TOW #23- Feet in Smoke

“Feet in Smoke: A Story About Electrified Near-Death” by John Jeremiah Sullivan

Author John Jeremiah Sullivan frequently contributes his works to The New York Times Magazine, alongside editing for Harper’s Magazine and The Paris Review. His pieces have won several awards, including the Eclipse Award, the National Magazine Award, and the Whiting Award. This specific memoir is about Sullivan’s brother’s brush with death. Sullivan utilizes anecdote and vivid imagery to prove the importance of his brother, Worth, to him, and the horrifying ease with which death can taunt life. Primarily, Sullivan describes his relationship with his brother through a story about him sneaking into Worth’s room to listen to music, even though his older brother had forbid it. Sullivan proved through this story that, since his brother is seven years older, they were not always very close. That is, until they were able to share their love of music. Additionally, Sullivan uses descriptive imagery when he writes about the day his brother was dangerously electrocuted. He states that, before singing the opening lines of Sullivan’s favorite song, “a surge of electricity arced through his body, magnetizing the mike to his chest like a tiny but obstinate missile, searing the first string and fret into his palm, and stopping his heart. He fell backward and crashed, already dying” (Sullivan). The diction of this specific quote creates a horrible image in the minds of the audience: the crippling picture of a man seemingly struck by lightning, collapsing after being stung by the current. The combination of the brotherly anecdote and the vivid imagery appeal to the emotions of the readers. The story causes the audience to imagine their family members, and to remember the times when they truly felt connected and like family. The following image of the near death experience, though, shatters these happy thoughts with the fear most people have: losing a family member. The brutal and abrupt diction utilized immediately following a touching story shows the readers the shock that Sullivan felt in the moment he heard of his brother’s condition, and how it affected him so negatively, proving his love for his brother, and how death can appear in an instant.

TOW #22- Fearless Girl Statue

“Fearless Girl” Statue

Throughout the history of America, women have been underestimated, especially in their abilities to occupy the same jobs as men. This was especially true in office buildings and large companies, where women were and still are, in some cases, unable to be promoted or paid as much as men. Wall Street, a famous area in the Financial District of New York City, was mainly employed with men from its establishment in 1817 until Muriel Siebert bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967. However, no women followed Siebert’s steps onto Wall Street for another 10 years. Even today, women on Wall Street are still discriminated due to their gender, which is the main reason this sculpture was created.

                In 1989, Arturo Di Modica created the Charging Bull statue in 1989, which symbolizes the aggressiveness of financial prosperity. Due to Wall Street’s evident discrimination, many believe that the bull also symbolizes the power of men in the financial industry. On the other hand, on March 8, 2017, sculptor Kristen Visbal installed a statue of a young girl standing in front of the bull. This statue symbolizes the power that women have, no matter their age or experience. Set in place for International Women’s Day, the defiant girl is meant to encourage firms to hire more women, and to grant them the jobs they deserve. The hands-on-hips pose and open stance shows that the girl is ready to face whatever the bull has in store for her, just as women on Wall Street are able and prepared to tackle the financial industry and to hold corporate positions. Although it is only expected to remain in this spot for a week, images of this art piece have already spread throughout the internet, empowering women past those on Wall Street. Everywhere in the world, women have viewed this picture, and are thus reminded of their true strength and power, no matter their age. 

TOW #21- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Following a childhood plagued by her parents’ divorce, the multiple times the family moved, and sexual abuse, Maya Angelou wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography about her life up until the age of 17. Primarily, Oprah Winfrey wrote the foreword in the version of the book that I am currently reading. In this introduction, Winfrey used metaphors to connect to the readers, and to intrigue them. For example, she compares the book to “an old friend” (ix). This metaphor shows the audience how much Winfrey cherishes the story, and how it truly makes her feel. Friends are people who spread safety and happiness to each other, which is what this book did for Oprah Winfrey; it was there for her when she felt like no one else would understand, just as friends are. Furthermore, this appeals to the pathos, or emotions, of the readers by comparing the pages to a friend, someone almost everyone can relate their love of. Then, in the first chapter, Angelou utilizes similes in order to add more description to her story, helping the readers visualize exactly what was going on, and to feel what the author was feeling. The author describes how nervous she was in church, and how “each time I breathed it rustled, and now that I was sucking in air to breathe out shame it sounded like crepe paper on the back of hearses”, and how her skin looked “dirty like mud” (2). These similes made it simpler for the audience to imagine what was happening to Angelou in the church, and how she felt about it. Before leaving her house, Angelou thought that she was wearing the most beautiful dress in the world; however, upon arriving to mass, she realized that it actually looked horrendous, especially since she could not remember the prayer she was supposed to read. This is the reason that the comparison is to hearses, which are funeral cars. By relating the way the dress sounded to the way cars that hold coffins sound, Angelou was able to depict to the audience how the outfit truly made her feel. Additionally, comparing her skin to mud, and imagining her life as a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, gives readers insight into what the author is thinking and what she may be thinking throughout the book. Angelou thinks that her life would be easier if she were white, as made obvious with her various similes and metaphors.