Editorial Outside Reading: March 21

Editorial Outside Reading

“Aftershocks” by Evan Osnos

The New Yorker March 28, 2011

            In “Aftershocks,” Evan Osnos discusses the tragedy that shook Japan earlier this month.  Through his construction of a strong voice and his use of rhetoric, Osnos is able to pull on the reader’s heartstrings and place an image of the catastrophe in their minds.

            Osnos crafts a strong voice through his story-like portrayal of events.  By leading the reader through the chain of events that struck Japan, the reader is able to better understand the situation prior to, during, and after the earthquake and tsunami.  This is a major strength of Osnos’s; by appealing to the reader’s emotions he is able to better communicate how severe the crisis actually was and still is.  Osnos also employs diction in helping the reader to relate to those affected in Japan.  He begins by constructing the normal landscape of Japan, prior to the earthquake, as “cool” and “serene.”  Immediately however, the diction shifts to words such as “shake,” “violent,” “thundering,” and “charging.”  This shift in word choice allows the reader to visualize how sudden the catastrophe struck Japan, and furthers the sympathy that they feel towards those affected.  Osnos’s syntax furthers this as well; he employs a lot of long sentences that reflect the agony and severity of the tsunami.  A similar effect is created by Osnos’s use of metaphors.  He compares this earthquake and tsunami to the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in 1945.  By employing such comparisons, Osnos introduces ideas with which the reader is familiar, and thus helps them to relate even more.  This ultimately allows the reader to feel as if he or she is actually experiencing the events in Japan; I definitely was completely mesmerized by this editorial.

            These comparisons, however, also serve as Osnos’s biggest weakness.  The comparison to the end of World War II, in particular, detracts from the current crisis in Japan.  Osnos saves this metaphor for his last paragraph, which in moderation could help him to fully develop his ideas.  However, his comparison is drawn-out and lengthy, taking away from his portrayal of the current situation.

            Although the content of this editorial would be inappropriate for an AP essay, the style in which it is written and Osnos’s voice would be appropriate.  The academic-nature of the article fits the AP examination well.