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The Red Bandana By: Tom Rinaldi Tragedy Preston Vander Velden -…
The Red Bandana
By: Tom Rinaldi
Tragedy
Preston Vander Velden
How does non-fiction help us develop empathy and awareness of others' experiences?
"Welles began to cry as he walked to the spot where the groundhog lay, wounded and trapped. He raised the bat, brought it down on the animals head with a sickening crunch, the noise of bone shattering, and then did it again. Blood smeared the barrel of the bat and splattered, spraying upwards towards Welles face. He struck down on the animal's skull half a dozen times or more" (Rinaldi 33).
Welles and two of his friends found the groundhog severely injured. Welles called his dad asking what to do and he told him it would be best to put it out of its misery. This evidence helps readers develop empathy for what he experienced. He experienced a traumatic event that most people won't and this evidence goes into detail on just how bad of an experience it was for him and his friends. It helps the readers to feel empathy and try to understand the kind of experience he had. It helps me deepen my understanding on the question because it supports how important empathy is to understand what others are experiencing and to better understand what their life is like.
"The impact had thrown her from one end of the elevator lobby to the other. Uncertain if she'd ever lost consciousness, she lay on the floor nearly smothered in dust and debris for what felt like minutes before trying to lift herself up"(Rinaldi 123).
Ling Young was trying to leave the South Tower when the plane hit it while she was in the elevator lobby on the 78th floor. She was able to get out before it collapsed with the help of Welles and other firefighters. This evidence helps readers become aware of 9/11 in a more personal and up close perspective. This real life experience helps the readers to understand what it was like in the attack and the importance of showing empathy towards the survivors of 9/11. This helps my understanding of the question because of how important it is to be aware of others experiences and trauma and to have empathy and understand what they are going through so that you can be there for them.
In what ways can reading non-fiction inspire change or action?
“I know it’d be cool, Jeff said. But you know, your dad’s not some retired battalion chief from the New York City Fire Department. That’s not going to help you” (Rinaldi 81-82)
Welles wanted to become a firefighter for the NYCFD but his dad told him that it was going to be really hard since he wasn't a former firefighter at that station. This evidence inspires change towards the bias of hiring for jobs. This evidence demonstrates a common problem in the world with bias hirings mostly through family members who were previously working for that business. It deepens my understanding on how important it is to inspire change because people will speak up in what they believe in and it will help the world solve problems that can be fixed by the voices of the community.
"Mrs. Crowther, she said, that boy picked on Welles every single day. Picked on him, tormented him. Welles never spoke about any type of bullying with his mother at all, never betrayed that he was being picked on or harassed by another student" (Rinaldi 30).
When Welles was a kid he would get picked on because he was small and scrawny. He never told anybody about it. His mom understood why he fought back because of him being bullied. This inspires change for other kids who are also being picked on to stand up for themselves and voice what they are experiencing. This evidence shows kids that there are people out there who care and will help and understand. This evidence helps deepen my understanding of how inspiring change can help people in drastic ways and can provide things such as confidence and success to kids like Welles who were bullied.
How do different non-fiction genres shape our understanding of a topic through perspective, bias, and selective storytelling?
"Thanks to the Time's reporting, she also knew the names of the two survivors who mentioned seeing the mysterious man and his red handkerchief, a man they saw trying to lead others to safety" (Rinaldi 158).
Welles mom was reading an article that mentioned a description of her son saving people. Those two people who did those interviews were Ling Young and Judy Wein. Two of the survivors experiences that the author talks about In the book were those two people. He specifically selected them because they closely related to Welles and had stories of him. This is selective storytelling because the author selected certain survivors that had some kind of relation to Welles. It helps with the flow of the story and the plot after he has died. It helps describe the vent in more detail since Welles wasn't alive to be able to. This deepens my understanding of the question that authors do selective storytelling for a purpose so that they have relevant facts and stories that relate to the main idea or character. Authors use selective storytelling for the benefit of the readers and the relevance of the ideas throughout the book.
"He went back up, stepping into the fire and death, pushing through smoke and blood, bound for the sky lobby. Why? Maybe because he understood that if he went down, and left now, and looked away, they would be with him forever" (Rinaldi 126-127).
This passage from the book is the author's perspective on what happened when Welles stayed in the tower and what he was possibly thinking. His perspective suggests why Welles went back up to save people and that he was an honorable and brave man. This shapes the understanding of the book by depicting what the author thinks of Welles. It gives opportunity to the readers to also decide if this is what Welles was thinking of if he was possibly motivated for another reason. The author uses a good perspective to depict Welles as a good samaritan and an outstanding person. This deepens my understanding of the question that authors have to decide what kind of perspective they want to have on the main ideas in the book and demonstrates them in a certain way. They decide the kind of reaction they want from the readers and what they want to convince the readers of. An authors perspective is important when it comes to writing a biography or memoir because it demonstrates what they believe and what they want to depict to the readers.
What techniques do authors use to make factual information compelling?
"Soon after hearing the boom from the first plane striking the North Tower, Ling Young felt heat penetrating the department offices on the 86th floor of the South Tower. She didn't know what happened, but feeling the heat was trigger enough. She and others around her made the decision to leave" (Rinaldi 122).
This evidence shows how the author has made the conflict of the book compelling to the readers. He uses the experience of one of the survivors to demonstrate what the conflict was and what was going on during it. He keeps the readers engaged making them anticipate whether they will be able to get out and what will happen next. The author is able to make the conflict compelling and stand out more to the readers. This helps me deepen my understanding of the question that authors need to have a main conflict and need to make it compelling to the readers. They do that through their word choice and keeping the reader engaged on what will happen. It shows why authors need to use techniques when incorporating the conflict into the book.
"From the time Welles was in preschool, when he was asked about his future, he had an immediate and confident answer: he would be a fireman" (Rinaldi 12).
This evidence shows how the author incorporated the character development of Welles. He uses character development to show that Welles had wanted to be a firefighter since he was a little kid which helps to support his development of his passion towards the job. It shows Welles certainty on who he wanted to be which is the way the author wanted to show his development throughout the book. This helps me deepen my understanding on the question that authors need to use techniques that best fit the type of book they are writing so that it is compelling and interesting to the readers. They want the readers to gather the information and be able to maintain that information. Techniques are important to the author so that the book is best available for the reader.