Into The Wild Analysis

“ But let the reader be warned: I interrupt McCandless’s story with fragments of a narrative drawn from my own y... ... middle of paper ... ...ds contain a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis, he probably would have walked out of the wild in late August with no more difficulty than when he walked into the wild in April, and would still be alive today.”(194) Krakauer believes that the reason he did not make it out was because of his small mistake. An argument that can be made about Krakauer reference to his own life is does not accurately reflect that of Chris’s, but just like many cases in the world they made assumptions in relation to others and found answers. One will never know exactly what happened since Chris is no longer alive to tell, but this is as good as it gets. Even though Krakauer was biased and skewed the story to favor Chris McCandless he proves to be a credible author. He proves his assertions about Chris and gains credibility by admitting to his bias and collecting first hand information.

This statement is one most indicative of the unique authorial style found in all of Kundera?s works, particularly his most famous novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Unlike previous traditional, non-autobiographical novels, Kundera chooses to indirectly reveal himself as the narrator, who, while omniscient in the control of his characters, poses questions of deep philosophical interest that even he cannot answer. This method has become problematic, however, as many critics have wrongly proclaimed this technique to represent the author?s hatred for the totalitarian regime under which his novel was written; in doing so, not only have they wrongly labeled Kundera ?a passionate defender of Western culture? (Angyal 4), but they also have ignored the larger, philosophical issues that Kundera attempts to accomplish in the novel. While many of the themes in the novel undoubtedly reveal the totalitarian regime for what it is, it will be argued that the role of the intrusive author serves to create a sense of play and freedom of movement that digs deeper than history or politics to get to the heart of more important philosophical issues.

Vonnegut’s self-reflection in the first chapter of “Slaughterhouse-Five” and his inclusion of himself within the novel during some scenes, such as on page 125 when he writes, “That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book” remind the reader that the novel is not entirely a work of fiction and that many of the events really did happen, but it isn’t entirely clear exactly which scenes are simply fictitious. Because of this, the edges between fiction and reality are blurred within the text, leaving the reader somewhat confused as to what is real or not within the text. In “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” Díaz frequently inserts footnotes or references to other media into the novel, which serve to connect the story with real life while at the same time creating the sense that the events of the book could have happened, although the reader knows that they did not.

Their love toward one another makes some non-witnesses hope and pray that more people would act in that manner. Yet, some may still wonder, who really are the Jehovah’s Witnesses? What is their history, their practices and their beliefs? Why are they the most attacked new religious group today? Even many former group members have written books or created web sites that project a negative perspective on the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Robinson quotes Leo Pfeffer, “…if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps ‘the’ religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult” (Cite). This opinion is often evident when a minority or relatively is discussed by uninformed individuals (Source 5). It is important for one to remember that nobody willingly joins a cult; he or she is actively recruited using highly effective coercion methods one may refer to as “mind control” (Source 14). A person can look for many warning signs to determine if a group is a cult. If someone finds he belongs to a cult and decides to leave, he should be aware of the fact recovery will take time if he have been involved a long time.

O’Brien’s provides prose that arise doubt both in his work and other war novels by his metafiction within the novel. A reader could potentially read “How to Tell a War Story” and doubt the “credibility” of all war stories on the basis of how the story is presented. He does this by providing an additional perspective of the storyteller by providing realistic motives in the narration of stories that are often overlooked. O’Brien explicitly says this to the reader as: In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical.

An Inaccurate Review of The Fall of the House of Usher David A. Carpenter, in the form of an essay, addresses Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” by interpreting themes, meanings, style, and technique within the story. His essay review contains many quotes and direct references to both Poe and “The Fall of the House of Usher;” however, Carpenter’s analysis proves itself to be inaccurate. Carpenter repeatedly writes statements of which he claims are true, but then argues contrary points. His use of “evidence” is an extension of his self-negating arguments. Based on the inescapable presence of contradictions and “evidence” that does not support his opinion, Carpenter’s essay is an inaccurate review of “The Fall of the House of Usher.” In his essay, Carpenter writes contradictory statements and expounds upon them in the form of illogical examples and rationale.

Another cry out by nuclear power opponents is the constant reliving of the few nuclear mishaps that occurred decades ago, at Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. No doubt, past accidents have happened worldwide and are important reminders to not play around with nuclear material, but technology has improved as well, a fact opponents fail to consider. Many of these organizations feel that other sources should be used to supply America’s energy needs. These types of statements tag many opponents to nuclear energy as misinformed, out of touch with scientific facts, or just closed minded to the whole concept of nuclear power. On the other hand, the proponents of nuclear energy like President Bush see it as cheap, and environmentally friendly.

The novel is organized in an unusual manner that can make it seem unclear to the reader. Krakauer does not introduce the work as a whole, yet he pieces together the story through different chapters. McCandless’s journey is described out of chronological order, requiring the audience to pay careful attention in order to understand the events that unfold. The makeup of the novel consisted of pieces from McCandless’s diary and letters to friends, but they did not make up the entirety of the story. McCandless pieced together evidence of the fatal adventures of McCandless and included his own personal interpretation of what occurred, causing uncertainty about the accuracy of this non-fictional literature.

Bryson’s claim that the overwhelming uncertainty of the fictional tale cloaks the novel’s supposed purpose is invalid for the likelihood that Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter to successfully portray his appreciation of the ambiguity that surrounded both the Puritan community and... ... middle of paper ... ...gible, understood image of a person known to embody a certain trait, Hawthorne’s vague description of his characters’ outward actions allow the reader to string together their own rope between the several inner and outer dimensions that in reality form an identity; alas, making indulging The Scarlet Letter a more active experience than it already is. Bryson’s argument that Hawthorne’s ambiguity was destructive of meaning is countered by the possibility that demanding the reader’s presence to interpret a variety of themes in the novel was Hawthorne’s aim. Since ambiguity is a substantial part of humanity, whether it be modern day or Puritan Boston, an author can only try to tackle a concept that perpetual, yet constantly developing. The Scarlet Letter successfully dares to incorporate psychology into fiction, a barrier that had little been overcome before its time.