Introduction. – April 20.

Hi! Out of my essay, I feel like my introduction could use a little/a lot of work. My introductions (and conclusions) are usually my weakest points in an essay and any feedback would be great, thanks!

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How do you define a hero? It was an irritating question William Ward Mayhugh longed to answer. Born on August 8^th, 1927, William—who goes by Bill—enlisted in the Navy at the mere age of fifteen. His father had died in a tragic accident a few years prior and, as the only child, his mother looked to him for support. Bill was sent to boot camp in San Diego for three weeks and described it as a continuous period of marching with a few pit-stops along the way to learn to shoot a rifle. Bill found this quite boring and tedious. Is this all a hero does? Marching and chanting? No, Bill decided, there must be more.

 

VERY rough first draft of E1. – April 13.

How do you define a hero? It was an irritating question William Ward Mayhugh longed to find the answer for. At the mere age of 15, William—known more affectionately as Bill—enlisted in the Navy. His mother longed for him to grow into a strong, young man and as the only boy in the house, he had to support his mother. He was sent to boot camp in San Diego for 3 weeks and described it as a continuous period of marching with a few pit-stops along the way to learn to shoot a rifle. Bill found this quite boring and tedious. It wasn’t until he was assigned the U.S.S. Tennessee that Bill found any enjoyment in his enlistment. The first day Bill laid eyes on his home to be for the next 23 months, his breath was taken away. The sheer enormity of the ship left Bill gaping at the pier and, many times, he would refer to the U.S.S. Tennessee with a female identity and referred to “her” as a “beauty.

Quotations:

1. The U.S.S. Tennessee had “damn good food.”
2. Alaska was “freezing cold, foul-weathered, and dark with only two days of sunlight” in Bill’s whole tour.
3. Bill’s time at sea was “very scary, [yet] full of joyous time. [It was] like a family [on the U.S.S. Tennessee.”
4. How do you define a hero? “A man that’s scared to death but [has the guts] to do something.”
5. “Sometimes, the body would be too decomposed to pick up so we would take the dog tags as proof of death.”

Goodbye my darling. Hello Vietnam. – April 10.

Stanley Kubrick’s award-winning film, Full Metal Jacket, portrayed the lives of young men as they were heavily conditioned for war–specifically, the Vietnam War. The movie follows the journey of a single squad of marines who went through hell and back during their training at boot camp to prepare for the worst. One of the main concepts illustrated throughout the motion picture revolved around the idea of deindividuation–the act of erasing an individual’s identity and replacing it with a state/group identity. A prime example of such a concept is depicted in the opening scene of the film.

Before we are presented with any footage, the film floods our senses with Johnny Wright’s “Hello Vietnam.”Though the tropical melody gives us that longing taste for a much-needed vacation, after a couple seconds we are introduced to a legion of men sitting in the foreground of the scene as barbers shave their heads. The men are all silent, sitting still as the barbers have their way with their hair. The look in their eyes is vague and expressionless towards their predicament. It is as if they are resigned to their predicament and know they have no other choice but to join the war. The scene never really settles on one person’s “haircut;” rather, it jumps every few seconds to introduce a new member of the squadron. The fact that all the men are receiving the same military crew-cut furthers their collective identity as a whole group of soldiers rather than a group of individuals.

As the music comes to a close, the high-angled closing shot of the overall scene shows all the hair piled upon one another on the ground surrounding the barber’s feet. This particular mis-en-scene is meant to further characterize the concept of deindividuation. Just as there is so much hair on the floor and there is no ability to decipher whose hair is whose, the same can be said for soldiers of war. It is a sad truth of reality but it is the truth and this was the reality and this particular scene in Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket is meant to show just that: the reality.

The Perks of Spring Break – March 31.

#11.

As winter quarter came to a stressful close following the end of finals week, Leah was looking forward to the relaxing week of spring break ahead of her. Unfortunately, her week of relaxation only lasted for a few brief moments. Once she arrived home, her job changed from a full-time student to a full-time babysitter. Though she heavily enjoyed the time spent with her siblings, there were times when she felt as if she could not get a break. Her most stressful situations revolved around the forbidden use of the words “nap time.” The babies just really hated taking naps. Nevertheless, Leah did not let this deter her. As a family person, she chose to enjoy the rough times with her family as well as the great times. Just as Leah’s spring break began, it came to a quick close as well and though she did not achieve that relaxation period she was hoping for, she achieved something infinitely more greater: quality family time.