Roger Ebert: The Essential Man Response

I chose the article by Chris Jones because Roger Ebert's story struck a chord with me. Through clever use of voice and rhetoric, I finished the story feeling as if I had gotten to know Ebert. I got sufficient detail about him in a way that did not feel overly-decorated but realistic and descriptive. I found myself copying and pasting a lot of quotes and lines. Jones included details and words about Ebert that artfully helped the reader understand who Ebert is. Jones' voice is third person but with a personal feel to it. Many times Jones praised Ebert. Jones said things like "Roger Ebert is no mystic, but he knows things we don’t know" or when he compliments Ebert's wife saying "There isn’t any debate in her voice. Chaz Ebert is a former lawyer, and she doesn’t leave openings. She takes hold of her husband’s hand, and they set off in silence across the park toward the water." By including the small detail of Chaz, it shows Jones thinks she is a strong smart woman. 

Jones is skilled in talking about Ebert (and those close to him) and choosing which details to tell the reader to achieve a high understanding of who Ebert is. Jones includes details about Ebert's nurse Millie who "has premonitions" and  "sees ghosts." He also uses those details to contrast Ebert's happy dreams where he never lost his voice. He includes as well details that give the impression that Chaz and Roger are a quirky couple. Ebert was trying to walk up the stairs and Chaz encouraged him to do it on his own. When he did, the was their reaction "“I’m going to give my prayer to the universe,” she says, and then she gives a sun salutation north, south, east, and west. Ebert raises his arms into the sky behind her." 

It is clear Jones views Ebert in a highly positive light and it is refreshing to read his telling of Ebert. He is highly preceptive and because of that we get intimate details of Ebert that make it seem like the reader is experiencing the moments Jones is retelling. Jones explains Ebert's sadness in the sentence "His eyes well up behind his glasses, and for the first time, they overwhelm his smile." Jones used important language like first and overwhelm. Jones also describes Ebert's anger with "he’s shouting now. He’s standing outside on the street corner and he’s arching his back and he’s shouting at the top of his lungs." Jones manages to communicate Ebert's anger but at the same time his despair from loosing his closest friend. Jones in both quotes communicates Ebert's sorrow thoroughly. Jones conveys who Ebert is as a person in third person effectively and his character profile was a success.