The Essential Man

I chose Chris Jones’ article because I love how ironic it is that I’m supposed to be analyzing voice in an essay that it is literally all about the lack of voice. However, Jones demonstrates in "Roger Ebert: The Essential Man" that having a voice is way more than having vocal chords and making sounds. Through these pages one realizes the importance of the written word and how it gave Roger Ebert his voice back. The reader is able to feel Ebert’s frustration at his loss of speech, but also his gratitude at finding the solace of writing.

Jones begins the article by establishing his own voice first. In fact we don’t hear Roger Ebert trying to communicate until the third page. Instead, Jones begins by describing in great detail a scene of Ebert doing his job of analyzing a movie about someone that has also lost one of his senses, the sense of sound. By describing Ebert’s "radiating kid joy" (2) and claiming that he loved the film, Ebert demonstrates his omniscient position and establishes his third person point of view. The author continue these descriptions throughout the article, offering insights to Ebert’s mind.

Once the narrator’s voice is established, Jones is able to develop his character in the story. He goes on to describe all the ways that Ebert talks without using his voice. "Now his hands do the talking"(3). In fact his hands are described as moving rapidly in accordance to what he wants to express. I personally loved the imagery used when it says that "he’ll clack on a hard surface with his nails" (3) whenever wanting someone to pay attention to him. The use of mannerisms reflects sign language, and it compares Ebert with the man in the movie he was criticizing who was missing one of his senses as well. Furthermore, his anger is described through repetition "the words growing bigger and bigger and bigger…he keeps hitting the button, bigger and bigger still" and furthermore "Roger Ebert is shaking, his entire body is shaking," finally demonstrating his anger through the use of onomatopoeia with "bang, bang, bang, and he’s shouting now." (7) The use of repetition and later onomatopoeia creates the feeling of the anger intensifying and shows how Ebert has found a way to scream and express himself without the use of words.

Nonetheless, Jones also uses specific quotes from Ebert himself to develop character voice. " ‘For meaningful weight loss,’ the voice says, ‘I recommend surgery and a liquid diet’ " (5). This quote encompasses Ebert’s grand sense of humor and how he is capable of using his disease to make others laugh. Despite of his hardships, Ebert doesn’t want to be pitied. Instead his character is simply presented as a strong, humorous man who has overcome obstacles and while losing his ability to speak has nonetheless kept his voice through writing.