Assignment 5

 

Assignment 5

               Susan Orlean composed this article for The New Yorker to illustrate a taxidermist’s life and to show the world the culture that makes up this society of people that love to bring dead animals back to life. Or perhaps she wrote this article because she wanted to humanize this trade, which for so many people is considered to be awful, evil, and disgusting. It does seem that way, because she doesn’t seem to discriminate against the people she met. Rather, it seems as though she came to favor and admire the taxidermist.

               I believe she wants her readers to keep an open mind when reading this article.  An open mind that will lead her readers to favor the taxidermist trade that is. If she had a different agenda, her approach would have been a lot different. She would have used select words like immoral, awful, cruel, and disgusting. But that’s just it, she doesn’t use those words.

               On the other hand, I do not believe she was too impartial. At times, it seemed more like an informative article than an editorial. And I think that is why I was really not all that excited about reading it. I have mixed feelings on the topic and much of what she had to say was not going to convince me one way or the other. Also, I felt like there wasn’t any rising action, climax, falling action, or resolution to her piece, which made it kind of boring to read. At times, I felt like I was just reading a transcript or a Wikipedia article. I, however, do believe that there are or will be some who read this article and will want to dispute or debate the morality and facts surrounding this article. I think she expects that.

               I obviously do not think she wanted me to be bored. But, I don’t think she would be surprised if I told her that is how I felt when I read this article. She herself said, “In the seminars, the atmosphere was as sober and exacting as a tax law colloquium.” That’s pretty much how I felt about this article. On a final note, I believe she wants her readers to dwell on the topic and to have an opinion. Or possibly she wants her readers to get all the facts before making any strong opinions one way or the other.

Questions for class

Do you feel any different about the sport of hunting or taxidermy now that you have read this article?

How did you feel when reading this article?

Do you think Susan Orlean had a personal agenda?

Do you want to make a dead animal come back to life now?

Do you think this was a good article to have published in The New Yorker?