English 1A: Langewiesche’s The Outlaw Sea: Analytical Essay
(3 – 4 Full Pages)
Dear English 1A students,
I’ve been revising my topics for this assignment, deciding to use more focused topics than I have in the past. I have used similar topics
Pick ONE of the following topics and produce an appropriate academic essay. Your essay should be typed, double-spaced, and supported by clear explanations, quotations, and references. In your introduction, name the author, the book, and make sure I know exactly which topic you will be writing on. Minimize the use of “I”—of referring to yourself—in this formal academic essay also.
Use at least five to six solid paragraphs; provide body paragraphs with definite statements and specific evidence to support what you write. Be concrete, not vague. Refer, paraphrase, and quote as needed. (Provide page numbers after your quotations.) Explain. Help me to see what you mean; prove to me that you have the knowledge.
Provide an appropriate, useful title; make it something more helpful than “Langewiesche Essay”; use Langewiesche’s own chapter titles as a guide. Use quotation marks and page references when you quote from Langewiesche’s The Outlaw Sea.
Proofreading should be the last step in your editing process; I expect correctness in terms of grammar, spelling, and formatting. Do not skip lines or space between your paragraphs.
Pick ONE of the following topics:
1. In the middle of “The Ocean’s Way” we get the detailed description of the sinking of the Estonia and the abandoning of the ship in terms of the passengers (and crew) of the ship. What does Langewiesche highlight in this section? Which people does he use to help us to see what happens? How does he help us to understand that experience clearly and vividly? Finally, why does Langewiesche want us to feel and see the experiences of the passengers and crew? Explain with supporting details.
2. In “The Wave Makers,” Langewiesche describes the smuggling of people and objects, potentially dangerous ones. (Langewiesche also addresses modern piracy in this chapter, but I am not asking about that subject.) Langewiesche also describes the government efforts to stop such smuggling.
What are the best examples of the smuggling? How threatening is that smuggling, potentially? What are those government efforts and how successful are they? What makes the attempt to control such smuggling so difficult? What does Langewiesche want us to know about these efforts? Explain with supporting details.
3.. How does Langewiesche help us to consider policy and people in his analysis of the shipping industry? What sorts of policies does he call our attention to? What sorts of people matter for his presentation? Organizations? Owners? Crew? Passengers? Finally, what does he want us to remember most about how policies help or don’t help the people he focuses on? For this topic, I expect you to focus our attention, though I know you can’t address everything. This topic is looking for a helpful overview, but the topic requires specifics to demonstrate your knowledge. Use details to support your multiple points.
4. According to “An Ocean World,” what are the multiple factors that contributed to the industrial accident of the Kristal? What are the direct and indirect causes according to Langewiesche. Also, explain how Langewiesche uses the dramatic telling to heighten the reader’s responses to such factors and causes. Use details to support your multiple points.
Whichever topic you are thinking about, let me know if you have questions.
