Lopez’s essay was the one that stood out the most to me. The description in this essay is quite poetic and appropriate, “They slammed glistening flukes on the beach, jarring the muscles of human thighs like Jello at a distance of a hundred yards (69)” and “sunlight sparkles in rivulets running off folds in its corrugated back (69).” Every description seems to add to the sad and beautiful nature of the whale’s presence and their ultimate death. I thought the author did a great job telling the story in a way that was honoring to the whales, even as you see all these horrible things being done to them, “The rope began to cut into the whale’s flesh (71)” as they tried to move it, “scientists used chainsaws to cut the lower jaws off sperm whales that had died only a few feet from whales that were not yet dead (72).” They story easily could have been told from a scientist’s point of view, or a city official’s point of view in a much colder tone. This essay set the perfect balance for me between the emotional story and the facts.
Meloy’s essay was written in a style befitting the topic. Las Vegas is a garish, over-the-top kind of place, and the description in this piece was larger than life, and excessive all around. For example, “Oleander bushes…they once offed a few boy scouts…who roasted a lethal meal (with their branches)” (795). The death of a few …show more content…
I suppose it could have been set in a lab where scientists are looking over whale jaws, or in a newspaper office, but the perfect, right place to set it was in the middle of the action: next to the whales as the lived their final days and in the midst of the chaos that surrounded them. Choosing the right setting can make or destroy an essay. It is important to think of the best place to tell the story from and proceed from there. I hope to take that lesson to heart and remember to look at potential settings so I can choose the best one: the one that belongs to the
Meloy’s essay was written in a style befitting the topic. Las Vegas is a garish, over-the-top kind of place, and the description in this piece was larger than life, and excessive all around. For example, “Oleander bushes…they once offed a few boy scouts…who roasted a lethal meal (with their branches)” (795). The death of a few …show more content…
I suppose it could have been set in a lab where scientists are looking over whale jaws, or in a newspaper office, but the perfect, right place to set it was in the middle of the action: next to the whales as the lived their final days and in the midst of the chaos that surrounded them. Choosing the right setting can make or destroy an essay. It is important to think of the best place to tell the story from and proceed from there. I hope to take that lesson to heart and remember to look at potential settings so I can choose the best one: the one that belongs to the