A Shocking Realization
What is a miracle? Must it be the product of divine intervention? Or is it simply luck? I say it is an unexplainable, unforeseeable, unexpected change of fate. John Jeremiah Sullivan explores this in his essay “Feet in Smoke”. By questioning the common belief of miracles, he demonstrates that unreal ideas effectively portray reality.
Sullivan recalls the event of his brother Worth’s near death. The shocking accident and process of recovery leaves John shaken as he pieces together what he remembers and reflects on how it changed not only Worth, but also himself. Simultaneously, he grapples with deciphering the truth of the event as he compares his memories, the documentary, and Worth’s recollection- or lack thereof- after he was electrocuted.
Since Sullivan is immediately suspicious of the word “miracle”, as he says it “tends to obscure the human skill and coolheadedness that go into saving somebody’s …show more content…
Although he does eventually recover, the experience changes the whole family. The thematic topic of change is interspersed throughout the essay. Who would he be when he woke up? How was John going to let the accident affect him? Change is also crafted into the essay in metaphors like the new song in the opening that foreshadows a change into something softer and more delicate that is “simpler and more earnest” (Sullivan 345). It also represents an innocence in the simplicity which John later sees in Worth when his brain is reduced to a basic level. Worth’s nonsense sentences and visions also allude to a supernatural occurrence that relates to miraculousness but Sullivan retains the realistic view and refrains from simply attributing that to the strange language. He allows himself to not have an explanation at all, which goes against human nature in trying to uncover the details behind the uncharacteristic
What is a miracle? Must it be the product of divine intervention? Or is it simply luck? I say it is an unexplainable, unforeseeable, unexpected change of fate. John Jeremiah Sullivan explores this in his essay “Feet in Smoke”. By questioning the common belief of miracles, he demonstrates that unreal ideas effectively portray reality.
Sullivan recalls the event of his brother Worth’s near death. The shocking accident and process of recovery leaves John shaken as he pieces together what he remembers and reflects on how it changed not only Worth, but also himself. Simultaneously, he grapples with deciphering the truth of the event as he compares his memories, the documentary, and Worth’s recollection- or lack thereof- after he was electrocuted.
Since Sullivan is immediately suspicious of the word “miracle”, as he says it “tends to obscure the human skill and coolheadedness that go into saving somebody’s …show more content…
Although he does eventually recover, the experience changes the whole family. The thematic topic of change is interspersed throughout the essay. Who would he be when he woke up? How was John going to let the accident affect him? Change is also crafted into the essay in metaphors like the new song in the opening that foreshadows a change into something softer and more delicate that is “simpler and more earnest” (Sullivan 345). It also represents an innocence in the simplicity which John later sees in Worth when his brain is reduced to a basic level. Worth’s nonsense sentences and visions also allude to a supernatural occurrence that relates to miraculousness but Sullivan retains the realistic view and refrains from simply attributing that to the strange language. He allows himself to not have an explanation at all, which goes against human nature in trying to uncover the details behind the uncharacteristic