American Soldier

A. I think the most powerful image would have to be images 76 and 78. It shows his parent's emotion as he comes home from Iraq. It tells a story from the other persons point of view as opposed to only the soldier and what they go through.

B. Set #1 At home in Denver -Image number 1 through image number 7

Set #2 At Basic Training - Image number 8 through image number 48
Set #3 In Iraq - Image  number 49 through image number 72
Set #4 Back in Denver - Image number 73 though image number 83

I think set number 3 was powerful because he's no longer in basic training hes actually out in Iraq in the battle. It shows just how real enlisting in the army is and what you witness and have to do on a daily basis. Its almost surreal.

C. Each set is like a chapter. So with each chapter that you look at its a different part of his journey to enlisting in the army, the first set is the very beginning, from graduating to leaving home, the second set is the preliminaries so to speak. He is being trained to do what he will soon be doing in Iraq. Set three is the climax, hes in Iraq in the war do what hes been trained to do. And set 4 is the happy ending in a way. He returns home, marries his fiance, and the move in together. Its kind of like a story about a boy who grew up and became a man. The images do a great job of telling his story strongly.

3.

A.The majority of the photos where Ian is the main subject, the author uses present tense verbs.

B. Using present tense verbs in the captions gives the photos a more realistic feel to them. Instead of Ian descended down the stairs, its Ian descends down the stairs, making the photos seem more alive instead of reading them as if they already happened in the past tense. 

4.

A. Image 76- Ian's father holds up a welcome home sign above his head at Fort Carlson welcoming is son home after a 5 month deployment in Iraq. 

 

Image 18- Ian holds is bag above is head with his fellow soldier as a result of failing to complete the instructed drill on time. 

 

Image 33- Ian heads to his new home away from home in the barracks after finishing his in-processing  earlier in the day.