American Soldier

A. I think this is the most powerful image, because the look in his eyes show an emotion which not a lot of pictures do. It looks like his eyes show that he is terrified and sad that he is leaving his family behind and putting himself in danger to protect his country. I also think it is powerful because he is sitting down as the clock is ticking, which shows suspense because you don't know what is happening.

 

B. The images work together to tell a story, by putting them in chronological order so that the viewer can see how the process of joining the army works. Under the picture, it also gives you a description of what is happening every step of the way.

C. The captions enhance the pictures, by describing the event you see in the picture. It also gives you background information that you would not be able to get by just looking at the picture.

D. Within 2 days of Fisher enlisting, he regrets doing it and he sees a chance to escape enlistment. One week before he leaves for basic training, he talks to Staff Sergeant Joseph Camarillo, since Camarillo served in Iraq and he tells Fisher what to expect in basic training. Fisher's friends and families throw him 2 different parties to say goodbye to him. Fisher arrives to Fort Benning, GA on June 22, 2007. Fisher meets his Drill Sergeant David Vance, who is very strict and hard on the recruits, as you can tell when you read the caption. On the second full day of processing, Fisher nurses his elbow that he injured the night before. This was caused by a childhood injury that he did not tell the army about. This injury could've disqualified him from the army, but he decided to move forward with basic training. Early into basic training, Fisher holds a weapon for the first time in his life. Time passes and 8 weeks into basic training, Fisher and his squad are hit by an explosive during a raid. On September 7, 2007 Fisher gets awarded a blue cord signifying the completion of basic training. During a weekend back home, Fisher and his girlfriend Kayla look for engagement rings, but unfortunately they break up and Fisher falls into depression. While he is depressed, he falls into drugs and alcohol, leading him to many consequences. He tries to pull himself together, but he doesn't feel like he fits in. In July, 2008 he is baptized before deploying back to Iraq. Finally in 2009, Fisher goes back home to his new girlfriend Devin. Within 3 days of being back from Iraq, Ian and Devin get married.

E. Present Tense

F.
1. On average, there are 2-4 sentences in each caption.
2. The first sentence describes what is happening in the picture.
3. The second sentence gives you background information.
4. The third sentence usually gives you a quote or more information.
5. Yes, some of them include a caption.
6. Yes there are multiple that have 4 sentences.

G. I think it is possible to tell a story through pictures and captions, because you can see a picture and it represents what is happening. With the quote, it becomes more like a story because it tells you background information.

H. You still need a story, because there is way more information in the story than in a caption and a picture. The captions and the pictures just make it more interesting, but the story is the most important thing to have.