Chosen Novel- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Author: J. K .Rowling
I will be focusing on Character- Hermione Granger as my Female Heroine.
Female Heroine Characteristics in Literature
1. Challenging accepted conventios/social norms, irrespective of the consequences.
2. Remaining true to self.
3. Being adaptable - adapts to situations created by her actions.
4. Being resourceful.
5. Being independent.
Book Review- 'So Much to Tell You'
Task: Write a 100 word review of a wide reading novel you have read this term and your thought and evalutaion on this for future readers.
‘So Much to tell you' is a book written by John Marsden about a fourteen year old girl called Marina. The book is presented as a Marina’s diary as she herself doe’s not talk, and so this is how the reader gets an insight into her world.
Marina has a scarred face due to acid that was thrown on her face by her father. Whilst at Hospital recovering she refuses to talk to anyone so she is sent to a Boarding School for a chance for her to communicate again. But even then her silence goes on until her English teacher gives her class journals to write in. Maria starts to write the journal and we get an insight into her world. Marina goes from not interacting at all, to opening up and socializing, as well as communicating. As the book goes on, Marina's uncertain feelings towards her father fade away. In the end of the book she goes to see him, and speaks the only words she says in the entire book: "Hello, Dad," and "I've got so much to tell you..."
Evaluation: 8.5/10. The book had good characters and was well written which kept the reader wanting to keep reading. It had a good plot that was based on a true story and was written about an Australian school so I could put myself in the character shoes, in terms of the schooling system. ‘So Much to tell you' written by John Marsden is an excellent book and it recommended for all ages thirteen years and over.
‘So Much to tell you' is a book written by John Marsden about a fourteen year old girl called Marina. The book is presented as a Marina’s diary as she herself doe’s not talk, and so this is how the reader gets an insight into her world.
Marina has a scarred face due to acid that was thrown on her face by her father. Whilst at Hospital recovering she refuses to talk to anyone so she is sent to a Boarding School for a chance for her to communicate again. But even then her silence goes on until her English teacher gives her class journals to write in. Maria starts to write the journal and we get an insight into her world. Marina goes from not interacting at all, to opening up and socializing, as well as communicating. As the book goes on, Marina's uncertain feelings towards her father fade away. In the end of the book she goes to see him, and speaks the only words she says in the entire book: "Hello, Dad," and "I've got so much to tell you..."
Evaluation: 8.5/10. The book had good characters and was well written which kept the reader wanting to keep reading. It had a good plot that was based on a true story and was written about an Australian school so I could put myself in the character shoes, in terms of the schooling system. ‘So Much to tell you' written by John Marsden is an excellent book and it recommended for all ages thirteen years and over.
The Chinese Tradition of Foot Binding
Why did Chinese bind the feet of young girls?
The practice of foot binding in China began around the end of the Tang Dynasty, or about 900 A.D. It was a Chinese custom that allows in producing very small feat in adult woman t
hrough the application of tight bandage wrappings on the feet of young girls. According to legend, a dancing girl at the court of the Tang emperor bound her feet so that she could dance on her toes, somewhat like a ballet dancer. Because of her grace, many dancers imitated her, and the practice spread to court ladies and other aristocratic women. It wasn’t until the Song Dynasty (960-1279) that there were definite records of women’s having their feet bound. 
The traditional practice of the excruciatingly painful process of foot binding lasted for about a thousand years. Woman allowed themselves to suffer this procedure because men found bond feat attractive. Many wondered why men were so entranced by woman with feet less than three inches long. There are a couple of theories. One is that having crippled feet makes a women helpless and unable to run away, and some men are excited by the thought of helpless women. The other theory is that it gave a man status to be able to afford a wife who could not work, this therefore showed he was rich enough to support a ‘trophy’ wife. The practice finally began to die out by the early years of the twentieth century, although among the upper class women with bound feet were still preferred. By the 1930s mothers allowed their daughters’ feet to go unbound, and the practice stopped more or less completely.
The 4 Concerned
Task 3: Post up the Poem "The Three Concerned" by Leon Gellert with your extra verse. You can change the title also to suit the changes you have made.
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.
As I heard the gun shot the earth seemed to stop,
And my heart skipped a few beats.
I got goose bumps from head to toe,
And as I saw the blood, a bit of my heart chipped off.
Book Review- 'Peeling the Onion"
Task 1: Write a 200 word review on 'Peeling the Onion'.
Anna feels like she is only left with disability and pain. She feels the layers of her usual self being pealed away- like an onion. Anna is sad and depressed and has little hope; nothing is normal, nothing is easy, nothing is the same anymore. But with support from Luke, a family friend, her best friend Jenny, her family and a counselor, she gets through. She picks up the fallen, peeled of pieces, and starts to write a new chapter in her life in which we, as a reader experience- The New Anna. It is a story of love, pain and self-discovering and is truly, deeply moving.
Task 2: Include an overview of what role you played in the literature circles group and what you learned from studying this text. Provide an evaluation of the novel and your reasons why you liked/ disliked it. Come up with a rating scheme and rate this novel.
As part of reading the novel, ‘Peeling the Onion’ in literature circles, I played the role as literary luminary. A Literary Luminary’s role is to select a passage from the novel which the reader believes is of particular value in describing a character of scene, or conveying an important message in the text.
I learnt so many things from this novel. Below are few things of the main lesso
ns I learnt;
1. Everything happens for a reason, nothing is an accident.
2. To overcome your fears and your problems you have to face them- not runaway from them.
3. At the end of every dark, gloomy tunnel, there is light.
Evualution: Wendy Orr is an excellent writer. When I was reading the book I felt like I was Anna, in her shoes- going through a depressed stage in her life, I felt her
'Peeling the Onion' is a novel written by Wendy Orr. It is about a teenage girl called Anna Duncan, she is in Grade 12 at school, has a boyfriend and is a karate champion. She has goals and ambitions for the future. But after a car accident she feel like layers of her life are starting to peel away- she isn’t the ‘normal’, active and athletic Anna she was- and the reader is taken on a journey of Anna’s recovery.
Anna feels like she is only left with disability and pain. She feels the layers of her usual self being pealed away- like an onion. Anna is sad and depressed and has little hope; nothing is normal, nothing is easy, nothing is the same anymore. But with support from Luke, a family friend, her best friend Jenny, her family and a counselor, she gets through. She picks up the fallen, peeled of pieces, and starts to write a new chapter in her life in which we, as a reader experience- The New Anna. It is a story of love, pain and self-discovering and is truly, deeply moving.
Task 2: Include an overview of what role you played in the literature circles group and what you learned from studying this text. Provide an evaluation of the novel and your reasons why you liked/ disliked it. Come up with a rating scheme and rate this novel.As part of reading the novel, ‘Peeling the Onion’ in literature circles, I played the role as literary luminary. A Literary Luminary’s role is to select a passage from the novel which the reader believes is of particular value in describing a character of scene, or conveying an important message in the text.
I learnt so many things from this novel. Below are few things of the main lesso
ns I learnt;1. Everything happens for a reason, nothing is an accident.
2. To overcome your fears and your problems you have to face them- not runaway from them.
3. At the end of every dark, gloomy tunnel, there is light.
Evualution: Wendy Orr is an excellent writer. When I was reading the book I felt like I was Anna, in her shoes- going through a depressed stage in her life, I felt her
emotions and feelings throughout her rollercoaster of a journey to recovery. Many writers can tell you a story, but when you feel like you are the character in the story- now that is something special and worth reading.
I could relate to Anna in so many ways that this book really hit the spot for me. I loved how Wendy Orr wrote the novel- there were many life lessons and rhetorical questions along the way as Anna was travelling the road to recovery, which got me, as a reader, really thinking outside the box.
The verdict: I absolutely loved the novel, ‘Peeling the Onion’ and give it 10/10. It is a must read book for all ages.
I could relate to Anna in so many ways that this book really hit the spot for me. I loved how Wendy Orr wrote the novel- there were many life lessons and rhetorical questions along the way as Anna was travelling the road to recovery, which got me, as a reader, really thinking outside the box.
The verdict: I absolutely loved the novel, ‘Peeling the Onion’ and give it 10/10. It is a must read book for all ages.