Thomas Walton

"The Perfect Crime"
We were assigned to read an argumentative essay by Peter Bozzo to aid us with our last project. The purpose of reading this was to give us a better idea of how to write an argumentative essay. This essay is about the movie Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and whether the teenagers accused of murder are guilty or innocent. Bozzo is arguing that they are innocent, but does a very good job of providing both sides of the argument. Bozzo makes it clear what he is arguing and everything in the essay is constantly building that argument. In the structure of his essay he starts by talking about the film. The most important part of his essay I think is where he began to use specific examples from the movie to support his claim that the teenagers are innocent. What I will take most from this essay is making my side of the argument clear but at the same time trying to give a fair chance to the other side of the argument. The other thing I will take from Bozzo's essay is to try to make each claim/ thought in my essay matter.

The short story I chose is called "Leaving Home." There was no author attached to the story which I thought was odd. The story is revolved around the main character Ella. All of Ella's life she has been controlled by her father Victor. The author begins the story with action right from the start. I think this was a good tactic to get the reader's attention from the beginning. Ella was upset with her father after professing her love of a "farm-boy" that he did not approve of. She had enough of him controlling her life so she stormed out of the house. Throughout the story the author uses dialogue between the characters which I think helps bring the story to life. For example Ella's mother says to her husband, Victor, "You should have let her choose her own path. You cannot dictate her life anymore, Victor." This not only provides the thoughts of one character but makes the reader feel like they are experiencing the event themselves. Ella finally decided to not care what her father thought anymore. She eventually decided to depart from her family and dictate her own life. The writer ends the story with Ella reacting too late to a sharp turn leaving the audience to decide the outcome. I really like the idea of the author letting the reader decide the outcome of the story, but at the same time I want to know what the author has in mind for the ending. What I am going to take from this author's strategy in writing this story is to try and incorporate dialogue. There are certain events in my story that I could use what characters actually say to make the story feel more real to my audience. This story was on the short side even for short stories, but at the same time the author provided a good background on the characters. I was impressed with how short yet detailed the work was. In my writing I personally struggle with the description of the surroundings or setting. Most authors make it look so easy yet I have trouble with it. This author did not describe the setting much but when he or she did describe the road I could almost imagine it perfectly.

I chose suspense for the structure of my short story. My story is telling about the last day of my summer before going off to college. I plan to use suspense structure by saving to most important and emotional events towards the end of the story. Not that the events in the beginning are not important, but as the story moves along the tension and emotion builds more and more due to the fact that the last day is coming closer and closer to the end. Like the article says building suspense will cause the reader to gradually become more concerned for the character. I plan to let the readers know my thoughts and state of mind at different points throughout the day. My goal is that this will keep them interested in what the outcome will be. The main struggle I have with structuring my work is leaving certain details out for the audience to think about on their own.


A Hollow World

Aarseth's work about the world of warcraft was very enlightening to made me look at my video game's world differently. Specifically when he talked about relating the game's world to the real world is what I plan to take most from the essay. In the world of pokemon, which is the game I chose, where you can travel starts off being restricted to certain areas until you unlock them by progressing in the game. I like to relate this to the real world by in the sense that as one grows up he/she gains knowledge and experience they will use later in life. This is related to pokemon through the main character growing as a pokemon trainer then being able to take the experience elsewhere.