Mollie

The Arrival – a vignette

We sprinted up and over the dunes, and I got my first glimpse of the water. It had been months since I had seen the beach, but now the hot summer weather permitted us to go further than just our toes. The sun shone overhead, making everyone’s skin a few shades browner. Gleeful laughs escaped our bodies, and I looked out to the water from the hot sand. The sunlight was bouncing and reflected off the water, refracting and changing the blues and greens of the bright ocean. Taking a deep breath in and squinting from the brightness and felt a feeling so strong and compelling it was almost tangible. I felt joy and excitedness, but also calm and home. Most of all I felt lucky to be here. At the beach, in the summer. The only thing I believed could solve almost all my problems was the beach on a hot, sunny day.

We continued at full speed until we hit the water. I dove under and felt bubbles rush past my ears. It was perfection. So simple, yet it was as if the water was a different world entirely. I came up, and turned to my friend, who was also smiling ear to ear. She knew. I knew. Sighing with happiness, I dive back under as the wave crashed over our heads.

Biography for Mollie

Mollie is an aspiring composer who resides in the scenic Southern Highland of New South Wales. When she is not dabbling in creative composition, she plays different sports and studies at Oxley College. Using inspiration for her pieces from different writers and the geographical landscape around her, she has created different written pieces forming a personal portfolio where this is showcased through her texts and pieces.

Book Review

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm is a novel that is considered a classic and is timeless. But why is this? Published in 1945, this dystopian satire is an observation of the world during this time by George Orwell quickly became well known and soon after considered a canonical classic.

Orwell skilfully explores the Russian Revolution through the allegorical, fable style of the novel creating an engaging, interesting experience for the reader. I personally loved the style of Animal Farm, as explored topics and themes that normally I would not be drawn to reading, but the story-like form of Orwell’s writing made this a really easy and simple read for me, but also taught me heaps about the Russian Revolution of 1917, something I knew nothing about. Through the stylistic choices that Orwell made, and the form he wrote the novel in, the reader is taken on a journey about the way life was in Russia during the revolution – through the representation of animals! The use of animals was a stroke of genius I believe, as it allows audiences of all ages and reading ability to read the book. For children, this is just an interesting book about animals who overtake a farm, but as you get older it is so interesting to read further into the book and find parallels between the farm and the real world. This is what sets this book apart from other canonical classics, it does something that not many other books are able to do effectively.