Mallory Simon’s purpose is clear, just as it is with all media covering Hurricane Harvey. Through words, photo, and video, the reader is influenced to feel the effects of Hurricane Harvey, at least indirectly. Simon uses a strategy of expressing a somber tone throughout the article, including multiple perspectives of the victims to create a solid development of the story, and providing context of how Harvey has obliterated communities along the Texas coast. These techniques force the reader to acknowledge the tragic pain and suffering that this natural disaster has forced upon the Houston area.
As Irma approaches Florida, Harvey has already created a devastating aftermath that will take years, maybe decades, to rebuild. In the CNN article, “What Hurricane Harvey left in its wake”, Mallory Simon depicts the destruction that struck southern Texas. For most, Harvey surprised victims with it’s sheer power, ripping walls off buildings, feet of sitting water flooding neighborhoods, homes being thrown hundreds of feet from their original location. As the storm came and went, victims were left deciding what was next. Families try to cope together as parents try to calm children. Other individuals try and salvage anything they can from their former homes. Instead of retrieving the things that are deemed valuable by society, victims are instead trying to save the things that can never be replaced . School started on Monday, a blunt reminder that life goes on but in a current life of devastation, normalcy might be just the thing that keeps the community moving forward.
From the beginning of the article, Simon’s writing carries a devastated and sunken tone. Her descriptions of the wreckage early on in the article draws an immediate emotional response from the audience. An initial feeling of sympathy gets the story started on the right foot. As the article continues, a relatively similar tone begins to carry a different message. As each victim is introduced, the reader is led to question why Hurricane Harvey has intruded on the innocence of these people. Through these accounts, a connection is made with the audience. As with other similar content covering the story, overwhelming support for the victims is drawn from the readers. As the article approaches its endpoint, Simon attempts to reveal a hint of positivity, while also closing her point. She purposefully includes the idea of school, a normal aspect of daily life, but counters by saying, “for all that powerful positivity, it’s hard not to think of the fear of people.” The message remains clear that although the hurricane has passed, there is still a long way to go for the victims.
As the point of the article was to create an emotional response, nothing helped develop that better than the personal accounts that Simon includes. This type of organization helps develop the connection with the reader. With stories that involves the amount of victims as this, it is very hard to the reader to connect through statistics. What Simon does so well is including the stories of victims who carry very different perspectives, which helps create a more relatable experience for the reader. What this up-close approach to the story does is that it lets the reader realize that they have very similar lives as these people and it makes the reader put themselves in the shoes of the victim. Another thing that helps develop the story is that the victims have very different stories, which allows the article reach various different audiences. Whether it’s the elderly couple, the family of four, or the single mother, almost everyone reading can relate.
As the reader reads about the victims, a connection is truly made from the context that Simon provides. Starting early on, the author notes the simple things that the everyday reader would notice. She starts the article perfectly; “It begins with a couple of shingles in the road, a power line down here and there.” Things that are barely even noticed in everyday life are used as vital images that help create the scene within the reader’s mind. Attention to detail continues with images sprinkled throughout. Liquor stores without walls, a torn apart little girl’s room, and a water-damaged baby book are only a few of the images that strike the reader. Little tidbits perfectly intertwined throughout is the final detail instills a lasting impression upon the reader.
Mallory Simon’s context, tone, and inclusion of multiple experiences produces one of the most well-rounded articles throughout the media’s coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Her techniques helps the reader attempt to relate to the victims of this life-crashing event. As of today, it seems as if the only way to go is up for for the Houston area, and their primary focus now is following the road to recovery.