They exhibit
perceptivity
- "It was the middle of the night, she was standing outside, in the pouring rain, under an umbrella, in her pajamas, barefoot, while her house was in flames."
This quote displays, or shall I say exhibits, perceptivity because the author, Mark Bezos, notices something that other volunteer firefighters probably didn't. He noticed the homeowner and he noticed how she was standing outside barefoot in pajamas getting rained on. He shows empathy at this time too, with the characterization of the homeowner, Mark makes the audience feel empathetic toward the lady. He wants us to imagine what it would be like to be in her perspective.
They employ
humor
- "The other volunteer who had arrived just before me, let's call him Lex Luther, got to the captain first and was asked to go inside and save the homeowners dog. The dog! I was stunned with jealousy"
Mark Bezos uses humor throughout the speech. One area where it is very clear is when he was talking about the other firefighter and how he got to save the homeowners dog. This lightens the speech because he started talking fairly seriously when he was talking about the house and the owner but then he lightens the speech and makes the audience laugh by joking about the name of the volunteer being Lex Luther, and by saying he was jealous about not being able to save the dog.
They offer surprising
information and observations
- "A few weeks later, the department received a letter from the homeowner thanking us for the valiant effort displayed in saving her home. The act of kindness she noted above all others, someone had even gotten her a pair of shoes."
This is an example of a small, precise, unexpected detail. We would think that the owner would write about the "real firefighters" putting out the fire, or she would thank the other volunteer for saving her dog, but no. She thanks Bezos for going and getting her a pair of shoes. This makes the text very authentic and real. The sentence structure that Bezos uses here builds suspense because he starts by saying "the act of kindness noted above all others" he then tells us what the act of kindness is. This builds the importance and makes us realize how grateful she was. We also realize that Mark is no longer jealous, he realizes how important and kind his duty was and how it wasn't a "job" of the firefighters but they did it anyway to help make her feel a little better.
I really enjoyed your post. I agreed when you said that it was unexpected that the lady thanked Mark Bezos for getting her shoes within the letter, instead of the other firefighters for actually putting out the fire. Towards the end when you said how kind it was for him to do that, it reminded me of the video I watched for my post called, "The Importance of Kindness". Getting the shoes was a small act of kindness, and it really goes a long way.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like how you were able to identify moments in his speech where intentionally tried to lighten the mood with humor. The example you provided where he talks about the jealousy of not being the guy to rescue the homeowners dog also enabled the audience to form a connection with him. I think that by admitting that he wanted to gain recognition for saving the dog he is opening up to his audience. Do you think that people listening to his speech are more apt to take his advice of becoming a hero if they can relate to him?
ReplyDeleteAs Bezos told us, the house was clearly burning down. After referencing Lex Luthor, he lightens the mood, causing the audience to relate to him and feel relief. Do you feel that him joking during this story is effective or insensitive?
ReplyDeleteI really liked when you talked about the author lightening the mood of the speech. When you shared the quote from the video about Lex Luther and the jealousy that came over him when he didn't get to save the homeowners dog, instead he got to go get the homeowner's shoes. Mark Bezos takes a serious topic of a house burning down and uses humor to make it more lighthearted and not such a sensitive topic. Do you think that Bezos adding humor into his speech helped engage the audience and relay his message better?
ReplyDeleteI liked the post and the ways you were able to capture the author's voice for your own blog. I especially liked when you talked about humor in Mark Beznos' writing. It really shows his character and the way he thinks about his job. I also liked the way you described perceptive writing style about the author. Do you think there was a better way for him to show this though?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post! I particularly enjoyed reading the last paragraph because I think that the third quote is very inspiring. Bezos was not a full time fire fighter I believe he did it to help people. Although he knew people who were above him in the fire department were above him he still went to help this lady because her house was caught on fire. He did some of the simplest things and it was very appreciated from the women. Do you think many others were also inspired by Bezos and made them want to become a hero also?
ReplyDelete