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Aongus Mui

Fifty Shades of Greyhound- Harrison Scott Key Progym: Comparison

Fifty Shades of Greyhound- Harrison Scott Key
Progym: Comparison

Apart from the obvious fact that planes fly and busses travel on the road, there are still meny keen differences between the two. As Harrison Scott Key States “Bus People are nothing like Airplane People, who are boring and have luggage and enjoy skiing. Bus People, on the other hand, enjoy talking about grenades and screaming.” (Key) On airplanes there are flight attendants constantly attending to you, offering you snacks and drinks, assisting you with your every need. On busses it’s just you and the strangers around you, there is no attendant to help you with anything. Another thing Key mentions is “On an airplane, an empty seat is a small miracle, a sacred place to set one’s book. On a bus, though, the empty seat invites lurid napping positions that resemble the attitudes of those who’ve been buried in lava and discovered many years later.” (Key) The mindset of the people riding on planes versus the mindset of bus riders is different. Planes offer more of a luxurious feel than busses do. Plane tickets provide you with an assigned seat whereas busses are first come first serve. There is an overall different vibe between the two forms of transportation.

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Aongus Mui

“The Selfie” vituperation

Visualising lives: “the selfie” as travel writing- Kylie Cardell and Kate Douglas
Progym: Vituperation

Authors Kylie Cardell and Kate Douglas are in direct affiliation with the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences of Flinders University in Bedford Park, South Australia. They studied in Travel Writing, shedding light on how the rise of technology has influenced the type of pictures taken on vacations. The idea that selfies are taking over travel is very true but yet it is hard to accept. Selfies have given travel a bad rap. People take selfies to show off on apps like instagram, all for a simple like. These people put their own appearance over their surrounding areas. It puts the self taker’s face over their environment, ruining one of the fundamentals of travel which is enjoying the view. The idea of doing typical tourist things have come up before but the use of selfies seems to be the new normal. These types of photos were taken to specifically show other people that they were at a certain location. In other words it is a way for someone to show off their travels.

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Aongus Mui

Journey into Night- David Sedaris

Journey into Night- David Sedaris
Progym: Description/Narrative

Travelling is something that I am fortunate enough to be able to do. I’ve road tripped to neighboring states with car rides up to six hours long. For international vacations however, planes are obviously one of the best ways to travel. There is a very specific feeling of being on a plane. It starts at the airport, waiting for the workers to call your group to board the plane.

“Passengers in group A may now board at this time”
“Passengers in group B may now board at this time”
“Passengers in group C may now Board at this time”

Typically this is when my family and I would board the plane. We walked past the booth, each of us holding our own boarding pass, scanning it as we walked by the booth. As we walked the slightly downward corridor to the plane. When we enter the plane we are instantly greeted by the pilot standing right outside the cockpit, and shortly after by the flight attendants. The people sitting in the upper class seats, the part that screams luxury, are already sitting comfortably in their abnormally large seats. I keep looking for my seat looking down at my boarding pass to find the correct seat and looking back up to find the matching seat. We come to a halt, waiting for other passengers to put their luggage in the overhead compartment. Finally, I reach my seat, I put my luggage away and relax in my chair.

While the rest of the passengers finish boarding the plane, the plane gradually gets louder. Clearly the engines are firing up. As we prepare for takeoff the signal for the seatbelts come on. The plane backs out of where it is parked, we go to the strip where we prepare for takeoff. We start moving forward, gradually gaining speed to the point where everything outside becomes a blur, and eventually the wheels lift the ground and we are in the air, gaining altitude every second.

I pass the time with a movie and with the snacks provided by the flight attendent. But my main thought is about the destination, of what I was going to do and experience there. I could hardly hold back the excitement of landing in a completely new location. The only thing holding me back is the time left on the flight, waiting patiently to arrive in a new place. As cliche as plane rides are, it is a type of travel. A good experience for some and a poor experience for many.

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Aongus Mui

Going it Alone- Rehawa Haile

Going it Alone- Rehawa Haile
Progym: Commonplace

Rehawa Haile opens up her story with a seemingly normal everyday activity, being hiking. Hiking is done all over the world, by all different types of people. As she hikes she is approached by a stranger coming from the opposite direction. This is when she gets hit by reality and one of the biggest problems within it. Racism, one of the biggest problems in the world. After a bit of small, the man states “To him there’s nothing abnormal about our conversation. He has categorized me, and the world makes sense again. Not black-black.” This was one of the biggest eye openers for me. Unfortunately, it is well known that racism still exists, but the person who approached Haile does not seem to realize that he is being racist. It does not seem like he is trying to insult her but rather, he sees it as a normal conversation. This is a symptom of an even bigger disease. Racism is a terrible thing but we can’t hope to make it better if people do not even realize that they are contributing to it. In this particular scenario described by Haile, a simple hiking trip induced racism. In my opinion it was very uncalled for. The man made assumptions about her based on her skin color. He did not even try to get to know her, he relied on previously implemented stereotypes to judge her. Although his intent was not malicious, it does not excuse him of the actions that he took. Racism is an issue that needs to be dealt with.

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Aongus Mui

A Small Place – Jamaica Kincaid

A Small Place – Jamaica Kincaid
Progym: Thesis/Theme

Although the meaning of the book applies to tourists and vacation spots all over the world, the setting of this book revolves around the islands of Antigua and Barbuda. More importantly the people and culture that reside on the island. Jamaica Kincaid begins her book seemingly attacking tourists. She speaks a lot about the tourist’s naivety and how they look at travel destinations in a very narrow way. Kincaid talks about how tourists are inconsiderate to locals, she speaks out on the lack of awareness from visitors. They only see the nice places but they do not see or understand issues like poverty and corruption. The tourists are blinded by the beauty promised to them, to the point where the issues seem to go right over their head. Kincaid talks about the unfairness brought upon Antiguans by their government, how they can make loans for cars but not for houses, how the ministers in government can escape to New York for quality health care. “The hospital is staffed with doctors that no actual Antiguans trust,” there is no quality health care for the people that fall ill. This is the type of corruption that the locals of the island have to deal with, but tourists will never realize this because they fail to see the serious issues of their ideal vacation spot. Kincaid argues that islanders see all perspectives of the life they live while tourists only see the sunshine. Although Kincaid started off the book by pointing out the flaws of the tourists, her book was very eye opening. The way that she perceives tourists is very justified, given their misconceptions about vacation destinations all over the world.

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Aongus Mui

My London, and Welcome to It – A.A.Gill

My London, and Welcome to It – A.A.Gill

Progym: Description

To an outsider London is one of the most refined cities in the world. But to the natives it is just another day in life. One of the common thoughts we hear about London is the changing of the guards. According to Gill, he never actually witnesses this. But to tourists this is one of the details we pick up on. One may ask why this is, but the answer is quite simple. The things you see everyday become to blend in and you stop noticing them, but when you see something out of the ordinary it becomes new, something you’ve never seen before. Just as Gill mentions the loud shouting on the streets of New York, a New Yorker may see this as a common occurrence. The difference between a local and a tourist is as different as it gets. Gill menations how the people in London are not very nice. Although this may very well be true, a tourist may see it differently due to underlying stereotypes such as “English teacup manners” and the “exaggerated please and thank yous.” Gill does a good job illustrating the differences between a local’s point of view and a tourist’s point of view. The local is much more likely to notice the smaller details that they may describe as a pet peeve. Whereas, a tourist is much more likely to overlook these little details because of all the good things that they may see in the place. In Gill’s writing he notices all the minor flaws of London, something tourists are likely to miss

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Aongus Mui

Gendered Environments – Diane Hope

Defining Visual Rhetoric – Diane Hope
Progym: Confirmation

In the essay written by Diane Hope, she demonstrates the use of rhetorical advertisement strategies which used the body of women to make the ad more appealing. Hope states “Especially strategic to the rhetoric of gendered environments is advertisement’s cultural ubiquity.” She goes in depth on how society pictures women. An example would be how advertisements involving women are associated with brighter colors to represent a more relaxed and laid back vibe. According to Hope, “Advertisements produced over the last half of the 20th century promoting products to increase a women’s femininity offer remarkably similar images of nature as background to erotic fantasies.” The main objective of the advertisements appears to be depicting women as easygoing and always in the light, as shown by the lighter colors present in many advertisements. Hope’s explanation of how women are portrayed in advertisements is very fitting and does most definitely true.

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Aongus Mui

Parachute Artists or Tourists With Typewriters- Ana Alacovska

The digital culture, a place filled with people of all sorts. Professionals and amateurs alike, both in pursuit of the perfect piece of writing to show off the craft of travel, of vacation. Picture this, a cafe in an urban setting, surrounded by the tall buildings of a city. Two gentlemen one sitting on the left hand side whilst the other is on the right, both carrying a pen and a notepad. The one on the left dressed with a sharp white button up, black dress pants, and leather shoes. Clearly very professional. The one on the right, much more casual, dressed with a plain black t-shirt and jeans. Clearly the amateur. Two people, one professional and one amateur, both with a common goal; to write about their vacation in the current city they are visiting. Only difference is one of them is working for a company and the other works for himself. In the writing by Ana Alacovska, she goes on to explain how one of these is a poison to the authentic world of travel. The person who travels for money and the person who travels for the love of travelling comes across very differently. The professional has dedicated his life to writing exceptional pieces on different locations whilst the amateur writes mediocre pieces. Alacovska explains how the mediocre pieces are damaging the image of the location that is being written about. The amateur writer is willing to take a low amount of money, hurting this profession and making it harder for experienced writers who want higher pay. To conclude, there are two different types of travel writers. One pours their heart and soul into their work, the other gives moderate effort. Although both are looking for money, I believe that the writing should be left to the individual who loves travel for travel, not for a profit.

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Shipping Out PT2 David Foster Wallace

Shipping Out 2- David Foster Wallace
Progym: Description

David Foster Wallace shows the many luxuries he experienced whilst aboard the Nadir. From the routine newspaper Nadir Daily to the exotic dinners, Wallace makes it sound like a paradise to be on board of a cruise. He talks about the luxury and sense of isolation from the world that is shielded from you whilst cruising, how the cruise ship seems to be its own little planet. However, there still seemed to be a part of the trip that didn’t sit well with Wallace. Although he was surrounded by luxury and entertainment, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat entrapped, like he was missing out on authentic fun. The cruise had all the necessary features for him to find relaxation but in truth, everything seemed so instituted. It was like he had been forced to have fun. After a few days on the boat he starts to notice that the cruise is not all that flawless, it has its imperfections alike everywhere else. Wallace realizes that what he craves is not forced happiness, but rather he would like the chance to be able to thoroughly enjoy a vacation that does not seem obligatory.

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Aongus Mui

Shipping Out- David Foster Wallace

Shipping Out – David Foster Wallace

Progym: Narrative

As a person who loves to be around water, it is no surprise that one of my favorite places to be is a cruise ship. The warm weather, smell of the sea, and the slight swaying of the ship. All of these point to relaxation. The first time I got on a cruise I was only around 10 years old. I remember going on board, seeing all the bright lights in the indoor portion of the ship. It didn’t feel like a cruise, it felt more like a hotel; a long hall with doors on both sides. About 30 minutes after getting to my room, I could feel the ship start to move. I walked out onto the balcony, I could hear the sound of the seagulls chirping. I felt the warm breeze of air push up against me as I looked down to see the bottom part of the vessel slowly slicing through the water. There was a peacefulness in all this. I sat on the balcony for an hour with no specific purpose, no activity. It felt like the ship was taking me away from my world. I was quite literally getting away from everything. Wallace states that “Your troublesome capacities for choice, error, regret, dissatisfaction, and despair will be removed from the equation. You will be able-finally, for once to relax” (Wallace) This is one of the simple, yet unexplainable feelings of being on a cruise ship.