MASH

To address the isssue of impact on societey, I chose to analyze the television show MASH. This is a show that was on in the 70's that dealt with a group of military doctors during the Korean War. This show has impacted American culture through the aspect that it allows us to see soldiers in a different light. Before this, there was never really any depiction of what it was like to be in the army, and have to deal with people dying all of the time. This has changed the way that we view people in the army, and gives us much more respect for them. This show also portrayed people as making the best out of their bad situations. These people were in the middle of a war and they were still able to joke around and have fun while doing there job. This is also different from other shows like it, because it focused more on the medical team, as opposed to the soldiers on the front lines. When most people think about war all they think about is the people actually fighting, and forget about the people who patch up woulnds and save other lives. These people are doing just as much to save the wounded soldiers, and are as vital as any other piece in the military. This is why they are still around today, because we need their help too. It is also unique in a way that they managed to also lighten the mood with jokes and fun. Not many shows would use such a manner to depict the military. The main issue that I will be covering will be the portayal of the army, and how we have a much better understanding of the work that they do. We can appreciate them more, now that we have been given a behind-the-scenes look at what they have to go through day in and day out.

Description

Hampl's reason for writing about description, is really quite simple. she is trying to prove that when writing a personal story, describing things is the most important aspect. Not only do you have to describe what you are talking about, but you have to go in depth so that it can help to tell the story. If you put enough detail into something, then it could possibly tell its own story, like the tea cup that Hampl talks about. It is easier for the reader to understand something, if they can create a vivid image in their head. She also manages to be very descriptive in her writing about description. The last couple paragraphs were important to her story, because it was a prime example of the art of description. She could have simply told us that this kid came to her office to ask about his paper. But she included the fact that is was snowing like hell outside and everything was closed. This helps to make the circumstances seem all the more intense and important. The student even went through the snow to find out that he should just write about growing up in a boring place like Friedley. This draws the reader in, because many of us have felt like, at points in our life, that we have done nothing interesting.

Walt and Krakauer

I think that it was a great idea for Krakauer to include the chapters about his youth, as well as McCandless' father. It gave us more insight as to the reasons that Chris might have gone to Alaska to do his adventure. We found out that his dad was involved with some other woman, which gave Chris a negative view towards his father. It made Chris seem not as crazy or stupid, which is exactly why Krakauer chose to include this. Krakauer shows us that there are other people in the world who have ambitions like Chris did. I think it mainly reinforced my views of Chris, as I was already starting to understand some of his logic behind his actions. I could also feel for some of what Chris had to go through, in a way, since my parents got divorced and then had to witness my mom getting married again. It may not be exactly the same, but I have some sort of understanding as to what he went through. This also gives us some insight as to why Krakauer was so interested by this story. Before this, I was somewhat curious as to why Krakauer wrote about this.