Compare and Contrast

Me and my sister are quite different, some of the qualities that make us different are that we cannot agree on most politics, as well as she is an outlandish dreamer while I try to keep myself grounded.  We also enjoy very different kinds of sports, I enjoy football because of how fast-paced it is while she enjoys baseball because of how slow and methodical it is.
We appear very different from the outside but are very much the same when it comes to core values, mainly because we were both raised differently than our have brother.  My sister and I were raised in a broken home with an abusive and drunk father.  This made it very necessary to lean on each other and look to each other for help; because of this we became very close and grew to possess the same core values of: family loyalty, constantly striving to do our best, and lastly love everyone to the best of your abilities and things will turn out okay.  These values are still near and dear to our hearts to this very day and we are still very close.
Though we share the same core values, our likes and dislikes are very different.  This is in part because of my father trying to force her to be a "tomboy"so, as soon as she got the chance to rebel and change her likes she did and they stuck.  When we were children she liked all the same things us boys did, she enjoyed going paintball, and enjoyed rock climbing.  Now she is obsessed with things like fashion week and the release date for the new Michael Kors winter line.  She is also very different in how she looks at life, because she was the youngest she was given lots of things throughout her childhood and quite spoiled.  All the while, I being the middle child, was given nothing and was forced to work for everything I had.  Because of this, she has taken the life view of waiting for things to be given to her instead of seeking out opportunity.  This has changed in the past year because of her starting college and not being able to afford everything with the allowance my parents give her.  She also is much more emotional than I am and handles stress very differently.  She takes more of the approach over reacting instead of looking at things objectively.  

Ron Franz

I think Ron Franz was portrayed as the father figure Christopher, in his mind, never had.  I think that John Krakauer wanted to show Christopher in a different light, that is why Franz is such a big part of this chapter.  Christopher made a huge impact on Franz; he completely changed his views on the world just in that relatively short time that McCandless spent with him.  I also think that Franz impacted Chris as well, Chris held onto that belt and “read” it often and very intently.  He looked to cherish it just as much as some of his favorite books, which were extremely important to Chris.  McCandless’ death impacted Franz as well; it says in the book that Chris’ death drove him to drinking again.  The last thing to do that was the death of Franz’s family.  That shows how important Chris was to him.  As well as Franz was one of the last people to receive letters from Chris.  Also, the fact that Chris repeatedly came back to see him was a sign of the intimate relationship he had with him.  I think Krakauer put this in his book to defend Chris’ image, showing him as an individual who was capable of loving another person but was just too troubled to do so. 

Joining a group # 5

When I was 17 I joined the Marine Corps.  I left my family and friends right after my last summer as a "civilian" and was shipped off to Marine Corps Recruiting Depot Sand Diego for bootcamp.  WhileI was there I was constantly thinking to myself "what did I get myself into?"  It was not an easy by any means but all I kept telling myself is that I signed up for this voluntarily and this was my choice and by golly I was gonna finish it.  The days dragged on and thing just kept getting harder and harder but my "light at the end of the tunnel" was slowly approaching and the only thing I could think about was graduation.  Once I graduated a whole new set of concerns flooded my mind, "Am I going to pass my specialty school?", "Am I going to measure up physically to my fellow Marines?"  It was exhausting, constantly thinking about what's going to happen next.  Finally when I went home my friends and family were so proud of my accomplishments, and so proud of what I had become, it made all my worries drift away.  They all told me when I came back how different I was.  How I was a changed man, how my values had changed, how my demeanor and thought process had changed, and even how different I looked.  All that happiness was short lived though, after I left home again this time for Marine Combat Training, the hazing and questions all came back.  I once again was left thinking to myself how hard this is, and how hard it is to do this alone.  The Marine Corps submerses you into a very diverse group of people, so to say the least it's a little hard to make good friends, you may have a lot of acquaintances but not many true friends.  Even if you do have "true friends" you can't show any weakness, that is the ultimate sin.  So you push on, gritting your teeth and rolling with the punches.  Things do get a little easier after your specialty school, or at least they settle down a little bit.  After your specialty school you get your Duty Assignment, which means you get stationed somewhere.  I was stationed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.  Once I arrived there it was harder initially but easier over time.  Mainly because you get used to things, what you have to do at work, where everything is located, how your boss wants you to act, things of that nature.  The thing that made it harder originally was you're once again at the bottom of the totem pole.  You are the grunt worker, the new guy, the peon, the guy who gets stuck doing all the jobs no one else wants to do.  Once you make it through the hazing period though, things drastically get easier.  You are no longer the whipping boy and graduate to just an average Marine. After you prove yourself at this point and work hard and get promoted you're placed in a position of authority and things get even easier.