4-23-10 Prompt

Out of the papers you are putting into your English portfolio, which one do you think shows your best work and which one do you think needs to be edited the most? Explain why. Be specific. Provide examples of your best and weakest areas.

I think my best essay was the personal analysis. I felt really connected to it and it was something I enjoyed being able to talk about. My group members said that I was able to weave my story with my famous person well and that it was good overall. It does need a little bit more examples and more specific details to really integrate our stories and to better serve my purpose.

My worst essay is my research paper because I know that I need to use my sources more, not be so repetitive with certain words and phrases, and I need to add more examples and expand on my it serves a purpose in my paper. overall, my purpose is clear and the reader will know what I'm trying to argue in terms of what i'm trying to accomplish in this essay. I do provide some good examples but they need to be expanded more and to analyze them. Maybe looking up more sources would add to my research paper and support my thesis.

4-16 prompt

Describe the kind of things you think Chris would do if he did make it out of the wild alive? Would he contact his parents? What would he say to them? Would he get a job, go back to school?

-I believe that Chris would want to tell people that the freedom of being in the wild will never compare to whatever one will ever feel being confined in a hypocritical, superficial society we all live in today. He would be an activist for forests, national parks, and being pro-green. He would show that being in the wild made him into a better man with more life skills thought could help him. But mainly, if one is looking for peace of mind and clarity of the conscious that going into a forest or to just be surrounded by trees that one can find themselves.
-Knowing that he didn't really have a good relationship with his parents, he would probably not have contacted them but maybe his sister, who actually loved and cared for him.
-In reference to going back to school or to get a job, I think that he would completely avoid it and would just be an advocate and activist for the preservation of forests or anywhere that has trees on it as well as promote being green and saving the earth.

4/2/10 prompt

My opinion of McCandless is the same, that his trip into the wild was something he did own his own and that he felt was right. Like Krakauer said, it was McCandless's intention to go out into the wild without being prepared. The point of his trip was to be relaxing and done without a thought. Though many said that what he was doing was ignorant, they didn't know McCandless for who he was and for what reasons he wanted to go out into the wild. Krakauer did a good job and showing a human side to McCandless, not an ignorant kid looking for something to do. McCandless had a purpose for his trip and Krakauer, through his experiences as well, showed that that ignorance people are calling McCandless's trip is something done by pure spontaneity and with the intention of freeing the mind.

Krakauer did a good job in trying to convince the naysayers that read the book or know of the story but he got his point across by explaining why McCandless did it and the reasoning of maybe why he left everything behind to get freedom in the wilderness.

McCandless is what certain people show try to become, leave all the material, superficial, and unnecessary things and venture towards a clean conscious and find inner peace.

Rhetoric and Media

"What did you think was the most effective type of media in presenting an aspect of rhetoric? Would you have chosen a different media source if you could for the rhetorical analysis project? Why or why not?"

-TV commercials I think because the script and what's going on helps convey the purpose of the commercial but it also makes you feel. you either feel sad, happy, want to laugh, laugh out loud, and everything else in between. TV commercials have a lot of pathos I think but if it's an informative commercial it will have logos and ethos.

-I wouldn't change my media for the rhetorical analysis project but I feel that my postsecrets conveyed easily my emotions with pathos. I like that a picture and a simple phrase can say so much yet be so simplistic.

:)

Group D's Prompt

"In response to the Taylor Swift article we read and discussed about in class, what is one song that means something to you? Is it by your favorite artist? Analyze the lyrics (if there are any). When listening to the song, what images come to mind? Why?"
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Ridin' Solo by Jason DeRulo:

"I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine, I'm loving cloud nine, my head's in the sky..."

"No one to answer to, No one thats gonna argue, no,
And since I got the hold off me, I'm living life now that I'm free"

"Now I made it through the weather, better days are gonna get better"

-He's not one of my favorite artists but I really enjoy his songs. They have some really meaningful and heart-felt lyrics in his songs. this song is about finally being free, having no one to answer to, and moving on from any hardship. When I listen to this song, I, myself, feel free and independent. It's all about knowing to move on and being free having nothing to hold you down. The images that come to mind are the wind blowing in my hair on a hot, summer day and also having that feeling of that weight off your shoulders. I really like this song. :)

Changes in Hitchhiking

Prompt: "how do you think the use of hitchhiking has changed over time?...what do you think is the cause of this? is it beneficial to those in need or just overall too dangerous?..explain your thoughts"

Response:
I would assume that back in the day that people would think the people asking for rides were harmless and in need of some help. So people would gladly give them a ride to wherever. As time went on and movies portrayed hitchhikers as killers and psychos, people have been reluctant to trust people and would simply ignore them.
I can say I wouldn't trust people asking for rides, movies have influenced me too much haha. Even though I would give them a ride, I don't want run the risk of dying. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

Gallien Response 101.25

From the moment Alex got in the car, Gallien was thinking about Alex's motives for the trip. Gallien tried to provide him some equipment, take him to a better place, and even offered his advice to him about all kinds of things. However, Alex wasn't really into getting any help from anyone. I would've done the same thing as Gallien though, let the kid learn from his own mistakes and do what he wants to do. Alex tried to persuade people that he had a lot of experience and that knew what he was doing. If I were Gallien , I would think about Alex's smarts that has shown in his life including that degree from Emory University and since he thinks he's fine without any help to just leave him to do what he wants. Gallien didn't call the police because he knew Alex had a plan and determination. Gallien knew calling would only lead to problems for the kid. I felt like Gallien's decision came at the last few seconds, weighing the best possible option of what was going to happen and making a correct decision, sadly he made the wrong one.