Layton's Online Journal

The text describes the writers opinion on seafood, and why his opinion is so. The writer has a strong dislike for seafood, because of the tastes and smells of the seafood. The writer uses profanity, listing and hyperbole to convey this idea.

The writer uses profanity to convey his thought on the look of a shellfish. It says: the whatever the hell that muck is that comes out of shells”. The profanity ‘whatever the hell’ is used to emphasize his strong feelings for seafood, and particularly his disgust at shellfish. The profanity creates a connection with the reader, as it makes the text more casual and similar to a verbal conversation, which makes it easier to connect ideas. The writer makes the text similar to a conversation with this profanity to create a casual connection with the reader.

The writer uses listing when recounting his experience of the Scallop Festival. The writer says: “I was jostled by fish-crazed punters slurping kina, chugging scallops and feasting on all manner of slimy kaimoana.” The listing is used here to show all the things the writer hated about the people at the festival. The listing is used in this case to convey specific actions that the people at the festival did. This helps us to understand the writers hate for seafood as the listing makes us believe that he believed the festival was chaos because of how the writer listed off the things he hated very quickly and not in very much detail, giving us the idea that the festival was very fast-paced and too much was going around to focus in on things.

The writer also adds to his idea on seafood with the use of hyperbole. It says: “After a half-dozen showers with a pot scaler and several sessions of psychotherapy, I can almost watch Finding Nemo again.” This hyperbole dramatizes how bad the festival was, giving us the idea that is was so bad that he had to take many showers and sessions of psychotherapy. The hyperbole helps the reader get the idea of how much he hates seafood, as it makes us believe that they think that seafood is so bad that the writer may have to do these things. This adds to the overall meaning of the text as it reinforces and strengthens the idea of his hatred for seafood.

The writer uses these three language features to better convey the main idea of the text, that the writer has a hatred for seafood.

‘More than just a place to sleep’

Intro: Summarise the text. State the meaning of the text. State the language effects that will be discussed.

Find a quote

Explain the language feature

Explain how it adds to the meaning of the text

This text descibes an exibit in a musuem that showcases 26 teenage bedrooms. It shows ideas on the significance of a bedroom to a teenager. In the first line, it says, “a teenagers bedroom is her showroom”. This is a metaphor which brings the bedroom together with the idea of a showroom, which helps explain how a bedroom is to a teenager. The use of a metaphor making the bedroom a showroom says that it is a place where a teenager can express their feelings and their mind, creating a showroom that expresses the teenager. This metaphor conveys the idea that the bedroom is a place where they can express themselves.

A direct quote is used to show how a teenager feels about a bedroom. Freya says that she puts “things up that I like, that are special to no one else.” The direct quote is a very useful way to find out the teenager’s perpective on their bedroom. Freya describes it as a place that is hers alone, and is meaningless to everyone but her. She says how it is a place where she can be herself, and the bedroom is almost a part of her. The use of the quote adds to the idea of a bedrooms importance to a teenager.

The use of contrast between an adults childhood compared to now furthers the idea of the bedrooms significance to a teenager. “The changes reflect increased ability to work and socialise from our own rooms”. This contrast emphasizes that the bedroom is not just a place to be safe in, it is also now a place to socialize and connect with other people in. The contrast adds to the idea of what a bedroom means to a modern day teenager, and how it is different to the past.

These language features have been used by the author to emphasize the main idea of the text, on how a bedroom is very significant to a modern day teenager.

Ambition is a strange, and mysterious concept, widely believed to be a perfect quality, something that can only aid in achieving our goals and dreams. And in a way, this is true. Ambition is the driving force to achieve your goals, and this is constantly proven over and over everyday from famous athletes successes to the little actions that we all take. However, an excess of ambition can be dangerous, and even sometimes fatal. Across 400 years, the ideas and perceptions on ambition have been developed and challenged, often expressed through text and film. Although the english language may have changed over these 4 centuries, the same ideas and warnings emerge time and time again. Gattaca, Cars, Macbeth and Ozymandias, all share the theme of ambition, although each presents it in a slightly different way.

In the film Gattaca, the idea of ambition is presented as a positive characteristic, something that drives all humans when there are challenges to be overcome. Vincent is born with no genetic enhancements and a burning desire to become an astronaut, a very impossible goal in his situation. But along with his genetic disability, he gains what many genetically perfect humans lack – ambition. Vincent’s vaulting ambition is so strong that he does achieve his goal, despite all who try to stop him. This idea of ambition is enforced by symbolism, choosing waves that try to restrain and hold back Vincent. When swimming, Vincent says a very powerful line: “I never saved anything for the swim back.” This carries all of Vincent’s ambition in the one line, saying that he has escaped the fear of failure, and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals and prove the dystopian society wrong. The film shows us the incredible power of ambition to reach our goals and overcome impossible challenges.

Another aspect of the consequences of ambition in introduced to us in the 2006 movie Cars. The movie describes the life of Doc Hudson, the greatest racer of his time, until he was cast out by the racing world after his near fatal crash. He realised that he actually had nothing, and his achievements meant nothing. When McQueen discovered Doc’s piston cups, Doc said “All I see is a bunch of empty cups.” Something that he had fought so hard to earn actually held no real value, and the racing world that he was in did not care for him. His ambition had led him to unwanted places, and blinded him to the true pleasures that life had: friends and family. The theme of ambition in Cars does agree with Gattaca in saying ambition will achieve your goals, but Cars adds to this by telling us that our ambition may not always lead us to where we really want to be, and that we must be sure that we are on the path to happiness rather than success.

Macbeth, the 1606 play by Shakespeare, introduces the idea of morality being affected by ambition. Macbeth had huge ambitions to become king, which was not an impossibility as he was of very high ranking. However, his ambition was too strong, and he believed he had to take action. The only thing stopping him from committing atrocious crimes was his morality, but he willingly allowed this to fall in order for his ambition to crown him king. His ambition became very dangerous, as it made Macbeth do anything it took to become king, and led to the murder of many close friends. He says “Upon my head they lay a fruitless crown.” Similar to Doc, he realised that becoming king meant nothing to him, and that he now had nothing of value, hence the crown being ‘fruitless’. The symbol of the crown is similar to the Piston Cup, as they are both worthless tools of meaningless achievements. There is a contrast between the message here and the message of Gattaca, as Macbeth does not have a positive outcome as the result of his ambition.

Ozymandias message about ambition is different to the other texts, as it talks about time’s effect on ambition and legacy. Ozymandias was the ‘king of kings’, the greatest human with the most power, as a result of his ambitions. His legacy is unmatched in size, creating monumental statues to last till the end of time. However, this statue now lies in lone and level sands as a colossal wreck. Time had destroyed Ozymandias’ legacy until all that existed was a shadow of his former glory. On the pedestal it read: “Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!” He means for us to be in despair because of his power, but the line is ironic, as it is actually telling us to be in despair because of the message that it gives. No matter how great your success may be, it will eventually fade away and turn to dust. We are a tiny speck, on a vast timeline. In a way this message is humbling, as reminds us that we are not as important as we make ourselves, and that our legacy should not be the goal of life, rather, we should enjoy the simple pleasures as they come along, and be gracious of this gift that has been given to us.

All 4 texts contribute to defining the concept of ambition, but Ozymandias’ message about time and legacy creates a question: If nothing will withstand the passage of time, is it really worth striving for personal greatness with our ambition, at the cost of losing our morality?

	Gattaca	Cars	Macbeth	Ozymandias
Ideas	Human ambition is a positive drive when there are challenges to overcome. Vincent overcomes seemingly impossible challenges with his ambition. Considered something good and very useful, also gives message on how ambition is stronger the more human you are.	Ambition can lead you to unwanted places. Doc Hudson wanted to become the best and win all races, but realized that this isn’t what he wanted, and he had no family. Ambition blinded him to the true pleasures of life; family and friends.	Ambition can be dangerous when unbalanced by morality. Macbeth is very ambition and allows it to take over, not balancing it with morality, and it leads to his death. Portrayed as dangerous, and gives a warning on the possible effect.	No matter how much you achieve, it will always come to pass. The king creates a huge legacy with the statue but it all turns to dust and nothing. Gives a new message on how everything eventually comes to nothing.
Method	Symbolism: Swimming	Symbolism: Piston Cup	Symbolism: Crown	Symbolism: Statue
Quote	“I never saved anything for the swim back.”	“All I see is a bunch of empty cups.”	“Upon my head they lay a fruitless crown.”	“Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Text
Macbeth	Ambition in Macbeth is how ambition can be dangerous if unchecked by any morality, and how it can make you cross moral lines and destroy your spirit.
Gattaca	Ambition in Gattaca is how ambition is something only good, and can surpass all and any barriers that you can come across, just as Vincent has done, achieving something seemingly impossible.
Ozymandias	Ambition in Ozymandias is that however much ambition you have and however much you will achieve, it will all end up as nothing but forgotten dust.

In the sonnet ‘Ozymandias’, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley, a message about human ambition was shown through the expert use of the volta, which is the sudden shift in tone and emotion in the sonnet. The poem ‘Ozymandias’ tells the tale of a great king who achieved much in his time, but now all that remains of his legacy is a broken, forgotten statue. The volta in this sonnet is in the last three lines of the sestet: “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” This volta does not just have a change in emotion, it also contains a change in perspective, and becomes third person omniscient. This change in perspective also follows a change in tense in the volta, to become present tense. The change in perspective makes the lines separate from the rest of the sonnet, and allows the writer to really add emphasis to the lines, which describe the surroundings of the statue; bland and bare. This also adds emphasis to the meaning of the poem, that no matter how much you achieve, it will eventually all turn to dust. The change in tense from past to present tense shows how as time goes on, less and less will remain, and that time will destroy all ambition.

This honestly sounds like the start of the story, and the statue would be pretty cool to see. As for feelings n that I really don’t have any. It sounds like the statue was meant to dominate the landscape and be the best things around, which it is, but now the surroundings are lifeless and bland, showing that this ambition to be the best and show off made everything else bland, plain and worthless. It gives a feeling of loneliness and despair. His legacy is one of distaste and almost hate. Nothing good has come of it.

Visage: The manifestation, image, or aspect of something.

Some rhyme but definitely not like shakespeare. Iambic pentameter 8 lines then 6 lines. The volta could be what is on the pedestal, the quote, because that is the only 2 lines that have a different mood / tone to it.

This is a recount of a previous conversation with a man. Huge description of the statue, and each description has a specific connotation, so the word choice is very specific.

This poem is giving a message or a lesson of how a man’s unchecked pride and ambition can lead to loneliness and despair.

Only good vibes, coz England is my city,

Chilling everyday, hanging with the boys,

Come over, coz it’s getting pretty litty

Rolling in cash, yeah i got all the toys.

Got a private jet, man’s livin the life,

Goin all the way, nothing stopping me,

I feel like I’m living in a paradise,

“To the last syllable of recorded time”

“a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more”.

“I am in blood Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

“Thou marshell’st me the way that I was going”

“but A dagger of the mind, a false creation”

 “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man, that function Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is, But what is not.”

“If Chance will have me king, why, Chance may crown me, Without my stir.”

“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”

“Out, out, brief candle!”