Kulers1

Krakauersstyle
JonKrakauer,tellsthestoryofalocalNFL(NationalFootballLeague)playersfatal
timeincombat(
WhereMenWinGlory)
,andofamurdercommittedundertheomenofGod
(
UnderTheBannerofHeaven),
isamostlynonbiasedjournalist.Likeanywriter,Krakauerhas
astyleuniquetohimevenso,however,throughannotating
WhereMenWinGlory
and
Under
TheBannerofHeaven,
Itooknoteofdifferencesalongwithgivensimilaritiesembeddedin
Krakauersindividualwritingtechniques.Withtheusageofprecisewordchoice,uniquesyntax,
effectivepunctuationandbackgroundquotes,Krakauersstylesticalwritingsimilaritiesand
contrastsbecometranslucentlyvisiblebetweenthetwobooks.
Inboth
UndertheBannerofHeaven
and
WhereMenWinGlory
,Krakauerusesvery
definitivewords.Forexample,in
UnderTheBannerofHeaven,
onthefirstpageofchapterfive,
titledTheSecondGreatAwakening,Krakauerprovidesabriefbackgroundonacriminal,
BrianMitchell,authorofanunpublishedbookaboutthecreationofthenewMormonchurch.
Understandthatleadinguptothispointin
UndertheBannerofHeaven,
Krakauer,throughthe
facts,hasleftapathwayforthereadertoformasubconsciousnegativeviewonnotMormons
butMormonfundamentalistandtheirarrogantandignorantpracticesandbeliefs.Thefactthat
womenmustcoexistintotalsubmission(12),theyarestilltaughtracialvaluesprominentin
early1800sinthesouth,andtheirbeliefsthathomosexualityisanegregious(25)punishable
bydeath,areallveryfrustrating.Thereader,oralargepercentageofreaders,willkeepthis
feelingintheirmindthroughouttherestofthebook.RelatingthisbacktoMitchell,heclaims
thatthroughamanifesto,theinauguration(54)ofthenewfundamentalistchurchappearedto

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himandwhatismore,Godordained(54)MitchelltobetheleadertheFundamentalist
MormonChurch.Thesetwowords,frequentlyconnotatedwithroyalty,alongwiththemindset
ofthereader,soundalmostsatiricalwiththesnobbishnessfassage,however,thisculture
developsuptothispointcompletelycoincideswiththehighandmightyfeelingsofthesetwo
prestigiouswords.Intheotherbook,
WhereMenWinGlory,
however,Krakauerswordsare
verymeaningfulandhespecificallyusesveryvisualwordswhentalkingsolelyaboutPat
Tillman.AnexampleiswhenKrakauerbeginstoexpandontheeventsofthe1997RoseBowl.It
wasagray,drizzlyafternoon(
WhereMenWin
80)hedescribesPatTillmandances
around(
WhereMenWin
81)hisopponentandhisquarterbackorchestrates(
WhereMenWin
82)abrilliantplay.Similarlyinbothbooks,theseclustersofwordsareintertwinedbythemes
royaltyandmusic.Thewordsin
UndertheBannerofHeaven
areloadedwithdepthwhereasthe
wordgroupingsin
WhereMenWinGlory
areeithervisualortactileorauditoryoranythingelse
thatcanbesensed.
AnotheruniqueelementofKrakauerishissyntax.Asfrequentashewouldexplainanew
idea,backgroundorperson,Krakauerwouldendhisparagraphsevenentiresectionsina
periodicstructure.Amongthemanyexamplesin
UndertheBannerofHeaven
istheonefound
onpage57.OnceagainKrakauerisprovidingthereaderwithsufficientbackgroundinformation
toinitiatetheformationofanonbiasedobservation.Indoingso,hespendsnotasentence,nota
paragraph,butseveralpagesexplaining,inthiscasethefinancialstrugglesthattheMormon
founderfacedasachild.Afterhisexpansionofthistopic,Krakauerconcludeswitha
traditionallyverysimplesentence:JosephSmithgavebirthtowhatwouldbecomeAmericas
mostsuccessfulhomegrownfaith(
UnderTheBanner
57).Thisstructureisveryeffective

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becausethehistorylessonKrakauerprovideswillconnectthenewinformationbacktothestory.
Asfarassentencelengthgoes,Krakauerforthemostpartwritesinverysimple,shortsentences.
Whilehedoesthisdevotedlythroughout
UndertheBannerofHeaven,WhereMenWinGlory
hasthepatterntousesimplesentenceswhentalkingaboutPatTillmanslifeandlongstretched
sentencesinregardstothewar.Thisisaverysymbolicformofwriting.Forbothbooksthe
simplesentencesareusedintimesofacceptanceandfrankness.Whenthewarbeginstodoome
in
WhereMenWinGlory,
alongwithcomplicatedmiddleeasternnames,thelongsentences
presentthemselvesasoverwhelminganddemandingattention,muchinfactlikethewarwith
Afghanistan.
IndividualtoKrakauerishisuseofpunctuation.AsIbrieflymentionedinthelast
sentenceKrakauerverymimicsadeductiveform.Heoftenachievesthisbyusinglongsentences
fullofemdashesandsemicolonsandtheverylastsentenceofthesectionwillhavenothing
morethanaperiodatatime.Whereonewaytoisolateanimportantorkeypointistousea
commabeforeandafter,Krakauermuchmorefrequentlyturnstotheuseoftheemdash.
OneofthemostcaptivatingthingsKrakauerdoesalmostpagetopageisimbedding
quotesdirectlyintohistextinsteadofparaphrasinganunconnectedoutsidestatement.Alot
throughout
WhereMenWinGlory,
KrakauerusesquotesfromMarie,Patsteenagesweetheart,
toappealtothereaderthroughethosandpathos.Intheseparatebook,
UndertheBannerof
Heaven,
Krakauerbeginsthechapterswithsometypeofquote.Beitfromaperson,article,
book,ect..ItissuchagoodandstrategichookonbehalfofKrakauer.
Overall,Krakauerdidaveryconsistentjobofwrittingtonovelswithhisownindividual
style.

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WorkCited
Krakauer,Jon.
UndertheBannerofHeaven
.Firsted.NewYork:Anchor,2004.Print.
Krakauer,Jon.
WhereMenWinGlory
.firsted.NewYork:Anchor,2009.Print.