Belgum1

TommyBelgum
MsMiller
APEnglishLanguageandComposition
2December2014
KrakauersHipsterStyle:Donebefore,butstillUnique
OnedistinctivebeautyofthecultureAmericansliveinistheirhungerfor
knowledgeandtruth.JonKrakauerhadasimilarhungerwhenhesetouttowrite
WhereMen
WinGlory
and
UndertheBannerofHeaven
.Krakauerprimarilyimplementssimilarrhetorical
strategiestoaccomplishafluidstyleinbothbookshowever,hechangeshistechniqueslightlyto
givethebookstheirownrespectivestyle.Hisprimarystrategiesarestructure,figurative
language,tone,andoverallpurpose.
WhereMenWinGlory
isagrippingnovelcenteredaroundthelifeofPatTillmanan
NFLsafetywhoabandonedhiscareerafter9/11toservehiscountryasanArmyRanger.The
UnitedStatesGovernmentattemptedtoconcealthefactthathewasmurderedbyfratricide.
Krakauersprimarypurposewastoexposethedubiousexplanationthegovernmentdeliveredto
thepublicforhisdeath.Atthebeginningofthenovel,heimplementsaquotefromHomers
The
Iliad:
Whoamongmortalmenareyou,goodfriend?SinceneverbeforehaveIseenyouinthe
fightingwheremenwinglory,yetnowyouhavecomestridingoutinfrontofallothersinyour
greatheart.Thisquotationnotonlysuppliesthenameofthebook,butalsorevealstothe
audiencethat,likeOdysseus,PatTillmanrantothebattlegroundswithpassionandconfidence.
Byincludingthispassage,KrakauerfurthershispurposeasaninvestigatorandbestowsTillmans
accreditedglory.Theauthorreliesheavilyonquotationsofprimaryandsecondaryauthoritiesto

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retaincredibilityandasenseofthereness.However,thistacticoftenleadstosentencesthatare
lengthyandsaturatedwithcontext.Hisoverallstrategyofthenovelwastocleverlydisplaytwo
seeminglydifferentscenesterrorismintheMiddleEastandfootballstardominthewestern
U.S.whilegivingsufficientbackgroundinformationinorderforthereadertohaveabase
understandingwhenPatTillmanenlistedinthewaragainstterrorism.Hisoverarchingtonewas
neutralandobjective.Theuseofelevateddictionsuchaserroneous"(193)and
credulous(240)alongsidestatisticsandscienceandmathjargonsuchascalculated,(144)
adjacent,(217)accelerated,(144)andhypothesis(290)helpstoretainanauthoritativetone.
Afourthtacticheusesisfigurativelanguage.Theuseofcolloquialmetaphorssuchasaslapto
hisego(199)andblowthesocksoff(244)helprelatemilitaryscenariostothecommonreader
andserveasentertainment.Also,severalallusionstoAmericanpopculturesuchanaircraft
cannonfiresbulletsthesizeofRedBullcans(229)helptoconveythesizeofammunitiontoa
popularenergydrink,thuselevatesthereadersunderstandingoftheobject.Alsoreferringtothe
SpecialOperationsmissiontorescuePrivateJessicaLynchasSavingPrivateLynch(244)isa
humoroustacticofalludingtothewellknownfilm
SavingPrivateRyan.
AnothernationalbestsellerwrittenbyJonKrakaueris
UndertheBannerofHeaven
.In
thisstoryofviolentfaith,DanandRonLaffertyareaccusedofmurderingtheirbrotherswife
BrendaLaffertyandherchild,Erica.Thesefundamentalistmormonsreceivedaprophecyfrom
Godhimselfinstructingthatthelattermustberemovedfromthisearth.Krakauersoughtoutto
writeanovelentitled
HistoryandBelief
,buttheevidencebecamesooverwhelmingtowritea
storybuttressedbyMormonhistoryandfocusedontheLaffertyaffairs.Theimpetusforthis
novelwastograspthenatureofreligiousbelief,(Krakauer335)morespecificallytheMormon

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communitythathewitnessedgrowingup.Thistitlecomesfromanunspokenbeliefthatsince
theyareunderthebannerorprotectionoftheirfaith,allthatisincludedisjustified,eventothe
lengthsofmurder.Byincorporatinganinterestingandthoughtprovokingtitle,Krakauerisable
toenticetheaudienceevenbeforethefirstpages.Theauthorcontinuestouseextensiveamounts
ofquotationseachchapteriscommencedbyasomewhatlengthyquotationfromaplethoraof
credibleauthors.Thestrategythatheusesthroughouttheentirenovelistoshiftbackandforthin
timetogivehistoricalcontextoftheMormonChurchtoaidtheunderstandingofthemodernday
Laffertys.Alloftheselectedquoteshelphimretainatoneofneutralityandcredibility,similar
tothatof
WhereMenWinGlory.
Hecontinuestouseelevatedandexactdictionsuch
notorious(212)andaffable(254)incombinationwithmorecolloquialcontractionsand
phrasessuchasincahoots(156)andgettingbaked(175)togiveasenseofprecisionand
conversation.FigurativelanguageisalsoaprevalentaspectofKrakauersstyle.Hisuseof
analogieskeepthereadercaptivatedandfamiliarizedwiththesubject.Firstappearingmidway
throughthenovel,theauthorimplementsanextendedmetaphorinvolvingaflameheexplains
thattheUSPresidentembarkedonawar[againsttheMormons]thatgeneratedmoresmoke
thanheat.(210)Neartheconclusionofthenovel,hestatesthatthespiritburnsinPamelawith
awhitehotflame(328)andagainconcludesthat[this]fireisbeingspreadvery
effectively.(328).Anotherexampleoffigurativelanguageisthatofrhetoricalquestions.He
placesquestionssuchasDoes[DanLafferty]thinkthatthesincerityof[his]beliefjustifiedthe
act?(320)Thesequestionsareincorporatedsothereadercananalyzehowbeliefscanalterthe
stateofrealityandchangetheindividualsperceptionofmoralrightandwrong:hisbeliefsare
whatcausedDanLaffertytomurderBrendaandEricaLafferty

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Hispurposeinbothnovelsisrelativelysimilar:revealthehiddenandmisconstrued
informationontherespectivetopics.Toaccomplishthis,Krakauerstructureshisnovelsinavery
clearandorganizedmanner,providingcontextofthesubjectwhilealsofollowingalongwiththe
maincharacters.Heusescolloquialdictionsuchascontractionsthatareeasytoread,but
balancesitwithelevatedandprecisedictioninaccompanimentwithlengthycomplexsentences
toappealtoatoneofobjectivityandformality.Figurativelanguagetakesplacelargelyto
entertainthereaderinaresearchheavynovel,butalsoplaystofamiliarizetheaudiencewiththe
topic.
Themaindifferencescomeinthespecificsofthecriteria.While
WhereMenWinGlory
wasinspiredbyanationalscandal,
UndertheBannerofHeaven
sprouteditsoriginfromthe
author'schildhoodexperienceswithMormons.Bothtextsfocusonestablishingcontext,the
formerbroughttwoseeminglyseparatesubjectstogetherafterthebackgroundwasgiven,
whereasthelatterscampersbetweenhistoricalcontext(importantdatesorsignificantchangesin
thechurch)andtheLaffertycasewhenmoreinformationwasneededtosupportthesubject.
UndertheBannerofHeaven
remainsprimarilyobjectivebutshowshisconcernoverthematter,
withtheuseofrhetoricalquestions,tohavetheaudiencepointedlymakeaconclusionabout
religion.Utilizinganalogiesinbothbooks,
WhereMenWinGlory
reliesmoreheavilyon
allusionsandhisnovelaboutMormonextremistsfocusesmoreonsubtlesimilesandprovoking
rhetoricalquestions.
Overallthestyleisverysimilarinpurpose,structure,toneandtheuseoffigurative
languagehowever,hisstrategiesforimplementingthemarecontrasting.Krakauersuccessfully
educatestheaudienceonthetopicathandwhileremainingobjectiveandeasytoread.Heuses

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thestrategieshehasmasteredtocreatetwointerestingnovelsthatareuniqueintheirown
respects.

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WorkCited
Krakauer,Jon.
WhereMenWinGlory.
NewYork:AnchorBooks,2009.Print
Krakauer,Jon.
UndertheBannerofHeaven.
NewYork:AnchorBooks,2004.Print.