Rhetorical Analysis of Walter White Essay - 1098 Words

Nick L’Italien Ms. McClain English 123 January 29, 2013 A Split Personality – Morals Against Corruption With reality shows taking over airtime nowadays, psychological thrillers in television are a rare genre. Admittedly, it can be a tasking genre to develop a show around, but Vince Gilligan has managed to create, quite possibly one of the greatest shows ever, Breaking Bad. In the pilot episode, the audience was introduced to Walter White, a middle-aged high school Chemistry teacher. He sounds like an average, typical man, but he was introduced in the most peculiar way. Gilligan opened this award-winning show with Walter, underwear-clad, holding a pistol, next to a crashed R.V. in the middle of the desert. The audience questioned†¦show more content†¦The newfound distributor turned out to be a sociopath, so in order to protect his identity Walter created the alias Heisenberg for himself. This was the point when Walter’s psychological health began decaying rapidly. Walter’s one wrong turn after another was taking a toll on him and his home life. He became the ma n he once hated, a man who his family could no longer trust. His time away from home living his secret life became extremely suspicious to his wife, Skylar. She knew about his cancer, but not of his life in the drug realm. In a very intense episode in which Walter was to meet up with this sociopathic distributor, everything takes a turn for the worst. The distributor takes him prisoner for almost 48 hours, and almost kills him. This obviously brought concern to his wife, who had no idea where Walter might be. Once everything had been resolved, Walter made a daring move to reappear miles away from home, naked, in a supermarket. He told his family, friends, and even doctors that â€Å"I blacked out. I don’t remember anything for the past 24 hours. These doctors have me on so many pills that it must be affecting me.† (Gilligan S2Ep3). This was the first of many lies Walter would produce in an attempt to hide his other life. With the deceit, his marriage began to decline b ecause Skylar did not believe him. However, it was not because of his disappearance why she did not believe him. As Walter was going into a drug-induced sleep at the hospital after heShow MoreRelatedAmerican Dream in a Raisin in the Sun4319 Words   |  18 PagesAfricanness Sometimes, because of the conception they have of other people, they would try to compel them to behave in a certain way. The white society always try then to determine the kind of life Black people are supposed to lead. This can be seen through the novel Invisible Man where the protagonist struggles hard to break from the mold crafted and held together by white society throughout the novel. The stereotypes and expectations of a racist society compel blacks to behave only in certains ways, neverRead MoreThe Myth Of White Privilege Essay1855 Words   |  8 Pages Many white Americans are living with the fear that they didnt really deserve their success, and that maybe luck and privilege had more to do with it, than brains and hard work. There are numerous reasons for the widespread discrimination at all levels, but the main reason for the existence of discrimination is a privilege to certain groups of people, and widespread social prejudice towards certain groups of people. Differences between people have always existed, but they gain in importance onlyRead MoreDevil in a Blue Dress Rhetorical Analysis Novel vs. Film Essay2428 Words   |  10 PagesDevil in a Blue Dress: Novel vs. Film The hardboiled mystery novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley was first published in 1990 and was acknowledged by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, as one of his many favorite novelists (Easy Writer). Taking place in post-war Los Angeles, the story is narrated by an African American laborer, Easy Rawlins, who is transformed into an L.A. detective after being pulled in to the affairs of local townspeople. The successful novel continued onto screenRead MoreThe Divided Self1775 Words   |  8 Pagesinherently a divided self—the culmination of all given interpretations they make for themselves and interpretations from others. In addition, this totality of interpretations through the lens selves as being what is around you, it follows that poetic-rhetorical language is necessary in discussion of the divided self. In a general sense, I am a â€Å"self interpreting animal† (â€Å"Human Agency and Language†) in that it is in my nature to constantly strive for clarity, amidst the countless indeterminacies presentRead MoreFeminist Methodologies Essay example2400 Words   |  10 Pagescriminology, where a number of feminist critiques outline the criminal victimisation of women (Morris, 1987; Gelsthorpe and Morris, 1988, in Walters Bradley, 2005). The different approaches of feminist research are based on the fact that people deviate depending on political or ideological orientation. Some advocate interpretive methods like qualitative analysis, others maintain the mainstream positivist approach of quantitative methods, while some unite the two (Reinharz, 1992). However, all feministRead MoreStudent Athlete And The National Collegiate Athletic Association Essay2749 Words   |  11 PagesIntroduction: The term â€Å"student-athlete,† coined by Walter Byers and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, has been frequently mentioned and used in intense arguments between the NCAA and former and current students (Nocera, 1). Today’s student-athletes are expected to be students first and athletes second, but when these athletes are forced to undergo countless hours of preparation for the big lights on Saturday in order to retain their scholarships, they often must ignore their studiesRead MoreA Critical Note on New Historicism Essay2751 Words   |  12 Pagesthere is seen a rise of the aesthetic movement stimulated by French symbolists like Mallarme and his fellows. Instead of â€Å"art for life’s sake†, it is now â€Å"art for art’s sake† which is dominant. The English representative of this new development is Walter Pater whose great contribution is Studies in the History of Renaissance (1873). Modern criticism: With the arrival of pioneers like T. S. Eliot, I. A. Richards and F. R. Leavis in the critical arena, the history of English criticism has taken aRead MoreEssay about The Publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin4044 Words   |  17 Pagescritical reaction, and the public reaction, including both public opinion of the book and the various derivative works that were created for public consumption. I have researched both portions of this topic through the more modern works of historical analysis, and by examining primary sources reproduced in online collections (with especially heavy use of Railton’s extremely resourceful website, for which I would like to acknowledge my gratitude). Outside of the Southern region that Uncle Tom’s CabinRead More Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Escape From an Oppressive Society6239 Words   |  25 Pagesnot only going against the moral codes of the South, but was going against strict written law (14). Since helping a runaway slave was written law, Hucks helping Jim signifies Huck making a conscience decision to rebel openly against society. In Walter Blairs So Noble... and So Beautiful a Book published in Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1968, Blair suggests, In those slave-holding days, the whole community was agreed as to one thing - the awful sacrednessRead MoreExample Research: Critical Discourse Analysis9514 Words   |  39 Pages18 Critical Discourse Analysis TEUN A. VAN DIJK 0 Introduction: What Is Critical Discourse Analysis? Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is a type of discourse analytical research that primarily studies the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context. With such dissident research, critical discourse analysts take explicit position, and thus want to understand, expose, and ultimately resist social inequality