Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Last Reading
I really enjoyed today's Discussion. It was a great change of scenery to be outside during class. I feel like we also had a great discussion about the reading. I feel as though this reading was the most interesting out of the three war accounts that we have read. The twist that was thrown in at the end aided in this. I would just like to address one of the discussion questions from this reading. Question five asks, "Did Crawford's use of emotional appeal and writing the story as factual rather than fiction have an impact on the reader? Would the story be appealing had it not been thought of as true?" I feel as though Crawford's use of emotional appeal and writing this story as factual rather than fiction had a big impact on me. As I look back, media that has any type of emotional effect on me has been 'inspired by true events' or 'based on a true story'. The fact that the events might have actually occurred gives it the notion that someone actually felt the pain of the incident or actually learned from the event. The fact that Crawford tells us at the end that his story was fabricated in parts is basically teaching us a lesson. The lesson, I feel, is also an overarching theme of this class. It is to question all facts that are put in front of you. Crawford wants us to question ourselves as to why we feel so connected to a story just because we think the story is true.
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I agree with your statement and wish more people had the opportunity to learn this life skill. But I guess that's what college is for, but again that is only if people are willing and open to learn.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well. Throughout this course, I continued to question and reflect upon my educational experiences up to now, and I realized how much the truth had been skewed, altered, or ignored. It is upsetting, but imperative to learn and understand--to ponder over why history is not objective, how the ignored or hidden truths impact our society and culture today, and to be able to share this information with other, if wish to listen. John Crawfords piece was almost humorous in my eyes, to be tricked as a reader through his detail, only to find out the falseness in the end. It signifies how much knowledgeable authority we give to the media, scholarly works, and "non-fiction" texts. At times, societal oppressions stem deep into history and what has been left out, and at these times a raising of awareness to the public is necessary to create the change desired; however, at other times, we must move forward and due the best we can do to acknowledge and be aware of our subjective perceptions and those of others and try to seek a "truth" from both, together.
ReplyDeleteI think the issue of 'truth' is contrived through moral and ethical values constructed by societal followings and congregations. These essentially societal pods gain speed by advocating appeasing offerings to their listeners. Often times, such organizations are headed by passionate individuals fighting for their 'truth.' I argue that 'truth' is neither here nor there, for one decides to join a collaborative unit on the basis of beliefs and opinions. Some might argue against this saying, truth indeed matters in instances like scam. I would like to rebuttal that idea, saying if you initiate with those people, we are not talking about the issues of 'truth,' but about greed, selfishness, and foolishness on your own part.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you. I think they gave us this as the last reading not just because the subject is related to what we're talking about, but because it makes us exercise a large skill we have learned over this course, which is to question everything. I also agree that it is better that it was written as factual because it has more of an impact than it would if it was fictional. It is easy to just imagine a fictional character in war, but it doesn't have that much emotional impact to it. But when there is actually a name and a face and real characters involved, it relates you more to the story and gets you more emotionaly involved.
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