Peer Review 4

Danielle,

I really enjoyed your blog post this week; I thought it was brilliant and engaging! I loved the creativity you used in order to get your point and ideas across and found myself agreeing with all that was in your letter; we learn so much more through experiences outside of the classroom than we do from ‘hard facts’ and sums we hold little interest in given to us day after day.

The only aspect in which I feel could be improved are a few tiny grammatical errors but otherwise, this post is excellent!

https://daniellegattlit.wordpress.com

 

Blog Post 5, Week 7

3/ Write a short summary of your gallery visit today. Mention 2 or 3 of the paintings that most appealed to you and why.

This week I visited the Art Gallery of NSW. During this visit we looked at art from the Eighteenth Century Enlightenment period, 19^th Century Early Australian Romanticism, and the Victorian era. Following this gallery tour, I decided to visit the Royal Botanical Gardens after speaking of landscapes and periods of Romanticism. Although the weather was cold and wet, the gardens were still beautiful and brought on feelings of being at home with nature as mimicked by some of the paintings in the Gallery.

One painting that stood out to me on this visit was John Melhuish Strudwick’s 1883 “A Story Book”, found in The Victorian Hall.

This painting depicts people sitting under a tree with a book with more others in the background picking apples from trees. The image, to me, depicted not only a close relation with nature, but drew out a balance between learning from nature and learning from books. As an education student, this is something I believe is crucial to one’s learning and believe that this is why this image stands out most to me.

Another image that stood out to me was James Tissot’s “the Widower” (1876).

This Victorian paining depicts the man dressed in black with a lost gaze, as if in mourning, while the child is dressed in white and reaching out for nature. The man seems to be holding the girl protectively and the painting gives off an overall feeling of tough times. To me, this painting portrays remedy in nature and a feeling of freedom that can be found amongst it – especially by children.

Images:

https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/5847/

https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/6697/

Peer Review 3

Sara,

I really enjoyed reading your blog this week! I love the way you’ve described your suburb in such detail and have also given that additional personal touch through the comparison of your childhood.
The world around us is constantly changing and it’s great to see that regardless of what is happening in the world, you still hold these nostalgic feelings towards your suburb and all that it represents – both past and present.

Nicole

https://saratoma.wordpress.com/2017/04/02/blog-3/comment-page-1/#comment-2

Blog Post 4 Week 6

Write a letter to Mr Gradgrind telling him what you think about the way he treated his own daughter, particularly with reference to the marriage arrangements he has created.

Dear Mr Gradgrind,

Are you even aware of your daughter’s feelings? Have you ever stopped to think of what she may think and feel, of why she does not speak up more?

You have blocked off feelings entirely, so much that those around you feel as though they must too. Louisa is a young woman full of emotion, and yet, she cannot open up, she cannot explore and express these feelings when she is around you. How could you treat your daughter in a way that she feels she is unable to be open with you?

And as if this is not enough, you are going to force her into an arranged marriage that she feels as though she cannot be honest about? Does your daughter even want to marry Mr Bounderby? How much does she know and like about him beyond his wealth?

He may be wealthy but have you thought to ask Louisa what qualities she wishes her husband to possess? I know that I personally would not list wealth to be towards the very top of mine. That I would wish to have a say in my marriage, to choose my own husband and be able to express each and every one of my feelings towards the matter openly. If my family arranged my marriage for me I would be furious! And to think you do not even know your daughter’s opinions and feelings towards the matter – or any matter in fact! It’s utterly disgraceful!

Mr Gradgrind, I propose that before you even consider planning your daughter’s future, you should take a step back and assess whether you truly have the right to make these decisions for her. How can one plan another’s future without even truly knowing them?

Thank you,

Nicole

Peer Review 2

Riley,
I really enjoyed reading your post! I too agree with what you are saying and I personally had not considered that Austen could be passing on this message to the audience that by doing as Emma does, we could “begin to imagine the world incorrectly and lose our connection to reality”. This is an interesting way of looking at it!

https://rileypowers1.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/week-4-blog-2-2/comment-page-1/#comment-72

Blog Post 3 Week 5

Write a paragraph describing your own city or suburb using some of the literary language techniques that we have seen working in Charles Dickens.

It’s a busy city that seems to never sleep. The days filled with people. Business men chatting away on the phone as they hastily walk from one place to another, women enjoying their coffee on a quick lunch break, tourists talking loudly in every possible language, children squealing with excitement as their parents try to ensure they don’t get lost. The nights are bright and busy. Teenagers laughing and stumbling around outside the clubs, men smoking and laughing; a beer in hand. Muffled music coming from inside a range of different clubs can be heard streets away. It is these further streets where the homeless lay and streets are almost empty. The odd car or shout can be heard from a distance and the sky dark overhead. There may not be young adults full of energy and wide awake stumbling down the streets, but there is a sense of life. As if there is always someone around, hidden in the shadows, they too enjoying the feeling of adventure and the exciting wonder of the unknown.

It is a city of life and endless possibility. A city that while often goes dark in places, there’s rarely a suburb that sleeps.

Image: Vivid 2016