Category: Writing

The way Zusak describes Germany at this time in history.

” It was a nation of farmed thoughts”

Colour
Prologue- “In which our narrator introduces himself the colours”… “First the colours, then the humans. That’s usually how I see things. Or at least I try”
This may be significant in the novel because it makes us think that the narrator of the book sees colour before seeing ‘humans’, implying the narrator isn’t human. I think this is referring to seeing an ‘aura’ of someone, which is an inhuman quality. I think the colour red will be used to represent death, violence and love, and will be the colour around people who have passed??

Colour quotes:
The road of yellow stars- jewish homes

It’s hard not to like a man who not only notices the colors but speaks them”
A girl made of darkness”
” When I recollect her, I see a long list of colors, but its the three in which I saw in her flesh that resonate the most”
“The only thought that continually recurred was the yellow tear. Had it been dark, she r-ealised, the tear would have been black”
“The dark, the light. What was the difference”

“The sky was bleached bed sheet white each morning. All day long i carried the souls across it , that sheet splashed with blood”

A book of fire

Max’s dreams of Hitler
” In the basement of 33 Himmel Street, Max Vandenburg could feel the fists of the enitre nation. One by one they climbed into the ring and beat him down. They made him bleed. They let him suffer. Millions of them-until one last time, when he gathered himself to his feet…
He watched the next person climb through the ropes. it was a girl”

” There was also a rumour that later that day she walked fully clothed into the Amper River and said something very strange. Something about a kiss. Something about a Saumensch.”
The Amper River is where Liesel saw how much Rudy loved her, by jumping into the icy water and risking himself to retrieve her book.

The Kiss
” She leaned down and looked at his lifeless face and Liesel kissed her best friend Rudy Steiner soft and true on his lips. He tasted dusty adn sweet. He tasted like regret in the shadows of trees and in the glow of the anarchsits suit collection”

Markus Zusak uses literary devices such as foreshadowing and irony to hint at or in this case literally tell the reader events in the future.
He uses the character of death to do this.
Some quotes to show this :

“Here is a small fact” “You are going to die”
Death says this right at the start of the book, on page 1. I think the reason Zusak does this so early on in the book, is to engage the reader from page 1, by saying something Ludacris like we are all going to die. It slaps some reality into us straight away, because it’s true. It also means that Death can foreshadow throughout the book and we get used to it.
“ Soon I will clap them together. Just give me a few pages”
Death says this about clapping Max and Liesel together as if he is holding them in each hand and can manipulate their fate and lead them towards each other.
“Then came the seventh side of the dice. Two days after Germany invaded Russia, Three days before Britain and the Soviets joined forces”
The seven-sided dice foreshadow reveals that the war begins just after Liesel and Isla have their falling out.
“ In September, they did not hear it as they slept. Either the radio was already half-broken, or it was swallowed immediately by the crying sound of sirens”
This foreshadowing reveals that in Liesel, Hans and Rosa’s next few pages, that the radio they bought to warn them of air raids fails them and immediately the reader thinks that they are bombed and die. When we keep reading this becomes true, but we are slightly prepared for it, so the shock of the event it lessened. ( Still cried though:))
“A book floated down the Amper River. A boy jumped in, caught up to it and held it high in his right hand. He grinned. He stood waist deep in the icy, Decemberish water. How about a kiss Saumensch?” he said. …. How about a kiss? How about a kiss? Poor Rudy”
Death foreshadows when Rudy shows his love for Liesel by retrieving her book from the river. Death reveals subtly that Rudy does not get his kiss from Liesel by saying “Poor Rudy” .

“A small announcement about Rudy Steiner” “He didn’t deserve to die the way he did”
This foreshadowing attempt is just cruel. It spoils the plot and reveals that Rudy dies and makes us start hanging on to every page that Rudy hasn’t died yet. Again, it engages us.

“Pre-emptivley you conclude, as I would, that Rudy died that very same day, of hypothermia. He did not.” …… ” He’d have been glad to witness her kissing his dusty, bomb-hit lips”
Here Death literally reveals that Rudy did not die from the river, but is bombed 2 yrs later. He also revealed that he finally got his kiss from Liesel, which is very significant giving the fact that Rudy spent years loving Liesel.

“Of course, im being rude. I’m spoiling the ending, not only of the entire book. but of this particular piece of it” I have given you two events in advance, because i don’t have much interest in building mystery”

Listing:
a girl
some words
an accordionist
some fanatical Germans
A Jewish fist fighter
and quite a lot of thievery

There were two guards , There was a mother and her daughter. One corpse.

Metaphor:
“That was when a great shiver arrived… maybe it was just Europe again, breathing”
“The cold was climbing out of the ground”
“Liesels blood had dried inside her. It crumbled”
“A blank page face”

Describe at least one important object in the written text.
Explain why that object was important

In William Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, the object of blood is an important symbol that demonstrates Macbeth’s internal conflict because of his ambition. Blood is important in showing the conflict and the detrimental effects that ambition has on people who become corrupt by the temptations of ambition.

The symbol of blood first appears in the line “Or art thou but a dagger of the mind.. and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood” said by Macbeth as he battles with the idea of killing King Duncan. Shakespeare uses the symbolism of blood on the dagger to represent the internal conflict that Macbeth feels to the idea of killing his friend. The blood is foreshadowing the murder Macbeth will commit, and the hallucination of the dagger shows the effects that his dire and evil ambition is already having on his mental state, as he begins to deteriorate. The blood on the dagger is important to show the audience that even in the early stages of Macbeth’s venture down ambitions dark roads, he is already facing the consequences of his ambition, and witnessing what his ambition could drive him to do.

Following on from the bloody dagger, Macbeth’s hands are stained with the blood of King Duncan after Macbeth murders him.

Symbolism is used in Macbeth to emphasize the corruption of power. Blood represents guilt, murder and pain. The image of blood plays an important role in showing the corruption of power and ambition and the effects it has on Macbeth.

Act 2 Scene 1
“Is this a dagger, which I see before me, or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, preceding from the heat-oppressed brain… and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood.. it is the bloody business which informs”
= Macbeth is hallucinating a bloody dagger that is telling him to kill Duncan. The murder he will commit is foreshadowed by the bloody dagger.

Act 2 Scene 2
“Will all Great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather/ The multitudinous seas incarnadine/ Making the green one red”
= Macbeth shows his fear that the bloodshed caused by him will never wash off his hands and therefore his conscience. His overwhelming guiltmakes him believe his hands will stain the oceans red. This shows the consequences he faces as a result of his ambition

Act 3 Scene 4
“I am in blood, Stepp’d so far, that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
= Blood symbolises a river here, showing that Macbeth is too far through the river of blood to turn back now, it is easier to keep going.

Act 3 Scene 4
“It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood”
=He will have to suffer the consequences for the blood he shed, and violence breeds violence.

Oh full of scorpions is my mind 

Out out brief candle,Life is but walking shadow , a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.

“And with thy bloody and invisible hand / Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond / Which keeps me pale!”
=Blood symbolises the guilt Macbeth feels towards his murders, and the invisblehand represents him having to hide his evilness.

“Thou canst not say I did it: never shake / Thy gory locks at me”

Fair is foul, and foul is fair

Stars hide your fires, let not light see my dark and deep desires

My hand is of your color, but I would be ashamed to wear a heart so pale

I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent , only vaulting ambition that o’erleaps itself and lands in the other side.

Tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow creeps i  this pettypace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time.

A told told by an idiot , full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. 

All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand

• Conflict, both internal and external, in Macbeth helps us to understand the main messages of the play.
  Symbolism is used to show the internal and external conflict, often depicted as the image of blood. For example, in the quote “Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”  we see how the symbol of blood on Macbeths hands shows the internal conflict that he struggles with, believing all the oceans will never wash the blood off and it will stain his conscience forever. This internal conflict shows the message of the play, that ambition can corrupt.  Macbeth battles with his internal demons and we see through the symbol of blood again, that he has committed too much evil to go back,“I am in blood, Stepp’d so far, that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”.  Shakespeare uses this line of symbolism to invoke the image of a river of blood, that Macbeth is too far through to turn back to the other side of the river.
  
  
  
  
  1. “I am in blood, Stepp’d so far, that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”
  2.“Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”
  3..“Out damned spot! Out!”
  4. “Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. “
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• The first meeting between Macbeth and the witches in Macbeth set all the events in motion that lead to Macbeth’s final despair
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• Shakespeare used symbolism to engage my emotions of pity, disgust and despair in Macbeth to demonstrzte the idea of corrupting effect of power 

 Ambition is the greatest human virtue that provides purpose in peoples lives by giving them the desire to achieve success or power. Having ambition in our lives means that we dream of accomplishing big things and strive to achieve them. When ambition works alongside strong morals and the right intentions, it will normally have a positive outcome. But, with the nature of ambition being such a fragile concept, people can often unknowingly cross the border and become too ambitious, seeking things not meant to be. The thirst for power can never truly be satisfied, and once ambition has clouded our judgement and morals, there will be detrimental effects on not only us but the people around us.
 In Macbeth by Shakespeare, Ozymandias by Percy Shelley, Viva la Vida by Coldplay and Gattaca by Andrew Niccol, the nature of ambition and it’s limits has been explored and the texts all reach different conclusions about ambition, allowing the reader to understand that ambition is NOT a simple thing.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the damage ambition can cause is portrayed through the main character Macbeth. Macbeth is a loyal friend, soldier and war hero first described as “valours minion” after the battle against Norway,  who served King Duncan honourably and never thought to question his position. Macbeth is exposed to a prophecy that says he will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland.
The prophecy has a great impact on Macbeth and he realises his true desire for power. The prophecy ignites a wildfire of dark ambition in Macbeth, and in the process, Macbeth sacrifices his morals to become King. 
After the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth says “I am in blood, Stepped in so far,that should i wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er”. Shakespeare does this to show how Macbeth believes that he has already sacrificed his morals in the murder of Duncan that going back is not an option for there is nowhere to return to. The acceptance of his dark ambition allows Macbeth to let go of anything holding him back and this leads beautifully into his line “I have no spur to prick the sides/Only vaulting ambition which o’oerleaps itself/And falls on th’other..” Here Shakespeare shows how Macbeth  has nothing to hold him back from his ambition (no spur to prick the sides), and his thirst for power is so strong that it vaults over istelf and lands on another side, the evil and darker side of ambitions capabilities. This opens the door for Macbeth to become morally and mentally corrupt, which leads to the destruction and death of his friends, wife and even himself. 
The true nature of ambition was revealed in Macbeth by Shakespeare and we see how if taken too far,  the thing that pushes us to our potential can also be the thing that ruins us. 

In a similar way as in Macbeth, in the poem, Ozymandias by Percy Shelley, the self-confident and ambitious Ozymandias desires for his legacy to be remembered after his death.  He makes a statue of himself and places it in the desert as a way to be remembered forever and for people to see. However only “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/Stand in the desert”. Shelley uses this to infer that all that remains of his mighty statue are is legs. “Near them on the sand/Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”, this says that Ozymandias’ visage, meaning his face is broken and lieing in the sand. We start to get the idea that the very person Ozymandias desired to be remembered as is not who he really was, in truth he was as broken as his statue now is. 
The poem goes on to say that on a plaque on the statue it reads “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings”
Here we really ssee Ozymandias’ desire to be seen as a powerful man. Ozymandias thinks that he is the King of Kings, and because Kings are believed to be powerful and Gods appointed ruler, Ozymandias’ is declaring that he is the most powerful King to have lived, and essentailly he is the ruler of Kings, a position in history that is seen to be Gods. “Look on my works, ye mighty and despair!” // Nothing beside remains, Round the decay of that colossal wreck” 
 Here Ozymandias says that people should look on his ‘works’ and lose hope in themselves at the greatness of them, ironically though, nothing beside his ‘mighty and powerful’ statue remains to show for his works and accomplishments.  This shows the reader how if we get too enveloped by our own ambitions and personal greatness, we lose sight of what’s really around us and become isolated from the real world. Ozymandias statue represents all that was wrong with his ambition and the very thing he desired to be remembered as was the opposite of what was seen from the statue.
Ozymandias by Percy Shelley explores ambition and the ways it can retaliate against us, even after death, and in the same ways as Macbeth, both men lost the things they desired most due to their ambition.

Viva la Vida by Coldplay explores ambition in a slightly different light than the other two texts, in that the main character, a King, has already lost everything he had desired through his ambition, and the song explores what consequences come to those who become power hungry.
The song begins with the line  ” I used to rule the world, Seas would rise when I gave the word” which implies that the King ‘used’ to rule everything and believed he was so powerful that he even ruled nature and seas would rise when he told them to. This is an impossible act and one only ever accomplished once in the Bible, when God allowed Moses to split the Red Sea and cross it. The King believes he too can raise seas, implying that he has powers similar to Gods and can accomplish the same things, a sign of his self confidence.  
Soon after the King faces the consequences of his ambitions, seen in the line ” One minute I held the key, Next the walls were closed on me, and I discovered that my castles stand, upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand”. This is a telling part of the play, when the King loses they key to his own castle and realises that the very foundations of his castle are built upon instable and uncertain pillars of salt and sand, and not reliable pillars of stone. Salt is  a metaphorical symbol of durability and permanence and it acts as another biblical reference, a pillar of salt is a symbol of sin, refering to Genesis when Lot’s wife looked back on Sodom even though she was warned not to and as punishment was turned into a pillar of salt for all eternity.  Because of these references to the Bible, this line makes us believe that the Kings castle was built upon sin, which implies that the King got to his position through sinful ways, just as Macbeth did. The castle pillars however are not durable and permanent like the concept  “pillars of salt” would suggest, because the pillars of sand imply that the castle is built upon loose and unstable sand pillars too, therefore the castle is built upon sin and instability.
Nearing the end of the song, the King then reaches what I think to be the worst of his consequecnes, when he says the line “I know Saint Peter won’t call my name”.  The true extent of the Kings consequences is shown here, when he says that Saint Peter, the angel that guards the gates of heaven won’t call his name to enter the afterlife, and he instead will go to Hell.
As King he is seen to be Gods appointed ruler on earth and the belief that he will  not be accepted into heaven is a sign of despair and a complete loss of faith, due to the ambition he had.

Viva la Vida explores the consequences of a power hungry ambition, similar to the way Ozymandias and Macbeth do,  through the character of a King who seeks power and in the end, loses it all.


After reading the last three texts, you might have the impression that ambition is a dangerous and fragile human virtue that only causes harm to humans. Contrary to this belief, ambition still has the potential to give real purpose to our lives, without having negative consequences if we play by the rules and don’t sacrifice our morals. 
In the dystopian film Gattaca by Andrew Niccol,  a society is built upon the idea that genetic selection is better than natural conception, and ‘invalids’ or naturally conceived humans are of lesser status. Vincent Freeman is an ‘invalid’ who was born with a rare heart disorder that could kill him before 30.  All throughout Vincent’s life, he suffers under the burden of discrimination and inequality of the Gattaca society.
Vincent uses ambition as a way to give his life purpose, and he strives to overcome the disadvantages of his inferior genetics.
When Vincent says the line  “Eugene never suffered from the routine discrimination of a ‘utero’, a ‘faith birth’ or and ‘invalid’ as we were called” he shows how genetically perfect humans never had to experience the same prejudiced treatment that Vincent and others like him suffered everyday. This helps to show us that Vincent and other invalids were hardened by their harsh treatment because they routinely endured it.
Vincent then goes on to say “He suffered under a different burden: The burden of perfection”  which poses a very important idea that perfection can be a burden in society and in Gattaca, those who have had their lives handed to them on a silver plate like Eugene; suffer under perfections high expectations. Vincent and Eugenes status in society are at opposite ends of the spectrum, however, both suffer under some burden, and it is how they overcome the burden that tells of their strength as humans.
Because of Vincent’s upbringing in Gattaca’s society, he learns that in order for him to ever succeed in life and overcome his burden, he will have to fight against every single molecule of his genetics if he wants to succeed. This means that to be an astronaut and get to Titan as he dreamt of, he needed to have the ambition to get himself there , unlike Jerome who just needed the genetics. 
In the line “Jerome had been engineered with everything he needed to get into Gattaca, except the desire to do so.”
Niccol uses this line to show how Jerome’s (Eugene)  genetics meant he had everything he needed to succeed, except the ambition to do so. This shows of the expectations that perfection placed on him and without the desire to achieve, his genetics were just as ‘invalid’ as Vincents.
Vincents most powerful line “This is how i did it Anton, I never saved anything for the swim back”  shows us how completely determined Vincent was to achieve his dreams, that he never saved anything for the ‘swim’ back or in other words, he had nothing left to go back and could only go forward. Niccol uses this as a way to show that Vincent’s ambition meant he gave everything to achieve success and had nothing to hold him back.
This can be linked to Macbeth’s ” Should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’oer”  quote, in that both men felt that they had no way to turn back from their ambition, and they had to let it take the reigns entirely. However, the difference in the two men is that Vincent never comprised himself or his morals like Macbeth did and that is why his story ended in success and not destruction.

In the four texts, Macbeth by Shakespeare, Ozymandias by Percy Shelley, Viva la Vida by Coldplay and Gattaca by Andrew Niccol, the nature of ambition was explored in distinctly different ways,  and all the texts came to a different conclusion about ambition and it’s potential either better or worse our lives. 
From investigating these texts, we can understand that ambition can either be the greatest human virtue or the greatest undoing of humans and it is a force to be reckoned with.

How does Shelley convey Ozymandias’ hubris in the poem?

In the poem Ozymandias written by Percy Shelley, Shelley conveys Ozymandias the “King of Kings” as hubris, meaning the act of excessive pride or arrogance through the choice of language that Ozymandias describes himself.
In the poem, the statue of Ozymandias is described as having “two vast and trunkless legs of stone” implying there is no head. It then goes on to say “ near them, on the sand Half sunk, a shattered visage lies”.
The word visage means a person’s face, so we get the image that this mighty statue has its head broken off and lays shattered and uncared for, not what would be expected of such a highly praised “King of Kings”.
On the pedestal on Ozymandias’ statue the words “ King of Kings” and “look on my works ye mighty and despair “ are written, implying that this man, for that is all he is, was arrogant enough to announce himself the King of all Kings, and warn others to fear his works.
Ozymandias has a figment of himself that is only true in his imagination and is ironic when paired with the sight of the mighty statue he had built, that is broken and forgotten in a desert surrounded by nothing but “lone and level sands”.
Ozymandias’ hubris is shown through the choice of language to show that …………??

Volta – a turning point in a poem that signifies a dramatic change in emotion/thought.