List of Concept Supporting Pieces of Literature

“The Black Cat” Edgar Allen Poe

“The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allen Poe

“The Masque of the Red Death” Edgar Allen Poe

“The Raven” Edgar Allen Poe

“Hogs in the Shadows” Milo S. Afong

“Boots on the Ground” Clint Willis

“Romeo and Juliet” William Shakespeare

“Thinner” Richard Bachman

“Misery” Stephen King

“Bury us Upside Down” Rick Newman

“To Destroy a City” Hermann Knell

“Pet Cemetery” Stephen King

“Ravens Gate” Anthony Horowitz

“The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon” Stephen King

“Point Blank” Anthony Horowitz

“Devils Labyrinth” John Saul

““H” is For Homicide” Sue Grafton

“1984” George Orwell

“Lord of the Rings” J.R.R. Tolkien

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” Ken Kesey

Excerpt 5

"S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody - to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, 1937, United States.

Excerpt 4

I lean into [Lawson] and whisper melodramatically in his ear, "Dude, I'm [redacted] scared to death."
Ssg David Bellavia, House to House, 2007, United States.

Excerpt 3

"They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture." (The Things They Carried.77), Tim O'Brien, 1990, United States.

Excerpt 2

"It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived."
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960, United States

Excerpt 1

"'Maybe there is a beast....maybe it's only us.'"
 William Golding, Lord of the Flies, 1954, England

dialogue poem

Oh my god I could be killed,

Before I jump I should write my will.

                Come on do it, it won’t be that bad,

                If you die you know we’ll be sad.

Ok I will do it. I will give it my best try,

When this is all over I hope I will still be alive.

                Yeah man that’s the spirit,

                I’m glad you finally decided to get with it.

short story

The fear, he could feel it in his belly. Waiting anxiously for it to go away, he prepared himself. His mechanics are there to make any last minute adjustments, the fans are screaming, it seems like the whole place is watching him. The pit in his belly intensifies as he approaches the starting gate. Other riders are already there checking and rechecking their bikes. He can feel the fear, he can feel the pressure. Everyone expects more from him now than every after he earned the number one plate. The 30 second board is out now. It only lasts for 30 seconds but to him it feels like an eternity. All of a sudden the gate drops, it seems like slow motion to the anxious riders. They all hammer the throttle and speed of onto the track. He sees no riders in front of him just the fresh dirt of the track. The other racers are chasing closely behind him. They are watching the number one hoping he will make a mistake. He tries to pick up the pace and distance himself from the other riders. Luckily for him a rider slides out in the second corner and takes out a few other racers putting some space between them and the leader. He leads for most of the race. He is starting to get tired. He doesn’t want to slow down but he knows that he is. With two laps to go he passes by the mechanics area. His mechanics board says “Speed it up!” He looks back and sees why. His longtime rival in the racing series is closing in on him. He tries to stay ahead but can’t hold off the hard charging rival behind. The battle in each corner giving bumps to one another and trying to pull ahead. His rival goes off a jump alongside him. He sees something is wrong with his rival in midair; the rival wasn’t going to make the jump. His rival’s bike slams into the face of the landing ramp. He goes over the bars and slams into the solid dirt below. He isn’t moving but the number one just took the lead and can’t worry about his rival now. He gets through the last corner and goes over the finish line jump winning the race. He does a whip to celebrate the win. He rides over to the podium and can feel the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders as he gets his first win of the season.

Ribbon Based Images

     
  These two images are dynamic images. The one on the left has a good flow of ribbons in it. The ribbon can go straight down his leg then down his body then down his top arm into the wheel. It makes an almost perfect horizontal line across his back. The image on the right has a good flow aswell. From the riders body ithe ribbon goes right donw his leg and into the boot then into the dirt spray then to the back round. That makes the viewer look at the focal point of the rider and then down his body into the dirt and backround.

Critique #2

“Paratrooper”

What do you think of when you hear the word fear? Most will probably think of sky diving, dying, or war. People might think that because those are all common images of fear. This image “paratrooper” includes all three of these common fear images. The image represents overcoming fear so well because it is all about the first step. That one step from the relative safety of the aircraft to the sky can mean the difference between life and death. This is an even more fearful activity when you have to jump out of a plane just to land and have to fight a war. In the image “paratrooper” the photographer uses an extravagant background and foreground to create a symbolic photograph.

          Background is one of the most important elements in any image. The background of “paratrooper” is incredibly important to the image as a whole. The main ideas of the photo are placed in the foreground but the background is also important. The background shows a viewer how dangerous the activity really is. It also shows the other paratroopers that have come before the one centered in the image. The others pictured that have already overcome their fear and committed to parachuting.

          The foreground really makes me like this image. It shows the edge of the plane. That is important because the scariest part of parachuting is always jumping. The soldier pictured has just taken his first step. The soldier overlooked his fear and jumped. Another thing I liked is that you can see the stings of not only his parachute but all the other men that have jumped before him. This is a symbol of how selfless and fearless these guys really are. Also the edge of the plane is cool because it is almost like the viewer can see out to the ground below. The image is taken from the perspective of a paratrooper and the image lets you feel like you are about to fall out of the plane. I think that helps a viewer see what the paratroopers really have to deal with when parachuting.

          This image; just like any other, uses many different elements to make it flow. The two most important in this image are background and foreground. This image is a great representation of overcoming fear. It is also I good example of how fearless a person can be.  The image also allows a viewer an accurate depiction of the life of a paratrooper.

rough draft critique two

“Paratrooper”

            What do you think of when you hear the word fear? Most will probably think of sky diving, dying, or war. This image “paratrooper” includes all three of these common fear images. The image represents overcoming fear so well because it is all about the first step. That one step from the relative safety of the aircraft to the sky can mean the difference between life and death. This is an even more fearful activity when you have to jump out of a plane just to land and have to fight a war. In the image “paratrooper” the photographer uses an extravagant background and foreground to create a symbolic photograph.

            Background is one of the most important elements in any image. The background of paratrooper is incredibly important to the image as a whole. Sure the main ideas of the photo are placed in the foreground but the background is also important. The background shows a viewer how dangerous the activity really is. It also shows the other paratroopers that have come before the one centered in the image. The others pictured that have already overcome their fear and committed to parachuting.

            The foreground really makes me like this image. It shows the edge of the plane. That is important because the scariest part of parachuting is always jumping. The soldier pictured has just taken his first step. He overlooked his fear and jumped. Another thing I liked is that you can see the stings of not only his parachute but all the other men that have jumped before him. This is a symbol of how selfless and fearless these guys really are.

            This image; just like any other, uses many different elements to make it good. The two most important in this image are background and foreground. This image is a great representation of overcoming fear. It is also I good example of how fearless a person can be.

painting and sculpture for concept

Critique #1 "Brad Burch Rock Solid"

           

            Fear, it keeps most people content standing on the ground nice and safe where they are. Some people aren’t okay with that. Some want to push boundaries, some want to stand out. Some people want to risk their health and safety to do something amazing. Anybody willing to do that has beaten fear, they have overcome their fear. Give that person a motorcycle and who knows what may happen. Modern dirt bike riders are willing to risk themselves for the sport. They are always going higher, faster, and doing harder tricks than the last guy. Brad Burch had overcome his fear when this image was captured. In the photo “Brad Burch Rock Solid” The photographer “B Rad” focuses on background and juxtaposition in order to make the trick being preformed appear not human.

            Background is an important element to any image. In this image the background really affects the image. The background is a “cool” light blue color just like the rider and the bike. Although the colors are similar there is still some contrast because the background doesn’t really have any movement while the rider does. The background being the same color as the focal point also creates a unity and harmony of the colors that are throughout the image.

            The juxtaposition is the most important element used in the image. I think it really makes the image what it is. It just wouldn’t be as cool of a photograph without it. The rider is in the middle of the picture. The background is all blue sky. Having the rider soaring through the air without being able to see anything underneath him makes the viewer wonder. The viewer doesn’t know how high or low the rider is to the ground or how much danger he is in. Maybe he is about to land in a foam pit or maybe he is going to crash you don’t know because all you can see is the rider soaring through the sky. I think it also makes the rider pictured have sort of a non human or godlike look to him. I think this because the rider is totally detached from the bike at the instant the photo was captured and it makes him look like he might be flying.  
            In conclusion this photograph is very interesting. Just by quickly looking at it the image was able to capture my attention and hold it too. The photographer skillfully captures a fantastic image at the perfect angle. The combination of artistic elements in this photo blends nicely creating a pleasing image for the viewer. The colors flow throughout the whole photo but there is still a certain contrast between the moving parts of the image and the still parts like the sky. However everybody knows people can’t fly giving the image a non human and fictitious feel to it even though it is a photo and isn’t fake.

"Brad Burch Rock Solid"

Not sure who photographed, was on allthingsmoto.com Right here http://www.allthingsmoto.com/forums/f-165/pics-latest-fmx-demo-i-had-shoot-44969-p2/

This photo goes with my concept overcoming fear because most people would afraid to do what he is doing in the picture. If doing a giant dirtbike jump wasnt already scary the rider totaly detaches himself from the bike.

Declaration

            For my topic I have chosen overcoming fear. I picked this because I think it can be applied to many different things. I believe I will be able to work on things that I really am interested in. For example extreme sports could work well with this topic, which is something that I like.