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Listed under:  Language  >  Text types  >  Persuasive texts  >  Literary criticism
Audio

Radio National: Pink suits and circus wagons in 'The Great Gatsby'

Part of the success of F Scott Fitzgerald's novel 'The Great Gatsby' is the intriguing title character, Jay Gatsby. In this audio clip, explore the effect that Fitzgerald's skilfully-constructed character has on those who read the novel. Find out what makes this character so intriguing.

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First Tuesday Book Club: The voice of Albert Facey

Albert Facey's 'A Fortunate Life' is one of Australia's best-loved autobiographies. Could it be Facey's 'voice' in his writing that touches the hearts of so many readers? Explore this clip to learn more about how the written word can capture the personality of a writer.

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Thinking about story themes

Noa and Francis are two young writers who've had their stories published. Listen as they talk about the main ideas they chose to explore in their stories. Find and watch the clips of Noa and Francis reading their pieces at the Melbourne Writers Festival (also found on Splash). How did they build their stories around the ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: Confabulating on 'Cold Comfort Farm'

Join in the debate about whether the 1932 novel 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons should be considered a classic. The novel follows Flora Poste, a young woman who moves in with her country relatives in a village called Howling. It parodies other novels that represented rural life as woeful, and is filled with delightfully ...

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Heywire: It's all in the tone

Feel the effect of David Martyr's skilful use of tone in this Heywire audio story of life in a mining camp. How does he create it, and what is its effect on how we respond to his subject matter? Could you write or record a similar story about yourself and/or your community? The ABC's Heywire competition calls for stories ...

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Jane Austen: The novel and social realism

Why did Jane Austen spend so much time detailing the lives of everyday people in her classic novels? Listen as Professor Kathryn Sutherland from the University of Oxford provides valuable insights into the intentions and techniques of one of Britain's best-known authors. This clip from the British Library is one in a series ...

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Jane Austen: The secret meaning of the dance

Why did Jane Austen write about dancing in her novels? What could attendance at a ball or local dance tell us about the characters and their relationships? Professor Kathryn Sutherland explains the significance of dances in the late-18th and early-19th centuries and suggests why Ms Austen chose to describe them in great ...

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Digging into the Stanza Stones

Imagine having your poetry carved in stone. What would you write? British artist Pip Hall carved six poems by Simon Armitage in rocks found in 'quiet, poetic corners of the landscape' between the towns of Marsden and Ilkley in northern England. Listen as Mr Armitage describes this unique project, known as Stanza Stones.

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Heywire: Leaving home, leaving yourself

Leaving the only home you've ever known can be tough. For Janet Brown, it led to a serious case of depression. Although she was able to work through this, for a time Janet felt that she had lost everything, including herself. In her Heywire story Janet constructs a powerful image of her condition.<br /><br />To talk with ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: To Kill a Mockingbird

Have you ever had to stand up for someone who no one else believes in? Perhaps someone who is a little bit different? Discover what this could be like as the First Tuesday Book Club discuss Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird',&nbsp; a classic novel set in the Deep South of America in the 1930s.

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First Tuesday Book Club: The story behind 'Jasper Jones'

'Jasper Jones' is a novel that recently featured on a list of '10 Aussie books to read before you die'. Does it belong on the list? Many texts make connections to other texts but is this novel too close a retelling of the classic American novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? Explore the concept of 'intertextuality' in this clip.

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Books shaping identity

Do you identify with a book's protagonists when you read? Shamini Flint says she started writing her Sasha series of books about a girl growing up in Asia because she couldn't find books like these for her daughter. She thought it was important for her to be exposed to characters who were like her - someone who looked like ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: Careful critiques of 'Cloud Atlas'

Sometimes you have to choose your words carefully to avoid offending others. I'm sure we've all had one of those moments! In this clip, explore how Marieke Hardy and Max Barry choose their words carefully when discussing one of Jennifer Byrne's favourite books. This clip is the first in a series of two.

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Interviews With 10 Australian Authors, Ch 4: Poetry with Robert Adamson

Australian poet Robert Adamson speaks to Tom Tilley about his extraordinary life, including his experience of being sent to a boys' home as a teenager, of his life-changing discovery of Bob Dylan, and of the spiritual connection he feels with the Hawkesbury River. The Golden Bird is a collection of his poems written throughout ...

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This Day Tonight: Understanding satire: the 'ocker' Australian

What do 'Borat', 'The Simpsons', 'Gulliver's Travels' and political cartoons have in common? They are all forms of satire: a particularly tricky genre of text. In this clip, explore the concept of satire and how it is constructed.

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Radio National: The original pronunciation of Shakespeare

Have you ever been in a situation where someone is speaking to you in English but you cannot understand them? William Shakespeare wrote in English but sometimes it is difficult to understand his English. In 'Lingua Franca' the linguist David Crystal talks about mounting a production of 'Romeo and Juliet' using Shakespeare's ...

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Radio National: Lies, deceit and bad driving in 'The Great Gatsby'

Questions of morality are frequently probed by writers. F Scott Fitzgerald explores the human propensity for deceit in one of the most intriguing characters in 'The great Gatsby', Jordan Baker. This clip from 'Books and arts daily' on Radio National is one in a series of eight.

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Radio National: What makes Shakespeare so special anyway?

Few literary figures are as widely revered as William Shakespeare. But just how did this glove-maker's son grow to become the greatest writer of the English language? Explore the extraordinary appeal of Shakespeare with John Bell, Australia's pre-eminent Shakespearean actor and director. If you like this clip, listen to ...

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Radio National: The Great Gatsby meets Willy Loman

Different writers can use quite distinct ways to make similar comments about their culture. In this audio clip, explore the connection between F Scott Fitzgerald's novel, 'The great Gatsby' and Arthur Miller's play, 'Death of a salesman'. At first the two texts might seem very different, but are they more similar than we ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: The lost and the missing at Hanging Rock

Joan Lindsay's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is often considered a classic of Australian literature. But what makes it so well-regarded? And does everyone agree? Join in this panel discussion and explore why one person's literary masterpiece is another's turgid pot-boiler.