The Other Side of The River, by Alex Kotlowitz, is a story about a young black boy, Eric McGinnis, who was found dead near the river. Throughout the novel, the reader is given the chance to analyze the different perspective of social audiences on how Eric McGinnis died. We see the views of the citizens of both sides of the river, formal and informal audiences. The river, which splits the two cities, Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, symbolizes for the union that is forced upon two cities, regardless of the different social status, race, and poverty they may have.
Many things can affect the way meaning is constructed, such as past experiences, knowledge, and which side of the river you belonged to, which indicated your social status, and race. The …show more content…
Social audiences can either be formal and informal. Formal social audiences exist for a reason, which is to construct and assign meaning. An example would be the media, the jury. Informal audiences, on the other hand, are not there for constructing meaning, but they still create their meaning. Informal audiences are basically the citizens. In the novel, the judges, and lawyers are examples of formal social audiences. In chapter 8, the author explains that the lawyers and policemen’s jobs are reliant on each other. The police’s job is to collect evidence, do lab work, and interpret autopsy reports. The prosecutors, on the other hand, don’t do all the detective work, they just rely on what evidence the police find to present to the court. The prosecutors create an angle of vision to the jury, judges, and the people. However, sometimes policemen’s can be quite prejudiced and disregard cetin information. For example, the police, who reviewed the autopsy report of Eric, believed the tragedy was probably a drowning, and because of that many citizens believed that was the case. Informal social audiences are the citizens of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. For example, the white believed that Eric had drowned because he didn’t know how to swim, therefore he committed suicide. The black folks believed that he didn’t drown because blacks avoid water and don’t know how to swim, therefore it was a murder. Eric’s mother believed that he didn’t drown because he actually knew how to
Many things can affect the way meaning is constructed, such as past experiences, knowledge, and which side of the river you belonged to, which indicated your social status, and race. The …show more content…
Social audiences can either be formal and informal. Formal social audiences exist for a reason, which is to construct and assign meaning. An example would be the media, the jury. Informal audiences, on the other hand, are not there for constructing meaning, but they still create their meaning. Informal audiences are basically the citizens. In the novel, the judges, and lawyers are examples of formal social audiences. In chapter 8, the author explains that the lawyers and policemen’s jobs are reliant on each other. The police’s job is to collect evidence, do lab work, and interpret autopsy reports. The prosecutors, on the other hand, don’t do all the detective work, they just rely on what evidence the police find to present to the court. The prosecutors create an angle of vision to the jury, judges, and the people. However, sometimes policemen’s can be quite prejudiced and disregard cetin information. For example, the police, who reviewed the autopsy report of Eric, believed the tragedy was probably a drowning, and because of that many citizens believed that was the case. Informal social audiences are the citizens of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. For example, the white believed that Eric had drowned because he didn’t know how to swim, therefore he committed suicide. The black folks believed that he didn’t drown because blacks avoid water and don’t know how to swim, therefore it was a murder. Eric’s mother believed that he didn’t drown because he actually knew how to