Baca's "Past, Present"

In this short story by Baca, he mixes two common styles of writing quite well; narrative and persuasive. The narrative side of the story is easily recognizable at the beginning, when he returned to his old prison,"... the enclosed walls, the barbed wire, and the guards in the towers shouldering their carbines made old feelings erupt in me" (221). The readers are able to know by his detailed writing, the pain and injustices that he and many other inmates suffered through. "... famewas nothing weighted against the suffering and brutality of prison life"(223). He then goes on by stating that he while he was being interviewed, he became worked up and angry and eventually told the interviewers to, "Just leave me alone!"(223). The persuasive side of Baca's story was able to make his audience dreadfully afraid of prison. The details and language he used in describing the prison, the life their, and all the suffering he and others have faced there, are persuasive enough to keep a person from going down the wrong path leading to jail. I greatly enjoyed reading this story and I think that he used the blend of narrative and persuasive in an effective way by keeping the story exciting and also guiding people away from prison.

Sanitized Reality

A large portion of America and the world has a great infatuation with the fantasy of Disney World. It is a "magical" place where parents can bring their children and share and pass on their memories of Disney with them. This fantasy land is a utopia for people who want to escape all of the tough pressures of the real world. For this is the reason why Salamone and Salamone dislike the amusement park and all that it represents. When people arrive through Main Street, "... psychological and cultural stings are carefully pulled; only on those rare occasions when they fail are they revealed for a brief time"(169). As they enter, the people absorb subliminal messages through the setting from the frontstage and the left. Salamone and Salamone believe that this messaging gives people the urge to always want to come back for another visit. This fantasy world is a great get away from work, and any stress in life and the authors do not like how it represents a fake world where everyone wants to live and people have much more freedom but for only one or two days.

Another example of a "sanitized reality" would when you are watching a sitcom on television. These shows also allow people to mentally escape from the real world for half an hour or an hour. They have real life situations and problems in which people can relate to but the problems are always humorous, which is not always the case for people in the real world. At the end of each episode, the problems are miraculously solved and this also does not happen in the real world. Television sitcoms are made to allow people to sit down, relax and escape from their troubles, which is much like Disney World.