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.

Changes

I listen to a lot of music, usually just to enjoy it. So this was a little bit harder fo rme, since there is a lot of songs that I like, but not all of them mean something specific. If I had to pick one that meant something to me, it would be Changes by Tupac. I'm not to sre why, but I have always liked this song and thought that it had a powerful message. Basically he is talking about how we need to make changes, so that things can be better. He has noticed, that there has been a lot of racism and that it is not good. He talks about how we aren't ready to see a black president, since things are still hard for black people. This song was written in 1998, so things were still rough for him. He sees a lot of people dealing drugs, even to kids, "I gotta get paid". This song also deals with unfair treatment from police against African-Americans. Tupac was known for addressing thingss that were wrong in society through his songs, and was idolized by many people. He states that "instead of a war on poverty they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me". He was a great artist, but isn't my favorite. I picture a lot of racial hatred and violence when I hear this song, as well as Change, since things have gotten better.

Rhetorical Devices

I think that the most effective rhetoric device is Pathos. Pathos deals with emotion and is directed toward the reader. Without this piece, I think that most essays would be horrible, at least from the reader's view. If there is nothing to keep the reader interested or hooked, then they are not going to continue reading. I like reading things that I am interested in or can be persuade about, so there must be some of this in order to keep me on board. I think that in most cases, credibility doesn't always need to be established, unless it had to do with politics. Also, a piece can still be good, even if it doesn't have direct stats or quotes. But a piece of writing isn't complete without effective language and the ability to keep the reader reading.

I think that throughout the book Krakauer has had many examples of the three devices, but it has been dominated by Logos. Krakauer has interviewed many people that came in contact with Chris before he went to Alaska, and used it in the book. This is concrete evidence as to the story of Chris, since these people were around him and got to know him, for a little while. This is good, because this is the only actual knowledge about Chris, after he started his journey. This seems to me like it is the most abundant, since it is there multiple times every chapter.