English Portfolio

Currently out of all three the papers I am putting into my portfolio, I am not confident to say one single paper shows my best work. I believe all my papers need a lot of editing because currently they are disorganized and they need to become clear of what the argument is.
In my close reading essay, I have a good example of closing reading an epigraph and providing an explanation of Krakauer's purpose of using this quote. I just need to elaborate on it more and do not leave the reader hanging. However, I do not close read every epigraph nor do I talk about the individuals who wrote each epigraph. I need to change that in this essay. In my introduction, I need to make an introduction that explains who McCandless instead of jumping right into my essay. Finally, I am too vague in the essay and need to focus on a specific argument about families.
In my McCandless essay, I need to make a clear argument about McCandless's journey in order to show how he over romanticized nature by isolating himself from society which resulted in his arrogance about the treacherous wilderness. I do provide good examples of this but really need to explain the quotes better. I also need to address the naysayer because I know there are a lot of people who disagree with my opinion. Finally, I also need to include scholarly sources. But mostly I need to organize my paper and be specific throughout my whole paper.
In my research essay, I believe I have a lot of strong points and quotes, but with these quotes I need to explain the meaning and how it connects to my main point. Currently my paper is filled with facts, but i need to analyze the meaning behind the quotes. Also, some of my facts are not necessary to my main point. But mostly I need to organize my paper. I use good explications of the movie to provide a deeper meaning of the movie and how it relates to American culture.

Krakauer Research

I thought Krakauer's research methods were successful until the very end of the novel. Throughout the whole entire novel, Krakauer consistently interviews people that Chris McCandless had meet throughout his whole entire journey. A good place of this is in Chapter eleven when Krakauer interviews Chris's family. Krakauer discovers the history of McCandless's childhood and finds out that he was different compared to the other children. Chris marched to his own beat and did not like being told what to do. Whenever his father gave him advice, McCandless would always roll his eyes or argue. I believe Krakauer did a good job in researching McCandless's childhood because the reader got a better idea of what type of person he really was. The reader also discovered where McCandless's passion for the wilderness came and who he really admired.
At the end of the novel I thought Krakauer's research was a little sketch because Krakauer really wanted to know what happened to McCandless. He wanted to prove that anyone could make a simple mistake by unknowingly eat a rotten potato seed. Even though Krakauer had good intentions, I thought he was trying to make his research work. Initially when he first the seeds tested, the scientists said there was the seeds were not poisonous; however, when an article came out about how toxic the rotting seeds can be he wanted to make it work. Overall, I believe that Krakauer's research was well executed throughout the novel.

Primary Source

My primary source is very important to my research paper because the movie, Some Like it Hot, allows the audience to witness how a woman's sex appeal has a huge impact on a man. This also allowed the audience to witness feminism throughout the whole movie because women were so much more than just a house wife. In the movie it showed an all woman's band which was not too common because women were known to be inferior to men. It showed how women are just as equally important compared to men because these women were performing with musical instruments and had a lot more qualities than just becoming house wives. The main argument I am going to focus on is how this movie was the beginning of feminism and sex appeal in the film industry. Throughout time, women were not portrayed as important in the society of men. However, this movie shows how men and women are capable of being equal and sets the foundation for other films to follow. My research is important because it allows the American society to see where our movies came from and how much they have progressed over time. It shows the American society how one women can change the film industry by using sex appeal. I am not saying that sex appeal is the answer, but Marilyn Monroe opened the doors for the film industry to expand the importance of women in American society. Women are hard workers who are searching for love and to become successful in their daily lives. Today, women are able to do whatever they want because feminism started to grow throughout the decades.