1. I’m going to write about Darwin’s concerns with evolution in The Origin of the Species.
This is a weak thesis statement because it is making a claim. The author of this paper does not need to include themself in this statement.
2. An important part of one’s college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view.
This is restating the obvious. The point of college is to gain a broader perspective.
3. The jeans industry targets its advertisements to appeal to young adults.
This statement is conventional wisdom. We all know who the target is. It has always been that way.
4. Othello is a play about love and jealousy.
Why is it about love and jealousy? This is an overly broad statement.
5. The songs of the punk rock group Minor Threat relate to the Feelings of individuals who dare to be different. Their songs are just composed of pure emotion. Pure emotion is very important in music, because it serves as a vehicle to convey the important message of individuality. Minor Threat’s songs are meaningful to me because I can identify with them.
This statement is identifying with the author. It can be argued based on personal bias. The claims basis is personal and lacks evidence/ support.
Telling a True War Story
The compellation of short stories “The Things They Carried” includes countless situations involving the strong emotional subject matter associated with the Vietnam War. Author and ex- soldier Tim O’Brien, uses numerous characters throughout his tales as a way of reflecting the multiple processes and questions that war creates. When reading these narratives and accounts of combat like in the short stories “Speaking of Courage “and “How to Tell a True War Story”, one question arises time and again: How can a true war story be told? Like all stories, it can only be told by integrating actual events with personal experience. Facts alone do not portray a true story “A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe (O’Brien, 78). The combination of informational fine points and actual gut feelings fluently lead to O’Brien’s proverbial and greater picture. They feed and balance one another. Their marriage becomes an intellectual legacy created by this narrator, which is intended to outlive only perfect details or isolated emotional remembrance.
How can a true war story be told?
This is the question I am attempting to answer while writing my essay. It is the underlying theme to all O’Brien’s writings in “The Things They Carried”. Researching Tim O’Brien’s past and identifying when his characters are mirroring his traits, helps to answer this question. Using this angle helps to solidify my thesis statement as O’Brien interviews and his texts easily support my theory. I do plan on getting more specific as I tie all of my paper together next week. I tend to find the answers, then the more exact question I want to focus on.
Works Cited:
O’Brien, Tim. “The Things They Carried.” New York: Mariner Books, 2009.Print.
