Brittany+Charter

LIFE'S A BEACH AUSTRALIA...

**The Open Sea** **by Dorothea MacKellar** From my window I can see, Where the sandhills dip, One far glimpse of open sea. Just a slender slip Curving like a crescent moon— Yet a greater prize Than the harbour garden-fair Spread beneath my eyes. Just below me swings the bay, Sings a sunny tune, But my heart is far away Out beyond the dune; Clearer far the sea-gulls’ cry And the breakers’ roar, Than the little waves beneath Lapping on the shore. For that strip of sapphire sea Set against the sky Far horizons means to me— And the ships go by Framed between the empty sky And the yellow sands, While my freed thoughts follow them Out to other lands. All its changes who can tell? I have seen it shine Like a jewel polished well, Hard and clear and fine; Then soft lilac—and again On another day Glimpsed it through a veil of rain, Shifting, drifting grey. When the livid waters flee, Flinching from the storm, From my window I can see, Standing safe and warm, How the white foam tosses high On the naked shore, And the breakers’ thunder grows To a battle-roar… Far and far I look—Ten miles? No, for yesterday Sure I saw the Blessed Isles Twenty worlds away. My blue moon of open sea, Is it little worth? At the least it gives to me Keys of all the earth

This poem is written in 1918, by Dorothea Mackellar, who is well known for her poem, My Country. The purpose of this poem in my opinion, was to express the author's sadness and heartbreak. The poem states, "But my heart is far away." This phrase is followed by descriptions on the beach and how 'her heart' is further away. I believe that she chose to use the beach for this poem because it provides great imagery, it has a sense of freedom and is uncontrollable and powerful.

The author is trying to convey her search for something. She is using the size of the ocean to show how many possibilities there are and she believes there is something more than just the beach. She wants to see and learn things and just how much there is to learn and find out, shown by the third stanza. The third stanza mentions her freed thoughts exploring other lands and how the horizons and boats mean something to her. The word 'freed' is what most people associate with going to the beach for either a holiday or just a day. A beach and the ocean are places of freedom and independence and the poem's audience can recognise that when they are reading the text.

The description of the beach is a predominantly physical one. The author talks about the water, sand and waves not unlike other sources about Australia's beaches. Imagery is important in most types of writings but especially in poems. This text brings to viewer's minds a stereotypical beach with blue waves crashing on the crescent of golden sand, sea gull's making a racket and a happy environment. Although the author includes a storm in her text, the essence of a carefree beach is still there and can be imagined even though there is a grey sky and rain pouring from the clouds. The imagery in the poem is used to bring the audience into that setting and to convey the messages more clearly. Strong imagery paints the poem clearly in the reader's mind and a beach is one that is easily imagined. Some other techniques that have been used to almost bring the poem to life inside the audience's mind.

The fifth stanza includes personification of the water. The use of the personification brings a dangerous quality to the water and creates a deeper meaning. Dangerous waves position readers to be slightly scared of the great force of nature and to cause them to realise that a day at the beach is not just all fun and games. Though a trip to the beach is most often thought of as an enjoyable experience in Australia, the poem brings to the audience's attention the dangers and how uncontrollable the ocean can be. People do not always realise that the water that made up those huge tsunamis in Japan is the same that they swim in when they take a trip to the beach.

The poem does not really follow the stereotype the sense that the beach is a place to have fun. It is more to do with what is beyond the beach. However it does contribute to the Australian cultural perspective of the beach because it does use the same description of the natural beauty of the beach as most other texts, and it uses the beach to show that it is a place of freedom.



This photograph, The Sunbaker, was taken in 1937 while the artist was on holiday on the New South Wales south coast. The man in this photograph is completley relaxed and has not a care in the world. He is just lying in the sand, wet from swimming in the ocean. He is faceless and completely unaware of anything around him. This photograph portrays the simplicity of the beach. The fact that this photograph became so famous in Australia demonstrates how beach going is a big part of Australia's culture.

Using a worm's eye view it leads the audience to believe that sunbathers and days at the beach are important in Australian society. The beach is seen as a big part of Australian culture and the picture depicts this by having the sunbather as the only thing in the image. The way that the photograph was cropped was to cut out anything else. Putting the strong muscular physique in the foreground gives the beach an image of strength, power and importance. The colours and background blend, giving the appearance that the sunbather is 'at one with the sun, surf and sand.' ([], Emma Mathews)

This image is a very typical picture from a beach, someone lying on the sand with sun on his back. However the angle that Max Dupain took the photo from gives the regular sight a whole new meaning. The sun that is almost directly above him emphasizes the water droplets on his back and arms. The sun sends the rest of the man into shadow. Because the photo is slightly abstract, interpretations vary. Some say it symbolizes Australians' love for sport, outside activity and appreciation of relaxation. This is a typical Australian; bronzed, muscular, straight from ocean, man, not worried about anything. This kind of man is what Australians associate with the beach. The masculine nature is very much part of the beach culture. The image of australian beach is lifesavers and strong men, not blonde girls in bikinis. Australia celebrates the strong, lively lifesavers. The man has clearly been in the sun before, he is not skrawny or freckled.

[] This is an ad to attract people to come to Queensland. This played on the stereotypes of Australian beaches and used them to promote Australia to tourists. The opening scene is of an old lifeguard. Lifesavers are a huge part of the Australian beach culture. The show Bondi beach, shows that Australians have great respect for their lifeguards and lifesavers. As the beach is a holiday place for Australians, whether it is a long trip or just a day; lifeguards are always there and are recognised as a symbol of the beach. The fact that the lifeguard is old in this advertisement gives the impression of uniqueness because usually it is some tall, tan, blonde, well built guy. The next shot is an extreme longshot of a Queensland beach. This shot successfully portrays all the highlights of the physical side of the beach; the clear blue sky, white sand, waves lapping the shore, and the lifeguard carrying a flag with no one else in sight. Watching this ad leads people to think of the beach as a beautiful, freeing, fun place to visit. It is also set up as a holiday location. It shows only the activities and scenery, no houses or other residential places. There is also a clip of a little kid sitting in the huge white lifsaver chair, demonstrating that lifesaving is an aspiration for a lot of kids and they are looked up to by the majority of Australians.

The video also uses a variety of different age groups; small children splashing in the water, groups of teenagers, adults, and elderly people. The lifeguard's chair and hat are used throughout the video because of how widely recognised they are. Surfing also makes an appearance as it is also a prominent feature of the beach culture and is the reason why many people go to the beach. Although there are a couple of scenes representing the Australian bush, the most dominant image is the one of the family friendly beaches, which are usually unoccupied other than a few people. Australia does not have a very big population and the almost completely isolated beaches are not an uncommon sight at most of Australia's beaches. Of course there are exceptions, the most obvious being the Bondi beach which on the average summer day can have about five thousand people on the beach.

__ Australia At the Beach __ by Max Fatchen & Tom Jellet

This is a picture book about a family that took a day trip to the beach on Australia day. Many people come to the beach on public holidays, such as Australia day to enjoy a fun day at the beach. It is told from the first person and is written in poem form. First person causes the story to be more personal for the readers and they are able to feel as if they are at the beach experiencing the same things as the narrarator. Because the author is writing about his character's pleasurable day at the beach, the audience is positioned to view the beach as a joyful place full of great experiences.

The pictures are very bright and colourful. The main colours featured are yellows, blues, greens, and reds. These colours are extremely bright and they pop out at the readers, using those kinds of colours is very common in beach related texts. There are many different colours at the beach because of the obvious sand and water but also because of the many bathing suits and objects that people bring to the beach. The pictures also include a very wide variety of people. This is beacuse of how the beach is a very family friendly place. In a lot of other countries it is seen as a young person hang out instead of having people of all ages.

Another part of the beach that I haven't mentioned before is the frightening parts of the beach. Many people are afraid of the ocean, whether it is because of the waves or what could be lurking underneath the surface. The picture book pays attention to this with the fear of sharks and what could be hiding underneath the seaweed beds on the ocean floor.

My parents, like a lot of Australian families, went to the beach every summer for a holiday. Memories that they both have, and what is mentioned in the story are ones of the treats they received. Things such as ice creams, soda and lollies were special to going to the beach. The picture book mentions this as well. Because of these treats and special things that are unique to the beach; the beaches become a reward and a destination that is a very meaningful part of Australia's culture. Beach activites are another enormous element of days at the beach for Australians, and often these activities or games become social events.

= CREATIVE WRITING = = = Tuesday, March 29, 2011 = = = =

The curtain on the fourth floor of the apartment building moved and a face of a teenage boy peered outside, eyes hungrily searching the empty road below. Staring out a window facing the darkness is a familiar occurrence for the boy and is no stranger to the loneliness of the night. Finally a bright light blinds him as a black car with heavily tinted windows rolls up at the front of the tired apartment block. The boy continues to watch as two silhouettes embrace and part; one back into the car and the other up the stairs. Rushing quickly back to his room before he is found out he gets a small glance at the figure's exhausted face and he receives the odd sensation of his hear soaring and breaking in the same instant. A knock on the front door echoed around the apartment and Logan ran quickly to open the door. In the doorway stood his best friend, Jamie, standing here with her bag hanging casually on her shoulder and black shadows that would make vampires jealous. He smirked at her, "Long night?" She just sighed and adjusted her bag, "Let’s get this day over with." Logan shrugged used to her moods in the morning, the result of being her neighbor/best friend since before he could talk. He contemplated asking how her date went the night before but decided against it knowing that it would only torture him further and instead started bagging his older sister. Aside from a few laughs, Jamie walked in silence staring at her old sneakers as they made their way to school. Logan spotted Kevin as they reached school and ran up to talk to his mate. "Hey! I think something is up with Jamie, maybe her date didn't go so well last night." Logan said worriedly glancing at the girl in question who had stopped to talk to some girl in her Spanish class. "Man, you worry too much. I bet she is just tired." Kevin brushed me off rolling his eyes. Logan was about to retort when the last member of their little group skipped up in between us. "What's up guys?" Carly asked putting her arms around us, which was quite a feat as she was at least a head shorter than Kevin and me. "Logie here thinks that Jamie and Dave are having problems." Kevin said triggering an eye roll from Carly. "Stop with the wishful thinking Logan," she whispered as Kevin ran off to greet Jamie, "She is in love with Dave, move on." Logan had confided in Carly back in eighth grade and regretted it every day since, but she had kept her promise; no one else knew about his secret love and that was the way he was going to keep it. Logan didn't see his friends until lunch time, so when the bell rang signaling the end of period four he rushed to his lockers to wait for Jamie. Crowds of students bumped into him as they raced to be the first at the canteen, but Jamie, Kevin and Carly were no where to be seen. Figuring that they had already gone downstairs, he left the deserted corridor and set out to join them. The cafeteria was packed but Logan's eyes were trained to spot his friends from great distances. He joined them, gaining a small smile from Jamie. Carly rolled her eyes again as the ever present goofy smile graced Logan's face at the sight of his crush. Then Carly feeling slightly sorry for Logan and his need for answers asked, "Jamie is something up with you and Dave? You were all happy yesterday before your big date, but now well" she gestured to Jamie's slumped shoulders and tired expression. "Ok guys I'll tell you what happened but you have to swear not to tell anyone else." Jamie sighed The other three leaned forward with curiosity, nodding their heads eagerly. "I told Dave I loved him last night, but he didn't respond." The words went crashing down on Logan. Everything else around him blanked out and all that mattered were those four words: Dave I loved him. The pain in his chest excruciatingly painful, as if two thousand bricks had fallen on him and then its entire contents had been ripped out of his body and shredded. It took every single ounce of self-restraint to stop himself from screaming for the whole school, no country to hear. Knowing that he couldn't control himself for much longer, and not really caring the consequences, Logan tore out of the cafeteria leaving his three friends staring after him confused what caused his abrupt departure. Logan ran, he wasn't sure how long or in what direction, he just knew he had to get away. He had to leave the depressing nature of his life. All his insecurities, his lost chances, his dreams and his best friend. Sweat dripped from every part of him and his uniform was sticking to his body in an immensely uncomfortable way. Yet still he ran. Away from his school, in the opposite direction of his apartment knowing that these have memories and feelings centered around Jamie. Jamie. He tripped fell as the name echoed around in his mind. He didn't get up; he couldn't of if he tried. So he lay there sobbing in the middle of the street with scrapes all down his legs. He would have to get over her, especially now. Still the four words tortured him, but he would have to hide the pain. Hide the pain like he hid every other feeling or emotion. Keeping those thoughts locked behind mental bars and keeping them away from the rest of the world. Footsteps approached. Logan felt the wave of embarrassment wash over him. Here was in the middle of a god forsaken path, a sobbing three year old girl who wants the newest Barbie doll. One look at the shoes told him who's they were. The shoes of the last person he wanted to see at the moment. "Logie, I don't understand." His tear streaked eyes peered up at the face that he loved. "Jamie," but he couldn't continue. He didn't know what to say. How could he explain his abrupt departure and now his breakdown? "It's ok, Carly told me." She crouched down next to him, staring into his deep brown eyes. "Everything?" Logan asked, not caring how pathetically weak he sounded. She just nodded. He hid his face, shielding the emotions that lay behind his eyes. "This was it," he thought, "She is going to hate me forever. Why did I ever tell her? I'm so stupid." He reprimanded himself. "I'm sorry." he mumbled standing up longing to just disappear. She rose to his level and wiped his face with her sleeve. She hesitated before kissing his cheek briefly. "No, I'm sorry." She hugged him, but he just stood there unresponsive. His cheek burned at her touch. She turned and left only offering a small wave of her hand. Logan watched as she walked away back in the direction of school. He didn't know what to feel, all these conflicting emotions kept popping up and hard as he tried, he could not ignore them. Years of bottling things up inside had finally caught up with him and feeling was a stab of a knife. Logan did not bother finishing school that day and avoided Jamie that night, even though she waited outside for hours and left several voice mails on his phone. Logan ignored his sister's and parents constant questioning, feeling that after all the crap that he dealt with that day he had the right to ignore his family. The next morning Jamie didn't come to the door. Logan had expected this though and pretended like it didn't impact him at all. At school it was the same as any other day; no one approached him or even glanced up as they bumped into him, and everyone averted their eyes when he looked at them. At lunch the unavoidable tension was there and yesterday's events were not mentioned at all. The day took a turn for the worst however when Dave came up behind Jamie holding something behind his back. Carly and Kevin gave Logan apologetic looks, but Jamie was oblivious to everyone else except for the muscular rugby player who stood behind her. Logan ate his food quietly in the corner with a blank expression on his face staring at Dave's face. "Hey beautiful, I got you something." Dave's deep voice could be heard from anywhere in the noisy cafeteria even though he spoke softly. From behind his back he pulled out a deep red rose. Logan couldn't help but smirk a bit, Jamie couldn't stand roses. Anything else and she would be swooning at a strangers feet. Perhaps it is the cliché of it all, but there was something about a rose that really bugged her. However the smile on Logan's face was quickly wiped off as Jamie accepted the rose and gave her boyfriend a kiss. He could feel the burning gaze of his other two friends, sure the one time they actually pay attention to him is the time he longs for nothing more than to kill that popular, deep voiced, sport obsessed jerk. "Oh and one more thing," Dave said as they finally broke apart. He climbed up onto the lunch table with no regard to the fact that is where people eat off of. "Hello, I would like everyone's attention. I would like to make an announcement." Dave yelled and every head turned. Logan shrank further back into the shadows; this was not going to be good. Jamie was staring in awe at her boyfriend, while Carly and Kevin were torn between being amused by his antics and concerned for Logan. Logan assumed they chose amused and would attempt to comfort him later. "I, David Maxwell Marshall, am in love with Jamie Kate Diamond and I am sorry for being an utter jerk on Sunday night!" The whole crowd erupted into applause; Logan found it all together corny and ridiculous. The poker face returned as Jamie joined Dave on the table, her boots narrowly missing Logan's hand. She yelled in a big voice, just to add more cheesiness into the situation and finish the job on Logan's heart, "and I love Dave!!!" The crowd was now on their feet and as the teachers all tried to regain order in the cafeteria, Logan snuck out face hidden and unnoticed.


 * Macbeth Speech:**

I chose Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth's first speech from line 13-28. I decided to use this speech because it is the first time that we, as an audience are introduced to Lady Macbeth. She is clearly depicted as a strong female character something that is very rarely seen in Shakespeare's work. She almost immediately comes to the decision to murder Duncan and her manipulation skills are obvious through her words. This scene has much to analyze. There are many ideas and themes throughout the seventeen line speech. It is interesting to see how Lady Macbeth was in the beginning of the play and how her whole thought process changes. Macbeth has not even entered the scene yet and she is already plotting her manipulation.

__**CREATIVE WRITING **__ 2 August 2011 Britt Charter I sat staring at the movie in front of me. I loved movies, they were perfectly happy with you just sitting there and watching them as many times as you wanted. Nothing changed with movies, the characters didn't grow up and leave you alone and the script could be memorized and understood. My sister didn't understand why I still laughed and loved the same movies after the hundredth time. I smiled as my mum placed the Cars disc into the DVD player, my sister groaned before going on her usual rant on how the movie wasn't even that good and how we have hundreds of other movies to choose from, but like every other time this speech was given, I ignored her. It was not like I could have answered her anyway. No matter how much is going on inside my head, on the outside I was like slug, able to move but nothing compared to my sister. My sister at the age of 17 was practically the opposite of me; she had the most energy I had ever seen. She never did anything at half pace which made understanding her difficult as she spoke incredibly fast. I wonder if I would of being as crazy if I had been born normal, I doubt it. I don't think anyone can match her energy except perhaps a formula 1 racing car. Although she doesn’t admit it, I'm sure she thinks of me as a weight holding her back from going full speed ahead. My favorite part of the movie was coming up, when Lightning Macqueen brakes two centimeters from winning the Piston cup and getting everything he always dreamed about and went back to save the older car. I clapped as Macqueen pushed the blue car across the finish line, just as I did every time I saw the film. My sister rolled her eyes, "Why doesn't he just win the race and turn around to get the guy? I mean he just spent the entire film trying to get the stupid prize and now he gives it up." I instantly stopped clapping, my sister didn't get it. She would never give up her dreams for someone who was weaker; sure she was a really kind person and would help them after, but never before. My mother noticed my sadness, she and my sister were the only ones who could tell what I was feeling, and she placed my iPod headphones in my ears. I instantly cheered up again, music was like movies, just wanted to be heard no matter who it was. My sister, who also shared my passion for music, grabbed my iPod and played it through the speakers. She started dancing around the room shaking her head and letting her long brown hair out. I clapped again and joined in. My dancing consisted of waving my arms around and wiggling my but on the seat but it was the most I was able to express myself. "Ok girls, time for lunch," My mum said pausing the music and helping me into my chair. My chair and I had a love/hate relationship. On one hand, I loved it as I was able to move around and at school I was cool as my chair was hot pink and extremely comfortable. However, outside of school the chair was my worst nightmare. It did not matter how far away a person was their eyes were magnets to the thing, and I guess the colour was a huge contributor to that fact. My mother just walked past the stares, the pity, the whispers, and the laughs as if they weren't there, but they were. As we walked past every single person there were always the same expressions. Eyes burned through the back of my head as they saw me sitting in the chair and my eyes in two different directions. They couldn't tell what was wrong with me, they didn't know anything about me yet still I saw the expressions. They pity as if they knew what my family went through every day or what it felt to be unable to do what my sister does. They laugh as though being different is hilarious. And they whisper even though we know what they are saying, what they think of me. I hate my chair because it is a huge sign telling the world my problems and is a symbol of my inability to walk no matter how much I try. I thought about all of this as my mother fed me my sandwich, I recently learnt how to chew, a major event in the Collins household. I remember the look of happiness that washed over my mum's face when I made the first bite into the soft bread she had given me. We finished lunch and my sister went to help clear up when my mother stopped her, "Oh no, I'll do that, why don't you take your sister down to the park, you know how much she loves it there." My sister was never one to say no to getting out of the house and she agreed eagerly, grabbing the handles of my chair and wheeling me out the door without hesitating. The park was at the end of the street. It was nothing too fancy, just a swing set, monkey bars, a slide and a couple of picnic tables on the grass but next to school, it was my favorite place in the whole world. I could literally spend hours just sitting or lying in the grass, have my mum or sister push me in the swings, or just watch as the little kids ran around laughing. The park had so many things to look at compared to the inside of our tiny house. Today the park was different, instead of dozens of kids playing tag and hide and seek with their parents close by, there was a group of teenagers probably around my sister's age talking and laughing. I felt my sister slow down to an incredibly slow pace. I couldn't see her but I knew she had seen the difference too. She started turning my chair back towards the house when a rough voice called out behind us, "Hey, Susie is that you?" My sister ignored them and started the walk back to the house. I was confused; did my sister know these people? I heard voices from behind, these people weren't even bothering to whisper, “I would be ashamed too, who would like a freak in the family?" I started grinding my teeth, a very obvious sign to those who know me that I was upset. "RETARD!" One of them shouted out. My chair came to an abrupt stop. I hit the arm rest to try and tell my sister to get away from the mean words. She didn't instead she turned the chair around so we were facing the group again. She put the brake on the chair before walking away from me and towards the others. For a minute I thought she was leaving me alone while she went off with the teens. However that idea left my mind as my sister went up to one of the boys who was two foot taller than her and punched him really hard in the nose. The snap that came after the punch echoed through the empty park as me and the others started at my sister. Without another word my sister turned on her heel and walked back to me, turned me around and walked quickly home. Behind us we heard whispers but they didn't dare say anything to our faces. When we were at the front of the house my sister knelt down in front of my chair and said to me in a voice I'd never heard her use before, "I'll never let anyone hurt you, got it? Don't listen to a word they say, you are an amazing person." I looked at her before grinning and starting to dance. She laughed, "That’s my girl!" <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I love my sister.