Franken's 'The Long Slow Slide Into The Abyss'

Do you know the author’s purpose and the intended audience for this piece of writing?
I believe there are many purposes behind Franken’s The long slow slide into the abyss. One of the earliest purposes begins with the opening of his piece, “[h]ere's a memory.” From here we can assume Franken is going to express a personal life event, either good or bad, that shows the power of creativity and of mind, a reference back to our Unit 1 category, Memory and Writing. Franken’s continued use of phrases that refers to memory, like “I remember…”, “...as far as I can remember…” and “...what I choose to remember and retell,” justifies how memory is an important part of nonfictional writings.
After examining the rest of the paragraph, I sense there was a drastic shift of mood when he was referring to the Valentine’s package he received from his mother. “I received... [a] package containing …show more content…
Like I previously mentioned, his reluctance to see his father’s illness inspired his dedication to research and inform others. His technique of memory also plays on the hearts of his audience. There are many occasions where Franken explores the gloomy relationship surrounding his parents but one of his last conversations with his father changed his whole perception of him. “I remember remembering: my father in bed, my mother sitting beside it, me standing near the door...Finally, he cries out with passionate emphasis... ‘I have always loved your mother. Always.’ And my mother buries her face in her hands and sobs.” Franken then says, “This was the only time I ever heard my father say he loved [my mother]”, which again warms the heart. His use of imagery is what I believe allowed me to not be totally bored with his writing. My favorite use of imagery is when he is referring to how he perceives memory is stored. “They become - morphologically, electrochemically - part of the architecture of my