compares this image to the ‘sharer at Pre School’ to illustrate the difference between feeling included and feeling excluded.
· Repetition of ‘great’ in ‘Great for them. Great for ourselves’ represents the effects of including others.
· The composer associates an ‘easy sense of belonging’ to feeling ‘safe’, both on the inside and the outside - in our thoughts of our behaviour and of ourselves.
Text 1 and 2: Poem and newspaper article
c Analyse how ONE text emphasises the effects of belonging on the individual’s understanding of the world. (5 marks)
Modelled response
The composer uses the word ‘includer’ to establish the significance of helping others to belong in situations that are foreign to them. She emphasises ‘vital’ in ‘vital for our own emotional health’ to demonstrate that a sense of belonging through feeling included by others has a positive impact on our emotional well being. She outlines through the ages how we can be includers – a sharer at preschool, adults looking out for a person, colleagues being sensitive to a newcomer. The composer develops the idea that including others is relevant to all of us through imagery of common ways people exclude others such as the ''child alone in the playground’ and the ‘school girl being exiled’ in the playground. She compares this image to the ‘sharer at Pre School’ to illustrate the difference between feeling excluded and feeling included. The composer feels we spend more time worrying about how we could be left out rather than how we can include others. She uses emotive words such as ‘disastrously’, ‘hurtful power plays’ to show that shunning is often used to create a sense of belonging, but at the ‘expense of others’. The composer is critical of this form of belonging as she states that it is ‘intrinsically self-centred’ and demonstrates ‘grave misunderstanding of what personal power’ represents. The deeper impact of excluding others is that it is founded on fear and extreme discomfort. The composer suggests that being real about our insecurities can lead to a greater sense of empathy for those who feel a similar way in situations where we easily belong. Repetition of ‘great’ in ‘Great for them. Great for ourselves’ represents the effects of including others. The composer associates an ‘easy sense of belonging’ to feeling ‘safe’, both on the inside and the outside - in our thoughts of our behaviour and of ourselves.
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