In your answer you must consider how both ideas and techniques/ features of each text type contribute to your understanding.

Through the study of Sally Morgan’s My Place, the documentary Captain Sarah’s Odyssey, The Door by Miroslav Holub and Chain of Hearts by Maureen McCarthey my ideas on changing self have developed and changed. I have realised that in order to change you need love and support from friends and family and that sometimes people need to change who they are in order to obtain their dreams/ goals. Sometimes a tragic and unexpected event can cause a person to change themselves. These ideas are represented through the use of various techniques such as humour, dialogue, poetic devices and sound techniques.

My Place by Sally Morgan is an autobiography/ biography in which we see Sally change several times throughout the book. Because Sally herself writes the book, we also see how Sally’s feelings and thoughts change. At the beginning of the book, we see how Sally frequently truanted from school. This is genera

In Chain of Hearts the main character Sophie changes who she is drastically after a car accident where she killed her boyfriend Mihn. Sophie became withdrawn from her family and stayed in her bedroom where she constantly ate, causing herself to become overweight. The reason for this initial change was the accident, which left Sophie mentally scared. It was only when she was sent to her aunt’s place that she began the slow and painful recovery to a person that was bubbly and happy with whom she was. The only reason this final change occurred was because her family and new friends showed her love and support as well as understanding and encouragement. This novel once again developed my ideas on changing self as it showed that tragic events can change a person and that love and support can help in the healing and eventual change back to the person they were.

In the television documentary Captain Sarah’s Odyssey, the idea of love being a part of changing one’s self is represented many times throughout. Not only did Captain Sarah have the love of her family but she also had the love of her friends to help deal with her choices. While Sarah talks about changing from male to female the music in the background is soft and gentle which gives the viewer the idea that Sarah’s changing was helped and supported by the love that surrounded her. This same music is used again when Sarah talks about Andrew Duncan. Andrew was a “street kid” that Sarah helped by showing him that someone did love and care for him even if it wasn’t a family member. With help from Sarah Andrew was able to stay off alcohol and stop committing crimes. The music used in this documentary is very emotional and therefore arouses the emotions of the viewer. It also makes sure that the viewer is feeling the correct emotions at that point in the program.

An example of when humour is used in a difficult situation is when Sally’s Nan hoses down the children when a fire is threatening to burn the houses down. This is quite a serious and dangerous situation that shouldn’t have been taken lightly but the fact that Sally’s Nan automatically hoses down the

Some topics in this essay:
Sarah Andrew, Sally’s Nan, Sally Morgan, Miroslav Holub, Mihn Sophie, Maureen McCarthey, English Aboriginal, Captain Sarah, Resource Booklet, Chain Hearts, changing self, ideas changing self, ideas changing, love support, chain hearts, sarah’s odyssey, captain sarah’s, captain sarah’s odyssey, allows reader, program sound, change person, sarah’s odyssey door, fog doubt, change person love, developed ideas changing,