Satirical Cartoons

Text Number	Why it made me laugh	Techniques Utilised
10	the kids are being given grades even though in the junior school it doesn't matter	incongruity, exaggeration
15	The big bad american is thinking that David hicks is mean and meanicing while hicks is just a small worm	Exaggeration, Incongruity
5.	Tony abbot is meaning to fix evey problem but with out a solution	Exaggeration

Wei-Lei and Me (Aditi Gouvernel)

1. 1.  What word in the opening sentence means ‘short and flat’?
2. 2.  What is so ‘Australian’ about Barry West?
3. 3.  What is the opening interaction between the two characters about?
4. 4.  What is the protagonist’s home country?
5. 5.  What word means “noble and splendid”? (p75)
6. 6.  In what way is the protagonist’s home country “aristocratic”?
7. 7.  Where did the protagonist’s father move his family to? Why?
8. 8.  What is the protagonist’s attitude towards the citizenship ceremony? (pp75-6)
9. 9.  How is Barry West the antagonist?
10. 10.What is the irony of the comments made by Amy and Cris? (p76)
11. 11.What is “you have to face the world” a metaphor for? (p76)
12. 12.What is the teacher’s hair compared to? Is this an example of a metaphor or simile? (p77)
13. 13.How is the children’s cruel creativity put into action once Wei-Lei arrives? (p77)
14. 14. Explain the relevance of the ‘cat and toy’ metaphor. (p77)
15. 15.How does the children’s cruel creativity have a more sinister side?
16. 16.What does the protagonist mean by “the afternoon passed like a death sentence”? (p78)
17. 17.Why does the protagonist see everything Indian “lit by a spotlight”? (p78)
18. 18.How does the story build to a climax? (p79)
19. 19.What is the irony of Barry’s fate? (p80)
20. 20.Explain what the protagonist means by “as our faces changed, so did Canberra” (p81).
21. 21.What do you think the protagonists’ definition of being Australian would be? (p81)

why does it matter?

Read any story that we haven't read yet and write a review of the story and explain why it matters. Why should anyone care about the story/read?


 Baked beans and Burnt Toast
Backed beans and Burnt Toast is about a Asian Girl growing up in Australia but being 1st born in Australia and dealing with the fact that she really isn't Asian but really isn't Australian either. The reason I think we should read this story is because it asks us "where do you come from?" because in PG 332 "Where are you from Jacquie? Carlingford'" and "Yes but where was the hospital? oh in Chatswood I think" in these 2 quotes the author is asked where she comes from and she replies in Australia both times but because her looks are Asian and she is from Asian heritage they would think she is born in Asia not 1st born Australian. When she goes to Hong Kong she is asked in Cantonese if she speaks Cantonese but she cannot because she was born bred and raised in Australia and never learnt Cantonese. The Author then goes on to write "Lost in the gray area where the borders blur. East meets west, an ABC (Australian born Chinese)." This quote highlights what this story is about the 1st borns in a country who haven't learnt their ancestral language but are thought of what their parents are not where they were born.

Conversations with my Parents by Oanh Thi Tran

1. What is ironic about the way the author and the father become close? What has to happen to the father?

They become close when the Father falls ill and has to go to the Hospital and the child starts asking questions about his life, 

2. How would you characterise the conversation that the author has with her parents?

He has non sentimental conversations almost like they don't love the Author

3. What is it that worries the author most about these conversations?

That he never is able to say he misses them or that he loves them

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?

They keep talking about him or talking to him as well as asking how his day is and how he is going.

Teenage Dreamers by Phillip Tang

1.What are the first two sentences of the story and how do they create a tension in the story?

The opening sentences are short creating tension in addition it describes how the author's father has supernatural powers and that he could predict how and when the person will die.

2. What has happened to the author’s father as a result of his wife’s death?

The author's father started to become obsessed Leslie Cheung after his wife's death he went to his movies and would listen to his songs and he even predicted his death.

3. 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 was constantly knowing when people are going to die and how the person would die this drove him insane and he doesn't care about what other people think about him

My First Kiss by Lian Low

My First Kiss by Lian Low

1. How does the author describe Malaysia in regards to showing affection?
In Malaysia you aren't allowed to shoe indecent exposure like kissing, hugging or any affectionate behavior especially homosexuality

2. What happens to the author when she hits puberty?
When she hits puberty her male friends start to distance themselves as she distances herself from other people

3. What is the author’s experience at school when she first arrives to Melbourne?
She makes only Asian Friends and doesn't like being in a school where she isn't challenged

4. What is it that made the author feel that she wasn’t Australian even though she spoke English fluently?
She had a Malay accent and when she spoke it came out way too easily and was extremely noticeable

5. What else was it about the author that further alienated her from her peers?
She had crushes on girls from movies

6. What does the use of description like ‘crash hot’ do to the audience’s perception of the author?
That she tries to use slang allot

7. What opportunity does university give the author? What is it about university which would allow her to express herself more freely?
University gives freedom and it allows her to orchestrate things, It allows people to express themselves because that is what universities want

8. What role does creativity play for the author? Why do you think that creativity would be so important to her?
Creativity plays a very important part for the Author because she can express her homosexuality and its import for her because she used to enjoy when she was younger watching the movie stars and having crushes on them