As we begin the unit on feature articles I have tried to understand what makes one article more entertaining than the next. After reading three articles for class I have realized that while some topics are more interesting to a person based on their ability to relate to it, the best articles reach a wide variety of audiences and effect everyone on some level.
I was immediately drawn to the article “You Have Thousands of Angels Around You”. From the very beginning I was intrigued by the lead female character and wanted to hear her story. When she finally explains the reason she is seeking asylum in the United States it would be difficult for any reader to not feel sympathy for her.
After reading “Specialist Town Takes His Case to Washington” I also realized that the topics relevancy to current events attracts readers. It seems that almost every day we hear about the war in Iraq, but it is not everyday that we hear about a person’s struggle when they return home from battle. This unique article gave me a different perspective on a topic I hear about regularly and easily had my attention.
Mount Everest
15 years ago
I completely agree with you. I had trouble relating to "China's Instant Cities," but I had no problems with the other two. While I have never been a refugee or a disabled veteran, I have been 18 and I live in a country that takes great pride in it's soldiers, I also think each of these features did a great job in making the reader reflective upon his or her own life by the end of the story. Even if we have never been in the character's shoes, we can definitely think back to how comfortable our own shoes are and remind ourselves not to take that luxury for granted. The fact that these writers made me feel something at the end is an incredible feat. While audible words can easily evoke feelings, silent words on a page have to be constructed in just the right way. I have a feeling that writing this feature is going to be a little more difficult than I first thought.
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction--that two of the features definitely appealed to me more than the third. I love that you examined why some features appeal to us more than others, instead of just casting aside the ones you don't like as most of us do :)
ReplyDeleteI think part of the reason "Angels" and "Specialist" were so entertaining is because they made us think. Yes, they related to our world, perhaps through age or currency, but they also left us with questions about society and possible actions we could take.
It's very hard to relate to factory towns of China or feel like we have any impact on the lives of low-wage workers who are shuffled from boom town to boom town. But we can potentially take the story of an orphan and apply it to local community service. Or the story of a mistreated soldier and translate it into a sincere "Thank You" the next time we see a man in uniform.
Great question to think about!