Amanda Hess covers the cyber journey of a 25-year-old New Zealand man, Reese McKee, in her editorial Man Asks Internet to Hunt Down His Lost Crush. Social Media is often viewed as an ever expanding beast that never seems to leave us alone. It is the ultimate stalker. Which is why it should not come as a surprise that the lonely hearts of the planet flock to it for company. Hess uses diction, details, and language to convey the creepiness of this one man's tale that has been cloaked by the Internet in heroic romance.
In the the heading of the article, Hess uses denotative diction to make the point that there is nothing romantic about this "Man." When Hess uses the word "hunt," she uses the exact definition to show the unrequited passion of the McKee's M.I.A. crush, Katie. McKee can easily be likened to a bloodthirsty hunter thrashing through a forest of profiles and photos and Katie as the innocent doe that did not sign up for this lime light. The author uses colloquial diction for this article, which fits the content perfectly. The subject matter of this article is not very serious and does not require the analysis of intellects to understand.
Reese McKee sounds like a lonely guy who is genuinely looking for his "soul mate," but Hess adds details that make him seem a little too desperate for companionship. McKee has used Facebook as the main tool to track down his disconnected love and recruit the cupids and fellow romantics of the world to assist him in his search. Hess includes some of McKee's bizarre Facebook posts to give readers a better idea of who he is.One post McKee wrote was, "Somewhere along the line my romantic soul went silent, and this is a step towards putting that right." With this detail, Hess does not need to mention that McKee is a hopeless romantic that might have watched too many of Richard Curtis' films. It sounds like he quoted a line straight out of a romantic comedy. It becomes clear that McKee sees his adventure as a noble conquest when he writes, "If she isn't taken, i'll need to duel someone/something to take insult of her honour." The bits of McKee's voice were essential details to persuade the reader to think of his "noble deed" is more of a fool's jest.
Language is a tool used skillfully by the author to make her article sound similar to a storybook fairy tale, which adds to the irony of the situation. Hess uses whimsical language like "traipsing", "mystery woman", and "fateful" to dissolve the reality of McKee's experience and make it sound like the plot of an over dramatized love story. Hess uses this language when recalling the night that the two star-crossed lovers met for readers to see the events through the eyes of McKee. Hess later points out the irony of this flowery portrayal when she analysis the event through the perspective of a young woman from the 21st Century. "when a woman hangs out with a dude for an evening, coughs up fragments
of her email address, then tells him, “find me,” what she often means
is: “Do not find me.” Hess' detached language highlights the greatest irony of the article. Katie does not love McKee. The author makes it clear that this is not a romantic story. It anything it is a romanticized view of the they-could-be-the-one hysteria sweeping over the Internet.
Hess uses diction, details, and language to not only tell the story of a man in search of love, but to share with readers how the Internet is being used to misinterpret what defines romance. When she uses words such as "womanhunt," she is not trying to be clever. This is denotative diction and she wants the reader to see McKee more as a predator than a knight set on a quest. The use of McKee's actual love thirsty Facebook quotes make all the difference in this article by allowing the reader to hear his actual foolish voice. Language makes the article more fun to read and sheds the light on the irony of the situation. There is a much bigger picture here that Hess is hinting at when she writes this article. Not only are people too infatuated with fantasy romance, but with the expansion of social media, we have created a disillusioned view on what is considered an invasion of privacy.
Your response was really informative and I liked that you included examples from the text to support your statements. You paid a lot of attention to details, even with the title. It is something that I will remember because even the title can give some idea of what the piece is going to be about. When you talk about details, you mention how details can persuade a reader. Details are something that I find essential in a lot of writings that I have read and depending of the details of the writing, it can affect how the reader thinks of the overall piece. The language was interesting that the author chose to make it seem more “magical” and that can also have an effect on the reader. Overall, you response was well done and I like that you added the examples because it strengthened the response. Good job!
ReplyDeleteAudrey, Wow you did a great job of identifying the detail used by the author throughout the article. Like when you mentioned this"One post McKee wrote was, "Somewhere along the line my romantic soul went silent, and this is a step towards putting that right." With this detail, Hess does not need to mention that McKee is a hopeless romantic that might have watched too many of Richard Curtis' films. " Which brings to mind of how important detail is for any piece of writing because they help the reader either believe or not and create and idea in their minds. Great response, i really liked the detail and examples that followed your claims.
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