essay on preliminary topic journey

The famous poet Mary Oliver once wrote in her poem “The Journey”, “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began”. Oliver’s belief is seen in classic and modern literature about journeys. Many people and characters have experienced very difficult journeys in their life. “The Cruelest Journey”, a travel biography by Kira Salak, depicts her six-hundred-mile journey on the Niger River to be the first person in the world to kayak the journey alone. She travels through the most dangerous and bleak regions in Africa to retrace the fatal journey of Mungo Park. “The Odyssey”, an epic poem by Homer, depicts a war hero who is facing difficult challenges to be able to return back home. It takes him twenty years to return home to Ithaca. From the difficult challenges facing the characters, Homer and Salak use characterization to reveal that people embark on quests to challenge themselves to use mental efforts to triumph over obstacles, which they then learn to appreciate themselves.

The death of Coral’s son has caused an emotional breakdown as she cannot accept her son’s death. Moreover, Coral has lost her social identity and tends to struggle to find a connection with anyone, as she “can’t think of anything to say” (Act 2, Scene 2). Her husband, Roy, is annoyed by her bizarre attitude and this causes Coral to lower herself to the behavior of a naïve child “I’ll be good! I’ll improve!” When Coral does begin to speak, it is presented as very expressive and mournful. Her tone is filled with emotion as she is constantly “wiping away tears”.

Those journeys could be physical journeys when you go from one place to another or they could be mental journeys when a difficult time of change and development takes place. Journeys often teach us how challenging life can be and teach us about ourselves. In the play Boy Overboard adapted from the novel by Morris Gleitzman, we see how Jamal and Bibi are forced into going on an emotional and distressing physical journey fleeing from Afghanistan to Australia, because of the Taliban that control Afghanistan. Jamal and Bibi have faced many obstacles on their journey from hiding in the back of a truck, Bibi nearly getting blown up, living in a miserable refugee camp and losing their parents. Throughout the play we see how Jamal matures at a young age and becomes a father figure for his little sister. We see how different events shape Jamal into the person he is and how he thinks. We learn how Jamal has the ability to think and act quickly when he straight away tells Rashida and Bibi to disguise themselves as boys when pirates come onto the boat to take girls away. We see how an event in Jamal’s life like being separated form his parents turns him into a mature adult at the age of

The use of a journey narrative as both an archetypal plot device, and a technique that facilitates and informs character development, is an enduring literary trope, likely as old as literature itself. The mere fact that journey narratives have persisted in literature, without inherently being regarded as overused, outdated, or clichéd, is indicative of the impact and influence this technique has when executed effectively. Additionally, this is testament to its adaptability, and capacity to complement and integrate within various styles and genres. Conventional journey narratives often follow a basic structure, contributing to reader expectation that a vast, far-reaching journey should be inherently reflected by vast emotional progress, and

The journey

A trip can be often looked upon as a quest, according to professors such as Thomas Foster. In Cormac McCarthy’s book, “The Road,” exposes father and son fighting to survive the post apocalyptic world. Keeping the light alive, the two embark on a daunting journey in hope to finding the good guys. Love and sacrifice is one's way of living. The human condition is brought out in a negative way when the two have to feed off each other as to being fed off by others.

Journeys have the potential to provide significant change to individuals. This occurs through the exposure of various perceptions and experiences. The study of journeys in education allows self development and new insights of the world around us. These themes are used by Gary Ross in his 1988 film, Pleasantville. The movie embodies a continued resistance of beliefs to the savagery of social conformity during the 1950’s. This material is accompanied with the well known novel, lion the witch and the wardrobe, that follows the story of an adventure into the mystical land of Narnia. The important messages, symbolism, themes and values in these mediums give reasons to why they should be in the HSC list on the study of journeys.

Chapter 1 of your textbook includes, on page 9, Table 1.1, “Managing Change: Some Lessons from the Four Stories.” Review the four “lessons” (bullet points) on the table, and think about what some of the key “learning points” you gleaned about change from these stories. Then, do one of two things:1. Post the top three learning points you gleaned from the stories, and include how the stories for change helped you learn these points, or2. Research one of the four companies and see how or if that company has since changed (yet more) since the time of the book’s publication. How did that recent change fit with or not fit in with the “lessons” that the textbook mentions the company “learned” from their original set of changes? Explain what you

The process of discovery is often, a rigid and gruelling journey which leads an individual or group to formulate new perspectives as new truths are uncovered. Ivan O’Mahoney thorugh the T.V. mini-series Go Back To where You Came From utilises a myriad of film and narrative techniques to convey how the provocative and the transformative power of emotional and physical discoveries triggers an epiphany. Leading to the development of an individual’s ability to appreciate the complexity and severity of Australia’s asylum seeker crisis.

For example, Tom finally builds up the courage and strength to get back inside because “he thought of Clare – just wordless, yearning thought – and then drew his arm back just a bit more, fist so tight his fingers pained him, and knowing he was going to do it” (19-20). The thought of seeing Clare again and spending time with her allowed him to see his life in a better perspective and to want to become a changed man. Tom’s driving force in life is no longer his passionate ambition and determination to achieve his goals, but now is his beloved wife. In addition, when Tom leaves his apartment to go find his wife, he saw “the yellow paper, the pencil flying, scooped off his desk and, unimpeded by the glassless window, sail out into the night and out of his life” (20). Tom finally let go of his yellow paper and all the pressure it bestowed on him. He sees the thing that caused him to lose numerous hours, which he could have spent with Clare, disappear from his life. He realizes that his career and his ambition to succeed are not worth it and are not as important to him anymore. As a result, Tom becomes a changed man who now knows that having something as special as a person who loves and cares about him is more rewarding than anything his career can offer

Physical Journeys such as travelling from place to place can lead an individual to a new experience of the world.Throughout a physical journey an individual will need to overcome obstacles in order to reach the destination and will gain a new understanding of their surroundings. Skrzynecki’s ‘crossing the red sea’ depicts a physical journey through the eyes of migrants moving from one country to another and shares their experience throughout the Journey.The individuals in crossing the red sea must overcome the metaphorical obstacle of leaving their home in order to reach the destination of a new life, this is shown

This week’s goal is to begin collecting information and planning for the final Commentary essay by reading, thinking, and engaging with your topic. As you determine your topic, you’ll want to be sure it’s viable by understanding the perspectives within it and determining what unique angle you can offer to the conversation. Under each prompt or question below, provide detailed information that shares information about your topic.

Discovering something for the first time can be meaningful and can help initiate the process of change that can shape and impact life. The combination of themes that Michael Gow’s play Away, Seamus Heaney’s poem Mid-term Break, and Dane Clark’s short film Margo Lily, highlight includes coming to terms with a person’s mortality, death as a means of bringing people together regardless of social status, and the importance of reconciliation. Death is inevitable and one must accept this in order to progress in life. Michael Gow’s play ‘Away’ opens with the final scene from Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespearean allusions come into play with Tom as the character of Puck, an immortal fairy, symbolising a whole life ahead for Tom.

Joe is a mechanic and has a compa-ratio of 0.90.  This means that his pay:

Tom is a character who is trying to escape from his current reality of being stuck in his current position, physically and socially, much like how the caged bird of Angelou’s poem is restrained. Because his father left, Tom is the main breadwinner of the family, with his sister doing nothing, and his mother only doing some small work selling magazine subscriptions over the phone. Throughout the play, we see him struggle with this reality and sing his ‘song’ through his arguments with his mother, and his time spent late at night at the movies, which, as George W. Crandell comments, “provides both the impetus and a convenient excuse for escape from unpleasant company and inhospitable surroundings” (1). The cinema is Tom’s only way of escape from his life without truly hurting those around him, even though it is only a temporary escape. His anger is quite evident throughout the play, mainly though his arguments with his mother.