Smoke Signals Rough Draft for Essay 3

Dear classmates, 

Please provide me with pointers and things I need to improve on this essay. 

        Thanks

One of the toughest things in the world is learning to forgive. Forgiveness is hard especially if you’ve been hurt badly. Many of us don’t know how to let things go after we’ve said the have been forgiven. Forgiveness plays an important role in the film “Smoke Signals”. It began the role of healing in Victor’s life after all the pain he suffered. Victor took out most of his anger on his actions towards Thomas since he was a child. No child should carry with a pain this big throughout their life.

When Victor was a child his father would always be drunk. When he was drunk he would beat on Victor and his mother. He started to become an abusive man and that led to many arguments between his wife and himself. In one of the scenes in the movie, where we see Victors father leaving in his truck, then Victor starts to run after him wanting to keep him from going. Arnold, his father, grabs Victor and hugs him tight and turns him over to his mother. It then zooms to Victor’s face and all you see is a child’s heart destroyed. Since that day he becomes angry with himself and towards the rest of the world.

Earlier in the film, a fire occurs and Thomas loses his parents. He was the only one that was able to escape thanks to Arnold. As Thomas grows up he develops a special kindness towards Arnold, you could say he saw him as a father role. After Arnold left town, Thomas made a remark to Victor about being fatherless. Victor was already angry enough so this just added to his pot of anger, which led him to aggressively beat Thomas up. But Thomas let it go, because he treasured Victor and they were almost like brother. Victor anger kept growing and he never talked about how he felt to anyone. Most of what he would do is pick on Thomas and no matter what Thomas forgave him. Its like he understood Victor’s situation. Thomas was able to forgive many things Victor did to him.

Victor grew up thinking his father had forgotten all about him and he learned to keep going in life facing like abandonment didn’t bother him. He soon finds out his father died and he has to go pick up his ashes. Not having money, he made the decision to take Thomas’ offer. What he had to do is take Thomas with him to Arizona in exchange for money to get there. I bet Victor was feeling many feelings and sadness at the same time while on the road towards Arizona. When they arrive they meet a Friend of Arnold named Suzie, who hands them Arnold’s ashes. At this point, Victor starts to talk about his feelings and anger that he’d felt since his father left him. He had confidence in her to be able to just open up to her and not even knowing her. Victor then found out that his father would think everyday of him and he regretted all he had done. He really did want to go back but he didn’t have the courage or heart to face his son. When Victor heard this he was relieved. The anger he once felt turned into compassion. The weight on his shoulder was lifted and he was able to get up after being pushed down.

Towards the end, when Victor and Thomas arrive home. Victor gives Thomas some of his father ashes. One of the reasons could have been that since he forgave his father he saw the world in new eyes and accepted Thomas as a brother. After all, Arnold was almost like a father to Thomas ever since he lost his parents. Victor lets his father’s ashes go in the river and he breaks down. His anger had finally ended and he let it all out. It was then he realized he had always mattered to his father and his father was always going to be in his heart.

When you learn to forgive, you become relieved. The anger or sadness you once felt is taken away. Most people don’t let things go for a very long time and they keep it all in. Forgiving is difficult but once you do it you become a stronger person and you learn to see the world different. “Smoke Signals” has many scenes where forgiveness is shown. Victor carried anger throughout his life, which made him miserable to the day where he found out his father always cared for him. He got nowhere with that anger, once he forgave he became a new person and let of the feelings he once felt towards his father.

Extra Credit:Writing about a Film

Usually when your asked to write about a film, it doesn't mean write a summary. Everyone already knows what went on in the film they don't need a replay. What you need to do is pay attention to the things that make up the film. For example in some scenes the director zooms into a character's face, why is that? You need to pay attention to the lighting, shadows, and arrangements of certain elements that make up a scene. To analyze is to break the movie down scene by scene and tell how it contributes to the film. There are many films that are made for the specifics of life, like life lessons, funny incidents and what changes a person. We also need to give credit to the people who make the film possible; the director, producer, and screenwriters. Next time don't just repeat the whole film over again no one wants to rewatch the film. One good hint is to not relay on teh internet as a sources because th information given isn't supportive. Lastly' try not to use "I" because it starts to become misleading.

When I write about a film next time rather then going through the movie over again, I'm going to pay better attention to the techniques the director uses and what is used in the scene. When I am going to start to write my paper I'm going to relay on what I know and the notes I've taken on the film instead of trying to look for backup from the net. I want to write a paper that doenst only show the surface of the film but shows the depth of it.

This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona

I personally prefer the film rather then story because I feel that the film did a better job of showing a bond between Victor and Thomas. “Nobody talked to Thomas anymore because he told the same damn stories over and over again. Victor was embarrassed…” (p. 62). With this quote it shoed me that Thomas was an outcast and there wasn’t anything at all that Victor and him shared. In the film, Victor’s dad saved Thomas and since then Thomas has seen him as a father like figure.

Victor was always annoyed of Thomas and how he always had to talk and tell stories but he never acted like he didn’t exist. With this quote its like nothing held them together, Victor didn’t even talk to Thomas at all. In the story its like Victor wanted to talk to Thomas but was afraid about what other people would say or think. In the film, whether or not Victor was annoyed of Thomas he still tolerated him because they grew up together, despite the fact that Thomas would say things without thinking about a good way of it coming out. At the end of film where Victor gave some of his father’s ashes to Thomas, it seemed to me that it was a way of showing that he appreciated Thomas and that he is like a brother to him. Thomas looked up to Victor’s father and Victor saw that Thomas admired him so he wanted Thomas to have a little part of his father forever. In the story, the way I pictured it was that Victor felted like he owed Thomas something and he gave him the ashes because Thomas had made a promise to Victor’s father. “ But he said I had to watch out for you as part of the deal… I came because of your father” (p.70). Plus it demonstrated that Thomas went just because he had a good relationship with Victor’s father, not really just to be with Victor at this time.

Smoke Signals

Firstly I would like to say that this movie was great! I really enjoyed watching it. I thought Thomas was a funny character, he's always sharing stories and he talks a lot. I had two favorite parts in this movie. The  first one is when Victor grabs Thomas' money jar and pours some of his dad's ashes into it and gives it to Thomas. I thought this part was special because it showed the bond they both had with each other. At the beginning it seemed Victor was annoyed of Thomas with all his stories and especially because they had to do with his dad. Throughout their adventure you start to see their bond. With Victor sharing his ashes with Thomas showed that he wanted Thomas to have part of someone that was special to him even if that man did start the fire that killed his parents. Part of Victor's dad will always be there even if he wasn't ever truly their and for him to share it with Thomas was huge, he included him just like family.

My other favorite part in the movies was at the end when Victor drives off and goes to the river to spread his dad's ashes. He never had his dad truly with him because his dad ran off. In the movie Susie told him that he was regretful of what he had done and would think of it everyday. He didn't intentionally start the fire or want to run out on him but he couldn't find the courage to go back. When he let his ashes go it was like freeing him from what he had done and also at the same time forgiving him. It was hard for Victor when his dad left then when he realized his dad had died but he never showed much emotion to it, he was just always mad about it. At the end while he released the ashes it also released the emotions he had been feeling for a long time that he had bottled up since the moment his father left him.

Rules For Writers Chapter 51

"An effective researcher is a good record keeper", meaning the information they receive is managed in an orderly fashion. One good thing to do is always keep track of your sources and their information just in case you want to add it to your paper. Without having the accurate information on your sources your audience won't be able to go back and look them up just for further research. If your not well organized when you write, a good way to keep track of your information is to print it out or make a copy.

 Annotating and writing what the source says on the side is a good way of practicing your understanding of what they mean. Sometimes most of us don't mean to do plagiarism but we do when we try to reorder the words or mix some of our own words into what the sources gave us. The main ways to do notes is to summarize, paraphrase, and quoting. A summary is the reading in a shortened down version. Paraphrasing is retelling what you read into your own words and quoting is just picking out the exact words the source says.

This chapter stuck out to me because when I have to write a paper I tend to use the evidence in my writing but the mixed up way. I try to put my own words in with the ones from my source without knowing its honestly considered plagiarism. With this information I now know how to do the three types of note taking, it helps to know what the definition is of each one and have examples shown. This is going to help me when I write and need to back up my thesis or the position I stand in.

Summary for Chapter 47

       This chapter tells us many things that sometimes we forget to consider while we write. When we write we aren't suppose to assume that the reader agrees with what we are saying. What we are supposed to do is prove a point. This chapter tells us that we need to let the readers hear both of the sides and not just one. In your paper you should use concrete details to back up your examples. "Arguments of any complexity containing lines of argument that, when taken together, might reasonably persuade readers that the thesis has merit" (362). Its also good to uses facts but facts that are certain which is said to mean that they've been verified. It can also be good to use examples and illustrations but they can't always stand alone. The point of this chapter is to give you advice and steps that can help improve your position so that when your trying to make a point, the audience may consider you.

       The mistake I usually tend to make is that when I pick a side sometimes I will say something that will go against my argument. This can cause me my chance of getting the audience to agree with what I'm saying. For me these kinds of essays are hard because I find it hard to just side with one option when maybe the other makes sense to. To win my audience I'm going to research better and get all the facts before I start writing. I will also make sure that my facts correspond with my position rather then opposing it.

Shooting Dad

"I will have my father's body burned into ashes. I will pack these ashes into paper bags. I will go to the mountains with my mother, sister, and the cannon. I will plunge his remains into the barrel and point it into a hill so that he doesn't take anyone with him. I will light the fuse. But I will not cover my ears. Because when I blow what used to be my dad into the earth, I want it to hurt" (pg.23).

This quote really speaks to me a lot. At the beginning of the story I noticed that the narrator and her father were described as to different people. The narrator seems to not have much in common with her father, they're the total opposite. It was toward the end when I started to notice that they are the same person. Before this quote they were out in mountains shooting off the cannon. When I read this quote it made me think many things, for example she's going to complete his wish off having his ashes shot out of the cannon he made himself. When she says she's going to do this its like a replay of the moment her and her father bonded together.

It also says to me that a part of her father lives in her. Before she didn't see what they had in common until they were at the mountains. This quote also shows her determination to do this by the way she says "I will" over and over again. Throughout the story she would dislike the noise of gun shots but towards the end she enjoyed the shot of her fathers cannon. When she says she won't cover her ears so she hears the noise, it shows us she likes it and this might just be the last time she hears the fire. She wants it to hurt because it hurts her more to lose her father then to remember the bond they shared.