Roger Ebert: A Man of Many Words

Before I begin, I would like to say how much I really enjoyed reading this article on Roger Ebert. As a person who oftentimes read Ebert’s movie critiques, I found this article about him to be refreshing and allows, not only Ebert’s work to shine, but it brings him out of the page and makes him more human than just a movie critic that you hear often in media.

Jones does a remarkable job in capturing Ebert’s voice in his article. He captures the essence of Ebert’s blossoming career to his downfall when his cancer took over. Be that as it may, it was not as somber as one would think when writing about cancer. In contrast, it’s written in an enlightened, almost hopeful tone that leaves readers, myself, in awe.

I was able to differentiate between Jones and Ebert’s voice because Jones was able to capture Ebert’s voice in a rather wistful, nostalgic tone whereas his voice was more practical. Jones does such an amazing job writing Ebert’s voice and what’s so amazing about it is the fact that despite the fact the he lost the ability to speak, Jones is able to bring out Ebert’s voice by presenting a series of post-it notes and letters that Ebert wrote himself to express his musings, dreams, and ideas. It’s poignant how the reader can still make out Ebert’s voice from the article without much difficulty.

We also get a birds’-eye view of Ebert’s life from his perspective that I believe brought more depth to the article. We were able to glance a day in the life of well-acclaimed movie critic Roger Ebert and go on a whirlpool of a journey when Jones chronicles his battle with cancer. All in all, Jones’ article succeeds in illuminating the essence of Ebert’s character and how his legacy would continue on as his words transcends the pages.

Voice in "Roger Ebert: The Essential Man"

            As Janet Burroway puts it in Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft, in order to fully understand a character in a novel, “you need to hear a character’s voice in your head in order to bring him or her to life successfully,” (Burroway 83).  In the article “Roger Ebert: The Essential Man,” Chris Jones creates just this sort of understanding and connection between the reader and the character through his “connective” and story-like style of writing for the voice of Roger Ebert, a famous movie critic that lost his lower jaw due to cancer. 

            Jones does not make the narration boring or “fact-like” like many non-fiction articles. Jones creates a story through Roger Ebert’s life, and makes many of his experiences come to life. He sets up the tone to make it appear as if the reader were seeing what Roger Ebert sees and experiences.  In this sense, the article is very easy to follow – we, the readers, are drawn into the article by Roger’s “character” as if we were seeing into the characters that Roger writes about.  Burroway also suggests that the concept of writing through someone else’s voice can be quite difficult.  Burroway suggests to “write a monologue in your character’s voice” (Burroway 84).  Jones manages to create just this sort of monologue between the reader and Roger Ebert as we are given the story of his life without much factual evidence. 

            Thus, Jones does not need to provide evidence to prove who Roger is – he only needs to describe through a story-like tone of who Roger is which makes his life and this article all the more interesting and compelling.  Jones further gives us a sense of Roger by incorporating significant quotes and sayings that provide a vision into Roger’s life – especially when Roger writes, “when I am writing, my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was.  All is well.  I am as I should be.”  Lines such as these, (direct quotes from the person), provide so much insight into a character, and most importantly into a human being that grants the reader with so much detail and valuable information into a person’s life.  We are able to relate with Roger and understand a piece of what he sees and what he does.  Furthermore, Chris Jones gives Roger Ebert his own "voice" within this article.   

Tower and Marbury voice distinction

     Wells Tower writes a profile on American basketball player Stephon Marbury in a way that highlights his individualism, while still concealing his opinions in his observations. Marbury's basketball career has been riddled with controversy because of his strange antics, so much that they overshadow his career as a professional NBA player. Tower writes in a way that does not indicate how he feels about a certain place; it is his word usage and description that reveals his true feelings. For example, Tower describes the area that Marbury is now living in with words that others say: "The oil plants were going full tilt," "the air smelled like an emergency and had a salty chemical flavor you could taste with your eyes." Descriptions such as these allow for the reader to really see the type of area that Marbury is living in. The conditions are not ideal, nor are they wanted; whatever the circumstance, Tower never gives his personal opinion of the area straight forwardly.
     Tower's voice differs from Marbury's in that Tower observes all that has being happened, while Marbury's voice is what is quoted. We do not get into Marbury's mind because he is the one being profiled. What he says is what the reader has to believe. If he says that he is not jealous of Kevin Garnett, that is what we have to believe. There is no telling what is going on in his head. Tower, however, has a voice that goes beyond what is being stated. He reports on what is seen, what is heard, and what is reported. For example, Tower is able to write about not only what Marbury experiences, but about what has been reported about him in the past and his own interactions with those associate with Marbury. 

The American Male at Age Ten

The piece "The American Male at Age Ten" by Susan / provides a unique and interesting way to introduce a character to a reader. She offers small vignettes and clips of stories that give way to the personality of the main character, Colin. I felt like I knew Colin just from reading this piece. Each paragraph could be an introductory paragraph to another story. The paragraph-or rather, part of the story-I enjoyed the most was Colin’s conversation with his friend Japeth outside the pizzeria. The dialogue gave a deeper insight into both of these little boy’s minds. They are talking about things you expect young kids on the verge of puberty to talk about-video games and girls. I believe this conversation gives the best example of what stage Colin is at in his life. I liked this story because it gave me insight to a dynamic that I otherwise wouldn’t get to know. We all have come into contact with a 10-year-old child but rarely do we ever get the chance to fully understand how they see the world. Of course we were all 10 years old at some point, but how we think and our opinions change so much over time that it’s hard to remember that time of our lives. This piece gave a refreshing view. Boys at this age are on the brink of teenage hood (and after that adulthood) but are still incredibly ignorant about the things around them. Colin understands that he’s attracted to some girls more than others but still refers to them as “Stupid and weird”. I very much enjoyed the way this piece was written as well. It is not obvious who the narrator is. At first I thought it was another 10-year-old but the writing seemed too mature for that to be the case. Then I thought a parent, but the parents were mentioned. The only person it could be would be a babysitter or neighbor. It is written very objectively, as the writer is just an omnipotent observer.   

Dreams about Wyoming

The paragraph that I was drawn to was the one that starts out "He has had other losses in his life".  It didn't really hit me until after I had finished reading that it was actually describing Orlean's diction throughout the story, that it was switching back and forth between a ten-year-old's vocabulary and a higher, more grown-up vocabulary.  It drives home the point that Collin is in this in-between state of not a child and not an adolescent.  Or put another way, Collin knows enough about the adult world and about media that he is able to talk fluently in that language but still retains that innocence of not being fully aware of what he's saying.
What made this paragraph stick out to me was the high contrast in the sentence "Sometimes when he talks about this...".  Such stark differences that appear back-to-back like in that sentence always makes readers do a double-take, I think.  It makes people go back and reread to make sure that they understood it correctly the first time around and when that happens the reader can find things they didn't see before.  Also the sentence "The collision in his mind..." stuck out because I love repetitive lists such as that.  In sentences like that you can actually see the build-up to either a punchline or a dramatic reveal and it enhances the delivery.
Overall, this kept me engaged because of the knee-jerk switching between factual explanations, scenery descriptions, and dialogue.  Sometimes it was confusing but that confusion kept me from getting bored with the story.  What I really took from it was that in some places you don't need a segue between thoughts or scenes, but in others it is very important because if you don't put them there the audience won't get the joke.

"Colin's Bedroom is decorated simply..."

Susan Orlean uses her descriptive writing to portray what the characters are feeling. This type of writing allows for the reader to better visualize what is happening in the scene. In the article, we are able to get a feeling for Colin’s life ambitions and personality not by direct statements, but by the illustrative description of the author. The paragraph that I am choosing to focus on is the one that describes his room. I feel like there is a lot to be said about a person by the way that they decorate their room. What is chosen to be in a person’s room is personal to each individual and it usually displays their likes and dislikes.

I found it interesting how Orlean starts the paragraph of the room’s description by saying, “Colin’s bedroom is decorated simply.” When starting a paragraph with saying that something is simple, the easy way to complete that paragraph would be to leave it like that. If a room is simple, there is no need to describe it any further—it just is. However, Orlean expands on the simplicity of the room, revealing that the room is only simple on the exterior. When each objects is taken and looked at more closely in an individual level, much more can be revealed. For example, Colin has several magazine ads that have been torn out tacked to his wall. The fact that the ads have been torn out means he does not care for neatness when it comes to the decoration of his room. They are torn out and tacked because he saw them and liked them and there is nothing more to that.

A recurring theme in the article is that Colin wants to one-day move to Wyoming. That is why many of the ads plastered to his wall have to do with rural life and farming. He watches TV a lot and is into popular culture and merchandising and this peculiar fetish, along with his desire to move to Wyoming, could point to a certain career path that he would take. Since his room is not decorated very extravagantly, it would not be too hard to learn from the media about how to live on his own and just leave. He longs for something more than the town that he is living in and desires to move as far away as possible. This is why he pays so much attention to the media—he longs for what is being reported. 
     This proves that there is more to be said rather than just a "simple bedroom." Orlean uses this method to further expand not on the fact that the room is simple, but on why the room is decorated in this why. By being specific in her descriptions, she allows the reader to get a full grasp on what the character desires without coming right out and saying it bluntly.

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.