Human life is precious. There are many creatures that live and eat, but only humans are capable of complex emotions and understanding. Human life is a luxury, full of memorable moments, love, and accomplishments. However, there are devastating moments in life that can completely change and alter all of these luxurious aspects. In literature, authors use these disastrous times to inspire and provide meaning to the lives of those affected. Literary elements allow the audience to understand and comprehend the writers’ intense messages about the meaning of life. In the short story “Videotape” by Don Delillo, specifically the fifth through twelfth paragraphs on page sixty, literary elements are used to tell the story of an innocent little girl who
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DeLillo shows a typical man completing the usual task of driving, when his life is completely altered. He is “just a man in his forties wearing a pale shirt,” driving along until he is shot and killed (60). The author draws a picture for the reader to see and understand a common average Joe can be messed up forever whether he deserved it or not. The reader recognizes the man as a nice guy when he “waves briefly” at the little girl recording him (60). DeLillo allows the reader to imagine this man waving in order to like him and see how a horrible crime can happen to someone that is good. The description of camera recordings also allows the reader to understand terrible acts are just as common as the entertainment one would see in home videos. The reader visualizes a boring old video of a “granddad at breakfast, all stroked out so his nostrils gape, the cereal spoon baby-gripped in his pale fist” (60). The author gives the reader this image to understand a grandpa eating breakfast is just as likely to occur as a homicide. It is completely random and while recording, there is no one directing a particular action to happen, it simply does. DeLillo expresses the message to his audience that terrible crimes are just as likely to occur as everyday tasks for the average person, even if they are simply …show more content…
The story is full of short, simple sentences that make the reader pause and think. When the narrator says, “it is innocent, it is aimless, it is determined, it is real,” the reader recognizes these words as how they would feel in the situation (60). The reader believes they are watching the tape, due to the structure of the writing, and as if they are the ones experiencing the broadcast. The idea of re-watching a man’s death seems normal, as if it happens everyday, because it feels real. The whole situation is “real” for the audience and as if “it goes on forever” (60). DeLillo’s style and structure allows the reader to believe they are the ones reliving the event by making it real to them through involved emotions and thoughts in the text. One believes they are there experiencing the homicide, re-watching the death with the broadcast, and re-living the tragedy over and over in their minds due to the intensity of the text. DeLillo uses his structure this way for the reader to truly understand this is not fiction, it exists. Catastrophes and misfortunes happen to everyone in the world when one least expects it and there is no escaping
DeLillo shows a typical man completing the usual task of driving, when his life is completely altered. He is “just a man in his forties wearing a pale shirt,” driving along until he is shot and killed (60). The author draws a picture for the reader to see and understand a common average Joe can be messed up forever whether he deserved it or not. The reader recognizes the man as a nice guy when he “waves briefly” at the little girl recording him (60). DeLillo allows the reader to imagine this man waving in order to like him and see how a horrible crime can happen to someone that is good. The description of camera recordings also allows the reader to understand terrible acts are just as common as the entertainment one would see in home videos. The reader visualizes a boring old video of a “granddad at breakfast, all stroked out so his nostrils gape, the cereal spoon baby-gripped in his pale fist” (60). The author gives the reader this image to understand a grandpa eating breakfast is just as likely to occur as a homicide. It is completely random and while recording, there is no one directing a particular action to happen, it simply does. DeLillo expresses the message to his audience that terrible crimes are just as likely to occur as everyday tasks for the average person, even if they are simply …show more content…
The story is full of short, simple sentences that make the reader pause and think. When the narrator says, “it is innocent, it is aimless, it is determined, it is real,” the reader recognizes these words as how they would feel in the situation (60). The reader believes they are watching the tape, due to the structure of the writing, and as if they are the ones experiencing the broadcast. The idea of re-watching a man’s death seems normal, as if it happens everyday, because it feels real. The whole situation is “real” for the audience and as if “it goes on forever” (60). DeLillo’s style and structure allows the reader to believe they are the ones reliving the event by making it real to them through involved emotions and thoughts in the text. One believes they are there experiencing the homicide, re-watching the death with the broadcast, and re-living the tragedy over and over in their minds due to the intensity of the text. DeLillo uses his structure this way for the reader to truly understand this is not fiction, it exists. Catastrophes and misfortunes happen to everyone in the world when one least expects it and there is no escaping