[Chiyu’s POV]
‘Beep Beep’ I gained consciousness waking up from the sound of my annoying alarm clock. I stretched out to snooze it off, but I failed. I rubbed my eyes, and squinted and examined the time on my phone. It was already 7:01 in the morning. I sighed in annoyance. It was another ordinary day to attend school.
I lethargically moved reaching out to the curtains in my room. The light from the sunrise outside reflected on my curtains which produced a colour of bright shimmering caramel golden colour. I grasped the curtains gradually unravelling them revealing the dazzling light from outside. I can hear the annoying high pitch tone of birds chirping, harmonising with each other. Trees danced in the flow of the wind as the fresh air in the morning caressed their branches and leaves.
I put on my light pink cosy slippers; it fits perfectly to my toes just like how Cinderella's glass slippers fit in perfectly. I strolled outside my room down the hallways, clearly still half asleep. I snatched a glass and filled it with lukewarm water and drank it. Suddenly, I remembered on top of my head that it is Thursday right now. And I needed taking the trash out. I went outside, grabbed the trash not breathing a hint of the foul-smelling filthy stuff in it.
[Third Person’s POV]
“Meow”
On her way back, Chiyu found an electrical pole that occupies a narrow box next to it that sounded like… Cats?
She knelt and was surprised to find three kittens huddled up to a corner of a box. They were brown fur with a pair of golden eyes. It looked like there had been someone taking care of them because of the clean towel covering the bottom of the box. As well as the small containers on the side that had food and water.
“Excuse me,” A gentle voice called from behind, making Chiyu jump slightly before she lifted her head and recognise someone standing behind her. A boy, probably about her age, with a short blonde messy bob haircut with black roots growing on top. He had a pair of golden eyes like the kittens she found.
“Uh, are they yours?”
Sunflowers, that’s the first thing that came up to her mind upon meeting their eyes. She immediately stood up and swayed her head, muttering something about coming by and seeing them accidentally. The boy nodded and knelt to replace what was inside the containers. Chiyu observed how the kittens were.
Comfortable around him, different from how they were when she came close.
“Are they yours?” Chiyu asked, crouching back down next to him, startling the little boy. “No, Uh,” he averted his gaze and focused on the cats.“I saw them two days ago. Cat’s food was cheap and uh… I’m going taking them to the pet store soon.”
Chiyu watched him gently handle the cats, a slight smile on his face that came to her as well. “That’s very kind of you” she spoke slowly, making the boy look at her then pursed his lips. He gave one of the cats heads a scratch and whispered "thanks."
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Year 10 Close Viewing Assessment
In the going-for-a-run scene, we see the film technique of camera angles used well. For instance, the director deliberately used a tracking shot during the scene where PK and Gideon were jogging in the area of the black South Africans during Apartheid. The director’s purpose of this was to make the audience feel as if we are exploring the area together with PK and Gideon. This technique created an impact on the audience to sympathise and feel bad as we see how poor and terrible the living conditions were in the area. This scene can be contrasted to Maria's home where everything was luxurious and comfortable and not a sign of discomfortness.
Music was also used well in the going-for-a-run scene. For example, as PK and Gideon were exploring the area, the music was upbeat, happy and comfortable. The director’s purpose of this was to show PK finds comfort in that place despite the poverty as he grew up and was close to South Africans and he feels a sense of belonging and familiarity. This technique created a mood in the audience that South African’s area during Apartheid is full of kind, friendly welcoming people despite the indigent circumstance. This scene can be contrasted in the scene where PK is in the ‘English’ area as the music was always intense as a sign of not being a safe danger-free place and full of unkind people such as guards.
Lastly, the symbolism was also used well in the going-for-a-run scene. For example, when PK and Gideon stopped by the drinking fountain area, PK drank from the ‘blacks-only fountain instead of the ‘white-only as what most expects him to drink from as he physically looks like one. This detail was made by the director on purpose to symbolise that PK isn’t prejudiced towards either of the races and belongs to both as he is white English South African. This detail makes the audience think that PK is a good protagonist who accepts and embraces both of his ethnicity and does not discriminate and be ashamed of what he is. This scene has an element that reminds me of another symbolism in the film; water. During his early childhood, he was bullied and given the name “piss-cock”. It is ironic symbolism later in the story as PK was known as the 'peace’ maker between the tribes of Black Africans and as well the whites and blacks racial segregation.
In conclusion, I think John G. Avildsen has done an excellent job to re-create and portray visually what it was like during the horrible times of Apartheid, of how unrighteous and inhuman especially black South Africans were treated. It honestly almost made me burst into tears when characters die, tortured by the guards. Some parts were gruesome and looked very realistic which is an excellent job well done because that’s what makes an audience keep thrilled and feel emotions. I also think this film deserves more recognition and thanks to John G. Avildsen for creating such a masterpiece.
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Describe at least one character or individual you could relate to in the text. Explain why it is important that you were able to relate to the character or individual.
In "The Lake" by Ray Bradbury, one particular character I could relate to in the used text was merely the main protagonist, Harold. I could relate to this specific character because he portrays the realistic flaws of mortal nature. In which we, as sensitive humans, with difficulty keep holding on to the emotional pain of the past if we don’t get a proper closure. In the story, Harold cannot forget about the tragic disappearance of his first love. Even ten years later, he was still dwelling and reliving the traumatic past. I think it was necessary that I could relate to a character in the text because being able to relate to a character makes the story more meaningful and will make the reader more inclined to admire the characters.
The first ordinary reason why I thought Harold remains a relatable character for me is because we both love the summer season. We see this character trait interest portrayed at the beginning of the story. Harold and his mother went to the beach for the last swim as they were moving. The golden days of summer are coming to an end; the beaches were deserted and abandoned. Nothing but the footprints from July and August are left as the wind erased it slowly. Harold described his surroundings with an obvious hint of unsatisfactory. "All of the hot-dog stands were boarded up with strips of golden planking, sealing in all the mustard, onion, meat odours of the long, joyful summer. It was like nailing summer into a series of coffins.” This quote shows how devastated, sorrowful Harold felt as summer faded into thin air. I think the author produced this specific line to emphasise and assist the reader to understand the sentimental attachment Harold has to this specific place. Which is explained later more in the story why this was crucial to the story. However, this idea of liking summer can be contrasted to how Harold genuinely feels. He feels depressed, devastated and empty cold inside. The fire that his first love left in his heart remained. Nevertheless, it faded and vanished completely like how she ceased to exist.
Another reason why I could relate to Harold is that he was illustrated as a character who has realistic flaws that relate to the real world. The realistic human nature flaw that he portrayed in the text of not being able to accept the harsh truth of reality. In the story, Harold suffered a great loss by losing his first love —Tally— due to an unfortunate accident in which she is the same lake location. Where they spent most of their childhood, playing and building sandcastles. However, Tally’s corpse was never found, encouraging him to hold on to this slight bit of hope that Tally is still alive. In the middle of the text, he was described as someone who desperately continues to call out Tally’s name on the coast of the lake. “Tally! Tally! Oh Tally!”, he continued to call, convincing himself that maybe just maybe Tally would reply. This shows how desperate and sceptical he was about it. Here is another quote from the story that explains the idea that Harold could not accept the truth about Tally: “You really expect answers to your calling when you are young. You feel that whatever you may think can be real. And maybe sometimes that is not so wrong.” The author Ray Bradbury purposely wrote this line to provide the audience with a depth of understanding of Harold’s character. We understood that Harold was traumatised and unable to accept the truth behind Tally’s death. In contrast to the real world, this idea of holding on to the tiny bit of hope is important in a world full of negativity because it is what keeps us moving forward.
The last reason why I could relate to Harold’s character is that it taught me a valuable lesson. This valuable lesson was that you cannot move on from your first love without achieving proper closure. As we know, Tally was Harold’s first love in the story. Unfortunately, his first love ended suddenly and tragically. Tally held an enormous place in his heart and was certainly attached to her regardless of being only a 12 years old boy. We see this idea being true in this specific quote from the story “I was only twelve. But I know how much I loved her. It was that love that comes before all significance of body and morals.” Harold himself stated what he experienced was the type of love that comes before all significance of body and morals. Now this phrase alone shows how pure and real the love he felt for Tally. I think the author deliberately wrote the whole text from Harold’s point of view, to describe and enhance emotions and to have an effect on the audience. Effect in which we were able to reminisce and connect to a deeper level. We were able to sympathise and feel the pain of what it was like for him to lose his first love. He never got to bid his goodbyes and have a proper closure as the corpse was never found until ten years later. Harold revisited the same lake from his childhood with his wife, Margarette, 10 years later. Unexpectedly, the lifeguard discovered a decayed corpse from the lake which was later known to be identified as Tally. At that moment, it all together came rushing back to him. The walls that he built up over the past few years came crashing down and the wounds of his heart reopened. He was incapable of responding to the situation accordingly. So much that he perceived his current wife Margarette at the end of the text as an unusual woman. “Walked back up the beach to where a strange woman named Margaret was waiting for me, smiling…” This was exactly a bitter heartbreaking ending. But it had to happen to get the message being sent to the audience.
In conclusion, the text called “The Lake” written by Ray Bradbury was a well-written and meaningful short story. Including definitely relatable characters like Harold is an example for me. I find him relatable because he shared the same interest as me who liked the idea of refreshing the summer season. Another reason why I found him relatable is that he portrayed such realistic flaws of human nature that made me able to connect with and sympathise. This story taught me how crucial it is to have a proper closure with your past, as it can mess up and affect one’s present life by the pain of their past.
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