Sarvesh Sivakumar Unknown Teacher ENG 4U Sep 28, 20XX The Use of an Author’s Voice in Delivering a Message Some of the most impactful messages in our lives hold its importance due to the manner in which it is communicated. This is true for the crucial messages in many of the essays and novels we read. They deliver messages by using their distinct voice and the general tone of the piece. Essays such as “Where Grace Lives”, “Attaboy”, “Afterwords: Private Stories”, and “Indian Education” show that these techniques can be used regardless of the genre and content of the essay. “Where Grace Lives” is an excerpt from a collection of texts, which shows the author’s anger at the injustice faced by the deprived parts of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. In “Where Grace Lives”, the author uses descriptive writing extensively to communicate the trauma of those who faced Hurricane Katrina: “There are images which will crush me and haunt me forever. Moments seared into my heart. Entire neighbourhoods underwater… People clinging to the peak of what had been their homes in desperation(67)”. This paints the picture of people who were living regular lives losing everything instantaneously. The use ofy this craft move created more impact than simply listing facts and statistics. She described “a young woman who was holding her infant...They had not evacuated because they had no car to enable them to leave and no place to stay(68)”. This image of mothers with little children being stranded and helpless makes the reader feel more sympathy than a statistic on lives lost. She showcases the perspectives of those who lived through the natural disaster. This gives the story a more authentic voice and implicitly delivers the message of injustice. Repetition is used to show that she lost the New Orleans she had grown up with; the New Orleans she loved. The tone of anger further compliments this. America could not even provide basic services to its citizens. She cannot believe that “a country which can put men on the moon, which can help build an international space station, which can create phenomenal structures or explore the deepest oceans, but we could not get water to people trapped on an overpass for days(75)” By using these examples, she is telling us this failure was not due to lack of resources. She claims it is purely due to neglect of lower-class Americans. It is a feeling of betrayal. It feels to her “like watching someone I love get gutted and lie there bleeding and knowing that help was standing a few feet away, talking about golf scores (75)”. This sheer disbelief at this injustice is shown through various techniques and examples and enhanced by her voice of anger and helplessness. Attaboy clearly delivers a message on the potential downfall of the parenting techniques of this generation. He shows how it can make people act unreasonably. He witnesses the mother of a child who scolds the man for touching him. He finds the mother’s reaction absurd: “Really? This is your reaction? If I were thirteen and I’d been caught graffitiing a mailbox, my parents would have thanked the man and shaken his hand (12)”. He makes his point by comparing examples of parenting from today to the past. He uses humor and sarcasm to discuss modern-day “parenting”, referring to children today as “McKinley or Madison, Kennedy or Lincoln or beet-faced Baby Reagan (13)”. He also uses a comedic tone to explain his childhood life: “I had a friend whose seven-year-old will only consider something if it’s white. Had I tried that, my parents would have said, ‘You’re on’, and served me a bowl of paste, followed by joint compound, and, maybe if I was good, some semen(14)”. This demonstrates a voice that is critical towards both methods of parenting. Although he used similar techniques when referring to his childhood, he also gave us readers his father’s perspective. On one hand, his father was strangling a kid by a mere suspicion, and “looked powerful but also cartoonish, like a bear dressed up for a job interview(17)”. This is a unique simile used to comically portray the situation. It alludes to the idea that not all parents in the era were necessarily fit for parenting. In the mind of his father’s generation, “Their son hadn’t done, just gone without oxygen for a minute. And might that not make him stronger? (19)”. His tone is that of shock at what are glaringly obvious downfalls of both forms of parenting. This enhances the voice that is critical to different forms of parenthood he has experienced and witnessed. It leaves readers concluding that there is no “right” way to raise a child. “Afterwords: Private Stories” is an essay that tells us that all the events in our world, heartwarming or heartbreaking, happen because of the stories we are told and how they are communicated to us. It starts by showing the difference between the oral and written narration of stories and the different types of thoughts conveyed through each medium. This part uses an argumentative structure. It provides examples such as the essence of the stories being lost when “Native stories began appearing in print, concern arose that the context in these stories had existed was in danger of being destroyed(153-154)”. He makes concessions and refutations, saying regardless of the fact that “we are surrounded by books that can be read by anyone(154)”, “the act of reading is a private act(154)”. He emphasizes the importance of learning the various perspectives of his friend Sam’s dysfunctional family. The irreversible consequences are given, tempting us to blame Sam’s mother. But he shows that telling everyone’s stories is important so that no one is blindly blamed. Repetition is used to emphasize this point: “Much too late for blame to do any good, much as we love to point fingers. Much too late for blame to make a difference(157)”. It continues on to show the rules of our society and our reactions to tragedies ae shaped by the stories told to us. The reason why smoking is allowed and drugs are banned is only due to “the stories we tell(157)”. He again uses the literary technique of repetition of smoking’s place in the society that we live in, which is telling others that “No one tells me what to do(158)”. He reminds us of our indifference to scandals like Enron, oil spills like Exxon Valdez, and overfishing in Canada’s east coast. He reminds us that “We’ve created the stories that allow them to exist and flourish. They didn’t come out of nowhere. They didn’t arrive from another planet(164)”. While we love to remember the stories of communities coming together, we should not forget that these are only “seasonal ethics(165)”. He then reveals the unhappy ending of Sam’s family life we did not want to hear. He reveals that he told his story for himself. He does not care for its impact on us. This shows us the importance of telling our stories. Telling the world who we are. Regardless of whether it is “good” or “bad”, they need to be told and we should all listen. He delivers this message through a candid voice. He admits the mistakes he made, such as not helping his friend John with his family issues. This is to urge us to tell our stories before it is too late. It ultimately shows that many of the tragedies, both for individuals and societies, can be avoided if we shared and acted upon our private stories. “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie sheds light on the atrocities committed against the Native Americans using a voice of dark humour. He highlights the most memorable experience he had from each grade. In the first grade, he learned the consequences of fighting back, chanting “It’s a good day to die, it’s a good day to die, all the way down to the principle’s office(106)” after he punched Frenchy for tormenting him. He uses repetition when her teacher condescendingly says “indians, indians, indians(106)” without capitalization, thereby dehumanizing him. His response to repeat the statement back with capitalizing the word “Indian” shows that he resisted being stripped of his humanity. He knows his punishment from the third grade of staring at the wall for his Native American art has still not ended. He knows he is being punished for being a Native American. He felt education could liberate him in the following years. A metaphor of the possible results of a basketball shot was used to represent this “But, it felt good, that ball in my hands, all those possibilities and angles. It was mathematics. It was geometry, It was beautiful(107)”. This same literary technique is used to show that the first punch, or the demand for rights, must come from Native Americans: “the most valuable lesson about living in the white world: Always throw the first punch(108)”. He goes on to explain the downfalls of attempting to escape his identity, showing that he will never be able to fully escape it. After the white girl learns his name, “no one spoke to me for another five hundred years(108)”. At the same time, he shows how their identity is constantly stripped from them. His white friends, who think he knows about alcoholism just because other Native Americans suffer from it, do not understand that “sharing dark skin doesn’t necessarily make two men brothers(109)”. Through these examples, he indirectly shows how there is systemic discrimination against them that stops them from achieving success. These narratives deliver different messages and use different styles. But one can observe similar techniques used by the authors. They all, to varying degrees, use anecdotes of their experiences. Some, like “Attaboy” and “Where Grace Lives”, use it to build upon their message. “Where Grace Lives” cites her experience of Hurricane Katrina and “Attaboy” uses his strict childhood. “Afterwords: Private Stories” and “Indian Education” use it to create authenticity. “Private Stories” sheds light on his own regrets for not sharing his story, while also using other examples to build his