Jon Franklin - Mrs Kelly's monster
For an assigment in the magazine article writing course we have to read Jon Franklin's piece Mrs. Kelly's Monster and do an analyse on it. Before I will begin with the analyse (that frankly still confuses me) I want to share some thoughts that popped up in my head while reading the piece. Ever since Washington I thought more and more about the fact that I am Swedish and how the point of view is different in U.S and Europe. Even thought it is obvious that the point of view is different it is however intreseting for me to experience the other point of view.
It doesn't have to concern big things like wars or historical events to be of importance. It is on the contrary the small things that make the difference obvious. For instance, I am reading in Franklin's article;
"'We can't have a millimeter slip,' he says"
and the comment say;
"here the writer intentionally introduce the somewhat unfamiliar word 'millimeter' so that it will be more familiar later during critical moments"
and I think to myself... "somewhat unfamiliar", I know exactly what he is talking about. For me, the somewhat unfamiliar thing came in the sentence right after that, where he mention the "six-inch crescent of scalp".
the other thing that strike me as kind of wierd is how the writer uses the word "pop" to illustrate the sound a heart makes from the monitor in the operating room. "Pop"?
Really?
I think of popcorn and if a heart makes the sound "pop", that would pretty much be it. There would be only one "pop" and nothing more.
In my Swedish mind, the world "dunk, d-dunk" would have suited better.
This is small things but when it comes to writing these things becomes crucial for how the reader intepret the story. Luckely enough I am used to intepret American things from a Swedish perspective. There's a lot, a lot, a lot of American sitcoms, shows and series on Swedish television and there are often times where my knowledge of American culture come in handy for understanding the jokes and storylines. But htere is another challenge to actually be in the culture and try to intepret things from the same perspective without letting myself and where I am from interfere.
But the word "pop" for illustrating heart sound will probably always confuse me
It doesn't have to concern big things like wars or historical events to be of importance. It is on the contrary the small things that make the difference obvious. For instance, I am reading in Franklin's article;
"'We can't have a millimeter slip,' he says"
and the comment say;
"here the writer intentionally introduce the somewhat unfamiliar word 'millimeter' so that it will be more familiar later during critical moments"
and I think to myself... "somewhat unfamiliar", I know exactly what he is talking about. For me, the somewhat unfamiliar thing came in the sentence right after that, where he mention the "six-inch crescent of scalp".
the other thing that strike me as kind of wierd is how the writer uses the word "pop" to illustrate the sound a heart makes from the monitor in the operating room. "Pop"?
Really?
I think of popcorn and if a heart makes the sound "pop", that would pretty much be it. There would be only one "pop" and nothing more.
In my Swedish mind, the world "dunk, d-dunk" would have suited better.
This is small things but when it comes to writing these things becomes crucial for how the reader intepret the story. Luckely enough I am used to intepret American things from a Swedish perspective. There's a lot, a lot, a lot of American sitcoms, shows and series on Swedish television and there are often times where my knowledge of American culture come in handy for understanding the jokes and storylines. But htere is another challenge to actually be in the culture and try to intepret things from the same perspective without letting myself and where I am from interfere.
But the word "pop" for illustrating heart sound will probably always confuse me
Comments
Posted by: Bri
I'm not sure the "pop" device was American or just that author's device. I thought it was disturbing. I kept thinking it should be "beep" like a heart moniter...
Trackback
