Effectiveness of Author’s Choice and Text Structure

Introduction

I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls as sisters and brothers.” Power, Protest, and Change highlighted a time where unequal treatment of blacks and separation of races were the center of focus. The authors’ style of writing, vocabulary use, and problem and solution are all essential to the stories. The authors were able to show author’s choice with their vocabulary use. The authors’ style of writing effectively showed author’s choice. The authors effectively showed text structure through problem and solution. After reading “Black Boy” (Wright, 1945), “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (Douglass, 1852), “Ain’t I a Woman?” (Truth, 1851), “Brown v. Board of Education” (Warren, 1954), and “Was Brown v. Board a Failure?” (Garland, 2013), each author illustrates the effectiveness of the author’s choice and text structure through vocabulary use, author's style of writing, and problem solution.

Effectiveness of Author’s Choice and Text Structure

Vocabulary Use

Firstly, the authors were able to show author’s choice with their vocabulary use. Frederick Douglass is able to state his ideas clearly. “You may rejoice; I must mourn” (Douglass, 1852, p. 290). Frederick Douglass uses words that help him to better describe his thoughts distinctly in order to get his ideas across so the audience can understand what he is saying. Earl Warren is able to show tone through his words. “The history of the Fourteenth Amendment is inconclusive as to its intended effect on public education” (Warren, 1954, p. 362). Earl Warren's use of the word "inconclusive" helps reveal a tone of confusion, giving the reader an idea of how they should feel about what is going on in the text. This demonstrates how vocabulary is one of the most important, if not the most important, parts of the narratives.

Style of Writing

Secondly, the authors’ style of writing effectively showed author’s choice. Richard Wright used a descriptive style of writing. “One Sunday my mother invited the tall, black preacher to a dinner of fried chicken” (Wright, 1945, p. 4). Richard Wright was describing the preacher and the purpose of the mother making contact with the preacher. Sarah Garland used an expository style of writing. This descriptive writing style allows the reader to get vivid imagery of what's going on. “On average, those districts that stopped forcing schools to mix students by race have seen a gradual but steady—and significant—return of racial isolation, especially the entertainment level” (Garland, 2013, p. 372). Sarah Garland is explaining how Brown v. Board was a failure in the grand scheme of things. Frederick Douglass in “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” starts off his speech by asking rhetorical questions. He asks things such as, what do blacks have to do with whites' independence and are the rights whites have extended to blacks. This is effective because its purpose is to get the listeners to start thinking. This is done because Frederick’s purpose is to change the way his audience thinks about the Fourth of July for blacks. In short, the authors showed a style of writing that is effective because it helps readers gain a sense of understanding.

Problem and Solution

Thirdly, the authors effectively showed text structure through problem and solution. Richard Wright is faced with a problem and is given the solution. “It had never occurred to me that his absence would mean that there would be no food. I don’t know, “I said. “Who brings food into the house?” my mother asked me. “Papa,” I said. “He always brought food.” “Well, your father isn’t here now,” she said. “Where is he?” “I don’t know,” she said. “You’ll have to wait until I get a job and buy food,” she said (Wright, 1945, p. 2). Richard Wright was faced with the problem of having no food. The solution to his problem was that his mother had to get a job. In Sojourner Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Sojourner talked about how she faced unequal treatment by males and used an analogy to describe how it could be fixed. This format of text structure is effective because it makes it easy for the reader to follow the story's flow and engage with the narrative.

Criticism and Conclusion

Although many will argue the effectiveness of text structure and an author’s choice, it can be concluded that the author’s style of writing can be a bit confusing to the reader. For example, Wright’s lyrical style of using imagery can lead the reader’s mind to wander and draw conclusions that are not present nor eluded. Upon further examination of this unit, Truth’s use of parallelism is often mistaken for just being wordy or being on her “soapbox.” Many critics posit that she [Truth] makes an abundance of generalizations and doesn’t provide enough specific stories or information, which would be a more compelling read. It is also apparent that Douglass’ use of rhetorical devices can be misleading as well. His questions most likely lead the reader down paths of nothingness, which are a complete waste of the reader's time and energy. Overall, these units' selections were one-sided at best, filled with examples of the rants and ravings of speakers who are notable but could use some more evidence and clearer language to explain their purpose and usefulness.

Overall, the authors Earl Warren, Frederick Douglass, Richard Wright, Sarah Garland, and Sojourner Truth all embodied in their writings text structure and author's choice. Their extensive vocabulary allowed them to show how they effectively used author's choice. The authors’ writing styles successfully showed author’s choice. These writers used problem and solution and showed how it could properly be used to help the general idea. The authors were able to show that the author’s choice and text structure were able to powerfully contribute to the overall meaning of their works, making their narratives not only compelling but also educational.

References:

• Douglass, F. (1852). What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
• Garland, S. (2013). Was Brown v. Board a Failure?
• Truth, S. (1851). Ain’t I a Woman?
• Warren, E. (1954). Brown v. Board of Education.
• Wright, R. (1945). Black Boy.