My thesis for this portfolio is: when analyzing the book, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, from an archetypal perspective, it becomes clear that it follows the situational archetype of ‘the fall’. This, by extension, warns readers of the consequences of hubris and trying to tame that which humans never had control over: nature.
I have used the mediums of a persuasive essay, a mind map, a blog post, and a website to convey this.
Essay:
I chose to do the persuasive essay because I have experience writing them on character archetypes from when I was in grade nine. My book contains a lot of examples of ‘the fall’ situational archetype and I want to use this essay to focus on how it fits the main character. I also chose to do a persuasive essay instead of an argumentative essay because (1) I find that essays on archetypes tend to get repetitive and (2) I like to use things like appeals to the reader and connotation to get my point across. I even do it in my thesis with the use of the word ‘hubris’ instead of just using ‘pride’. I do understand the reasoning of why using words with a negative connotation can be bad, but the way I see it connotation allows the writer to include their feelings towards the subject without directly stating them.
Link to my essay: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12zcZ6B34QCyoLFCIgcgh23Vad56XZzTWjfWWxpqm9vs/edit?usp=sharing
Mind Map:
The reason I chose to do a mind map was because it would allow me to simultaneously plan out how I want to explore my thesis in my other mediums while also working on it. Because, like I said above, the archetype I’m basing my thesis on shows up in multiple different ways, the mind map would allow me to explore all of those ways and the proof I have for each before I begin working on my other mediums. It could also possibly allow me to find connections that I previously hadn’t noticed.
I apologize, the writing does get a bit small so you may have to save the photo and zoom in on it. I tried to find a way to link it to this page but unfortunately the site I used to make it does not offer that option.
Blog Post:
The focus of my blog post is going to be how all of the other characters in Into Thin Air follow ‘the fall’ archetype, not just the main character. The blog post has a similar topic to the essay but because of its informal nature I can include more of my own opinions and hold a kind of ‘discussion’ with my readers. The format of a blog post also allowed me to include pictures, colours, and hyperlinks to enhance my writing and help prove my thesis. This actually ended up turning out pretty different compared to my essay. The informal nature of the blog post meant that I didn’t have to adhere to the stricter formatting of an essay. This allowed me to explore my ideas in more depth as I was able to deviate slightly from the topic.
Link to my blog post: https://eng4uv.video.blog/2019/07/23/the-situational-archetype-the-fall-and-how-it-is-exhibited-by-the-characters-of-into-thin-air/
Website:
The focus of the website is how the overall plot (how humans tried to tame/disrespected nature) follows the same archetype as the rest. I chose to do a website because this topic is going to require some outside research and I wanted my blog and essay to focus mostly on the book. I couldn’t do the podcast because I wanted to include links within the text to where I go my info in case anyone is interested. The links would allow them to immediately find the website instead of them having to scroll down to find the info which may cause some to lose interest. The website will also allow me to have a more informal tone, but not as much as the blog. It would also allow me to list facts and not ‘break’ the rules of that type of medium. When making the website, I found a couple of cool interactive options so I tried to incorporate them into my final product.
Link to my website: https://hermkatl366.wixsite.com/eng4uvculminating
In my opinion, a portfolio lets you fully develop and explore a topic through a variety of mediums. To be honest, I’m actually kind of happy that the final project was a portfolio; my thesis had such a broad range that I didn’t think I would be able to cover everything. I’ve had this problem before where I have so much I want to talk about and explore in an essay but I can’t due to its limitations. This is why I think that a portfolio is so useful. It allows me to fully explore my theses while also showing off my growth as a writer. The different mediums also let me take both a creative and serious look at my topic.
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