PEAK ASSIGNMENT

Understanding and discussion of text features 3.5-4.0

1) Explain how the novel Peak has been divided into sections. Explain why you think this has been done. Peak has been divided into three main parts: chapters, paragraphs and sections. Chapters are very important in the novel Peak as the author Roland Smith uses funny and interesting chapter headings to explain what is going to come next. He makes them humorous to draw people in and encourage them to read on. One example of an amusing chapter heading was Gasp on page 82, which was a chapter describing the first time Peak stayed at altitude. Roland Smith also uses paragraphs to distinguish between the many different situations and ideas going on in Peak. Interestingly, in Peak, paragraph headings are used, which is unusual as most books dont use them. An example of a paragraph heading used in the book is on page 46 Kathmandu the paragraph for when Peak has arrived in Nepal. The last way Peak is divided is into sections. There are two sections: Moleskin #1 and Moleskin #2. This is supposed to give the allusion of Peak actually writing the story for his assignment. I believe that Roland Smith uses sections, paragraphs and chapters as it makes the book fun and interesting. I also believe this style of sectioning is used as it makes it easier to find chapters, organises the book and finally makes the novel look neat.

Reviewing and summarizing3.5-4.0

1) Create a summary of the section Gear Of The Dead (pg.52-62) using exactly fifty words. Gear of the Dead describes how Peak buys second hand mountaineering clothing because the gear his father packed was too small. To help Peak, a Buddhist Monk Zopa sends his grandson, Sun-Jo, to bring Peak to him. Zopa takes the boys shopping and trading to purchase clothes to fit them. 2) Explain in three sentences how Peak compares to other books youve read before.

Although Peak the novel was well written and very factual, this book wouldnt be my choice of novel to read as it was a bit predictable. I prefer books like The Book Thief written by Marcus Zusak and My Sisters Keeper written by Jodie Picult which are less predictable and more exciting. Although I enjoyed parts of Peak, I found the way Roland Smith wrote this novel was a little tedious and dragged on a bit, where as novels like The Book thief kept me captivated the whole way though.

Identify how texts present range of values and attitudes3.5-4.0

1) In a few sentences please explain how graffiti is discussed in the book Peak. Do you think it is a positive thing in the book? Why?

In the novel Peak graffiti is not depicted as being a positive thing to do. It is described as being dangerous for the tagger, ruining buildings and it is against the law. In the book the authorities acted very strict about the laws against graffiti and enforced that graffiti is wrong. In Peak if a person was caught in action tagging or graffiti writing, they were sent to juvenile detention and severely punished.

2) Explain in your own words how family is shown in the book. What kinds of families are there in the story?

The family or group bonds in Peak range from Peaks actual family to friends, climbing companies and climbers. In this book the main character Peak does not have a traditional family as he lives with his Mum, step Dad and half sisters. His father, Josh, is not present in his life as he is a mountaineer on Mt Everest and has his own climbing company. This has affected the relationship between Peak and Josh. In Peak on pg 40 Josh explains their relationship to Peak: First you dont have to call me Dad. I dont deserve the title. For the time being, lets pretend Im your big brother. (pg 40) In the book Peak traditional family relationships are shown as being complex and split up however there are many different other families in Peak. These include Sun-Jo and his grandfather, Joshs climbing company Peak Experience and climbers bonded together by their ascent of Mt Everest.

Identify techniques by the author to engage audience 4.0-4.25

1) Why do you think the author Roland Smith, uses humour throughout the novel? Find an example in the book and explain how this humour helps you enjoy the book more or less? I believe Roland Smith uses humour in his text, chapter and paragraph headings as it makes the text interesting and fun and makes you want to read on to discover what happens next. One example of this kind of work is on pg82 and is called Gasp

Reviewing and summarizing 4.0-4.25

3) Create a summary of the section Gear of The Dead (pg.52-62) using exactly fifty words. The chapter Gear of the Dead describes how Peak buys second hand mountaineering clothing because the gear his father, Josh packed was too small. To help Peak, a Buddhist Monk, Zopa (arranged by Peaks father) sends his grandson, Sun-Jo, to bring Peak to him. Zopa takes Peak and Sun-jo shopping and trading to purchase clothes fitting Peak and sun-jo.

4) How does this chapter fit into the book, what come before it and what comes after? The chapter Gear of the Dead is significant in the story Peak as it is when Zopa and Sun-jo meet Peak. This is of importance as onwards in the book they have many adventures and go through a lot on Everest together. As the story goes on the relationships between Sun-jo and Peak build and they become good friends. Near the end of the novel when Peak and Sun-jo leave each other for the very last time they realise that what they had actually been through has drawn them closer together. We all spook hands and hugged, and then I recorded sun-jo and Yash taking the those last ten steps(page231). Also another example of their friendship is when Sun-Jo fell on the ice wall and Peak went back for Sun-jo even though they were angry at each other. He nodded. He was crying. So was I. Apparently I had forgiven him (page 202). Before this chapter Peak was supposed to be headed for Chang Mia to spend time with his Dad but we learn Peaks father has different plans; they were that Peak would go to climb Everest and Josh would use Peak to get money for his climbing group. The book describes how, even though Peak is a magnificent climber with an adventurous streak, he was nervous about his fathers plans. Just after the chapter Gear of The Dead Peak makes his way to Base Camp with his escorts Zopa and SunJo, where he meets his father and Peaks wild trek begins. This section of the book chapter Gear of the Dead is a chapter that has its own sections in it; paragraphs, sentence and paragraph headings to divide areas.

Discussion and exploration of issues in the text 4.5-4.75

1) When the child dies at the start of the book, do you think it was Peaks fault I believe the character Peak is not really responsible for the young boys actions at the start of the story Peak because Peak had no direct choice in the matter of the boy climbing. On the other hand Paek should have some blame because by tagging the way he does, he became a hero in the boys eyes, and the boy, in imitating his hero, was lead to his death. When Peak becomes aware that he has turned into somewhat of an idol maybe he should have publicly told young people about the dangers of tagging or asked them not to follow him. 2) Is Graffiti art of nuisance? Explain.

There are quite a few examples of graffiti in our community but they are mostly located on walls behind the shops, bus shelters and at the Foster skate park. Most of the graffiti is rude words or tags of the writers initials which I believe we dont really need as it just looks ugly. The Foster skate park has the most graffiti I think the bold, coloured writing you see in Melbourne along train lines and on larger walls looks great as it makes parks, train rides and walks interesting and it adds character to area around it. It is also an expression of

Identify cause and effect connection 4.75-5

1) Explain how climbing, graffiti and copy-cat/death relate to Peak climbing Mt Everest. The graffiti and the child falling were parts of the novel Peak that made the story open to show Peaks life. This is related to Peaks climb as Peak learnt to climb before he started his trip which helped him know how to climb. Also from the copy-cat/death incident Peak found out how your life can be taken away. These events relate to Paeks climb and helped him with the challenges he went through on Everest. 2) Do you think Josh would have called Peak to climb Mt Everest anyway? I dont believe Josh would have called Peak to climb Mt Everest if he didnt have an ulterior motive. Josh didnt really care about Peak at all. Josh wasnt interested in being a father to Peak, all he really wanted was money. Would Josh have bailed me out if I had already turned 15? I didnt think so. Was he using me? Probably (pg 75) Also by bringing Peak to Everest Josh lost a lot of customers and if Josh was not going to get plenty of money for Joshs climb he wouldnt have brought him. He hesitated, then said, probably not. I was right on the middle of leading a group of amateur climbers to Everest (pg 78)