Twilight Commentary

New Moon, the sequel to the well-known film Twilight is coming out during this week (as you all would know). However, my expectations of the film are not very high although I have loved reading Stephanie Meyer's series about Edward and Bella. This is because after watching the first film, Twilight, personally I did not think that it was as good as the original book. I hope that this time the film would be of a much better quality with an action-packed storyline, drawing the viewers into the film immediately until the end.

The main focus of this film would be on Jacob and Bella's relationship. Despite the fact that I do not expect a lot from this film I am still very interested in how Jacob and Bella's relationship together would unravel as the film progresses. I am also looking foward to see how the film producers protray the character of Jacob Black, especially when he transforms into a mythical creature - the werewolf.

Wide Reading Review for Term 4

"Shauna looked stricken, but no-one except Della was looking at her. They were all looking at Greg, who had gone a dull red from his neck to his hairline... Shauna felt as though she was hearing Della's voice from a long distance. She couldn't take her eyes off Greg. He wouldn't look at her. Fear engulfed her. Her stomach twisted in knots. Della was right ..."

During Term 4 I began reading the novel "Divided Loyalties" By Patricia Scanlan. This fictional story is told from three different characters who all come from the same family but experiences very diverse problems. These three unique characters are Shauna, Carrie and Bobby.

Shauna is having trouble to overcome all the obstacles life throws at her. Her marriage is under pressure because she wants another baby while Greg (her husband) strongly disagrees. Her obnoxious in-laws named Eddie and Della (who are also known as the Freeloaders, being people who arrive at her home at the drop of a hat, always staying as long as they like and relaxes there, not even lifting a finger to do any work) also gets on her nerves.

Carrie, Shauna's sister is fed up about how life is always so demanding. She carries the burden of looking after her elderly father who freaks out at little health problems such as headaches, always negatively thinking that he will die. Even though Carrie is the oldest of the three siblings she does not like the fact that her younger sister and brother both held grudges against their father, forcing Carrie to do all the chores their father asks.

The only son in their family, Bobby, has a bad relationship with their father who blames Bobby to be the cause of his wife's death. According to their father, Bobby does not follow God's rules since he has always been the one who troubled their family during the time of his childhood, being a child who had a playful and optimistic personality from when he was born.

How will these people overcome their own individual problems? Will Shauna be free of the "Freeloaders" at last? Or will she stay in their evil clutches all through her lifetime? What about Carrie? Would she stand up for herself for once? And last, but not least, Bobby. Will his father and himself sort out their differences? Or are their problems too deep to overcome now? If you want any of these questions answered read the book to find out and I promise you will not regret it.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book, learning about situations that just might happen in real life someday. The author had done a good job on creating interesting characters and making them seem so realistic. I could imagine the tension between Della and Shauna, feel the love and passion between Dan (Carrie's husband) and Carrie and finally, the happiness of the children when they were playing on the beach, enjoying some family time together. Because of the author's powerful writing I identified absolutely no weaknesses throughout the book. It can truly be described as a heart warming book for a cold winter's night.

This is why I would definitely rate the book 5 out of 5 and would recommend it to everyone!

Female Heroine Task

Imagine being a young girl in war-torn Afghanistan, living a life under the rule of the Taliban, with no freedom, where women are forced to cover themselves from head to foot.

The character I chose for my female heroine assignment was Parvana from the book of the same name by Deboarh Ellis.

Pictures of My Chosen Heroine:

The True Qualities of My Character:
Parvana:
- Challenging accepts conventions/social norms, irrespective of the consequences
- Helps others
- Is independent

Examples on How Parvana Shows Each of the Qualities Listed Above:
Parvana demonstrates her capable ability of challenging accepted conventions by risking her own life just to provide her family with food. She did this by cutting her long, beautiful hair and disguising herself as a boy so that she could move about her town freely although there are many consequences for Parvana if she makes a single mistake. Parvana, being the responsible heroine, stayed firmly where she was, she even went to work during the day and brought home her salary to support her family.

Helping others is another one of the most important qualities a female heroine must have. Parvana displays this criteria by rescueing a woman whom she found crying in the streets. She kindly gave the woman a share of her food and even invited her to her house although the woman was a stranger. Enduring the pain, the torture and the harsh environment was not easy for her. But despite her own worries she is still one who cares about another, stranger or friend.

Independence is a word that is used to describe someone who acts freely from external control. Parvana demonstrates her independence when she takes on her father’s responsibility of going to the market and selling goods to earn money for her family’s support.

Quote that Illustrates How Parvana Can Be Classified as a Female Heroine:
“Parvana whirled around to see a Taliban glaring at her, anger in his eyes and a stick in his hand. The soldier raised his arm and brought his stick down on Parvana’s shoulder” (p.57).


Parvana is truly one who is worthy of obtaining an honourable place in the Literary Heroines Hall of Fame. She has been through so much, yet she doesn’t let her guard down and displays so many heroic qualities. Beyond doubt she is the bravest, most independent and faithful person anyone has ever met. This is why Parvana deserves the respectable position of an honourable place in the Literary Heroines Hall of Fame.

Foot Binding

Foot Binding

Foot binding is a custom that has been practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China. It began in the tenth century and ended in the early twentieth century when the new Republic of China banned the custom. The women had to unwrap their feet or else they were threatened to be killed. Some women’s feet grew one inch after unwrapping while others found the new growth process of their feet extremely painful as well as both emotionally and culturally devastating.

Many people have come up with different theories to try and explain the origin of foot binding. One theory is that the custom was practiced by well-born girls to whom foot binding represented freedom from manual labour. Another theory is that it had something to do with a story about an empress who had club-like feet. Either way women and their families took pride in their tiny feet, especially ones that measured precisely 3 inches from the toe to the heel.

The bound feet turned out to be lotus-shaped and the condition has been known to lead to serious infections. There is evidence that some elderly Chinese women still suffered from disabilities in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The custom of binding female feet began when the child was around three years old because at this age, the bones of the young girl’s feet were not yet fully developed. First, each foot was soaked in a warm mixture which consisted of herbs and animal blood. This was used to soften the foot and aid the binding. Toenails were then cut back as far as possible to avoid infections. Next, the girl’s feet were delicately massaged as cotton bandages (which were about 10 feet long and 2 inches wide) were prepared. The toes on the foot were pressed with force downwards into the sole of the foot until its toes broke. The broken toes were held tightly against the sole of the foot as the foot was drawn down straight with its arch forcibly broken. Then bandages were repeatedly wound in the figure eight movement with each pass tighter than the one before it. This caused the young girl excruciating pain. When the binding process was completed the end of the cloth was sewn tightly to prevent the girl from loosening it at some point of time. The feet were unbound regularly. They were then washed, checked for infections and the toenails trimmed. As this was done the feet were kneaded in order to make them more flexible and the bindings were then wrapped again, pulling them tighter each time.

Female Heroine Assessment for Term 4

Female Heroine Assessment for Term 4

For the Female Heroine Assessment for Term 4 I am going to focus on the book "Parvana" with its main character, named after the title of the novel. Parvana is a young girl growing up in Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban, an extreme religious military group where there is no access to music or books, where girls cannot attend school, men must wear beards and when women go outdoors they must be clothed from head to toe and accompanied by a male. I believe that this text meets the criteria of a female heroine because of the many good deeds Parvana has achieved. The following points are just some examples of Parvana's bravery and hard work she has contributed to her community, especially her family.

Parvana has:

- helped her father walk to work everyday since he lost the lower part of his leg when the high school he was teaching in was bombed

- sacrificed her good shalwar kameez (a long, loose shirt and trousers, worn by both men and women) just so that their family could earn more money
- travelled to the prison (which was a long way from their home) to rescue their father out of the Taliban's clutches
- despite the consequences that could be made Parvana still bravely went outside to the marketplace alone to buy some food for the rest of her family
- outran a Taliban when he tried to grab her
- accepted her fate which was to cut her precious hair into a boy's style so that she could disguise herself and be able to move in and out of the market freely, buy what the family needs and no one will stop her
- took her father's responsibility to go to the market and sell items to earn some money
- accompanied her siblings outside so that the Taliban would not suspect them
- dug up bones in the cemetery and sold them to the bone broker

- gave food to one of Kabul's many beggars so that someone would some use out of it since Parvana couldn't bear to eat in the middle of the field of bones
- even at home Parvana didn't waste any time, she coached her little sister on her counting, learnt mending from Nooria, read her father's old books and listened to Mrs Weera's stories
- asked her customers about where they come from and what it was like there so that she would have something new to tell her family when she went home

- rescued a woman who Parvana found crying in the streets and kindly gave her food to eat
- not given up hope when she heard that her mother, brother and sisters might be in danger because the city that they were travelling to was captured by the Taliban
- looked after her father when she found him injured
- decided that she and her father was going to Mazar to find the rest of her family
- planted some flowers in the marketplace so that people won't forget how wonderful a thing like a flower is, despite the fact that many people have seen so much ugliness in life

"Marley and Me" Book Review

"Marley and Me" Book Review

John and Jenny were a couple who just married and are looking for some new challenges in life. They were young, deeply in love, owned a great house, had great careers and did not have a care in the world. Little did they know that after their trip to the petshop their lives would never be the same again.

As a Labrador retriever with more energy than one has ever seen, Marley's entry into John and Jenny's life was a disaster, especially when his normal routine consisted of crashing through screen doors, destroying carpets, eating jewellery and more. He is even scared of thunder and lightning, making him uncontrollable during them, leading to destruction of the house. Yet through it all, the book still points out the unconditional love Marley has for his family and they have for him in return. Just as his ruinous powers appear endless, his love and loyalty has no boundaries. Overall, Marley & Me is an excellent book that can be enjoyed by all sorts of people (even people who don't like dogs). The stories are funny and meaningful and the drama itself is heartwarming and sincere. In the end, Marley reminds us all that life should be lived to its fullest and that we should love people unconditionally.

The Four Concerned

The Four Concerned

The Man
He lies forgotten 'neath the watching skies,
The blood upon his bayonet scarlet bright;
The red moon shining in his glazed eyes,
The 'Last Post' crying, crying in the night.

The Woman
She proudly sits within her home of gloom,
And reads and reads his line with wistful smile,
Then, eyes aglisten, seeks the empty room.
(And he within his bloody grave the while.)

The Child
His wooden war-horse stands beside his bed.
His tiny pillow holds a head of gold.
He dreams of all the things his father said,
He dreams of all the tales his father told.

The Officer
He slowly trudges up the stairs.
With a heavy heart to knock on the door,
To pay his respects of the event so un-rare,
By delivering the news, the bitterness of war.

"Peeling the Onion" Review

"Peeling the Onion" Review

"Peeling the Onion" by Wendy Orr is a novel about a seventeen year old girl named Anna. The story begins with Anna driving home with her boyfriend, Hayden after winning a karate championship.

On that fateful night, Anna's life changes dramatically when another car crashes into theirs, leaving her with multiple injuries. To everybody Anna seems to be coping with the trauma of her suddenly-ruined life pretty well. However, on the inside, she tells a different story. Anna accuses and blames many people for her accident. Most of all though, Anna is devastated by the enormous amount of pain her injuries bring.

Quote from Book: "Nobody tells you that real pain is more than something in your body, it's a black vortex that engulfs your mind, leaving you wondering if there's a border between life and death and what side you're on."

My role in the literature circles was the "Word Wizard". In this role I had to identify at least five words from the novel which I either did not know the meaning of or which I thought were used particularly effectively in the text.

The theme of this novel is about stripping back the superficial layers of Anna's self to reach a better knowledge of who she really is, but it is also about the loss of the different "roles" in her life. Each of us plays many roles in life. In Anna's example her roles are: a daughter, sister, friend, student, karate champion etc. Her behaviour in each role varies. Anna's disabilities have either prevented her from carrying out these roles, or have made her feel unable to do so. For instance she is still Matt and Bronwyn's sister, but her position as the older caring sister has been altered.

Overall I would rate this book with four stars out of five. I really liked the realistic portrayal of Anna as she goes through her ups and downs during the one year period. The reader can feel Anna's emotions, her desperate struggle to find her true self and her determination to recover from her injuries as the reader travels with Anna through her journey of recovery, shaping Anna's final inspirational character.