I See A Killer Die Analysis

The author provokes an emotional response from the very start. A grim black and white picture immediately catches the reader’s attention and draws their eye onto the sub heading just below. It allows the reader’s imagination to run wild as there is nobody in the picture and most importantly the human aspect has been removed from both the title and the picture. No name has been given but that it is simply just a “death chamber…filled with gas”, which almost makes the killer seem like they are sub-human. This I presume was to ensure the reader felt sorry for the camera man himself as he has to witness the state murder someone whom it considers has no value. This is reflected in the title “I see a killer die” which also provokes a similar response. The word “see” makes the reader infer that maybe the camera man saw the grisly event by accident and was unintentional. This has clouded the reader’ imagination which can have serious implications as the reader will see everything as grisly and inhumane. The reader can also …show more content…
This is evident when Allan Hall, from New York, quoted Harris (the TV man he is writing about in third person), as saying “if you asked me I would say that was not a humane way to die”. This further adds to how opinions of people can almost contradict what the text is saying. This is clearly demonstrated as just before the quote mentioned above there is a sub heading that says “swift” which I infer was there to possibly justify the execution even though he had just described it as though Harris was frantically gasping for air “like a woman in labour might”. Now we all know what the connotations of birth are. The main connotation is that a new life has just come into this world. However the reporter has decided that he wants to compare birth to death. Not just any death, one described as “inhumane”; provoking an emotional response that would have not been there if only the gasping was