Argumentative Position Paper: Into the Wild
Now that we’re done reading Into the Wild, I want you to come to a personal decision. Author Jon Krakauer said in his “Author’s Note” at the beginning of the book that there are basically two “camps” of people—the first camp is comprised of those people who admire Chris “immensely for his courage and noble ideals.” These are the people who view Chris as mostly someone to be admired for his actions/attitudes/beliefs. Then there is the second camp, which is comprised of those people who perceive Chris as a “reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity—and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received.” These are the people who view Chris as mostly someone to be criticized or condemned for his actions/attitudes/beliefs.
So after some reflection, make a decision. Do you find yourself belonging more to the first camp or to the second camp? There is no right or wrong camp, as long as you can defend your position with examples and details from the book, three supporting quotations, and quality, insightful explanations. Since you are going to be incorporating a lot of your personal opinions into the essay, you can use “I,” just as long as you aren’t using it every other sentence.
IMPORTANT TIP:
BEFORE YOU BEGIN WRITING YOUR ESSAY, TAKE SOME NOTES. ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS AND START ASSEMBLING SOME EXAMPLES AND QUOTES. IN YOUR WEEK 3 FOLDER ON SCHOOLOGY, I POSTED A SHEET OF PAGE #’s IN THE BOOK YOU MIGHT WANT TO REVISIT TO HELP FIND QUOTES AND EXAMPLES. YOUR STUDY GUIDES SHOULD HELP YOU FIND STUFF TOO!
Your essay should be organized like so:
Intro Paragraph (4-6 sentence minimum)
Attention-getter (1-3 sentences) (do not mention Chris or the book yet) (draw us in first)
Filter (3-4 sentences) (here you mention title of book and start setting up your thesis with contextual details about Chris’ story)
Thesis (1-2 sentences) (give us your opinion and three-part thesis) (each reason makes up your three parts) Your “reasons” should be general enough—like a character trait—that you’ll be able to support each one with several examples in your body.
Body #1 Paragraph (7-9 sentence minimum)
Topic sentence (reason #1)
2-3 solid examples from the book to support your first reason
Relevant quote w/ page number citation—make sure you transition into quote (see my example below)
Detailed, logical explanations that help validate and enhance the point you’re making
Clincher or wrap-up sentence of some kind before moving on to your next point[unique_solution]
Body #2 Paragraph (7-9 sentence minimum)
Topic sentence (reason #2)
2-3 solid examples from the book to support your second reason
Relevant quote w/ page number citation—make sure you transition into quote (see my example below)
Detailed, logical explanations that help validate and enhance the point you’re making
Clincher or wrap-up sentence of some kind before moving on to your next point
Body #3 Paragraph (7-9 sentence minimum)
Topic sentence (reason #3)
2-3 solid examples from the book to support your third reason
Relevant quote w/ page number citation—make sure you transition into quote (see my example below)
Detailed, logical explanations that help validate and enhance the point you’re making
Clincher or wrap-up sentence of some kind before moving on to your next point
Conclusion (3-5 sentences)
Reiterate the main points you made in your essay concisely and with fresh language
Leave us with some kind of insightful or interesting closing line
Do not end your essay with a question
Proofread your essay before submitting. Be sure you have page citations for each quote, so you don’t lose points for that.
How To Transition AND Provide a Context for Every Quote:
Blue = context / quote setup
Red = Transition
Bold = Quote w/ page citation
Green = Significance of quote explained after
Example #1:
Chris’ anger was also evident to Ron Franz. Although Ron liked Chris and enjoyed spending time with him, he started to notice something troubling the young man just beneath the surface. Krakauer tells us, “Not infrequently during their visits, Franz recalls, McCandless’s face would darken with anger and he’d fulminate about his parents or politicians or the endemic idiocy of mainstream American life” (52). Although every person gets frustrated from time to time, Chris’ anger seemed to go deeper and darker. This kind of anger strikes me as self-destructive rather than inspiring or noble.
Example #2:
Chris’ appreciation for life and his grateful attitude are just downright inspiring. In May of 1991, Chris worked in Las Vegas for a few months, but eventually got “itchy feet” and returned to the road. Although he realized his camera no longer worked, in a postcard to Wayne Westerberg at this time, Chris wrote, “But this is not important. It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it’s great to be alive!” (37). Most people today would be devastated if their cameras or cell phones were broken, but Chris is able to easily brush it off and move on with his life because he knows that what’s most important are “experiences,” not things. I find this kind of attitude charming and contagious. Chris’ fervor for life is something we need more of in the world.
*AND NO, you don’t have to color-code and bold in your own essays; I’m just trying to make my examples clear.