Exaggeration In The Storm This Time By David Helvarg

Improved Essays
Hurricane Katrina was a purely devastating storm that left new orleans and the surrounding area in ruin for months after the storm had passed. David Helvarg describes the devastation that has taken place throughout the hurricane’s path in the story, “The Storm This Time”. The story starts off with Helvarg arrival in Baton Rouge immediately describing the relief efforts that are taking place to help those affected by this disaster of a storm. As Helvarg continues his documentation of the storm's destruction he shares some details that would be out of place in an American city. For instance, when Helvarg is explaining the M-4s on the open sided trucks, he shows how much of an exaggeration this is by saying, “M-4s at the ready in case the undead …show more content…
The dominant impression left by Helvarg is the pure devastation that the hurricane had on Louisiana. Helvarg stated that entire towns got washed away in the flood waters which helps in describing the dominant impression that Helvarg wants left on the audience. Helvarg also selected specific details to include into the story that were the most relevant to the purpose he was trying to convey to his audience. This can be seen when Helvarg only briefly talks about hurricane Rita which is another hurricane that hits a similar location, but it did not cause the same widespread damage that Katrina did. The organization of these detail is also important, this was done with four different headers that describe the different effects of Katrina and the recovery efforts. This helped to make the story easy to read by dividing the different topics up and allows for his purpose to be conveyed to his audience. Lastly Helvarg provided vivid sensory language to help describe the setting or New Orleans and what they had just gone through. The amount of descriptive adjectives Helvarg uses is immense and this helps the audience understand what it looked like in the aftermath of the storm. An example of this is when Helvarg describes the Superdome saying, “The rusted ruined roof of the Superdome inspires me to choose an exit…” Helvarg’s word choice helps his audience get a picture of what the Superdome really looked like further conveying his purpose. These key descriptive strategies helped this story fit the author's purpose to his audience and make a detailed and descriptive

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Video Discussion Questions Behind the Scenes: “Our World Turned to Water” 1. Author Lauren Tarshis calls the flood in Louisiana “devastating.” What details in the first section of the video (0:10 to 0:48) help you understand how the flood was devastating? It was the first major disaster after hurricane sandy.…

    • 1844 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Hurricane Katrine was known as one of the worst hurricanes in history. Roughly about 1,800 were killed and millions become homeless after the flood. People questioned if government help New Orleans prepare for the mass destruction. Looking back to Hurricane Katrine and the damage that has be caused to New Orleans, we could say that public administration failed to protect those people who they serve. Per the article, New Orleans spent thousands of dollars widening ship channels, building parks, and investing in on-water gambling instead of managing their money where it was most important.…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The author uses personal anecdote to help the readers visualize how dangerous the storm was. The author states on paragraph 2 that," Everybody acknowledged this was the worst storm they'd ever been in-you can tell by the size of the waves, the motion of the boat, the crashing. " The author included these three paragraphs of personal anecdote to make the readers feel involved. The author also used scientific theories to help the readers understand the causes and effects of increasing wave heights.…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The hurricane can be summed up as “the destructive fury of nature” (SparkNotesEditors). It is the direct contrast of the other natural symbols that beautify nature; it is a force of sheer destruction (SparkNotesEditors). It compels the characters to ask existential questions and ponder their place in the universe (SparkNotesEditors). It forces them to question whether their god really cares about them and their lives (SparkNotesEditors). “The hurricane symbolizes the all-powerful force of nature, which trumps even the most intense exertions of power by humans, such as Jody’s abusive need for control, or Mrs. Turner’s sense of racial hierarchy, or Tea Cake’s physical strength” (Florman and Kestler “LitChart on “Their Eyes Were Watching God.””).…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For those who lived through it the topic can be a hard one to digest. Many people can not only tell you what they were doing that day, but for the entire month after. It was sheer destruction and in The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina-- the Inside Story from one Louisiana Scientist Dr van Heerden dives into a highly controversial topic. While the book is filled with hard hitting truths and honesty, it is at times difficult to process at times.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Descriptive writing appeal to the reader’s sense which create a vivid picture of a person, place, or thing. The purpose of a description in essay is to reveal the meaning of a subject through detailed, sensory observation. The descriptive essay employs the power in language and all the human senses to bring a subject to life for the reader. In Ann Hodgman “No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch” describes her experience tasting dog food by elaborating on the taste, ingredient, and qualities as human food.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    New Orleans Research Paper

    • 1301 Words
    • 6 Pages

    However, people in New Orleans are always living in the fear of a second “Katrina” mostly because of its unique geography condition. Considering the geographic characteristics of New Orleans, it is a vulnerable city especially when it comes to storm surges. Because the city is lower than the water level of Mississippi River and lake Pontchartrain. What’s more, there is always a higher crime rate in New Orleans for decades. But after Katrina, many experts with great ambition came to New Orleans, trying to redevelopment it to an attractive city.…

    • 1301 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the novel Been In the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery, Leon F Litwack describes the aftermath of slavery post-Civil War. Litwack uses primary sources and stories from slaves themselves to not only provide evidence to support his thesis but to give the reader an In-depth look into the horrid and abusive life of slaves before, during, and after the Civil War. Litwack advocated that although the Civil War was fought over the issue of slavery, slaves wouldn 't gain complete freedom directly after the war. He argued that even post-Civil War, slaves were still oppressed on their rights mainly in the southern states.…

    • 1911 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The author uses rhetorical devices such as point of view, figurative language, imagery, time elements, suspense, and detailed descriptions…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hurricane Katrina “It’s looking better for New Orleans, and the very worst for the Gulfport area.” After hearing that, I said to everyone, “I want you to forgive me now, because I think I made a mistake. I’m afraid we’re all going to have to fight very hard not to die.” Hurricane Katrina was a hurricane that hit the gulf coast of the United States in 2005.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The year was 2005, it seems like it wasn’t that long ago , but it has been nearly 11 years since the natural disaster named Hurricane Katrina came through and devastated the city of New Orleans. The Hurricane Katrina aftermath left 80% of the city underwater and 25,000 thousands of people displaced, stranded and in despair seeking refuge inside the Louisiana Super Dome. More than 1500 people died after the levees broke letting water from the Mississippi River flood most of the city. Nearly seventy-one billion dollars in funds has been spent to help the people of New Orleans with the recovery process. My stance is in opposition of the process of these recovery efforts that have taken place.…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast with the force of a nuclear explosion. Less than 12 hours later, more than 80% of New Orleans was submerged in water. The resulting damage is predicted to have cost $300 billion and to have taken at least 1,400 lives. The progress in which cities along the Gulf Coast has amazed much of America, especially in New Orleans. As The New York Times stated, “It is a wonder that any of it is there at all.”…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I am writing this paper to analyze sections of the short story which includes the plot,theme,types of characters,narration,and literary devices used to format the story. When reading fictional stories and literature the use of different characters varies, some examples include major or central characters. These characters revolve around the resolution and conflict. Minor characters help the plot to evolve and dynamic characters change over time. In “Everyday Use” Mrs. Johnson was…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dead In Attic Summary

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In this book 1 Dead in Attic, Chris Rose speaks about aftermath and the real experienced people faced during the disaster that happened in New Orleans. Yes, Hurricane Katrina… Chris Rose explains how it it was after Katrina and make your realize what people of New Orleans actually experienced. Chris Rose talks about how him and his family evacuated New Orleans to Mississippi and then to Maryland. He describes what happens from the cat lady that survives the storm only to die from injuries, to the California National guard troops. He also talks about how when he came back to New Orleans a week later, and that he was fortunate because, his uptown home only had a broken screen door and loose gutter but that was the only way he was lucky, because all of his belongings were practically untouched by the disaster along with the rest of the properties in the upper region of the city.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Summary: In the final chapter of Come Hell or High Water:Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster Michael Dyson looks at how different groups use religion in the face of a natural disaster. In Hurricane Katrina there were essentially two groups that were a part of the disaster: poor, black victims and those that were supposed to help them. For those that are in a position to help, they often view natural disasters as a means for God to punish sinners and for those that need help they look to God as a comfort and as a way to cope. In the chapter, Dyson discusses how several Christian role models made similar statements about how New Orleans is a hub of sin and that the citizens of New Orleans snarl in the face of God until they need help;…

    • 1072 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays