The book Flight Behavior focuses on the many contrasting perspectives that Dellarobia sees and is affected by in her life. In this presentation, I have slides showing two different views from the novel on a specific topic relating to deforestation. I include a quote from the book that shows a specific view on the topic of the slide and then two paragraphs, one showing the perspective of the townspeople of Feathertown, and the other showing the author’s perspective. At the end of each slide, I include a critical view on the book by including my perspective.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Alaska Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LsvteBJynI&feature=youtu.be
The experience I describe in this video was one of the most amazing feelings I have ever felt, and I felt it was very similar to what Chris Mccandless felt in his time in Alaska, and I also felt like I should share with you all. So without further ado, here is my video podcast.
The experience I describe in this video was one of the most amazing feelings I have ever felt, and I felt it was very similar to what Chris Mccandless felt in his time in Alaska, and I also felt like I should share with you all. So without further ado, here is my video podcast.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
The Glass Castle-Inspired News Article
Intro: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir of Jeannette's childhood and her transition into adulthood. She faces a myriad of hardships throughout, including an alcoholic father, a self-centered mother, having to constantly move and live in old, shackled homes, and learning to get by on her own, before she was even a teenager. The following is a news article based on one of Jeannette's earliest memories. It offers the perspective of others who witnessed this experience firsthand, as it is originally told through the perspective of Jeannette.
The Tucson Post: The Toddler on Fire
By Kyra Balenzano • June 23, 1963
Three-year-old Jeannette Walls was casually cooking hotdogs in her trailer park home this past weekend when her dress that was laying on the stovetop caught on fire. It reached her face and torso before her mother put it out with a wool blanket. Betsy Smith, the Walls’ neighbor who was present during the incident, said she drove Jeannette and her mother immediately to the hospital.
“I was hangin’ up the Sunday laundry when I heard a piercin’ scream come from the trailer next door. I assumed it was just kids playin’ rough, but then her mother came out of the trailer, approached me, explained what happened, and asked for a ride to the hospital. She made it sound like it wasn’t too serious,” she explained, “but that poor little girl couldn’t even walk! She waddled out of the trailer cryin’ and cringin’ with every step and half of her hair was burned off. Poor thing didn’t even have eyebrows or eyelashes! With her in a condition like that, I knew it was an emergency.”
Jeannette is currently recovering at the Tucson Medical Center’s emergency unit, but is to be moved to the Benson Children’s Specialty Center within the next few days in order to provide a more nurturing environment for her recovery.
She suffered third degree burns all over her stomach, ribs, and chest. She has received skin grafts from her upper thigh to help heal these affected areas. In order to ensure proper healing and to prevent infection, approximately half of her body has been covered with antibiotic-coated bandages, to be replaced every few days.
Dr. Wallace Parker was interviewed shortly after performing Jeannette’s skin graft surgery. Dr. Parker is currently the head plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Tucson Medical Center. “This is one of the most serious cases of burns I have witnessed during my time here,” he noted. “Jeannette is very lucky to be alive. Due to the severity of this incident, she will need to stay here for at least two months to fully heal. I will make sure she gets only the best care during her recovery.” By best care, Dr. Parker later specified, he means a nurse on duty just to care “for her and only her”, and daily meetings with a psychologist to discuss her family, friends, hot dogs, and fire.
The city of Tucson has been encouraged to send their well wishes to Jeannette and her family during this long and difficult recovery.
UPDATE – August 4, 1963: It has been reported that Rex Walls, the father of Jeannette, has broken his daughter out of Tucson Medical Center, two weeks before she would have been approved to check out. Best known as the town drunk, Walls allegedly threatened to see his daughter with an empty beer bottle and stumbled through the halls to his daughter’s room.
It was after visiting hours and I wanted to stop him, as he was breaking the rules, but I didn't want him to hurt anyone either," said a nurse on duty who wishes to remain anonymous. "Nothing is worse than angering a drunken man."
Walls then went into Jeannette’s room and shut the door. Workers admitted that no one had followed him into the room nor went in to check on him and Jeannette during this time. They further explained that it was silent for a few minutes, until the door slammed open and Walls came running out, Jeannette in his arms looking frightened. Her IVs had been removed but she was still bandaged up. Hospital security chased him, but he was able to leave through an emergency exit door to escape. Authorities decided not to chase after Walls for unknown reasons.
“Breaking Jeannette out of the hospital prematurely was unnecessary,” commented Tucson Medical Center spokesperson Jane Glen. “Our environment is very accommodating, and if something was bothering her parents, something could have been worked out very easily.” Despite rumors that Jeannette will be ordered back to the hospital to finish recovery, “at this point, Jeannette is far enough along with her recovery that as long as they pay the bills, everything will be okay,” Glen joked.
However, things might not be okay. The Walls’ family reportedly moves “as often as nomads”, as the family themselves has described on numerous occasions, in an attempt to avoid paying bills and taxes. Local bar frequents have commented how Walls always babbles on about “doing the skedaddle” when times get tough financially. The family has done so a handful of times in the past few years; it was not just the alcohol speaking for him. They have been linked to staying in locations all over Arizona and the southwest, including Nevada, California, and New Mexico.
The Tucson Post: The Toddler on Fire
By Kyra Balenzano • June 23, 1963
Three-year-old Jeannette Walls was casually cooking hotdogs in her trailer park home this past weekend when her dress that was laying on the stovetop caught on fire. It reached her face and torso before her mother put it out with a wool blanket. Betsy Smith, the Walls’ neighbor who was present during the incident, said she drove Jeannette and her mother immediately to the hospital.
“I was hangin’ up the Sunday laundry when I heard a piercin’ scream come from the trailer next door. I assumed it was just kids playin’ rough, but then her mother came out of the trailer, approached me, explained what happened, and asked for a ride to the hospital. She made it sound like it wasn’t too serious,” she explained, “but that poor little girl couldn’t even walk! She waddled out of the trailer cryin’ and cringin’ with every step and half of her hair was burned off. Poor thing didn’t even have eyebrows or eyelashes! With her in a condition like that, I knew it was an emergency.”
Jeannette is currently recovering at the Tucson Medical Center’s emergency unit, but is to be moved to the Benson Children’s Specialty Center within the next few days in order to provide a more nurturing environment for her recovery.
She suffered third degree burns all over her stomach, ribs, and chest. She has received skin grafts from her upper thigh to help heal these affected areas. In order to ensure proper healing and to prevent infection, approximately half of her body has been covered with antibiotic-coated bandages, to be replaced every few days.
Dr. Wallace Parker was interviewed shortly after performing Jeannette’s skin graft surgery. Dr. Parker is currently the head plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Tucson Medical Center. “This is one of the most serious cases of burns I have witnessed during my time here,” he noted. “Jeannette is very lucky to be alive. Due to the severity of this incident, she will need to stay here for at least two months to fully heal. I will make sure she gets only the best care during her recovery.” By best care, Dr. Parker later specified, he means a nurse on duty just to care “for her and only her”, and daily meetings with a psychologist to discuss her family, friends, hot dogs, and fire.
The city of Tucson has been encouraged to send their well wishes to Jeannette and her family during this long and difficult recovery.
UPDATE – August 4, 1963: It has been reported that Rex Walls, the father of Jeannette, has broken his daughter out of Tucson Medical Center, two weeks before she would have been approved to check out. Best known as the town drunk, Walls allegedly threatened to see his daughter with an empty beer bottle and stumbled through the halls to his daughter’s room.
It was after visiting hours and I wanted to stop him, as he was breaking the rules, but I didn't want him to hurt anyone either," said a nurse on duty who wishes to remain anonymous. "Nothing is worse than angering a drunken man."
Walls then went into Jeannette’s room and shut the door. Workers admitted that no one had followed him into the room nor went in to check on him and Jeannette during this time. They further explained that it was silent for a few minutes, until the door slammed open and Walls came running out, Jeannette in his arms looking frightened. Her IVs had been removed but she was still bandaged up. Hospital security chased him, but he was able to leave through an emergency exit door to escape. Authorities decided not to chase after Walls for unknown reasons.
“Breaking Jeannette out of the hospital prematurely was unnecessary,” commented Tucson Medical Center spokesperson Jane Glen. “Our environment is very accommodating, and if something was bothering her parents, something could have been worked out very easily.” Despite rumors that Jeannette will be ordered back to the hospital to finish recovery, “at this point, Jeannette is far enough along with her recovery that as long as they pay the bills, everything will be okay,” Glen joked.
However, things might not be okay. The Walls’ family reportedly moves “as often as nomads”, as the family themselves has described on numerous occasions, in an attempt to avoid paying bills and taxes. Local bar frequents have commented how Walls always babbles on about “doing the skedaddle” when times get tough financially. The family has done so a handful of times in the past few years; it was not just the alcohol speaking for him. They have been linked to staying in locations all over Arizona and the southwest, including Nevada, California, and New Mexico.
It is unknown if the family plans to stay or skedaddle this time around, but Glen, after discovering the family’s nomadic and evasive history, stated that the bill has been rushed to their home just to be sure. If the family decides to skedaddle, the hefty bill will have to be paid using the hospital’s dwindling budget. Tucson Medical Center is asking those to keep an eye out on the Walls family to make sure they do what is right, and pay up.
Into the Wild Letter
INTRO: This is a letter to the author of Into the Wild, John Krakauer, about the article he wrote on Chris McCandless. McCandless was an adventurous man who ventured into the Alaskan wilderness in search for something more in his life and never came back. This letter is from the perspective of Chris's mom, Billie McCandless, to show someone else’s thoughts and perspectives on the same person, Chris McCandless.
Dear John Krakauer,
I have read your article about my remarkable and dauntless son, Chris McCandless, and I felt as if I should write to you to give you more information about the relationship between my son and me. Chris was always so amiable in his early years, however we always knew he was just different than all of the other kids he knew and hung out with, and that is what we loved about him. We loved how easily he could make any of us laugh and how he would put forth his best effort to ensure a companion’s happiness. He had a faith in humanity and a love for the people and nature of this world for most of his life.
As much as we loved him, Chris was never good with the whole family-thing. He always found it “claustrophobic,” like he was obligated to be part of the affection and tight-knit bond affiliated with family. He found comfort in solidarity. He liked being with people and making them happy, but he found being alone was a cleansing and relaxing experience. That is why when he took up running, I wasn’t quite surprised; it is, afterall, not a team sport. Chris thrived off his ability to put his all into running and channel all of his anger and frustration through it; however he also found a special pride in personal triumph. There was always a somewhat self-centered element to Chris’ personality, but it was never an issue for us.
His narcissism started to affect us when he began doing things because he didn’t think that the odds applied to him. In his mind, he was invincible. Through his high school years he began crazy and dangerous pursuits without thinking the worry he put his father and me through. My stress level in Chris’ teenage years was always through the roof, as I was just waiting to hear that Chris was injured or dead trying to climb some impossible cliff or trying to do something that is just not meant for unprepared teens. It was not an intentional disregard for our feelings, Chris just felt untouchable. His father and I even began to believe he was untouchable, until we got that call. The proof he was mortal. That he couldn’t survive in the Alaskan wilderness forever.
Chris’ love for pain, however, has always confused me. The feeling of unbearable suffering derived some sort of happiness out of him. There is a difference between enjoying accomplishments and intentionally putting oneself into pain in order to feel achievement. It is so hard as a mother to know the pain your son is going through and to not be able to stop it. My maternal instincts were conflicted seeing his pain followed by extreme triumph. The helplessness a mother feels when they know they can’t help their son is intolerable. Knowing the pain that Chris went through in his last days of life is heartwrenching.
One of the hardest things for me to see Chris go through as his mom was the depression he went through in college. I had always known of Chris’ dad’s past and I learned to ignore it because of how happy we were together. His past was irrelevant to our new family. The revelation that his father was not perfect and caused such agony to his first family ruined Chris. Chris came back from his trip to Southern California ruined, his idealistic and optimistic nature vanished. People became so flawed to Chris. His faith in humanity and life was diminished. He had no glimmer in his eye, no hope, and as a mom seeing your son lose the spark he has always had, is devastating. The loss of innocence to Chris changed him forever.
I was so proud of Chris when he graduated Emory University. It seemed to me he was strong and going to overcome his depression to acquire a sustainable job. I never, however, saw him building a “normal” family. Regardless of his love for people in general, the rest of the family and I have always questioned his ability to fall in love with a girl. Even if he did eventually find a “soulmate,” he has never found building family appealing. To him, it was a binding contract in blood. Graduation was the last time I saw my son, and the way I took seeing him for granted makes me cringe. I thought he was just going to shake his mood, find some reassuring things that all human nature is not evil and wicked. I hoped he would find out that mistakes are inevitable and that not all of us can be perfect. Sometimes I think he was so arrogant that he believed in perfection in himself, and was extremely upset in his inability to find perfection in others.
The silence that followed his graduation was awful. Walt, his father, and I felt as if he was betraying us and didn’t care enough to tell us of his whereabouts for several months at a time. We told ourselves that no news was good news and that it was just Chris’ way. He didn’t want our help or advice for the majority of his life and, being now a college graduate, he didn’t need us for anything. He let us know that he didn't want our money either. It was like he left Walt and me in the dust. I knew that was his personality though. He wasn’t good at relying on others his whole life, let alone Walt, the man who ruined his opinion on humankind as a whole. Maybe he didn’t like us, but it wasn’t fair for him to make his sister, Carine, suffer not knowing where he was. They were always so close.
Carine, Walt, and I will always love Chris. He was arrogant and a recluse and we just knew to take him as he was. I think he had such an issue when he found out about Walt’s betrayal of his first family because he had such high standards for us. He believed at one point that Walt, Carine, and I were perfect and could do no wrong. I will always love my son Chris McCandless and remember him for his strength, drive, and ambition. Thank you for putting my son’s story to words and capturing his personality in this article.
Yours Truly,
Dear John Krakauer,
I have read your article about my remarkable and dauntless son, Chris McCandless, and I felt as if I should write to you to give you more information about the relationship between my son and me. Chris was always so amiable in his early years, however we always knew he was just different than all of the other kids he knew and hung out with, and that is what we loved about him. We loved how easily he could make any of us laugh and how he would put forth his best effort to ensure a companion’s happiness. He had a faith in humanity and a love for the people and nature of this world for most of his life.
As much as we loved him, Chris was never good with the whole family-thing. He always found it “claustrophobic,” like he was obligated to be part of the affection and tight-knit bond affiliated with family. He found comfort in solidarity. He liked being with people and making them happy, but he found being alone was a cleansing and relaxing experience. That is why when he took up running, I wasn’t quite surprised; it is, afterall, not a team sport. Chris thrived off his ability to put his all into running and channel all of his anger and frustration through it; however he also found a special pride in personal triumph. There was always a somewhat self-centered element to Chris’ personality, but it was never an issue for us.
His narcissism started to affect us when he began doing things because he didn’t think that the odds applied to him. In his mind, he was invincible. Through his high school years he began crazy and dangerous pursuits without thinking the worry he put his father and me through. My stress level in Chris’ teenage years was always through the roof, as I was just waiting to hear that Chris was injured or dead trying to climb some impossible cliff or trying to do something that is just not meant for unprepared teens. It was not an intentional disregard for our feelings, Chris just felt untouchable. His father and I even began to believe he was untouchable, until we got that call. The proof he was mortal. That he couldn’t survive in the Alaskan wilderness forever.
Chris’ love for pain, however, has always confused me. The feeling of unbearable suffering derived some sort of happiness out of him. There is a difference between enjoying accomplishments and intentionally putting oneself into pain in order to feel achievement. It is so hard as a mother to know the pain your son is going through and to not be able to stop it. My maternal instincts were conflicted seeing his pain followed by extreme triumph. The helplessness a mother feels when they know they can’t help their son is intolerable. Knowing the pain that Chris went through in his last days of life is heartwrenching.
One of the hardest things for me to see Chris go through as his mom was the depression he went through in college. I had always known of Chris’ dad’s past and I learned to ignore it because of how happy we were together. His past was irrelevant to our new family. The revelation that his father was not perfect and caused such agony to his first family ruined Chris. Chris came back from his trip to Southern California ruined, his idealistic and optimistic nature vanished. People became so flawed to Chris. His faith in humanity and life was diminished. He had no glimmer in his eye, no hope, and as a mom seeing your son lose the spark he has always had, is devastating. The loss of innocence to Chris changed him forever.
I was so proud of Chris when he graduated Emory University. It seemed to me he was strong and going to overcome his depression to acquire a sustainable job. I never, however, saw him building a “normal” family. Regardless of his love for people in general, the rest of the family and I have always questioned his ability to fall in love with a girl. Even if he did eventually find a “soulmate,” he has never found building family appealing. To him, it was a binding contract in blood. Graduation was the last time I saw my son, and the way I took seeing him for granted makes me cringe. I thought he was just going to shake his mood, find some reassuring things that all human nature is not evil and wicked. I hoped he would find out that mistakes are inevitable and that not all of us can be perfect. Sometimes I think he was so arrogant that he believed in perfection in himself, and was extremely upset in his inability to find perfection in others.
The silence that followed his graduation was awful. Walt, his father, and I felt as if he was betraying us and didn’t care enough to tell us of his whereabouts for several months at a time. We told ourselves that no news was good news and that it was just Chris’ way. He didn’t want our help or advice for the majority of his life and, being now a college graduate, he didn’t need us for anything. He let us know that he didn't want our money either. It was like he left Walt and me in the dust. I knew that was his personality though. He wasn’t good at relying on others his whole life, let alone Walt, the man who ruined his opinion on humankind as a whole. Maybe he didn’t like us, but it wasn’t fair for him to make his sister, Carine, suffer not knowing where he was. They were always so close.
Carine, Walt, and I will always love Chris. He was arrogant and a recluse and we just knew to take him as he was. I think he had such an issue when he found out about Walt’s betrayal of his first family because he had such high standards for us. He believed at one point that Walt, Carine, and I were perfect and could do no wrong. I will always love my son Chris McCandless and remember him for his strength, drive, and ambition. Thank you for putting my son’s story to words and capturing his personality in this article.
Yours Truly,
Billie McCandless
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