6492EA/6492EN: Assignment 2

What you have to do

Heroism
There are THREE tasks to complete for this assignment. If you are posting
your assignment to OTEN, remember to attach the Marks Record Slip and
this question sheet which includes your teachers checklist.

Task 1 25 marks
Analysing a related text
Find a text which relates to the Area of Study: Heroism. Your text can be:

a novel or short story

a biography or autobiography

a poem or song

a photograph or painting

a picture book

a speech

an interview or feature article

a movie or television program

a documentary

a music video

a website

or any other text of your choosing which is relevant to the concept of

Heroism.

Complete the Text Record Sheet on the following pages for your chosen
text.

LA017673, Assignment 2 Heroism, 6492EN/EA, Ed3

New South Wales Technical and Further Education Commission, 2013 (TAFE NSW WSI), Version 1, January 2014

Individual text record sheet

Type of text (e.g., novel, poem, play, film, interview, advertisement, etc.)

Title of the text and its source (e.g., date and place of publication)

Composer of the text (e.g., author, photographer, artist, director, etc.)

Medium of production (e.g. website, television, radio, book, etc.)

Brief summary of the text, including a description of its purpose and

audience

LA017673, Assignment 2 Heroism, 6492EN/EA, Ed3

New South Wales Technical and Further Education Commission, 2013 (TAFE NSW WSI), Version 1, January 2014

How the text relates to the concept of heroism

Language structures and features used by the composer

Context of the text and the perspective of the composer

Comparison of the text with The Old Man and the Sea

LA017673, Assignment 2 Heroism, 6492EN/EA, Ed3

New South Wales Technical and Further Education Commission, 2013 (TAFE NSW WSI), Version 1, January 2014

Task 2 25 marks
Interpretation and analysis
Read the passage below which is taken from Ernest Hemingways novel
The Old Man and the Sea and then answer the questions which follow.
He knew he was beaten now finally and without remedy and he went back to the
stern and found the jagged end of the tiller would fit in the slot of the rudder well
enough for him to steer. He settled the sack around his shoulders and put the skiff on
her course. He sailed lightly now and he had no thoughts nor any feelings of any
kind. He was past everything now and he sailed the skiff to make his home port as
well and as intelligently as he could. In the night sharks hit the carcass as someone
might pick up crumbs from the table. The old man paid no attention to them and did
not pay any attention to anything except steering. He only noticed how lightly and
how well the skiff sailed now there was no great weight beside her.
Shes good, he thought. She is sound and not harmed in any way except for the tiller.
That is easily replaced.
He could feel he was inside the current now and he could see the lights of the beach
colonies along the shore. He knew where he was now and it was nothing to get
home.
The wind is our friend, anyway, he thought. Then he added, sometimes. And the
great sea with our friends and our enemies. And bed, he thought. Bed is my friend.
Just bed, he thought. Bed will be a great thing. It is easy when you are beaten, he
thought. I never knew how easy it was. And what beat you, he thought.
Nothing, he said aloud. I went out too far. [p. 93]

1 Explain where the passage occurs in the story. What does the old man
decide? What happens to the fish?

2 Identify one language feature or technique Hemingway uses in the

passage. Provide a brief quote and name the feature or technique. What is
the effect of the technique? What does it show about the old man or the
situation?

LA017673, Assignment 2 Heroism, 6492EN/EA, Ed3

New South Wales Technical and Further Education Commission, 2013 (TAFE NSW WSI), Version 1, January 2014

3 Explain how the passage relates to Heroism. What themes or qualities

associated with heroes and heroism are revealed in the passage?

Task 3 50 marks
Extended response
Read The Old Man and the Sea along with Part 6 of your learning resource
on Heroism.
Then, write an extended response (essay) on the following topic:
A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and
endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. (Christopher Reeve)
Do you agree?
In your response, refer to your prescribed text, The Old Man and the Sea by
Ernest Hemingway, and AT LEAST ONE related text of your own choosing.
Include brief quotes from the novel and your related material to support
your response.
Write approximately 800 words.

Assignment Checklist
Please send in this checklist with your answers.
Task

Outcomes covered

Task 1

1, 2, 4, 6 and 10

Task 2

3, 4, 7, 8 and 12A (Advanced)

Task 3

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12A (Advanced)

LA017673, Assignment 2 Heroism, 6492EN/EA, Ed3

New South Wales Technical and Further Education Commission, 2013 (TAFE NSW WSI), Version 1, January 2014