Best and Worst Work.

I feel that my best work is my Personal Anecdote essay. I have always written my best when it was about something that I had emotional interest vested in it. I tend to write clearer because the meaning and purpose is important for me because I feel compelled to accurately share my own personal situation to the best of my ability more so than a generic analytical argument. Therefore, this also means that when I used quotes from Krakauer's Into the Wild, I was extremely critical in my selections.

The essay I feel needs the most work is my Chris McCandless essay. I put the least effort into this essay, and it was simply because I was bored with the topic. But, that excuse SUCKS, so what I need to do better is fix the parts of an essay that are easy to gloss over when lazy: introduce sources, formatting errors, grammatical errors, and input my image correctly into the essay.

Krakauer is the man (not "krocker" Kelsey.)

I thoroughly DIGGED this novel, and it is in large part due to Krakauer. I feel that he captivated my interest through his use of epigraphs and his own personal anecdotes. The story of Chris McCandless could have stopped in the summer of 1992 as just another tragic story of a young adult killed by his own curiosity and ambitions, but Krakauer made this story important. His view points, and obvious bias toward Chris, made this story unique and forced the reader to reflect on society and his or her own life. His use of Thoreau and Emerson in his epigraph showed that his theme was timeless. His own personal story about conquering the Devils Thumb gave us a seemingly identical story that didn't end in tragedy. This incite was why I enjoyed this story so much.

Primary Source

The Graduate believes that among family that is dysfunction, at some point it is up to you to break out of it. The movie and book alike show Benjamin at first consumed by it and by the end liberated by it. His character development throughout the story supports this. I completely agree with this point of view and plan to discuss my life and psychological undertones to support this.

You should care about this research because this is a universal issue when "graduating" to adulthood and life. I will show that society and family can only hold you back if you let it.

Research Paper

The topic of my paper is how I feel the family dynamics in America are continually struggling to define itself and thus resulting in several emotional problems. Divorce and displaced family's are increasingly becoming the norm in American families today. The Graduate demonstrates this in the 1960's with a rich suburban family in Beverly Hills. I plan to use this research paper to answer the questions to how and why this is becoming a trend in contemporary family culture today.

The Graduate is a perfect film and movie to demonstrate these issues because it delves into the issues people feel more comfortable ignoring. That is why I want to write a paper about this topic, because I feel no one else will.

I feel that his recount of Chris's story is more credible in light of Krakauer's self expression. He shows us that he too had similar motives in escaping society and finding oneself. I find it even more interesting how Krakauer claims that after he had climbed the devils thumb that he felt no more closer to discovering what he was looking for. I feel this is key, because Krakauer is sure that Chris would have made that discovery if he had lived. Thus, Krakauer is more credible with his similar train of thought, making it easier to understand the drastic actions Chris took

I feel that these story's enhance this novel dramatically. The Waterman story especially sticks out in my mind illuminating the reasons why someone would do something perceived to be a suicide mission. These story's show that Chris wasn't and still isn't alone in his view on the world. For example, in chapter 14 Krakauer illuminates his own similar views on the world and the wild, thus allowing us to conclude his bias on the story of Chris Mccandless. These story's offer credibility to the argument that Chris wasn't just some special crazy person who went into the wild, but one among many who feel society is hiding the beauty in living.

Taylor Swift is the most amazing artist on the planet. But seriously though, if she can captivate ME, then she is doing something right. I honestly can not pinpoint WHY that is, other than I feel a deep spot in my psyche that is penetrated like no other music has before. Obviously her hotness factors in, but there are plenty of beautiful women across the world who might be hotter than T-SWIFT.

So no my opinion did NOT even come close to changing. The article was obviously written with a jealous tinge that bothered me more than the monotonous topics of Taylor Swifts lyrics ever have. I agree though, more worldly lyrics would make me like Taylor more, but her sound is unmatched.

BOOT CAMP

What I learned the most in English 101 Boot Camp was that Thesis Sentences can be more affective and easier to craft when longer. I remember I spent countless times rewriting thesis sentences, not because my ideas were missing, but to make everything all fit into one sentence. This Boot Camp also alerted me that English as a subject officially is being taught terribly nation wide. I used to think it was just my school? I also learned that essays can break the 5 paragraph mold without consequece. This just reinvigorated my anger for my English teacher last year who gave me a C because I wrote in a four paragraph format instead of five...GRRRRRRR....

Well,

I am Scott Darragh and I come from Redondo Beach California. Basically it is a picture perfect beach down just south of Venice Beach and Santa Monica; and I hated it. As I am sure southern California is a nice place to visit, lurking underneath its complicated and misleading facade, are serious social, economic, and political issues no one wants to admit. So, it the end with extended family in Tacoma, the east side of Washington is now my panacea for what California induced on me.

On a lighter, more simplistic notes, I grew up living for sports. I have played hockey most of my life (yes ice exists in SoCal), and high school football has taught me valuable lessons leading me towards a future in teamwork and selflessness. Animals have always been one of my favorite aspects of life, especially dogs. I don't think I plan to live a day without a dog by my side. I am a solid history major, and leaning on double majoring in anthropology as well...that's about all I can think of at the moment.