2/22/12 "Student Metaphors of Themselves as Writers"

           The article “Student Metaphors of Themselves as Writers” is organized to show the different types of struggles students go through with their writing.  Many students who think they are poor writers are scared of writing papers and find them very unenjoyably to write.  Other students find it easier to write and think they are strong writers.  The article shows different problems that students encounter in their writing. 

           The central claim of each section in the article is that students often pick their weakest points in writing and try to identify their problems.  Many of the students wrote very strong metaphors for themselves.    The overall thesis is to show students that they can identify their own problems.  Then students can work together with other students and the teacher to try to solve their writing problems.  The idea is also to show students that they know more than they think and are creative to come up with good metaphors for their writing.      

2/20/12 My Opinion of Wikipedia - Journal entry number 3

 
       I agree with Middlebury College to ban the use of Wikipedia because Wikipedia can have information that is misleading. I was always taught in school never to use Wikipedia as a source so I just got used to not using Wikipedia as a source. When I have done research papers, I have always found other good websites to use as my sources. I do not think it is hard to find other sites with good information.

       I think Wikipedia may be a good place to start researching to get a better idea about a topic. However, I do not think students should use the information in a paper. Wikipedia just gives a definition of the topic and does not analyze the topic with other people views and other sources. I think by understanding the topic by what Wikipedia says, a student can use better key words to find a better website to use as their source. I think teachers and faculty should spend some time discussing why Wikipedia is not the best source to use in papers. They should show students examples of bad and misleading Wikipedia articles.

   

2/15/12 The film compared to the book

    
     After watching the movie I thought that I understood Chris McCandless’ ideas and thoughts better than in the book. The movie showed Chris as this young, nice, intelligent, adventurous, and kind spoken person. He was nice and friendly to everyone he met. The movie showed his parents as cold and strict people. I thought the parents were scary because they were so cold toward Chris and his ideals. I did not think that the parents understood Chris at all.

     The music was pleasant and fit the spirit well. The music lightened the mood when we saw Chris and darkened the mood when we saw Chris' family. I did not really like Chris' character in the book, but I liked his character better in the movie, because he seemed more caring and light spirited. By watching the film I think I started to understand why Chris wanted to be free from society. I saw his life with my own eyes and understood his pains. The movie definitely helped Chris' case. Chris also had a dark side though. He did not fully listen to or try to understand his family’s values and problems. He was cold at the dinner table with his parents after his graduation.

     I think films do romanticize and improve life stories more than the life stories actually were. Movies have music, scenery, and nice camera shots in order to show the situation at hand as ideal or horrible. The director shows the movie the way he sees it in his eyes and not in the eyes of everyone else important.  Most aspects in movies are usually too good to be true or too extreme to actually happen. The movie showed Chris as this great guy, but in reality he left many broken hearted people behind. The views and opinions of the people affected by Chris are shown better in Krakauer's book.  Krakauer shows every characters point of view of Chris. 

    

2/12/12 My final thoughts on Chris

        I still think Chris was inconsiderate of his family and their feelings when he decided to just drop everything and leave them. He was not thinking about his family when he left. He was just thinking about his own goals and feelings. I wish he would of been more thoughtful of his family and friends because they were very hurt by his disappearance. The book stated how his father, mother, sister, and other siblings greatly suffered by his leaving and death. His mother and sister cried a lot and were very sad. The family said it was hard sometimes to get through the day because they thought about how Chris was dead.

        I do understand though that Chris did it to find himself and understand his thoughts. Chris was very happy in the end. He died, but proved to himself that he could survive by himself in the wild. When Chris' family came to visit the bus where he died they found some peace of mind. They said that they understood why Chris went out here to live. In Chris' writings he wrote, that he was happy with his life and did not have regrets. So at least his family can know that he thought his life was a good one.

2/4/12 Outcasts with similar thoughts

        I think that Krakauer included chapters 8 and 9 because all of those people had very similar ideals and thoughts. All of those men truly enjoyed the beauty of nature and liked the thrill of being outside. They enjoyed being by themselves so that they could connect with nature and not be distracted by modern human problems. Adventure and risk were very important aspects in their lives. I think Krakauer was trying to show that McCandless was not the only person who thought this way.  Because of their similar ways of thinking and acting these men are considered outcasts from society.  They do not fit in and because of not fitting in they are judged by the rest of society.   

        Names were of little importance to them. These men thought that names were not important and did not tell anything about a person. Some of the men like Chris and Everett changed their names in order to show that they were a new person and that the people they were when they were younger were gone. They picked a name that they liked and one that they thought suited them. Chris and Everett would be reminded of their old lives if they kept their old names. Chris was reminded of his family, his school years, and his years living in one spot. Chris and Everett just wanted to forget their old selves and create a new self that takes joy in the wonder of the world.