Blog Entry #2

In the book “Into the Wild,” Christopher Johnson McCandless get’s fed up with the lies and decietful ways of society.  He embarks on a journey to Alaska after burning his identity and all of his money.  You get to experience his journey across country and get to know all of the different people he meets along the way.  He meets many different archetypes along his way and each affects him in a different way.

I believe that Christopher himself is a Seeker.  His journey to Alaska is in search for a better life, and he comes in touch with his inner self. Since he is a Seeker, he seems to take on tasks that are seemingly impossible.  He shows most of the  characterics of Seeker before and after his journey.

One of the people he meets along the way is Ronald Franz.  He would be categorized as a Caregiver.  He tries to convince Chris to come back to society and use his education instead of going to Alaska.  He shows great compasion toward Chris and asks to adopt him so that he could carry on his family name.  He tries to kill himself in the end when he hears about Christophers death showing his Selfishness.

Another person that he comes across in his trip is Wayne Westerberg. He would be put in the Fool category because he is always trying to make every moment enjoyable. He has a very upbeat personality and believes that things happen for a reason.  He imploys Chris on his farm, so he gets to spend alot of time with him.  He has talks with Chris about freedom and living life to the fullest.

Free Verse

Im a fool.

I live free and easy,

and always admire the moment im in.

Don’t be fooled yourself.

I will never step up and take reponsibility for things.

I trust everyone I meet,

only to fall victim to the cruelty that the world is made of.

But hey, shit happens right?

Critical Response #1

Critical approach was something that seemed to stump me for the longest time.  I think that I now have a grasp on what it means. Critical approach is how people understand the media that they consume.  I think that as we read it also helps give reason to the people and events of the story.  Without the underlying details about what the author means when describing emotions then we can’t understand what they really mean.

The movie that I chose to critically analyze is Seven Pounds. It is sort of a sad movie, but it also paints a picture on how traumatic events affect people.  It is about a man that is involved in a car crash that kills his fiancé and six others. He blames the crash on himself and vows that he will help make seven people’s lives better before he kills himself.  He continued to have flash backs and nightmares about the event. According to Wikipedia, “Diagnostic symptoms include re-experiencing original trauma(s), by means of flashbacks or nightmares,” this may be a leading cause to why he wanted to commit suicide.

I think that situations of PTSD are something that happens more than most people are aware of.  I believe that this is a great portrayal of how this can affect someone’s life in great ways.  The main point in this movie can be argued, either it is to make people aware about the effects of PTSD, or that even in the worst of times people can do good.  I do feel that they somewhat downplayed the seriousness of this disorder in order to make the movie more entertaining.  This movie helps us realize that events in our life help shape who we are and what we do.  It is not always something good that comes from these events, but either way without them we would all be exactly alike. Every action that we make throughout life can effect someone elses life permanately.

My analysis was critical because of the way I percieve the message being sent.  Some people may argue that they don’t think events shape our lives,  but that our lives shape the events.  I feel that everything in life happens for a reason and that events, good or bad, are ways of molding us into the people we are suppost to be.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder

Tanka

African journey,

drawn to this place by gods grace.

Worried of dangers,

I hope that travel is safe.

The time  is now for the flight.

Blog Entry #1

Well I am not a big person on sad stories, but I am going to share one since it was a life changing one for me.  When I was in 8th grade I was just in the beginning stages of growing as a person, and athlete.  My idle growing up was Bruno Iorfido who wrestled for Ridgway High school and UPJ.  He had just recently earned All-American status in his junior year at Pitt-Johnstown.  I remember how happy I was watching the live feed on the internet.  Over the next summer he coached our Free-style wrestling team and helped us get ready for the varsity season coming up.  I was set to leave for wrestling camp by myself for half the summer. The night before leaving we received a phone call late at night and no one got to the phone before the answering machine picked up, so when we answered the call, it was also playing over the machine.  It was my grandma who had come upon a terrible car crash that she thought my sister was in.  We told her she wasn’t, that she was home.  She then began to tell us that it was Bruno and some of the local guys.  When I heard her scream saying that he was dead I went into a state of anger and disbelief. How could he possibly be dead? I just left practice with him a few hours ago.  It is a phone call that I wish I never would have heard.  The next day the town was in a state of morning and my parents still made me ship off to wrestling camp.  I was such an emotional wreck.  I was all alone and torn from my friend, coach, and idle being taken the night before.  When I got to camp we had to go right to practice and I was not paying any attention to the coach.  He yelled at me and told me to stop being a baby and get working.  From that day forward I had a sense of insanity when I worked out.  The rest of the summer i ended up meeting many college coaches and college wrestlers than pushed me and encouraged me to put all i have into every moment that I trained.  Some of the people who helped me make it through the hardships of that summer are still a part of my life today.  They were brought to me in an abstract way but none the less have played a major role in guiding and pushing me throughout my life. Whenever I would think that I was getting tired, or I would start to feel sorry for myself, I would hear that phone call playing in my head and the coach yelling at me to work harder.  It gave me a drive that was almost un human like. Throughout my high school career I used that drive and anger to my advantage.  I out worked everyone so much that I excelled very quickly.  My high school had an award in honor of Bruno and I ended up winning it all four years.  His memory and hard work helped me go on to break the all time wins record, held by him, and end my high school career 156-13.  On the way I placed at states three times and won the title my junior year.  I always remember how he told us that if you work hard anything was possible, and that as wrestles we were bound to be brothers for life. In honor of him some of the wrestlers and I got tattoos that say “Brothers for Life”.  Now that I am done with wrestling and I have moved on from the countless hours of training.  I almost feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.  The chill of that phone call that used to run through my head never seems to come anymore.  I now just always have this great feeling about life and how unexpectedly things can happen.  It has made me in to the person that I am today.  I never let a moment go by without remembering that things could be worse and that I may never get this chance again.  Throughout the journey of life we will all encounter challenges that may seem unfair, or unbeatable, but if you push through the hardships there is light at the end of the tunnel.  I will always be greatful for the time that I got to spend with Bruno. Nothing can ever take away the countless lessons he has taught me, the memories we shared, or the laughs we had.  I can only hope that as i continue on this journey I remembered that I am lucky just to be alive.  I hope to always remember that no matter what we go through that if we just stay the course then we will make ir through. We can only hope that the good times are more plentiful than the bad, and that we are blessed enough to live a long healthy life.

Imagery

“This class will be hell”, Marlen says.

A dark cloudy feeling comes over me,

Like a bad dream is about to begin.

It’s like staring down the gauntlet,

at the end is bright blue skies.

So I take the leap like a bird on first flight,

Like walking on a wire thats not pulled tight.

Im A Fool

Fool

The Fool finds freedom through unconventionality and a capacity to enjoy every moment. The Fool lightens us up, finds clever, innovative, and fun ways around obstacles–intellectual or physical. At worst, Fools are irresponsible. At best, Fools live lives of joy because they live fully every moment.

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