Common Mod: Unseen Texts
The silence was deafening as she waited for the results.
What language technique is used in the phrase?
Oxymoron. It combines two opposite ideas (silence and deafening, which means extremely loud).
During what real historical event is Billy Elliot set, and how does it affect Billy's family?
The 1984–85 UK miners' strike. Billy's father Jackie and brother Tony are striking coal miners, so the family faces poverty, tension and conflict with police throughout the film.
In "Translucent Jade," what gift does Maureen Ten's grandfather give her, and what does it represent?
Her name Ten Ch'in Ü, It represents her Chinese heritage and identity, and it connects her to her grandfather and her Chinese name, which means "Dear Jade."
Who is the narrator of the novel, and what does he set out to investigate?
Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy. He investigates who killed Wellington, his neighbour Mrs Shears' dog.
What is the name of the main character in Ray Bradbury's "The Pedestrian," and what does he love to do?
Leonard Mead. He loves to go walking alone at night.
"Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock would not let her forget."
Name TWO techniques used in this extract.
Onomatopoeia ("tick") and repetition (also accept and personification of the clock).
Why does Billy's dad, Jackie, decide to cross the picket line and go back to work?
He realises how talented Billy is after watching him dance, and he wants to earn money to pay for Billy's audition. It shows his love for his son is stronger than his loyalty to the strike.
In "New Accents," Ouyang Yu turns the word "English" into a pun. What word does he use, and what does it suggest?
"Anguish." It suggests that learning English can be painful and frustrating for migrants, and it's delivered with an ironic, humorous tone.
What is the full name of Module B?
Close Study of Literature.
In Judith Wright's "The Surfer," what main thing does the surfer have a relationship with?
The ocean (the sea and waves) and nature. The poem shows the surfer's joy and freedom in the water, but also the sea's power and danger.
A photograph shows a small child standing alone in the bottom corner of the frame, surrounded by towering grey buildings that fill the rest of the image.
Identify ONE visual technique and explain what it suggests about the child's experience.
A long shot, positioning/placement in the frame, negative space, or a contrast of scale and colour. The child appears small, isolated and vulnerable, which suggests loneliness or powerlessness in an overwhelming world.
The Common Module rubric says texts can give insight into the "anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies in human behaviour." Give ONE example of this from Billy Elliot and explain it.
Billy, a boy from a mining town, serves as an anomaly by defying masculine expectations through ballet.
Jackie crossing the picket line: A committed striker betrays his fellow miners, the thing he believes in most, because his love for Billy is stronger.
The community: A mining community that sees ballet as "not for lads" ends up raising money to send Billy to his auditionJackie's character: He is harsh and stubborn, yet capable of deep tenderness, such as when he breaks down crying to Tony.
In "This is Where it Begins," Merlinda Bobis uses three different languages. Name ONE of them and explain why she includes more than one language.
Bikol, Filipino or English. Using all three shows that her identity is shaped by more than one culture, and that stories and folklore are passed on across languages and generations.
Christopher's chapters aren't numbered 1, 2, 3 like a normal book. How are they numbered, and why?
They're numbered with prime numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, 11...). Christopher loves maths and prime numbers because they are logical and predictable. This shows how his mind works and makes the reader see the world from his point of view.
In "The Pedestrian," why does the police car arrest Leonard Mead, and where does it take him?
Walking at night for no reason is seen as strange and suspicious in his society, and he has no wife and no "real" job (he's a writer). He is taken to the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.
"The new school was a maze of strangers. At lunch, I sat with my sandwich and my silence, watching groups laugh at jokes I'd never understand. Every day I told Mum it was 'fine.' Every day the word got heavier."
How does the composer represent the experience of not belonging?
The extract represents isolation and the struggle to belong in an unfamiliar place. It also shows the speaker hiding their true feelings.
At his audition, Billy is asked what dancing feels like. What does he compare it to, and what does this show about him?
He says it feels like electricity. This shows dancing makes him feel free and alive, and that his passion for ballet is strong even when he struggles to explain it in words.
At the end of Miriam Wei Wei Lo's "Home," the persona describes a mulberry tree, called a "foreigner," growing among native plants. What does the mulberry tree symbolise?
The persona, who is a migrant. The tree growing taller each year alongside "the natives" suggests the persona is settling in, belonging and thriving in Australia while keeping a different heritage.
Christopher travels alone to London by train. Explain how this journey shows he has grown by the end of the novel
The journey shows courage and independence. Christopher faces crowds, noise and strangers, which terrify him, yet he still reaches his mother. By the end, he feels he can do anything, such as sitting his A-level maths exam and dreaming of becoming a scientist.
In "The Surfer," the sea changes by the end of the poem. How does it change, and what does this suggest about nature?
At first the sea is exciting and joyful to play in. As evening comes, it becomes cold and threatening, described like a wolf. This suggests that nature is beautiful but also powerful and dangerous, and humans can't control it.
Morning at the Station
My father's coat still hangs beside the door,
its pockets full of tickets, never used.
Each dawn I pass it, pausing like before,
as if his voice might call me, half-amused.
The trains still leave at seven, loud and grey,
but no one waves me off along the way.
What human experience is conveyed in this poem? Identify ONE technique that helps convey it.
The poem conveys grief and loss, specifically missing a parent who has died or left. It also touches on memory and loneliness.
Symbolism = coat. Imagery, Rhyme Scheme, Contrast, Simile.
During the strike, Jackie breaks up the piano that belonged to Billy's late mum and burns it for firewood. What does this scene show about the family, and what human experience does it represent?
It shows how poor the family has become during the strike, since they can't afford heating. Because the piano was a reminder of Billy's mum, destroying it represents grief, loss and sacrifice. The family has to give up something precious just to survive.
In "Circular Breathing," Jaya Savige's persona hears a didgeridoo in a square in Rome. He feels the urge to claim the sound as his own, but then stops. Why does he stop, and what does this show about identity?
He realises that if he heard the same music on a street in Brisbane, he probably wouldn't react to it. This shows that identity can be complicated: he only feels connected to "home" when he is far away from it, and he questions whether he has the right to claim Aboriginal culture as his own.
Haddon includes references to other texts and real-world ideas in the novel. Name one intertextual references in the novel.
Bradbury describes the houses Leonard walks past as dark and silent, like tombs in a graveyard. What technique is this, and what message about society is Bradbury conveying?
Simile / metaphor (also accept imagery or symbolism). Comparing the houses to tombs suggests the people inside are "dead," sitting in the dark watching screens instead of truly living.
Bradbury warns that technology can isolate people and cut them off from nature, creativity and each other. Leonard, who still walks and thinks for himself, is treated as the abnormal one.