Wednesday, September 23, 2015

“Destroyed" by Peter Martin

Summary:

         Peter Martin makes his point that athletes on performance-enhancing drugs are not simply trying to cheat their way to victory; they are victims who are risking their own lives. First, he addresses the fact that performance-enhancing drugs are used in every sport and, unfortunately, are here to stay. Second, he talks about how the fans, writers, and other people connected to sports are upset about the way the sport is being tainted by the use of drugs. He continues by comparing today’s sports to that of the first Olympians, where cheating and enhancement drugs were taken more seriously. Martin concludes his piece by saying the purity of the sport doesn’t matter as much as the health and safety of the athlete.

Paraphrase Paragraph 10:

         Martin states that performance-enhancing drugs are indeed tainting the pure image of sports, however that is all the fans and observers seem to care about when they should be more interested in the health of the athletes, who are more important than a game (582).

Quote:

“It is the players, much more than the games, that we must protect” (Martin 582).

         I particularly like this quote because it conveys the heart of Peter Martin’s message and holds everything he is trying to tell the reader. It also touches on the idea that the glamorization of sports –or rather the fans getting too caught up in the game– has made it so that athletes tend to become faceless people who are only there to make a touchdown for the viewers’ entertainment. Fans and viewers seem to frequently forget that athletes are humans too, and that their life is more important than a Sunday night football game.

I commented on Jennica and Andrew's blog's.

Works Cited:

Kennedy, X.J., Kennedy, Dorothy M., and Aaron, Jane E. "Destroyed" by Martin F. Peter. The Bedford Reader. 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 580-582. Print.


5 comments:

  1. I love how you pointed out that the fans forget that athletes actually have lives of their own and don't just focus on the sport, like they're not just "the pieces to some boardgame". Your quote does summarize the whole artical as well. I'll have to agree with your post all the way!

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  2. I really like how you focused on the aspect of how the normality of athletes is gone. Too often, as Martin said, the athletes are just seen as entertainment and not actual living people such as ourselves. I also really liked your word choice of using glamorization, because I think that really captures of essence of what Martin is saying. Overall very well done!

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  3. Marissa,

    I really like the quote you chose. I almost chose that one myself. I feel like the pedestals we put athletes on is what helps fuel their fire to be perfect. It leads them to do things they normally wouldn't do. They're able to rationalize performance-enhancement drugs because they think the drug will make them worthy of the pedestal we put them on. Thank you.

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  4. Marissa:

    Good post. In the summary, revert from using any vocabulary that might come directly from the source itself. With the paraphrase, instead of putting "para. 10" put the number of the page you took the information from and at the start of the paraphrase, refer to the author only by last name, not first and last. Otherwise, the paraphrase was pretty good.

    Nice reflection of the quote. Same MLA issues to fix and adhere to. Include a works cited, as well, to note where you information is coming from!

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  5. Marissa,

    I like that quote as well. You are right, people tend to become so focused on the game and do not realize these players are much more than that. They face battles like everyone else in the world. Their health and well being should be the number one priority. Great post!

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