Anaytical Roughdraft

Mat Brown

Prime Directive Textual Analysis

Eng Comp 1010

The Prime Directive uses the world of Star Trek to show ironic similarities between the events in Iraq and the adventures of Starship Enterprise from the Perspective of a man who has dressed up as Captain James Kirk, the main protagonist of Star Trek. The man, who shall be referred to as Kirk, takes the reader on a trip in the processes of what has been going on in his own life as he attempts to escape the reality of his lonely situation.

The tone is set at the beginning of the paper when Kirk brings the reader to see that he hates staying home because it allows him to think on the aspects of his life in a more pessimistic way. This is seen as the author chooses to give us a description of his home as being bare and devoid of anything that might stand out or make things comfortable for himself. The tone of ironic loneliness is consistent throughout the paper. Kirk spends most of the time away from home around people who he can socialize with yet he seems to be set apart inside his own mind by his cynical attitude he has. He realizes his jaded mindset and this is shown by the fact that he would rather be around the company of other’s where he can’t think of the mind wracking things that bother him in day to day life, yet somehow he finds himself faced with something else. He is supposed to be Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise yet to everyone else he is only “one of those guys who die.” He may look to be the courageous man that is the captain, but it doesn’t show because he is an admitted coward, and he knows nothing about the character he is supposed to be.

This attitude of passive disposition to the world around him spans from the day before to the day of Halloween. Kirk uses this time as another excuse to keep away from the depressive state of his house. It is so barren that every little thing seems to creak louder from the emptiness that is his home while his wife is gone. The author’s choices of words give the story a sarcastic air that brings the focus down to the irony of what he is thinking relative to the world around him.

I have these questions to as you if you comment on this draft.

1. Was it clear?
2. Did you understand my point?
3. Was it good?
   

Domestic Dispute

Sometimes, when we grow up with siblings, we have a brother or sister that is so close in age with us that we cannot help but fight with that sibling. This rivalry can be vicious at times, but for the most part, things take a turn in the right direction, and the pair sees how much they need each other.

Mat and his younger brother Sean are an ideal example of this. When they were younger, the two brothers had so much in common that their rivalry brought them into what seemed to be a never ending dispute of words and hatred of even the thought of each other. Mat was the smart, artistic musician, whereas Sean played all of the sports he could without passing out from exhaustion. It is not difficult to imagine that two boys with an age difference of less than two years would get into arguments, skirmishes, and violent outbursts.

Their rivalry would seem like hell to anyone else unless they had also been through it as well, and this is where we find Molly and Sarah. Not only are they sisters, but they are also twins. Their differing interests and personalities caused extreme contention, which led to battles, brawls, and mean words being slung back and forth. This friction, mixed with the stereotypes that come with being a twin, produced a rivalry that would become so intense that it led them to move away from each other when their parents split up.

Chaos must resolve itself in the end and that is exactly what happens with these four sibling rivals. Instead of the fights, harsh words, insults, and violence, there is an understanding of each other’s individuality. Mat and Sean have an all new respect for each other, and they have realized that without each other, they would never have turned out to be the people they are today. Molly and her fraternal twin sister have come to realize the deep love they have for one another which they will both need to get through the times when there is no one there for them but each other. In the end these two sets of siblings have shown that fighting rivalries between siblings are only a natural aspect of growing up.

My Brothers

Most people who have brothers and sisters know all about sibling rivalry. In that respect I am no different. I have four brothers, and we are all completely different from each other with exceptions.

I am the middle child of a family of five boys and no girls. I am nine years older than my youngest brother and nine years younger than my oldest brother, I was the third of 5 boys, and I am totally different from the rest of them.

First of all, my brothers are all athletic. I could have been were it not for my asthma (which no one else in my family has). The oldest of us, Zac, Played football in high school, my second oldest brother, Chris, played basketball. My little brother is almost identical to me physically but in no other way. Sean plays every sport – better than most I might add. Patrick is too young to tell at this time, but I suspect he will also be playing a lot of basketball in the future. The fact that all of my brothers played sports and I did not brought up a reason for us to antagonize each other. Minor disputes came up between all of us but the major war of words was between Sean and me. To him I was emo, fat, psycho, freak, etc. To me, he was stupid, jock, short, clone. This is only one of the few ways we fought. At one point we had become so bitter that we began to just resort to violence. Among punches and kicks, we have also fought with whatever we could pick up and throw. I’ve hit him with a golf club. He’s thrown a tv at me. The worst thing that has happened would be when he threw a dart into my eye. My vision is permanently worse in one eye – which is never good when combined with my already near blindness.

That’s enough of the violent talk. Now times have changed for us. I live on campus at university of Memphis. Chris lives with his fiancée. Sean and Patrick live with m parents, and Zac lives with his wife in Ripley. We don’t fight anymore. I miss my brothers all of the time because it hasn’t been until recently that I’ve realized that without the fights we had before we would have never turned out to be the people we are now.

brainstorm

Theme - Siblings

-rivalry w/ brothers
-fighting
- favoritism
-differences
-beliefs
-things we had in common
-our parents
-growing up together
-stages of living w/ my brothers
-what would it be like if i had 4 sisters instead or no siblings at all
-i looked up to chris
- sean and i always fight
-patrick is just like me
-zac is my half brother
-we are all different + the same at once
-how would life be if we didnt have our parents
- why is it better this way
- traits from parents
- childhood
- moving
- new brothers zac and pat
- my "twin" sean
- my role model chris
- art,sports,music,friends,etc.
- i miss my brothers
- nostalgia