Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

My interactions with my instructor, my texts, and my prompt all helped me inform my piece. I’ve been collecting sources for my paper since the first day we knew what exactly our assignment was. Having an abundance of sources for my topic about Spider-Man was a little overwhelming for me at times. Having several online conferences with my instructor helped me narrow down my point to a concise idea. Our plan of breaking down the final paper into shorter arguments helped refine each tactic I was going to use to persuade my audience. Hands on learning and conferences with my instructor accompanied with or breakdown of ideas helped me write this paper in a less stressful and more confident manner.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

To touch on the previous core value, my instructor helped me condense my argument into something new. Before my hypothesis was that Spider-Man was the most influential character. Using my ability to look at and read academic sources, I could see that I was adding nothing new. He helped me see that there is a reason to Spider-Man’s success. One thing I think was new to the conversation was looking at Spider-Man’s context in the action adventure world. While some of my sources examined other characters along with Spider-Man, they didn’t look into how exactly they splintered off into their own creative paths. My point about how most characters go through the Hero’s journey and each find their own place in their respective franchise is something I just couldn’t seem to find anywhere. I also appreciate the fact that most authors seem to recognize the importance of the Hero’s Journey and its ability to make a character compelling. (See White Paper versus final paper)

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

“Humanity in the stories about Peter is what keeps us enthralled. Like the previous mentions of grief, choice, and responsibility these are all human aspects of the character.” This statement is personal for me. To me this is a personal paper. Being that Spider-Man has made over eight billion dollars in film alone, I knew that I was part of the larger audience too. We know we like characters but how many of us examine exactly why in such detail? Writing this paper helped me realize exactly what makes a character both compelling and relatable. Analyzing films in the franchise along with comic runs and words straight from the character’s creators gave me overarching themes that helped contextualize aspects of the character that were found in different stories and media. With great power comes great relatability is something so true and right in our faces, yet often goes ignored when talking of what makes him successful.

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

The most powerful sources are the creatives and the physical media itself. Stan Lee’s words along with adaptations like Spider-Man 2. Lee talked about the mask making it so anyone can be under there while Raimi’s ability to adapt a story of human emotions like greed and selfishness when it comes to choice versus responsibility go hand in hand. I can look at extensive reviews of the stories but the heart of it lies with what is portrayed in the story. While art is subjective, Lee and other creatives have no doubted used this character to be a vessel for consumers to project themselves. My topic is solely reliant on these types of sources since it is the forms of media my character inhabits. I did touch on academic sources like the five stages of grief but they would have nothing to support if it hadn’t been for the substance this character has provided through the mediums.

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

My biggest challenge to my thesis is the existence of other characters in the medium. I openly acknowledge characters with dual personalities and choices like Batman, The Hulk, and others. I also say that Peter Parker is not unique in going through the hero’s journey. Like my instructor said, I have to use my sources like a hammer. Using the absence of substance in a point like the fact that other characters can be relatable, I argued that the financial statistics and the way some characters fit into their respective canon is completely different than Spider-Man. For instance, I acknowledge Dick Grayson as “relatable” but I also touch on the fact that he is only that way to provide a contrast to Batman and to serve him. Spider-Man is different and is not supplementary like Nightwing. The way I wielded my sources helped make up for my biggest short comings. While my point isn’t right or wrong, I still feel that with hat sources I had available, I used them to complement each other and provide the most persuasive argument possible.