Opal is hope

Marinda Hsu

2016.04.07

      The quote "The secret of an opal's color lies not in its substance but in its absences" tell how even though opals are expensive (substance) but what really makes them so special is because how they're precious, difficult to find and do not appear easily (absences). This quote metaphors the meaning and lesson according to the novel Pobby and Dingan. Obviously for Rex Williamson, he was definitely attracted by the mysterious and uncertainty qualities from the opal. Also, the quote says that the absences are the colorful parts; the unseen parts are often just as important and charming. This is a hugely related to Kellyanne's view towards her imaginary friends—Pobby and Dingan. They are beautiful and brave as Kellyanne had described, even no one could see their attendance. For Ashmol, opal is what he and his father have been seeking for. It symbolized a dream to the family, not only for Rex himself nor Ashmol.

      Annie agreed to live in a place like Lighterning Ridge most likely because she loves, believes and supports Rex. Opal might be an important promise Rex had made to provide Annie and his family a good life. Yet he had not found any. Opals have been in a situation of "absence" for a pretty long time as the family lives in the town, looking upon opals just like everyone did in the town. Apparently in the story the opal was for a moment important to Ashmol because it was considered as Dingan's belly button. But deeply, finding an opal might be a way to warm up and resolve the intense situation between the Williamsoms. Annie could finally believe again into Rex's strong belief into opal. Back to the story, the opal had made the funeral for Pobby and Dingan possible, which made the whole town came together as one, moreover, made Kellyanne felt that her dreams are real. Many events have happened because of opal: Annie and Rex arguing about how real opals are comparing to Pobby and Dingan, and also offering a funeral with an opal without telling their father. For this part, it tells a small different between adults and children. Kellyanne told Ashmol that she's sure that her dad will sell it, but this is Rex's dream of becoming a billionaire and opals are what he've been waiting for with all his hard works. But for Kellyanne, it is just her best friend's belly button. Then for Ashmol, it was just a key to help Kellyanne and also a small dream of his, since he've been following his dad to the mine looking for opals. Just like how opal contains many colors, everyone in the family viewed opal differently according to their purpose. But over all, opal symbolizes hope to the family, no matter how they view its value. 

     The opals are rare and difficult to discover, just like how everyone, including the Williamsoms; how we all have invisible, unseen dreams that others won't believe untill they see it physically. The absences of the opal made its existence more important and precious to whoever that found it or simply to itself, how it is special and mysteriously beautiful.

Reading Quiz :: Pobby and Dingan

Marinda Hsu

2016.03.29

2. 

Rex had told Ashmol once that, ".....Lightening Ridge is now was once covered by seawater and how all kinds of sea creatures had been found fossilized in rock." For this statement, Ashmol responded with this idea relating to Pobby and Dingan, he said—"And suddenly I thought how maybe if this amazing thing was true, it was just possible Pobby and Dingan were true, too". Even though Ashmol regretted right away after this idea, this is also an important reminder about the entire story. For Kellyanne, Pobby and Dingan are so real that she felt physically sick because of her woriness towards their disappearance. This idea Ashmol had is like how everything could be possible; everything could be true if someone believes in it firmly. It is unbelievable that a place where Ashmol lives was once covered by seawater as he imagines it, just like how people might think Pobby and Dingan are unbelievable, but true to Kellyanne. Even though Ashmol had tried to prove that why don't exist, Kellyanne still believes in them. So within this small part of the story, it relates widely throughout the whole story about each family member's own belief that seemed unreal to others. 

5. (Rex)

Imagination and dreams are mentioned and connected throughout mostly everyone in the family. Her mother misses her elegant life back in England as we read through paragraph 6 when she was looking over photographs in the middle of the night. Another obvious imagination is Pobby and Dingan's existence in Kellyanne's own point of view. For Rex, his dream is to find opals and become a billionaire. He is working hard for two years without finding any opals, but his strong belief into opals did not stop. A point in the story where Annie and Rex was arguing about Kellyanne's imaginations, Annie said—"You haven't found any opal in 2 years. And opal's real enough for you". This is a highlight reminding the readers that, yes, why would people believe in opals if him himselve hasn't found any piece of it denies that a little girl's friends are just illusions? If you think it this way, it is right how Annie pointed out. It could be so real and worth paying energy to the opals for Rex, therefore why can't Kellyanne pay as much attention into Pobby and Dingan? Rex believes firmly on finding opals, it is just like how Kellyanne believes how Pobby and Dingan are true. In conclusion, everyone has their unseen dreams in the story that no one else could truly wake them up from it. 

Spring break

       The last two days before spring break were warm and nice in Cheshire, I was expecting to feel the exactly same comfortable weather back home at Taiwan; however, the weather back home remained humid, rainy and cloudy for most of the time when I was back. A good weather often makes me want to walk outdoor and eventually receives a positive mood just like the sunshine shinning. Therefore, the rainy weather made me felt sad. Especially when I have to take three hours of Toefl in the morning, I felt a bit worst, it made me sleepy. I found out that my reading comprehension wasn't as well as I thought throughout the results of all those small quizzes the teacher gave us. The other two Taiwanese students studying in Texas have really good grades comparing to me. I hoped that my English could be as fluent as theirs. They recognizes so much vocabularies that made me wanna start studying harder for either Toefl or SAT in the future. 

    Other than classes, I have enjoyed my trip to the countryside with my family. Because my brother is still in class and my father still got works to be finished, so we only went to the East of Taiwan for five days as a vacation. It was precious for me after a long time being far apart from them. I found my brother growing taller than I am and started texting girls in his class. It was funny how my mother likes a girl in his class and my father likes another, they both wanna persuade my brother to like one of them. My brother was always provoked, and always shouting that he do not like any girls in his class. After finding my brother one day after one day stepping into a teenager, I felt both happy and sad that my cute, silly brother might not exist anymore for me to tease. Me and my family went to a tribe where the indigenous people live, they welcomed us with their traditional meals which were special and delicious. Latter on, we climbed trees, walk through muds, and squeeze ourselves between rocks to walk through the forest. It was extremely interesting yet tiring after using all these muscles I hadn't been using for a pretty long time for being lazy. I felt all these sourness throughout my entire body the next day I woke up. 

    After all, spending my spring break with my family is fun and wonderful. I misses them and was happy to spend so much time with them once again to stay bonded. I hope to see them soon in the summer. 

Pobby and Dingan

Marinda Hsu

2016.03.09

English ll

Ms. Guarino

      I will describe Pobby and Dingan as what Kellyanne had described them as, quite and shy. I think imaginary friends will definitely look special and different from normal human but in a good way. I think they might be the reflections of what Kellyanne wanted her life to be like or how she wanted friends, people around her to be like. Mostly like an ideal type of person Kellyanne admires. In both the movie and the novel, it showed that people around Lightening Ridge are either rude or crude. Which are most likely the opposite kind of people a young girl will want to be facing in daily life. 

      It is obvious that Kellyanne aren't getting along with most of her classmates in school since she've been talking to the air (Pobby and Dingan) as her teacher told her parents. This could be the reason why Kellyanne depends on Pobby and Dingan even more, because she was lonely and wanted accompanies that could satisfy her wish of having understanding friends to play with in a small, sort of boring town. So I think Pobby and Dingan must have been imagined as two really beautiful and nice friends in Kellyanne's mind whom will always be on her side that gives her a sense of security. 

        In the novel, Kellyanne's mother said that she is a sensitive girl and blamed her dad for bringing them to a place like Lightening Ridge that caused her imaginations. Therefore I think her imaginary friends could be really different from the people in town. I suppose that their personalities are very friendly especially to Kellyanne. In the story, Kellyanne mentioned that Dingan has an opal on her belly button, she also said that she is very beautiful. For Pobby, Kellyanne said that he has a wooden leg and she had found them when they were hurt. I think in another way, maybe Kellyanne had made up Pobby and Dingan when she felt hurt and lonely because of something she met in life. After all, I drew Pobby like a superhero so Kellyanne would feel protected and secured. Then I drew Dingan with this dress made of opal's color with blonde hair. Since opal was considered valuable and beautiful in their town, it might be possible for Kellyanne to imagine Dingan wearing something related to opal's colorful look.

Vocabulary set #1 for Pobby and Dingan

Claim

Stating something as truth 

Khan’s and me and Dad were relaxing after a hard afternoon’s work out at the claim. “Potch. Nothing special.”

Wobbling 

Shaking

The noise of a car drove into our ears and a four-wheel-drive police jeep came wobbling down the creamy red track that leads to our claim.

Startled 

Excited or scared because of surprise 

My dad turned around, startled.

Figment 

Fantastic idea, unreal 

kicked the air in the head to show Kellyanne that Pobby was a figment of her imaginings.

Rummaged

Looking and searching for

He rummaged through piles of rocks.

Ute

American Indian people

I slammed the door of the ute in Dingan’s face

Crackpot

A crazy perso.m

Lightning Ridge was full of flaming crackpots as far as I could see.

Mello Yello

Soft drink. Soda. 

hiding my anger in a swig from my can of Mello Yello.

Mates

Another half. A member of a team. 

“I still say Kellyanne could do with some real-live mates,”

Opal

A kind of white shinny mineral 

My dad would come back from the opal mines covered in dust, his beard like the back end of a dog that’s shat all

Fairdinkum

Australian slang meaning fair or true. 

“Fairdinkum?” His excitement always caught ahold of me.

Imaginary 

Unreal. Imaginations 

Her imaginary friends 

Grub

Searching busily or bug. 

too. She said they were quieter and better behaved than me and deserved the grub.

Mammoth 

Extinct elephant. 

has taken out a million-dollar stone and a fossilized mammoth tooth with sun-

Are Pobby and Dingan real?

 In my opinion, Pobby and Dingan are not real. According to the story as Ashmol and his father have said, Pobby and Dingan are Kellyanne's imaginary friends. I believed stronger that they are not real when they were trying to find them and got caught on Mr. Sid's land. If they really do exist then people won't be that angry if they're trying find two missing children. One important quote that proves that no one else other than Kellyanne herself could see Pobby and Dingan was what her teacher said—"she wasn’t concentrating in class and was always talking to herself and hugging the air",this showed more about how Pobby and Dingan are only imaginations of Kellyanne. But one part that confused me and asked myself while reading if they're real was when Dingan got chosen as the Opal Princcess with Kellyanne. I also don't think they're real because I heard of many stories telling how younger children have their imaginary friends (normally in a horror movie and ghost story though). But on the other hand since this novel is a fiction, the setting could be that both Pobby and Dingan are real. Kellyane's mother even prepared meals for them. But in conclusion in my opinion, Pobby and Dingan are not real because imaginary friends are possible to happen for a young girl, also how the teacher reacted, views Kellyanne's action in school all proved that most likely no one else could physically sees Pobby and Dingan 

What did you improve on from first draft to final draft?

First of all, I added more words and give more opinions, arguments on how love has the power to change a person. Second of all, I finally added more quotes either from the novel, from the movie or lyrics from a song. I added a short poem, too, because it reminded me of the situation Lorenzo and Olvia has. I wanted to add this poem in between the paragraphs and also lyrics before introduction paragraph because I thought this might make the reader feel not as boring. It also proves that other people thinks that love can change another, too; showing how many people would also feel that love is warm and the lyrics I've chosen was connected to the act of caring from the movie Like Stars on Earth. This was what I added mainly from the first draft until the final draft. I also tried fixing most of the grammar errors I recognized.