Susan Orlean "The American Male at Age Ten" Post

The paragraph that I chose to focus on and analyze in "The American Male at Age Ten" by Susan Orlean is the first paragraph. Not only is this the opening paragraph that sets up the "scene" for the rest of the story, but it also is within itself a story. The first paragraph opens with a list of so many things that the speaker and Colin Duffy would enjoy together had they gotten married. Upon first reading this excerpt, I noticed that the word choice came off childish and youthful, which is only fitting for an essay about a ten year old. Examples included, “” Basic vocabulary words were used. This made me question the age of the speaker upon finishing the rest of the essay. 

Every one of the sentences that made up this first paragraph was a topic later addressed throughout the rest of the essay. The way the sentences were written even read off as juvenile. Later throughout the reading, the speaker says that she is married to a lawyer, implying that she is older. So now one could deduce that Colin Duffy and the speaker may not be the same age.

Susan Orlean's writing style in "The American Male at Age Ten" starts off youthful and child-like but then I noticed that it progressively seems to change. The vocabulary and phrases that she uses such as “turn of the century” and “it is a far cry” are those that would more commonly be said by an older person. After the introductory paragraph the rest of the story is worded by someone who is older. This ties in well because although Colin is a ten year old, he seems to be mature for his age.

Another interesting aspect of this story is the intricate detail that Orlean goes through to describe various aspects of Colin Duffy’s life. Little things such as giving the name of his parents or teacher or best friend add a more personal touch to the reading. Orlean was very descriptive in her settings such as the “pale-blue Victorian house” or the “saggy counters” and “split bench” of the pizza shop.

Finally, another aspect of this reading that caught my attention was when she explained the Street Fighter II video game and I immediately related it to the “Uniqlo Game” essay read in class.