Graphic documentaries, even though some may be too graphic in terms of violence, should still be presented in this class as they help to truly present the oppression Indians have gone through and be memorable for the rest of the students’ lives. Readings such as Custer Died For Your Sins, for example, would be ideal because it is simple to interpret, high school students would enjoy it for its humor and cursing, and because the author, Vine Deloria Jr., is intensely blunt and acute like stories are in dramas, which many high school students in high schools would enjoy. For example, in criticizing anthropologists, Deloria writes, “[Anthropologists] can readily be identified on the reservations. Go into any crowd of people. Pick out a tall gaunt white man wearing Bermuda shorts, a World War II Army Air Force flying jacket, an Australian bush hat, tennis shoes, and packing a large knapsack incorrectly strapped on his back. He will invariably have a thin sexy wife with stringy hair, an IQ of 191, and a vocabulary in which even the prepositions have eleven syllables” (79). In this text, Deloria argues how anthropologists purposely contrast themselves from Indians on reservations with how they dress to show their overwhelming wealth and intelligence over Indians while also crudely mocking how anthropologists pretend to be hierarchical snobs. High school students would be intrigued with the sass Deloria uses in his writing. Another appropriate type of reading would be Native Americans’ personal narratives of their own experiences on colonization, American politics, cultural appropriation, and more. Dawnland Voices edited by Siobhan Senier, for instance, would be a spectacular reading for this proposed class since it includes intimate indigenous short stories, poems, and writings from the New England region. From these
Throughout Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, there are many details that help give the reader a deeper, more profound, meaning of the book 's intended purpose. Krakauer is one of the most renowned American writers, publishing many books specifically focused on nature, and people’s struggles with nature. Through much of the book, Krakauer incorporates many literary techniques, such as connotation, diction, ethos, pathos, logos, imagery, and syntax, to help each reader grasp the essence of the book. These aspects are utilized many times throughout each chapter in his book. By using a wide range of literary techniques, Krakauer is able to communicate the events that transpired during the book, in a way that pertains to each
“Into the woods” by Cheryl Strayed is a not only a story about the journey to the inner
In the wake of the prevalence of industrialize among the United States, the former U.S president Jimmy Carter proposed that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not supposed to be developed for industry in his foreword to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and land, A photographic Journey by Subhankar Banerjee. Jimmy Carter effectively builds his argument by logically utilizing pathos, logos, and ethos to plead with the audiences to take his side.
The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, tells the story of a young man named Christopher McCandless who decided to go and survive in the wilderness of Alaska without correct preparation. McCandless was a man with as transcendentalist-like mindset, an adventurer, an explorer, and a hiker. He migrated away from civilization and society with the goal of living in solitude and living his life to the fullest through nature. The audience was introduced to McCandless’ views towards society through McCandless’ journey through Alaska, and the depressing yet inspiring events that led up to his death. Krakauer creates emotional appeals to connect him with McCandless to credit himself as a writer, as well as to develop the audiences’ feelings of McCandless. Krakauer
In the 2013 online article, “The Chris McCandless Obsession Problem”, author Diana Saverin describes the Alaskan wilderness travel phenomenon along with attempting to uncover the ‘McCandless Pilgrims’ “root of motivation. Sparked by the release of both Jon Krakauer’s and Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild”, numerous individuals pack their backpacks and eagerly step into their (sometimes newly-bought) hiking shoes and tramp into the Alaskan Wild to pay homage to their hero Chris McCandless. Filled with personal anecdotes and interviews, Severin’s Outside article takes a new approach Into the Wild commentary by directing attention to the lives McCandless’s story affected indirectly rather than critiquing on McCandless himself. In response to what appears to be a huge amount of troubled McCandless-inspired tramping stories, Saverin provides an unbiased rationale as a attempt to explain why so many are “willing to risk injury, and even death, to..visit the last home of Alaska’s most famous adventure casualty”.
Romanticism was a movement during the late 18th century that encouraged imagination, exploration, individualism, and emotion. From it derived Transcendentalism, one of the first movements to originate from America and which bore the first American philosophers. These movements are often present in many pieces of American literature and this is no exception in Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild. The historic account retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless, who adopts the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp and takes to the road, only to die of starvation in Alaska. On the surface it appears to be cautionary tale, but Krakauer literally retraces McCandless’ steps, talking to the people who Chris spoke with and even traveling to Chris’ final resting place.
Christopher McCandless, a 29-year-old dreamer, went on the journey of a lifetime to involve himself with nature and being truly independent. He had lived a life of privilege, made amazing grades in school, and even went to school at Emory College, getting degrees in both history and anthropology. Even though he seemed to have everything good going for him, it’s not the life he wanted. McCandless decides after law school to go deep into the “wild”, with no map, no resources. All he kept was a small journal and camera in which he captured and recorded all of his experiences in, allowing people for the rest of time to read and learn about his journey in his book titled Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. This impulsive decision that McCandless made would soon cost him his life, and most people would see him as being crazy for it. A man named Shaun Callarman, for example, believed that he “ had no Common sense. . . he was just plain crazy.” I disagree with this statement, however, and believe that Christopher had a very transcendentalist view on life,agreeing with most all of the great Henry David Thoreau and his ideals, but just made a few careless mistakes that would have been the difference between life and death.
“Wilderness” in part four of A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold discusses the evolution of nature at the hands of humans. I choose to write about this essay because of the connection humans have with the wilderness. I have always believed that nature and people have to work together to live harmoniously on this earth. The human race has used nature to survive for as long as they have existed. In today’s world people are using less and less of nature and more technology to industrialize the planet. This essay stood out to me because of the human aspect. Nature is not a separate part of our lives. Humans live and interact with nature every day. Aldo Leopold states in the essay “Wilderness”, “Neither can be prevented [changes to the world], and
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild investigates the life and adventures of Chris McCandless. The author provides information about Chris’ life to illuminate his journey. Krakauer also uses rhetorical appeals to defend Chris’ rationale for his journey. Through Krakauer’s use of pathos, ethos, and logos, he persuades the audience that Chris is not foolish; however, Krakauer’s intimacy with Chris and his adventures inhibits his objectivity.
Throughout the novel, Krakauer uses strategies to demonstrate comparisons between himself and Christopher McCandless. These comparisons effectively show that Chris was sane enough to make his own decisions regarding Alaska. One of the reasons why Krakauer wrote this book was because he experienced a natural liking for McCandless. Ever since his initial encounter with McCandless’s story while working at the Outside magazine company, his affinity towards the young adventurer grew by leaps and bounds. This affinity came from the very similar experiences the two were involved in. In the author 's note from Jon Krakauer, he warns, “I interrupt McCandless 's story with fragments of my own youth. I do so in the hope that my experiences will throw
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.” (Abbey) These words, written by Edward Abbey in 1982, resonate the ideas proposed by John Muir nearly a century prior. While both Muir and Abbey both appreciate the natural beauty found in the American Southwest, only Abbey recognized the threat of human intervention on the preservation of the natural beauty of these wilderness areas.
The following poems all teach readers the importance and significance of wildlife and the horrible treatment they too often receive from human beings. As everything becomes more modern, we can not help but stray farther away from nature. This increasingly insensitive attitude can have detrimental effects on the environment. Although the elements of poetry used in the following poems vary, Gail White’s “Dead Armadillos,” Walt McDonald’s “Coming Across It,” and Alden Nowlan’s “The Bull Moose,” all share one major conflict; our civilization 's problematic relationship to the wild.
When thinking of the wilderness one might picture a scene from a camp site. Untamed dense forest, and endless jungle probably come first to mind and although this might be one meaning of wilderness, Mellor’s perception of wilderness and pastoral opens our thoughts on how we view the unpredictable and the known. In “Lure Of The Wilderness” by Leo Mellor, he shows the meaning of the unexplored wilderness and the surprises that come with the unknown, while humans try to tame what is wild and create a pastoral environment around them. Mellor’s writing helps understand hidden aspects in the short story “Wild” by Lesley Arimah, when Ada is blindsided with a plane ticket to visit her aunt in Africa. She travels to a place mostly unknown to her, besides the relatives living there. It might seem that Ada does not like to reach out and try something that could be considered out of the norm. Yet, she travels to an unknown mostly foreign to her given the past years of her childhood. It challenges Ada to change her perspective on certain aspects of her life, helping her overcome the wilderness she finds emerged in. Thus, when Mellor’s idea of wilderness in his essay are applied to “Wild”, it can be realized that Ada not only journeys into the wilderness, but starts to let it transform her into a new person, helping her develop a more pastoral environment around her and making her realize that the relationships back in the U.S. meant more to her than she had previously thought.