Week 1, Column 1: SOAPSTone
Speaker:
Meghan Daum. Daum believes in equal treatment among all races. This value is illustrated by her statement “They were mistreated. They were treated as special. And death, though it is singular and especially horrifying when it befalls a young person, is about as unspecial as it gets”. Daum states this not just because of what she believes, but also because it is true. In the article, the McMath family was mistreated. The author uses cacophony by joining harsh words together to support her belief.
Occasion:
January 6th, 2014, posted on the LATimes website. The article was written in this time period, illustrated by the medical advances mentioned in the article. The occasion makes the audience respond the way that the author intends because, living in the world we are now, you wouldn't expect such behavior of such advanced doctors, who are suppose to be heroes for ALL people. When the audience reads about how the doctors mistreat the McMath family, they will be surprised.
Audience:
Daum's specific audience for the article consists of the African American community and families with histories of medical problems. The author's target audience is revealed by her repetitive use of the words "families", "black (as in people)", and "doctors" to relate to the audience.
Purpose:
Daum's purpose in the article is to inform the audience on medical misconceptions that are happening every day, right under our noses, and that relate directly to bizarre tragedies, particularly with African Americans, occurring in hospitals. The author carefully constructs her sentences, saying things like "Many are declared dead after being taken off ventilators" and "many — though we don't like to think about it — are children who, like Jahi, have died suddenly and seemingly inexplicably" to get surprised emotions out of the audience.
Subject:
The subject of Meghan Daum’s article is Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old Oakland girl who was declared brain dead Dec. 12 following complications from tonsil and sinus surgery. Daum’s article talks about how the McMath family is still dealing with the case of Jahi and how they are speaking out against the mistreatment from Jahi’s doctors.
Tone:
Daum exhibits a subjective and sympathetic tone about the mistreatment of the McMath family in the article, showing emotion throughout the piece. This tone is expressed by the author’s use of the words “emotional” and “understanding”. These words also give away the author’s feelings towards this subject matter, and appeal to pathos.
Meghan Daum. Daum believes in equal treatment among all races. This value is illustrated by her statement “They were mistreated. They were treated as special. And death, though it is singular and especially horrifying when it befalls a young person, is about as unspecial as it gets”. Daum states this not just because of what she believes, but also because it is true. In the article, the McMath family was mistreated. The author uses cacophony by joining harsh words together to support her belief.
Occasion:
January 6th, 2014, posted on the LATimes website. The article was written in this time period, illustrated by the medical advances mentioned in the article. The occasion makes the audience respond the way that the author intends because, living in the world we are now, you wouldn't expect such behavior of such advanced doctors, who are suppose to be heroes for ALL people. When the audience reads about how the doctors mistreat the McMath family, they will be surprised.
Audience:
Daum's specific audience for the article consists of the African American community and families with histories of medical problems. The author's target audience is revealed by her repetitive use of the words "families", "black (as in people)", and "doctors" to relate to the audience.
Purpose:
Daum's purpose in the article is to inform the audience on medical misconceptions that are happening every day, right under our noses, and that relate directly to bizarre tragedies, particularly with African Americans, occurring in hospitals. The author carefully constructs her sentences, saying things like "Many are declared dead after being taken off ventilators" and "many — though we don't like to think about it — are children who, like Jahi, have died suddenly and seemingly inexplicably" to get surprised emotions out of the audience.
Subject:
The subject of Meghan Daum’s article is Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old Oakland girl who was declared brain dead Dec. 12 following complications from tonsil and sinus surgery. Daum’s article talks about how the McMath family is still dealing with the case of Jahi and how they are speaking out against the mistreatment from Jahi’s doctors.
Tone:
Daum exhibits a subjective and sympathetic tone about the mistreatment of the McMath family in the article, showing emotion throughout the piece. This tone is expressed by the author’s use of the words “emotional” and “understanding”. These words also give away the author’s feelings towards this subject matter, and appeal to pathos.
Highlight of the Week: Tone
"This is all, of course, done in the guise of balance, and to generate the kind of page views I'll call "rage views." But this is no longer a story that requires balance. A teenager, tragically, has died. Her family deserves sensitivity and compassion, but do they deserve authority over doctors and the coroner in declaring someone dead? Do they get to do whatever they want with a body? Do they get to put their younger children through this?" By giving us these details, we can clearly see that Daum feels the McMath family having no say in what will happen next with their daughter is insensitive and unbearable mistreatment. The author's use of details creates a frustrated and hopeless tone, and her words create the assumption that justice will not be served upon the Jahi McMath case. Daum's level of emotional attachment is high.
Link to the full article:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-daum-jahi-mcmath-brain-death---media-20140116,0,4738876.column#ixzz2qyO4q5OU
Link to the full article:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-daum-jahi-mcmath-brain-death---media-20140116,0,4738876.column#ixzz2qyO4q5OU