Portfolio

I think that out of all my essays the McCandless one needs the most work done. I think that needs the most work mainly because it was the first essay that we wrote and I have learned soo much aboout my writing over the semester. The main thing that I feel is wrong with it is that my secondary sources that discuss my topic are not very strong. i think that I really need to get better sources, and probably more credible, in order to make my point stronger. It was also pointed out to me that I used somewhat harsh language when i was trying to show McCandless being ignorant and unprepared. I think that it would be just as effective if i toned down my word choice a bit. On the other hand, I feel that right now my personal analysis essay is the best. I think that I followed the prompt fully and that this essay just came out strong. I did a good job of comparing myself to Michael Phelps in a couple different ways, and at the same time making my connection universal. That made it more applicable to anyone who might read my essay. One of the strongest points that I made was about me having a similar conversation with my mother that Phelps had with his mom. I felt that this drew a direct comparison and was descriptive enough to get the point across. I think that it still needs a lot of work done, though. One thing is that I need to make the part about my brother more clear and separate from the rest of my essay. I was trying to show how my brother was like Phelps' swim coach, but didn't make that clear enough.

I feel that McCandless would have changed a lot, had he made it out of Alaska alive. First off, I think that he would have made contact with some of the friends he made along his journey, especially the man he worked for in North Dakota. Through his journey it seemed like he became really close to them, and would feel inclined to go back and visit them. He might stay there and just work with that man for the rest of his life, or do other things. I feel that he would definately go back and visit his little sister. he had said that she was one of the only people that he could trust and that understood him. I think that it would have been important for him to at least let her know that he was fine. I don't think that he would have made amends with his parents, since I'm not sure that he has gotten over the lies from his father. He never seemed that worried about them during any of his long trip, so I don't think that he would have told them anything after he had gotten out, although they would have most likely heard something from his sister. Although he may have realized many things about society while he was in the wilderness, I feel that he would have not required the material goods in society. Therefore, he probably wouldn't get a real job, since he would not want to spend it on anything. He wouldn't go back to school, since he would feel that his life was complete.

Mapless McCandless

I feel that my general view of McCandless has not changed much, or at least recently. For awhile, I have thought that he knew what he was getting into, but wasn't fully prepared. But I don't think that it means he is irresponsible or anything like that. However, the not having a map thing made me wonder as to why he wouldn't bring something of that importance. I think it had a lot to do with him wanting to challenge himself as much as possible. maybe he knew that having a map would have made things too easy for him, which we all know is not what he was looking for. I'm fairly sure that this was not him being ignorant, because I have a feeling that he contemplated taking a map and didn't just forget to bring one. I do feel that Krakauer bringing up these "mistakes" is both helpful and important. This shows that he is acknowledging what people have to say about Chris, and that it doesn't change his views at all. This is Krakauer's way of recognizing the naysayers, and proving them wrong. One part that stuck out to me was when there was the big controversy of whether Chris shot a moose or a caribou. In the end it turned out that Chris knew exactly what he shot, and that the people assumed that he was stupid and didn't know what he was doing. it seems like the Alaskan people did everything they could to prove that Chris was ignorant. This also reinforces my views on Chris, and that he knew what he was getting himself into and wanted to challenge himself as much as possible.

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.

Media Rhetoric

I think that the most effective media for rhetoric was the video. In the video you are able to display more emotion, than any of the other forms. It is more clear to the viewer as to the point you are trying to make and the emotions that are being conveyed. With the Postsecret, there are many different ways that a viewer can interpret what is meant, but the video made it a little more clear and obvious. If I had to do this project again, I would still choose to do a video. i liked making the video, even though it was complicated at times. I thought that it made it much easier to write about and explain our choices. I also thought that it would have taken a lot more thought and creativity to do one of the other two, and that is something that I am not good with. The only thing that I didn't like about the video, was that it took a long time to plan everything out, with the script and the filming.