Saturday, December 4, 2010

Style

Contrast and compare the writing style of the book you are now reading with Dharma Bums, Into the Wild, and The Last American Man. How is the writing style similar or different? What techniques does the author use to focus on the character(s)? Do you find the writing style compelling? Talk a bit about style...how the author does what the author does.


8 comments:

  1. Mountains Beyond Mountains is written in an interesting style. Kidder writes in such a way that you know that she is there, but present the story through mostly anecdotes. It is a lot more real than Dharma Bums. I feel as though through the first fifty or so pages, I all ready have a better feel for Farmer than I did for Ray at the end of the book. Although it reads similarly to The Last American man, Kidder is much more in the background. She offers much less analysis than did Gilbert; she lets the anecdotes dot the talking. I find this much more powerful, and more engaging to read. Another difference is Kidder makes it much easier to get to know the other people in Farmers life than Gilbert with the people in Eustice's life. For some reason seeing these relationships makes it easier for me to justify in my mind that Farmer is a real human, with real human friends and problems, and thus makes my bond to him stronger than it was to the somewhat mythical Eustice.

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  2. Nickel and Dime is similar to Darhma Bums, Last American Man, and Into the Wild, in that the protagonist is seeking to be enlightened. Ehrenreich want to experience working minimum wage jobs in America, she wants to essentially experience the working conditions of poor Americans. However in the first ten pages I thought that it was interesting to note that her experiment didn't entail living an impoverished lifestyle. She notes that she simply worked for the day and then would retreat back to her life of comfort to record her notes from that day. I assume that her purpose was to document the working conditions versus overall life, but I was taken aback by this crucial element to her endeavor. While I find the theme of search for enlightenment common with the other books we have read, I think that Barbara Ehrenreich's journey was somewhat easier than that of Ray, Eustace, and notably Chris McCandless. While I find the book interesting, I wish that the author had completely immersed herself into the life of "low wage America".

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  3. Mountains Beyond Mountains was written quite differently, I thought, than Into the Wild and The Last American Man in the way that the author is incorporated into the book. In MBM, it seems like the author is directly involved in every aspect of the story, but the way anecdotes are described and the way the story is told has a very different feel than the other books do. The other books mostly consist of the author interviewing other people about the subject, and the way they involve themselves in the stories seems distracting to me. I like the way Kidder tells this story. It seems a lot less like a biography and more like an actual story, which makes it a lot easier for me to read.

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  4. The first ten pages of In Cold Blood are mainly description of the characters and scenery. The author does not insert himself into the story, but describes the story from his point of view. In the last American Man, Elizabeth Gilbert makes a point to incorporate herself into the story, which in my opinion makes the story less compelling, taking away from the importance of other characters. The beginning of In Cold Blood is tedious and repetitive to read, only because though there is a fascinating story within the book, Truman Capote drags the introduction out far too long.

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  5. Mountains Beyond Mountains is a unique look into the life of a man that shares the same kinds of qualities that would intrigue readers who ventured into the world of Eustice Conway in the Last American Man. However, I feel that Tracy Kidder builds a profound connection to his subject by traveling with him and experiencing the places he loves, whether it be his hospital in Cange or the shantytowns outside of Lima. Farmer faces problems that more people can relate to, because they can imagine themselves facing the massive challenges that he does while Eustic can be difficult to understand with such a stark lifestyle contrast to 99% of the American Public. It is entertaining to hear how Farmer addresses problems in his unpredictable dialogue and how mystified his audiences are worldwide. He is easier to understand than the deep figures of Dharma Bums because you learn about his background from day one and understand why he views the world the way he does. For me, it has been thoroughly enjoyable to read about this man's journey to curing the world one location at a time by passing on a message of empowerment to people and that they CAN make the best out of a seemingly hopeless situation. It has been intriguing to learn about this fascinating man through and excellent profile by Tracy Kidder through extensive dialogue, anecdotes, and sagas. I look forward to finishing this worldwide adventure.

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  6. In Cold Blood is written in a way that, in my opinion, is quite easy and compelling to follow. Truman Capote paints and idyllic scene of a remote Midwestern town that embodies a great amount of evil that lives within this story. The fact that us readers know what happened, yet are so curious to find out why and how, makes In Cold Blood the definition of a page turner. Since he paces himself and uses so much detail, he creates a sort of suspense, like you might expect in a fiction novel. Capote also allows different voices to tell the story, creating an understanding between the readers and the murderers, the readers and the victims, and all the other characters in this event--townspeople, investigators, friends of the family. The order of events in which Capote lays out the book are fascinating-Capote introduces the reader to the reasonably prosperous town of Holcomb, and the mostly happy lives of the Cutter family leading up to their death. He then describes the murder scene and the early investigations, and shows how the community succumbs to paranoia and mistrust, as the locals are convinced the murderer is someone from their midst. Finally, he focuses on the murderers themselves, two seemingly likable men who for the longest time seem to get away with their crime.The only thing that is not describes in great detail in the first half of the book is the gruesome murder itself.

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  7. In Cold Blood offers a drastically different writing style than that of last American Man, Dharma Bums, and Into the Wild. This difference manifests itself even as early as the first ten pages; largely noticeable in the introduction. Truman Capote puts a large emphasis on the setting providing in great detail description of the infrastructure: shops, markets, residences, roads, etc. And the scenery: farms, vegetation and climate. Capote's style, unlike in Dharma Bums, seems to lack significant insight into the characters, rather providing a vague backdrop establishing a foundation for the reader. As well, there is little to no dialogue--an aspect rife throughout Dharma Bums and L.A.M. Though Capote's description is brilliant, I feel it detracts the reader from the meat of the story. It could end up drowning out the crucial pieces of information. For instance, in the introduction, it is very easy to overlook the first mention of the plot. Without prior knowledge of the story, the murder of a family of six is written as if it is an unfortunate part of the town’s history. To conclude, I find it excessive for a multiple homicide to require 350 pages of super-descriptive text but this is just an ignorant hypothesis.

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  8. In Cold Blood has many noticeable differences when compared to the other books we have read to date in creative non-fiction. Even though I am only ten pages deep, I can tell there are compelling differences in these author's writing styles. It starts out with a long introduction which almost drags on by the end of the first ten pages. Capote describes characters, scenery, and he describes the setting of which the book takes place. He uses great detail and gives readers a better visual picture before the plot begins. In "Into the Wild," Krakauer immediately begins the story of Chris McCandless with the end. He starts off the book with the picture of McCandless' body lying against the ALaskan bus in which he later died in. Before Krakauer begins to describe McCandless' setting, family, or life, he continues the book in the middle of his journey and flashes back to his old life here and there.

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