English Assignment to print during break @ school.

The Perfect Picture

1. In preluding to a tragic scene, the statement where Thom claims he is "driving to a scene I didn't want to see," Thom allows himself to begin his recollection of an event that he would rather not have been part of. This statement is vital in to retelling of this particular event because it explains the tone, setting, and gives you insight to an event and time.
2. Thom's decision is highly influenced by the minute, yet descriptive details which portray a scene where he must form a moral decision that he was already uncomfortable with in the first place. In describing the scene in such a way that it shows what an ideal opportunity it would be to further his career with the capturing of an ideally perfect setting for as tragic a setting as it was, it allowed for a clearer view of the overall picture and gave Thom the opportunity to make a decision that would determine whether it was right or not for him to take this picture and choose the best path for himself.
3. I feel that Thom chose the path that worked best for him, and though it was not what would be expected of a typical reporter, the times and moralistic behaviors of that era show us where people come from and how they make their decisions. I understand that Thom already did not like having to be there and while he felt that from a journalistic approach it would be the best thing in the world to get that picture for his work, he walked away. The reality of the whole situation is that the decision that was made never gave him the opportunity to preserve the moment, even if it were not for his own personal agenda. The artistic side of the situation would have been an almost unbearable moment for me personally, even if I knew that it was not right. In the end, I do feel that he made the best decision by walking away from it. An opportunity will come and go, and the moral dilemma would greatly outweigh the entire situation in the end for most people.

4. Media doesn't allow room for privacy, neither in society or within yourself. Why should we have the right to keep anything private now when there are such methods out there that so easily expose anything we have to hide anyways? The media is unyielding in it's path towards public exploitation of the privacy of all, and in turn, we allow ourselves to fall prey to the media's public influence upon our lives.
5. The influence of the media can be both good and bad depending on how you look at it, but in a sense it effects each individual differently. As mass media truly is an output of opinion to the masses, it seems that general acceptance of such opinions takes over and people respond to what they want to respond to now. I feel that the media is an unyielding monster that truly does overrule much of our lives in that we are no longer allowed to think for ourselves unless we're hermits. What makes anything we have to say from our personal experiences any more potent than that of the media when no one will listen to what we have to say? Is it truly that bad that we have to follow what we're told and live our lives constantly for what we're told is right and wrong?

So in the end, I feel that there is no right answer in saying that the media is good or bad. It is a mixture of both because good things come from it, as well as bad, and it is because of this that we have made our decisions what they are.

6. There is no six.

7. Thom, the reporter sent to get the pictures of the scene and interview the parties involved with the incident. Thom is the main character who is faced with a decision that he must make in protecting the rights of the family, and doing his job.
The Grandfather, who in this case is the villain of the story. In running over his granddaughter unknowingly, he turns himself into the character that people don't like, and then ends up being felt sorry for.
The Granddaughter, who plays no real part as she does nothing in the story, but as the story centers around her death, she is a good enough character.
The Parents, who sit off to the sidelines mourning.
8. Narration supports the main point of the story in that it reinforces the emotional appeal that the story has in the first place. Had the narration not been there, or had it been different, the tone would have been wrong, and it would be a different story.
9. The narration is better suited in first person than in third person for sure because it makes the whole retelling more personal. Had the perspective been changed into third person, the story would have been more of a newspaper article than a memory, and it wouldn't have had such a strong effect.

10. "It was early in the spring about 15 years ago - ..."
11. When the grandfather explains himself in paragraph four. He states "I was just backing up there to spread that good dirt," and "I didn't even know she was outdoors" in continuing his self-explination.
12. P2 - "Stocky white-haired man in cotton work clothes".
P4 - "... to spread that good dirt."
P6 - "... the big, bulky Speed Graphic which used to be the newspaper reporter's trademark."